Chairman of the Ondo State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission (OSOPADEC), Hon. (Barr.) Gbenga Edema has urged men to give room for their wives to engage in businesses, particularly the Agribusiness sector.

He made this call while presenting his goodwill message on Thursday, 14th March 2018 in Akure during the 2019 International Women’s day Forum organized by the Foundation for Partnership Initiatives in the Niger Delta (PIND) in collaboration with other development partners with OSOPADEC being a major partner.

Further, Hon. Edema said that a working woman is an empowered woman and is able to support the husband and the household even in the absence of the husband. In his words “an idle hand is the devil’s workshop”.

Edema therefore, encouraged the women to embrace change, urging them to take advantage of the programme to improve on the ways in which their agricultural produce especially fishes are being processed to minimize post-harvest losses and charged them to always challenge themselves on things they can do to better their homes and the community at large.

Other dignitaries present at the event included; The wife of the Governor of Ondo State, Mrs. Betty Anyanwu Akeredolu, represented by the Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Women Affairs, Mrs. Titi Adeyemi, Representatives of the Ondo State Ministry of Agriculture and Ministry of Women Affairs, Dr. Mrs. Clara Ajayi and Mr. Adeyemi Alaba respectively, The Secretary and Directors of OSOPADEC, Representatives of other Development Partners and Dr. Keziah Awosika, who was the Keynote Speaker.

The various facilitators present at the event enlightened the women, who came from all the nooks and crannies of the Niger Delta, on the use of a more efficient and cost effective fish smoking oven called the “Chorkor Oven”, an innovation of the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the UN in collaboration with Ghana’s Food Research Institute.

The Oven according to PIND can be made with clay, wood, wire mesh and nails and are suitable for fish or poultry products sellers, fish farmers etc. The advantages of this oven over the traditional smoking method were listed to include; Low fuel consumption (up to 80% compared to the traditional method), can take higher capacity of fish at a time, can be constructed from locally available materials, has a long life span if well maintained and depending on the clay used, faster processing time, less hazardous to health and environment, produces uniform and better quality products which attracts better prices.