Wife of the Rivers State Governor, Lady Valerie Fubara, has called on women to see farming as a viable business and a pathway to financial independence.
She made the call on Friday, October 10, 2025, while declaring open a training workshop for women farmers and entrepreneurs, held at the Auditorium of the Rivers State Ministry of Justice, Port Harcourt.
The workshop, organized under the Women Economic Empowerment Programme of the Renewed Hope Initiative (RHI), was themed “General Smart Agriculture in Relation to the Renewed Hope Initiative.” It aimed to equip participants with modern agricultural knowledge to enhance productivity and income generation.
Lady Fubara urged the women to take full advantage of the training, describing it as a preparatory step ahead of the Agricultural Empowerment Programme of the RHI, scheduled for Tuesday, October 14, 2025.
“This training is designed to prepare you for greater opportunities in agriculture. It will help you manage your farms better and open your minds to new ways of improving your output and income,” she stated.
In his presentation, the Dean of the Faculty of Agriculture, University of Port Harcourt, Prof. Udensi Udensi—represented by Prof. Joseph Orluckukwu—highlighted the crucial role of agriculture in national development.
He emphasized the need for smart and innovative agricultural practices to ensure food security, particularly in developing nations experiencing rapid population growth.
Prof. Udensi also called on government at all levels to adopt supportive agricultural policies, including the provision of subsidies for inputs such as seedlings and the development of rural infrastructure, to promote self-sufficiency in food production.
