About Us
The Agricultural Aid for the Disable and the Disadvantaged Common Initiative Group (DisAgric-CIG) with registration number NW/GP/001/24/17871 is a Common Initiative Group (social enterprise) that seek to improve the lives of disabled and less privileged youths and integrates them as active and self-Reliant participants in the society. Majority of disabled and less privileged youths are jobless. Many employers are reluctant to hire people with disabilities most often because of ignorance as they tend to see only the disability and cannot recognize the capabilities of a disabled person. These youths therefore live in abject poverty. They will eventually become adults, obviously they need something constructive and meaningful to do with their lives. Agriculture plays a very important role in the economies of less developed countries being the primary or only sources of income as such represents a prime opportunity to employ people. In addition food productivity in sub-Saharan Africa are still very low. According to the World Bank, the world population will increase to 9 billion by 2035 and about 50% more food will be required to feed this population. This implies efforts need to be made to go beyond the focus on improvement in on-farm productivity to incorporate strategies that lead to increased labour force such as the engagement of youths in agriculture.
We are not just solving a social ill of exclusion; we are contributing to food security through strengthening the local food systems, feeding the communities and providing gainful employments. Our programs ensure that disabled and less privileged youths become self-reliant capable of generating regular income and thus be proud and active members of their families and communities. As a milestone and vision, we intend to contribute towards the;
- Increase in the employment of disabled youths resulting to increase in disposable income, improvement in livelihood and standard of living.
- Reduced social isolation due to the integration of disabled and less privileged youths as active and self-reliant participants in the society.
- Reduced dependence on humanitarian reliefs by orphanages as a result of the establishment of an income generating activity and self-sufficiency in food.
- Decreased dependence on the government welfare system.
- Increased food productivity due to increase in labour force.
OBJECTIVES
The main objectives of this group is to improve the live and standard of living of disabled and less privileged youths through Agribusiness Entrepreneurship.
Our specific objectives include:
Develop and run Agricultural Vocational training centers for disabled and less privileged youths.
- Raise awareness about Agribusiness in schools for the deaf and disability associations through the creation of Agric-Clubs.
- Equip deaf youths with skills on Agricultural enterprise creation, crop and livestock production and marketing to be self-reliant.
- Empower orphans and orphanages with skills on farming to help create a reliable source of income and be self-sufficiency in food.
- Reduce social isolation by ensuring that disabled and less privileged youths are integrated as active and self-reliant participants in the society.
- Contributes to food security through increase in labour force.
- Organizes educative talks on issues affecting members (health, socio-economic, environmental and cultural)
- to encourage organic farming and kitchen gardening
VISION
We seek to improve the lives of disabled and less privileged youths and integrates them as active and self-Reliant participants in the society.
MISSION
Our mission is to empower disabled and less privileged youths through Agribusiness Entrepreneurship by establishing and running training centers, developing programs and initiatives to equip them with basic agricultural knowledge and entrepreneurial skills in order to build a remunerative, sustainable and resilient livelihood to grow as independent, conscientious and enterprising citizens.
PROGRAMS
Agribusiness Empowerment And Training Of Deaf Youths (Deaf Agri-Hub)
Many deaf youths live in abject poverty with nothing constructive and meaningful to do. As a result, most of them have restored to begging in the streets in order to earn a living. Although many public and private organisations run programs designed to empower youths in Agribusiness, more need to be done to help the poorest of the poor who are people with disabilities like the deaf that cannot participate in such programs or just go somewhere and learn from hearing people because of communication challenge and social isolation. Agricultural education for the deaf in sub-Saharan Africa is also severally lacking which implies most deaf youths lack agricultural training and are not being encouraged to perceive Agribusiness as a career thus denying them the opportunity to live an independent and fulfilling live through the agricultural sector. This program is designed to equip deaf youths with skills on agricultural enterprise creation, crop and livestock production and marketing to enable them make money out of agriculture and be self-reliant.
deaf youths shall be trained to acquire agribusiness We intend to plant the seed of Agripreneurship in the various schools for the deaf through the creation of AGRI-CLUB. Training is done through seminars, workshops and practical demonstration on farm. Agricultural learning visits shall also be organized to expose the students to new technologies. All of this is designed to enable the students gain production and marketing skills to be able to make money out of agriculture at a young age.
Agribusiness Empowerment and Training of Orphans and Vulnerable Youths.
Orphans and vulnerable youths face challenges such as inadequate food, lack of clothing, lack of access to medical care and generally financial scarcity. They are mostly rejected by their extended families while those that are accepted sometimes find the need to contribute financially to the household driving them to the street to work, beg, steal or practice prostitution in order to survive. Some live in institutions (orphanages) that faces significant challenges. Most orphanages receive handout support from NGOs and faith based organizations to meet their need of food and basic necessities but this does not address the root cause of the orphanage’s problem of lack of skills and income generation for sustainable care. This program aims at training orphan youths to support themselves financially and to empower orphanages with skills in farming and livestock production to help create a reliable source of income, which will reduce dependency on humanitarian aid relief as a result of self-sufficiency in food production and decreased dependence on outside food assistance.
With a team consisting of agricultural professionals such as agronomists, agricultural economists, animal scientists and agricultural technicians and in collaboration with the management of the orphanage, orphans are trained on basic agricultural knowledge. They are taught basic concepts involved in setting up a farm crop and livestock farm which include, field preparation, sowing and transplanting, wedding, irrigation, pest control, feed formulation, harvesting, storage and marketing etc.
Training includes both theory and practical. The theory part is conducted during the summer while the practical season for crop production begins during the planting season. Precede from the training shall be sold to generate much needed funds which will then be channeled into other areas.
Vocational Training
We intend to set up and run an inclusive vocational training center consisting of a mixed farm with various facilities. Candidates for training shall be admitted in cohorts.
Upon the successful completion of the training, trainees shall receive seed capitals. However, before the award of the seed capitals a pre-visit exercise shall be conducted to the various beneficiaries to locate their business, confirm their business ideas and to determine whether they have family and community support and sufficient material resources for startup. We shall also put in place a structural monitoring and evaluation mechanism.