Oxfam Line Project trains 13,000 in Bauchi on livestock keeping, ‘village saving’

BY SAMUEL LUKA

About 13,000 people have been trained and equipped with starter packs across six Local Government Areas of Bauchi State on livestock rearing and management by Oxfam Line Project within the last six years in order to mitigate poverty in the society.

The Senior Project Manager of the Pastoral Resolve, Oxfam Line project in the state, Mr. Shuaibu Aliyu Kobi, who made this known in Shira Local Government Area on Wednesday, added that others were trained on Village Saving and Loans (VSAL) scheme in six LGAs of the state.

Shuaibu, who explained that the project is being implemented in Shira, Gamawa, Alkaleri, Tafawa Balewa, Darazo and Ningi LGAs, which began in 2016, added that efforts are being made to ensure that all projects carried out in the state are sustained by the stakeholders.

According to him, the Line project has, after training about 760 women in Shira on livestock management, also provided them with three goats each, two ‘she’ and one ‘he’ as starter packs.

Shuaibu noted that some youths were identified within the benefiting communities and given training, equipped with drugs and working tools on community animal health service provision to provide services to the livestock management beneficiaries.

“Our target for this project in the whole Bauchi state was 10,000, sixty percent women and forty percent men but fortunately now we are around 13,000, which means we have exceeded our target of 10,000,” Shuaibu said.

“For instance, our target was to train 2,350 in Shira but now we have engaged 3,800. So you can see that we have exceeded our target”, the Line project manager said.

Shuaibu, who said that the benefitting LGAs, having understood the benefits of the project, have pledged to replicate on their own, added that the staff of the benefitting LGAs have received trainings in different aspects of the project implementations.

“Today, we are here in Shira to hand over those staff that we have trained to the local government so that the local government can continue and sustain some of these good activities that we have carried out in the local government,” he explained.

Shuaibu further explained that the project been carried out include various agricultural interventions in which farmers were trained on best Agronomic practices.

“We also trained them in the area of livestock production and in the area of business development as well,” he project manager added.

He noted that the project also introduced the Village Saving and Loan (VSAL) scheme to strengthen financial inclusion among citizens in various localities to enable them have access to credit and loans among themselves to finance their businesses in which thousands of women have embraced.

The project manager who presented VSAL boxes to the local government chairman for the trained staff, said that the boxes are meant to encourage the beneficiaries save and give loan from it.

He said that the VSAL box is meant to solve the problem of financial inclusion which has made access to credit and access to funds very difficult especially in the rural areas and hard to reach areas.

“The VSAL scheme is an informal way of banking whereby community can sit down together, mobilise their own resources, share the resources as credit and embark on small businesses and return the loan they have collected, that’s what is called Village Saving and Loan,” Mr Shuaibu noted.

READ ALSO: Energy transition: Nigeria to benefit from gas reserve.

Shuaibu further explained that the VSAL is a tool that improve financial inclusion especially among the less privileged people in the society, said that, based line survey conducted by Oxfam indicated a lot of improvement in access to finances and access to credit by the beneficiaries.

He said there is also a lot of improvement in terms of assets acquisition such that many of the beneficiaries have purchased lands, livestock, grinding machines, houses, among others.

Mr. Shuaibu who thanked the Shira LG chairman for constructing a befitting office accommodation for the Oxfam in Shira, urged him to ensure that all the necessary support is provided to trained personnel to enable them go round the various communities and create different groups to make the project more successful.

Responding, the Executive Chairman of Shira local government area, Honourable Mahmoud Abba thanked the NGO for choosing his area among the beneficiaries.

The Chairman who said he was impressed on the level of impact of the Oxfam Line project in Shira, assured that the council under him will continue to give the necessary support for the project to be sustained.

Hon. Abba said he has constructed an office accommodation for the NGO in Shira local government area to enable them have a conducive environment to operate.