12/10/2015, CET 12:15
San Donato Milanese (MI), 12 October 2015 - Eni, the Official Partner for Sustainability Initiatives in African Countries at Expo Milano 2015, puts the spotlight of the Universal Exposition on Nigeria, a key African country, in which Eni integrates its sustainability objectives with its operating and business needs.
The event, organised by Eni at the Casa Corriere at Expo Milano 2015 on Monday 12 October at 5 pm, coincides with the NAOC/Green River Project Farmers Day. It focuses on gathering testimony from local community representatives, proud of their farming activities and confident about the future development of the territory.
The Green River Project (GRP), is an integrated multi-year project, launched in 1987. GRP aims to support agricultural development in the four states where Eni's subsidiary in Nigeria, the Nigerian Agip Oil Company (NAOC), operates. This includes the states of Imo, Delta, Rivers and Bayelsa. Since the beginning of the project, more than 35,000 farmers have been positively affected by the GRP, and the project is currently active in over 120 communities, with both a direct and indirect impact on more than half a million people. The project, which was created in the context of Corporate Social Responsibility, is today a reality, helping to promote economic diversification across the country, and particulalry in the Niger Delta.
The interviews with the protagonists of the Green River Project (GRP) tell the story of the unseen Nigeria. The project, which Eni initiated decades ago, shows tangible results, helping local people and supporting the development of agriculture in the Niger Delta.
During the debate, to be moderated by Corriere della Sera journalist Michele Farina, and involving quale Italian Senator Alfredo Mantica and Lapo Pistelli, head of Stakeholder Relations for Business Development Support at Eni, we will hear the experiences, gathered in Nigeria, of farmers, small businessmen and women who have had access to microcredit, students, and representatives of local institutions and communities. Those part of the Green River Project are directly committed to improving the agriculture of the Niger Delta and the consequent reduction in poverty in the area.
During the meeting a filmed report will be shown on nineteenth edition of NAOC/GRP Farmers Day 2015, the national day dedicated to farming that was held on 10 October in the Niger Day. Farmers Day, highlighted by Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari in his inaugural speech for the event, is a significant moment for the entire Nigerian farming world and its communities.
Eni's sustainability efforts, including the Green River Project, are always an integral part of the development plans for the country, with special focus on social activities and the improvement of the living conditions of local people. The company's approach towards the host countries is well represented by the dual flag policy: the six-legged dog and the local flag. Both flags are flown together not only at operating plants and fields, but also in the towns and villages where the development projects implemented.
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