The “Every Home a Garden” initiative championed by First Lady Oluremi Tinubu is achieving significant success in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), according to the FCT Coordinator, Dr Adedayo Benjamins-Laniyi.
Benjamins-Laniyi, who also serves as the Mandate Secretary of the FCT Women Affairs Secretariat, made this known during the closing ceremony of the 2024 edition of the Renewed Hope Initiative (RHI) Every Home a Garden competition in Abuja.
She said the event was also organised to celebrate FCT women for embracing the competition initiated by the First Lady, which she described as a “huge success.” She added that the programme, under the RHI Agricultural Support Initiative, has continued to positively impact the lives of rural women across the FCT.
According to her, the project is not only promoting self-reliance but improving nutrition and economic empowerment through backyard gardens.
She explained that the competition began in July 2023 to encourage women in the 36 states of the federation and the FCT to practice home gardening by using traditional and modern gardening methods to create gardens at home.
“This lofty initiative was conceived to enhance immediate and sustainable food supply in the home and the country at large.
“The home garden idea is further aimed at promoting self-sufficiency, improving well-being, ensuring food security, reducing high cost of living and encouraging culture of sharing and communal living.
“On a broader scale, the initiative is targeting at redirecting the consciousness of Nigerians towards developing interest in farming, using any available space within the premises of every home.
“It is a bold attempt to reset Nigeria on the path to revitalising her vast agricultural endowments across the 36 states of the federation and the FCT, with women leading the way,” she said.
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Benjamins-Laniyi added that, to facilitate participation in the competition, the FCT Women Affairs Secretariat inaugurated a committee that reached out to women across the territory and guided them through the process.
She said a total of 416 video entries were received, and the gardens were also physically inspected by the committee and members of the panel of jurists.
According to her, the panel assessed all the entries based on criteria such as the location of the garden, variety of vegetables, use of available space, and adoption of alternative gardening methods.
Other criteria, she added, included the garden’s capacity to meet the domestic needs of the family and overall cleanliness and organisation.
The Coordinator stated that, following the assessment, Hajiya Hauwa Aminu emerged as the FCT winner and was also ranked among the top three nationally.
She further announced that Mrs Victoria Obiolor and Mrs Pamela Ashiedu secured second and third positions, respectively.
“Today, we are gathered to commend the efforts of these women for participating in the competition. You all gave your best.
“You now belong to the women agro network in FCT, which shall stand as reference for further actions in terms of empowerment and capacity building in farming.
“You would not be abandoned,” she assured the women.
For continuity, the coordinator said that the close of the 2024 competition equally marks the commencement of the 2025 edition of the competition.
“I strongly believe that our gathering here today is a pathway for a better tomorrow for these women seated before us.
“You should, therefore, be ready for further engagements that would put smiles on your faces,” she said.
Also speaking, Minister of State for Agriculture and Food Security, Sen. Aliyu Abdullahi reaffirmed the ministry’s commitment to grassroots agricultural empowerment.
Abdullahi commended the first lady for the initiative saying, “It is completing the efforts of President Bola Tinubu in repositioning the agricultural sector”
