By Sani Idris

A firm, Nutriment Investment Hub Ltd, on Thursday began a three-month training of 100 teenage Almajiris on various skills in Kaduna.

Amlajiris are children who leave their families to study Islam in Qur’anic schools, mostly in the northern part of the country.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the company is a subsidiary of Nutriment Feeds and Nutriment Holdings.

The Almajiri children would be trained on alternative farming, which is sack farming and gardening, livestock, poultry farming, shoe cobbling, soap and pomade making, among others.

Mr Dauda Oche, the Group’s Head of the company, said they organised the programme tagged, “Almajiri Lets Farm”, as a corporate social responsibility.

Oche said that the firm had realised that there were a lot of things that they needed to do as a company.

He explained that the programme was a community-based initiative designed to empower the almajiri children with practical agricultural and life skills through practical training.

According to Oche, the programme seeks to provide the almajiri children with sustainable
skills that could enhance their food security, self-sufficiency and long-term livelihood opportunities.

He, therefore, said the programme was aimed at introducing the children to agriculture and enhancing their self-sufficiency.

This is by providing life-long skills, encouraging environmental sustainability and
fostering community involvement.

Oche emphasised: “The aim is not for people to come as aid to support the Almajiris, but to collaborate with the stakeholders for a sustainable outcome for the future of the Almajiris.

“For us, we are not saying that philanthropists should come and give us money for free, that era is over.

“We want to see an era of collaboration, because we believe that the almajiris have dignity, talents and intelligence.”

Speaking further, Oche said they met some institutions like the Kaduna Polytechnic where they sought for 70 hectares of land for cultivation based on the training of the almajiris.

He said that they have had some training on precision agriculture where they could farm sorghum, maize, millet and soybeans.

Oche disclosed that the organisation was looking for the possibilities of empowering about 10, 000 almajiris in the nearest future.

He said, according to the World Health Organisation, about 8.5 to 10 million almajiris constitute 70 per cent of the out-of-school children.

Oche said, “If you empower that number, you can imagine the food security that will come instead of running about in the streets going from one place to the other.

“We realised that they will be more productive to the society and to themselves.

“If an almajiri can farm 22 tubers of yam, it could take care of the carbohydrate requirements for 365 days which is sufficient for the almajiri.

“If we put eight to 10 million Almajiris into such production, it will solve 10 to 20 per cent of carbohydrates requirements of the nation,”he said.

Oche said that a country like Brazil that has a population of 220 million people, earns about 100 million metric tonnes of grains from farming.

He, therefore, said Nigeria, which has a population of about 230 million people and an average of production of 11.5 million metric tonnes, showed a lot of deficits.

“The size of arable lands that we are utilising is less than 50 per cent. with this initiative, I believe we can do much more,”he explained.

Earlier, the Chairman, Kaduna State House of Assembly Committee on Education, Mahmoud Lawal, commended the organisation for empowering the almajiris.

He restated the government’s commitment to supporting such programmes, ensuring that almajiri children acquired skills for self-sufficiency.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), reports that the training’s duration is for three months.

It will take place simultaneously at Unguwar Rimi, Badarawa, Babban Saura, Rigasa and Badiko.(NAN)

Edited by Bashir Rabe Mani