…Urges residents to always keep environment clean

From OKEY SAMPSON, Aba

Corporate organizations usually choose different ways to carry out their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).

While some go into infrastructural development or assisting the less privileged in the society others give scholarships to indigent students.

For Sterling Bank, there can be more to CSR than the above. No wonder recently the bank chose to clean up of Aba, the commercial hub of Abia State, an exercise the bank has continuously done in every quarter.

Before now, Aba was touted as one of the dirtiest cities in the country, which informed the bank’s idea of choosing it as one of cities in the 10 states the sanitation exercise, was held simultaneously.

This quarter’s exercise was unique because it coincided with this year’s World Environmental Day and the bank mobilized over 100 of its members of staff across Abia and some neighbouring states to make exercise worthwhile.

It was the uniqueness of this quarter’s exercise which made the bank to a day before it commenced to donate over 1, 000 environmental overall kits, as well as cleaning utensils to the Abia State Environmental Protection Agency (ASEPA), Aba zone.

Speaking during the sanitation exercise which has Mr Damian Onyebara, manager, Sterling bank, Azikiwe Road branch, and some staff of ASEPA, Aba zone in attendance, Mr Ubong Isong, the regional business executive, Retail, South East 1, of the bank, comprising Abia, Imo, Akwa Ibom and Cross River State, said:

“This is part of our social responsibility. It is a programme we call STEM – Sterling Environmental Make Over and we do it quarterly. This quarter’s own is unique because tomorrow being Sunday is World Environmental day”.

To achieve the overall objective of the programme, the bank partnered ASEPA, Aba zone which wilfully released some of its staff and sanitation truck to compliment the efforts of the bankers.

Isong who is a son of the former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) governor, and former governor of old Cross River State, the late Dr Clement Isong revealed that by embarking on the exercise, the bank was supporting the efforts of the three tiers of government in keeping the environment clean, as well as supporting the Aba business community.

His words: “Apart from supporting the Federal, states and local governments to keep our environment clean on quarterly basis, we also through this support the business environment in Aba. The environmental kits we give out during the sanitation exercise were hitherto imported, but we now buy them locally from manufacturers in Aba and even distribute to other states.”

On why they chose Aba among cities in the South-East for the sanitation exercise, the bank executive, who came from Uyo, Akwa Ibom State (the regional headquarters), specifically for the sanitation programme said: “You and I know how Aba was rated in the past as one of the dirtiest cities in this part of the globe, so we decided to change that notion people have for Aba as the dirtiest city, we want to make it the cleanest”

Sending home the happiness of the members of staff of the bank in embarking on the exercise which he said was a continuous one, Isong regretted the laissez-faire attitude of residents of the city towards environmental clean-up.

“One would have thought that people leaving around this area (Opobo Junction axis) on seeing what we were doing could have come out to join us and keep their environment clean, but the reverse was the case here.

“The residents should always strive to keep their environment clean and save the money they could have spent in hospital as a result of unclean environment”.

A representative of Mr Rowland Nwakanma, deputy general manager of ASEPA, Aba zone, Prince Ndu Nwanke commended the efforts of the bank in choosing to help keep Aba clean as one of their social responsibilities, saying that his establishment would always give them the necessary support in that direction.

He called on other corporate organizations to emulate Sterling Bank, stating that environmental sanitation of the state should not be left alone for the government.


Obiano, FADAMA give hope to 5000 farmers in Anambra

From Geoffrey Anyanwu, Awka

Related News

There appears to be a glimmer of hope for about 5,000 genuine farmers in Anambra State as the Anambra State FADAMA III Addition Financing has been repositioned to offer them courage, support and sustainable means of livelihood.

Already, Governor Willie Obiano of the state has given the motivation for the success of the programme by approving and paying the state government’s counterpart fund of N112 million for 2015 and 2016.

FADAMA on its part has held sensitization meetings with rice production clusters and groups across the eight participating local governments in the state to ensure achievement of the objective without hitches.

The eight participating local governments in the FADAMA 111 AF are Ayamelum, Awka North, Anambra East, Anambra West, Ihiala, Ogbaru, Orumba North and Orumba South.

