NSCC signs MoU with Business Visa and Training Company Ltd to Boost Agricultural Patronage for Senior Citizens
Oru Leonard
The National Senior Citizens Centre NSCC on Thursday in her head office Abuja signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Business Visa and Training Company Ltd on economic empowerment of older persons through nation wide artisans and tree planting work schemes and market development for product uptake.
The MoU was signed by the Director General of NSCC Dr Emem Omokaro and her legal team and the Chief Executive Officer of Business Visa Alhaji Mohammed Sani Garba and his team.
The Director General, NSCC said senior citizens are creating values but have no market and benefits from the value chain “that’s why NSCC is engaging to identify economic crops of value to identify up takers and sector wide partners not just to give them micro credit but to enhance community prosperity
“Business Visa is a strategic partner to us because it has done some feasibility studies to see the cooperative advantage of which crop grows where and the uptake so we are coming together to engage the capacity of older persons to grant them credit and provide them with support in the seedlings planting, harvesting and engagement of the up takers
This MoU is also to ensure that older women and men are part of the processes and packaging of the produce”.
“We are here to recognise that Older Persons are assets to the community and country at large andNSCC recognise that older persons are still creating value.
Omokaro added that 70% of senior citizens are subsistence farmers; older women are assets to the community and doing things that are not acknowledged and not paid for Omokaro said
She further explained that the mandate of the centre is to identify the needs of senior citizens and to cater for those needs and also create opportunities they would continue to engage and earn income
Speaking also, the CEO, Business Visa, Garba said the MoU is an indication that our senior citizens are indeed not left behind
Garba added that every young person will definitely get old, just a matter of time,stressing that ageing is an inevitable journey in life.
“We in Africa respect our older persons, we don’t cage them, we support them and look up to them as mirrors of our future
“We want to bring out the greatness in our older persons and share with the world at large
In this partnership, we will identify what we have in the land first especial agricutural produce, then provide up takers that are willing to buy at impressive prices
If we made it happen, they are willing to buy off the produce; so you have nothing to fear in getting involve.
