The Birniwa Local Government Council of Jigawa has empowered 88 women in the area with 264 goats.
Alhaji Fahad Muhammad, the council’s Information Officer, made this known in a statement made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Dutse.
Muhammad said the distribution exercise was launched by Gov. Umar Namadi of Jigawa in Birniwa on Monday.
He explained that the governor, represented by Muttaka Namadi, Commissioner of Agriculture and Natural Resources, lauded the council Chairman, Mallam Shehu, for emulating his administration’s Goat Rearing Scheme.
The governor said that his administration had conducted various empowerment programmes that supported the teeming youth and women groups across the state.
Namadi noted that the programmes had improved the residents’ living standards.
“My administration has introduced rice cultivation programmes on 100 hectares of land in the state’s 27 local government areas.
“Under this scheme, several youth in each council area have been engaged to produce the rice.
“Furthermore, my administration, through the ministry of agriculture is committed to providing adequate and subsidised farming inputs to farmers in the state,” the governor was quoted as saying.
In his remarks, the council chairman, Mallam Shehu said a total of 264 goats were distributed to 88 women selected from the 11 wards of the area.
While urging the beneficiaries to take good care of the goats to enhance their economic wellbeing, the chairman also thanked the governor for his approval of the programme.
Shehu thanked the governor further for approving his other programmes targeted towards empowering women groups in the area.
Earlier, the council’s Head of Agriculture Department, Muhammed Aminu, said each of the beneficiaries would receive two she-goat and one he-goat to rear.
Aminu added that the council had arranged a team of mobile veterinary workers that would supervise the care of the goats to keep them healthy.
Some of the beneficiaries, Dija Aminu and Alhajeti Umaru, thanked the council for the gesture and promised to take care of the goats. (NAN)