Speaking about the determination of FADAMA to ensure judicious application of the available funds to take farmers in the state, the state Project Coordinator of FADAMA 111AF, Mr Patrick Egbue, said that FADAMA has provided the enabling environment for profitable farming by providing the necessary technical assistance to the farmers, adding that FADAMA111 AF has proved to be the engine room with which the agricultural dreams of the government would be realized, “especially in the areas of self-sufficiency in rice production and general food security.”

Egbue also said that FADAMA111 AF’s position in agricultural sector was key to achieving a remarkable objective, stressing that it has continued to make its mark, following its glorious success from the parent project, Fadama III, which recorded many achievements in various agricultural upstream and downstream activities, including crops, animal farming, horticulture, apiary, confectionary, fishery, market development, feeder roads, among others; achievements, he said, gave birth to Fadama III Additional Financing.

He noted that most farmers relied basically on subsistence farming before the introduction of modern farming techniques in the 1980s, which bordered on application of best agronomic practices and could not produce even enough for their families.

“They produced what could hardly sustain their individual households up to the next farming season. However, with the use of mechanized farming, improved seeds, fertilizers, herbicides, insecticides, irrigation facilities for all season farming and other modern farming methods, our people gradually started to see farming as a business.

“During the eras of Fadama II and III, commercial agriculture was top on the agenda. The use of farmer groups and cooperatives to further achieve profitable and sustainable agricultural activities got appreciable leap.

“For instance, during Fadama III, a lot of capacity building activities were organized for the farmer groups and cooperatives. They were encouraged by the supervisors of the project, to take proper ownership of their subprojects, through proper management and by making minimal financial contributions (beneficiary contributions) to the running of such subprojects. They were specifically trained on how to run agriculture as a profitable business.

“The advent of Fadama III, which was implemented between 2009 and 2013, saw an improvement in the input and output of farmers in the country, including Anambra State. With the bottom-top principle, under the Community Demand Driven (CDD) approach, Fadama Users Groups (FUGs) and Fadama Community Associations (FCAs) were the drivers of the project, through the implementation of Local Development Plans (LDPs), which were the only basis for funding of any subproject.

“It is regrettable that while some beneficiary farmers keyed into what they were taught on how to maximize agricultural activities, others, especially the laggards and liaises-affaire ones, believed it was business as usual and therefore paid dearly for it as the sub-projects under their management were neither profitable, nor sustainable.”, he said.

“Despite avoidable lapses noticed in some areas under Fadama III, there were success stories recorded during that period, it was due to the successes that led to the emergence of Fadama III Additional Financing. The emergence of Fadama III Additional Financing is expected to ensure that the gains made under Fadama III were not only sustained, but made more profits to the farmers.

“Basically, the objective of the ‘Additional Financing’ is to increase the income of farmers in the prioritized staple crop processing zone (SCPZs) on a sustainable basis. To realize that objective, the project has done a lot of sensitization and training programmes for the production clusters and production groups. Instead of using Local Development Plans (LDPs) as was the case under Fadama III, business plans are the only basis for funding now.”

According to him, 156 of such business plans have so far been approved, waiting for funding, while more of the business plans were being reviewed, adding that about 200 business plans were expected to be funded for the wet rice farming.

Assuring that a total of 350 business plans would have been funded by the end of the year, Egbue explained that to grow rice as a business under Fadama III AF, a number of things needed to be in place, which included the state government being up-to-date in the payment of counterpart cash contribution, while the farmer beneficiaries were also expected to pay their beneficiary contributions and adopt all aspects of the project implementation arrangements, including applying the best agronomic practices in their rice production, and taking full ownership of their subprojects.

Speaking about the farmers, the Communications Officer for Anambra FADAMA, Mr Nezianya Obinabo said that over 2,000 farmers have already enrolled for rice farming under the project and are already keying into the process of realizing Governor Obiano’s objective which is realizing and ensuring food security in the state.

Obinabo said: “The efforts of the state government to end importation of rice, especially in Anambra State, are being applauded across the length and breadth of the state. The government is making serious efforts towards making Anambra State the first among the rice producing states in the country.

“Already, over 60 per cent of the state’s population now enjoys Anambra Rice, a feat that was achieved through the unrelenting efforts of the state Fadama Coordinating Office (SFCO).”