By Anayo Okoli

Umuahia—THE wife of Abia state Governor, Mrs. Mercy Orji  has distributed over five thousand bags of fertilizers and improved seed and stem verities to women from the 17 Local Government Areas of the state.

Speaking at the ceremony held at the Orji Kalu stadium, Umuahia, Mrs. Orji said that she embarked on the project to empower women through agriculture, which she explained was in line with the state government’s effort to promote farming and commercial agriculture.

Mrs. Orji explained that the project was also aimed to replace old varieties of seeds and stems, especially the local cassava stem at new and better yielding ones to make the state a major exporter of cassava and other major crops.

The Governor’s wife maintained that the involvement of all the women in the state would go a long way in driving out hunger and unemployment among the rural dwellers.

She commended the contribution of the National Root Crops Research Institute, Umudike and the State Ministry of Agriculture for ensuring that the programme, especially the training of the women on good farming practice became successful.