Lawmakers and other development stakeholders in Nigeria have been advised to re-direct their empowerment programmes towards agriculture which in return will create multiple jobs as a way of curbing unemployment in the country.
The Coordinator, National Horticultural Research Institute (NIHORT) Consulting Services, Dr Joel Akindele Akinfasoye, gave the advice in Kwale, Delta state, during a training and empowerment programme on tomatoes and plantain sucker production value chain for some constituents in Ndokwa/Ukwani federal constituency.
Nigeria ranked the 14th largest producer of tomatoes in the world, second in Africa and accounted for 65 per cent of all the tomatoes that are produced in West Africa.
The country also ranked fifth in plantain production in the world and the production figure of 3,182,872 tones was obtained in 2019.
According to the Horticulturist, one area where youths can be gainfully employed is to train them in agriculture.
He said the Kwale training which was facilitated by the member representing the constituency at national assembly zeroed on tomatoes and plantain sucker which are priority crops of the locality.
“We need to bring innovation to what they are doing especially how to grow, process and market as well as knowing what the crops can be converted to just to increase the revenue base of the farmers.”
While commending the member representing the area Hon. Ossai Nicholas Ossai for sustaining the program which also include vegetable (ugwu) production, pineapple and other fruit juice production etc for over four years, Dr Akinfasoye said the beneficiaries of the program have the capacity to make others great in agricultural production by desiminating the skills acquired to others.
He expressed satisfaction with the reports from past participants of the program about their testimonies of success stories urging the new trainees to be focused, determined and not to be counted among those who will collect the empowerment package and run away.
The deputy secretary of Ndokwa/ Ukwani federal constituency office, Chief Timothy Umukoro remarked that Hon Ossai embarked on the program to make mostly youths in the area self sufficient and employers of labor .
Earlier, Dr Someton Amosu and Dr Oladayo Idowu Agida had taken the participants to practical demonstration on how plantain suckers could be multiplied for economic gains as well as the potentials in tomato production .
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