over 40 farmers, including males and females, from Edda and Enyigba communities in Abakaliki LGA were the beneficiaries of the capacity-building training program, which ran from the 11th of November to the 13th of November, 2024.
In his address, the Executive Director of Neighbourhood Environmental Watch Foundation, Dr Okezie Kelechukwu, said the training program aimed at "Strengthening Local Advocacy Against Climate Change (SLAACC) was stepped down for the benefit of the smallholder farmers in the hinterlands.
Okezie said the training topics covered organic farming, soil management, Organic fertilizer and pesticide production, Agro-forestry; forest conservation, biofuels production, and clean cooking initiatives.
He emphasized the need for training for the farmers, pointing out that unsustainable agricultural practices contribute to climate change.
According to him, most rural communities are vulnerable to climate change and without building resilience in the face of environmental catastrophe from climate change will result in monumental losses to vulnerable populations in the grassroots areas.
He charged the beneficiaries of the training to utilize the knowledge they acquired by stepping it down so that farmers in the community would enjoy good health and well--
being.
Okezie noted that the overall objective of the training was to promote climate change adaptation and mitigation practices by indigenous communities in Ebonyi State.
He added that the training was organized to reduce dependence on wood for cooking through training on biogas production using organic wastes and the installation of bio-gas cooking stoves in 10 households in the community.
"Other components of the program in the community include the planting of 500 Indigenous crop trees and the provision of a unit portable hand pump bore-hole at Ohatekwe Edda community.
In his goodwill message, the State Commissioner for Environment, Hon Victor Chukwu, represented by the Head of Department, Climate Change Department, Gabriel Igwe-Ebi, thanked the organisers, noting that it came timely in the face of global change and the climate crisis facing humanity.
He charged the trainees to practice what they had learned and to ensure the sustainability of their environment through regenerative and smart agricultural practices.
He emphasized the Ebonyi state government's commitment through the Ministry of Environment to tackling climate change noting that the state has policies on climate change and
charged the farmers to stop cutting down trees rather than plant more and practice agro-forestry in their farms.
"There is no better time to show commitment in addressing the
negative impacts of climate change than now and we all must be committed to leaving a positive legacy on our environment," he said.
He enjoined other civil society organizations in the state to emulate the landmark achievements of Neighbourhood Environment Watch as one of the reputable and frontline environmental organizations in the state, and, through their programs, impacted positively the lives of rural communities, especially the farmers.
Also, the Former Coordinator of Enyidda Development Centre and Edda Community leader, Chief Michael Udenwe thanked the organizers and their sponsors for bringing down the training of farmers in his community. He noted that years back the Neighbourhood Environment Watch Foundation planted over 30,000 trees in the 3 communities in Enyidda Development Centre, Ohatekwe as one of the beneficiaries has sustained the projects, and the trees planted by Neighbourhood increased the value of the community and contributed to addressing the global challenge of climate change. He called for more such training for his community assuring of the readiness of his community to promote a sustainable environment and
address food insecurity from adverse climate change impact.
Some of the Resource Persons who facilitated the training include Dr. Mrs. Perpetua Okoro, Mr. Ifesinachi Okorie, Mr. Anele Okoroagha, Elder Emeka Ogazi, Ms. Chinelo Oru, and Dr. Kelechukwu Okezie.
The event overview of the three-day capacity training program organized by Neighborhood Environmental Watch
Foundation with support from the WASCAL aimed at empowering Foreign smallholder farmers and strengthen their local advocacy against climate change the workshop brought together farmers local community leaders agricultural experts and civil society organizations the training provided an interactive platform for knowledge sharing, Change, and scale building.
