Presco Plc has emerged winner of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) agriculture award for the year 2016 and 2017.
At a colourful ceremony held on Wednesday in Lagos, Presco Plc was announced winner ahead of other nominees such as British America Tobacco of Nigeria (BAAT), Okomu Oil, Nestle and Olam.
According to the Nigeria Agriculture Awards (NAA) committee, Presco’s Corporate Social Responsibility focuses on the provision of educational infrastructure and scholarships, road maintenance, provision of electricity, potable water supply and other essential services for its host communities.
Meanwhile, within the past two years, the citation explained that Presco impacted positively on its host communities and environs in the following key areas:
*Provision of equipment for Physics, Chemistry, Biology and Home Economics laboratories, to Agbonmoba Secondary school, raising the status of the school to one of the best equipped State Government owned and WAEC accredited school. The school was built in partnership with Edo State Government.
*Sustained annual disbursement of scholarship grant to seven award recipients who are currently undergoing undergraduate programmes in Nigerian tertiary institutions in Engineering, Agriculture, Agric Economics and Accounting. The scheme provides for four placements for each of the company’s estates.
*Sustained payment of monthly stipends to host community heads and teachers in Osemwende Primary School in Obagie-Nokenkporo, Agbonmoba Primary, Junior and Senior Secondary Schools, and Ewuare Primary School in Obayantor, Ugbeku and Ajagbodudu Primary Schools in Cowan Estate, Delta State.
*Electrification of Ogbekpen community, a project into which Presco has committed over N40 million (forty million Naira), and payment of electricity bills consumed by communities around Cowan Estate.
*Provision of N3,000,000 (three million Naira) cash support for replacement of broken electricity transformer in Agbonmoba community, as well as N2.5million cash support towards repair of the broken down transformer for Ologbo dukedom.
*Installation of a borehole for Immigration Service, Edo State Command.
*Sustained policy of providing opportunities for indigenes of host communities to undertake various forms of businesses.
*Provision of low tension electric cable poles in Obayantor community, and maintenance of linking roads in all host communities, to mention a few.
Also of note is the –
Sponsorship of the first ever Sickle-cell Awareness/Fund raising Golf Tournament for the Sickle Cell Centre in Benin City, scheduled to hold on 6th of May, 2017.
For these corporate social responsibility projects and more, Presco committed over N114,000,000 (One hundred and fourteen million Naira) from 2015 to date.
In an interactive session with Journalists after receiving the award, Tony Uwajeh explained that Presco remains committed to its Corporate Social Responsibility Policy as a way of giving back to its environment.
