The Refuge Foundation, a non- governmental organization, has trained no fewer than 50 Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) on 21st century farming techniques and distributed fertiliser to them in Akwa Ibom state.
Speaking at the IDP camp in Oron LGA on Wednesday, during the one-day training, the founder of the group, Ms. Ogonna Kanu, said the intervention was necessary to equip them for this year’s planting season.
Our Correspondent gathered that the IDPs desert their ancestral homes since 2011 due to a raging communal clash that ensued between Afahaeduok and Ukpata communities against their community- Udung Ukung in Oron LGA
She said: “Refuge Foundation focuses on internally displaced persons in Nigeria, that is those who are forced out from their homes due to one thing or the other.
“We found out that a large percentage of most people who are forcibly displaced are farmers and that is their major source of income, we embarked on the intervention to add more knowledge to what they already have in farming.
“We are convinced that they will make good use of the knowledge we have given to them because before we embarked on it, we found out that they had a farm in their settlement where they do some plantings.
“We also took measures to know the types of crops they easily plant and their challenges so that we don’t come and waste their time”.
Kanu admonished the IDPs not to lose hope in life due to the circumstances which have enmeshed them but to leverage any skill they can to make their lives better.
She further called on government, organisations, and wealthy Nigerians to also render help to the IDPs across the nation either by partnering with Refuge Foundation or having direct contact with them.
A beneficiary, Mrs. Nkoyo Bassey, appreciated the NGO for coming to give them hope in times of serious hardship, adding that the knowledge received will help to improve her crops for a better harvest this planting season.
Another beneficiary, Mr. Effanga Ofose , commended Refuge Foundation for their selfless service particularly for giving them the knowledge and also distributing fertilizer worth 50,000 each to 50 people.
He decried that since they were forced out of the home for 13 years now, they have faced the worse phase of life living in shanties with no help from either the government or anybody.
Blueprint reports that the IDPs we exposed to yam, plantain and cassava multiplication techniques and how to use low-cost local methods to chase away pests and other harmful organisms from plants to increase crop yields.