No fewer than 80 youths from Oyo and Ekiti states have been trained by Afe Babalola University Ado-Ekiti(ABUAD) in agribusiness under the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) project.
The two-week programme which ended at the weekend in ABUAD was in conjunction with the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) under the Youth Employment in Agribusiness and Sustainable Agriculture(YEASA).
The project manager, Professor Amos Onasanya while speaking during the closing ceremony for the first batch of participants said the training was put together for youths to acquire necessary skills to establish and manage agribusiness for them to increase their income and also create employment opportunities.
He explained that each of the participants was awarded start-up grants of N180,000 after they were trained in fish production, feed processing for fish skill, fish marketing and sales skills and the products market linkages through Information communications Technology (ICT), among others.
Professor Onasanya revealed that the project was for three years targeting 1000 unemployed youths in both Nigeria and Benin Republic towards improving rural livelihoods of the youth living on agriculture and agriculture-based enterprises.
On her part, the vice chancellor of the university, Professor Smiranda Olarinde said the training was to enhance job creation and adequate food security in the country, nothing academic certificates without necessary skills especially in agriculture would be an invitation to poverty.
Founder of ABUAD, Chief Afe Babalola, SAN congratulated all the beneficiaries and urged them to make use of the training acquired and the financial gifts in the overall interest of themselves and society.
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Babalola who lamented the increased number of youths involvement in criminal activities noted that through agriculture, thousands of employment opportunities could be generated in the country.
According to him, ‘if Nigeria is to survive its current economic challenges , government at all levels must make agriculture more attractive to the people, especially youths’.
He said: ” I want to congratulate all of you, the participants, and I hope this will be a turning point in your lives. We will monitor you to know your development on this project. It is not enough to be given training and money without proper follow up. Don’t forget, this training will be monthly until we reach the number of youths we are targeting together with IFAD. We are bringing another batch of beneficiaries next month.
“When I was born, there was no poverty because virtually everybody embraced agriculture but reverse is the case now. We must get it right that agriculture remains the back born of our economy. We must come together to restore our dignity in agriculture; that is when majority of youths can be fully employed and all these criminal activities will reduce.”
The legal icon who further identified finance as the major challenge against agriculture in the country maintained that funds must be available to farmers at low interest rates for more people to succeed in the business.
“The problem with agriculture in this country is funding and it gives us serious concern. People in government will just be saying people should go into agriculture without taking the lead, without being practical.
“In advance countries, we have banks dedicated mainly to give loans at a very low rates and that is what we need here. These young ones after all these training need money. Funding is important in agriculture and if the government want people to go back to it, something must be done in this regard.
“I am advocating that government should ensure that those who are interested in agriculture to be entitled to loans at a very low rate rate ranging between 2-4 % maximum,” he said.
Speaking on behalf of the beneficiaries, Folake Obitokun thanked the donor for the gesture, promising that the training and financial grants acquired would be adequately utilised in order to create job opportunities.
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