AS part of efforts targeted at bolstering food sufficiency in Nigeria, no fewer than 30 youths have received empowerment in terms of skills in irrigation and rain-fed horticultural farming from the Federal Minsitry of Agriculture and Food Security, through the National Horticultural Research Institute (NIHORT), Ibadan.
Executive Director, NIHORT, Dr Muhammed Atanda, stated this during the graduation ceremony held for the Horticultural Academy for Youth (HAY) graduates on the premises of the institute in Ibadan, recently.
The NIHORT executive director urged Nigerian youths to strive to end poverty and unemployment through horticultural farming.
He commended the vision of the Federal Government geared towards diversifying the economy of the nation for job creation and a thriving economy.
“We appreciate the support from the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and the programme coordinator, as well as members of the HAY team, for the success recorded.
“What initially looked impossible has become a success,” Atanda said.
He said the reduction of poverty and provision of food security could be absolutely tackled through horticulture.
“This is because it can create more employment out of all the cropping systems available, and it has a high turnover rate.”
Atanda, however, lamented the low vegetable per capita consumption in Nigeria, adding that the only way to enhance it for good and healthy living is horticulture cultivation.
“This should be mainly vegetables, which will also improve income generation.”
Speaking further on the programme, the NIHORT Executive Director said 30 unemployed youths were selected and trained from different local government areas (LGAs) in Oyo State.
He said this was based on the mandate given by the Federal Government through the agricultural ministry.
“The training was in both the irrigated and rain-fed farming system, low land and up land farming systems for vegetables.
“We tutored, mentored and monitored the participants,” he said.
“We have recorded tremendous success for this first year, and we hope to continue in that line,” Atanda said.
He added that the institute would scale up what it has been doing in the last five years throughout the geo-political zones with the continued support of government.
“More than 15,000 women and youths had been trained through this.”
Atanda further said the next stage would be to reduce post-harvest losses through technology and value addition developed by the institute.
Speaking with journalists shortly after the event, Coordinator of the HAY programme and a Director of Research at NIHORT, Dr Olutola Oyedele, said the pilot stage of the programme was successful.
”Going forward, more youths will be engaged to replace the ageing farming population to ensure food security,” she said.
Oyedele stressed the immense opportunities in horticultural farming and how some of the participants in the programme were already working to impact the nation through the knowledge gained.
“If we have more funds for this programme, then we can bring in more youths. Because, at the moment, the programme has supplied all the production inputs to all the trainees, and we also gave them some monthly stipends to cushion the transport cost,” she said.
In his goodwill message, the Oyo State Commissioner for Trade and Industry, Mr Ademola Ojo, represented by a Director in the ministry, Mrs Majeedat Olanrewaju, congratulated the HAY programme graduates.
He charged them to make judicious use of the knowledge gained, adding that they can access credit facilities from the agency to scale up their businesses.
Speaking on behalf of the beneficiaries, Mr Daniel Nwagwu and Mrs Oladunni Adeoti both appreciated the Federal Government and NIHORT for the opportunity given to them, while promising that they will also impact a lot of other youths with the knowledge acquired during the 10-month log training.
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