The Diamond Development Initiative (DDI), a non-profit organisation, says it has assisted no fewer than 600,000 farmers with technical support, in its bid to reduce unemployment and alleviate poverty in the country.
Adamu Garba, Executive Director, DDI, disclosed this at an event organised to celebrate the organisation’s 20th anniversary, on Wednesday, in Abuja.
He said that the organisation whose aim is to complement the role of development agencies and donors, had also provided connections to no fewer than 2,000 businesses in the country.
According to him, these beneficiaries were drawn from 29 out of the 36 states, including the Federal Capital Territory, in the last 20 years of its existence.
“Some of our focus areas include business support and enterprise management, agricultural value chain improvement, renewable and off grid energy support, youth and women-led enterprise support, agriculture among others.
“Over 600,000 farmers we have assisted, over 20,000 farmer groups and corporative societies and over 8,000 off-grid energy connections to rural households.
“We also have over 2,000 connections to businesses, these are good figures we are happy about and we have also been able to work with over 60 off-grid energy entrepereneurs to provide off-grid energies to households,” he said.
Dr Lydia Umar, Chair, Board of Trustees of the Organisation, said the organisation would continue to provide developmental assistance in the country.
“We have the less privileged at heart because a lot of our work is done at the grassroot level, we try to reach the unreached and we go to those places that are referred to hard to reach places.
“A lot of people has also been done in terms of introducing and providing solar system to a lot of people, we have groomed extension workers in agriculture, among others.
“We do not only intend to consolidate government efforts and what we have done, we also intend to expand, as much as they are in the confines of our vision, all in a bid to reduce employment.”
On his part, Vice-President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, represented by Hajia Maryam Uwais, commended the organisation for their support in reducing the rate of poverty in the country.
“This is a commendable effort by the organisation as it shows that they are in the right track to ensure they make an impact on the lives of the people.
“The government cannot do it alone, so efforts by organisations’ as the DDI is highly appreciated.”
Source: Guardian.ng
