By Yemi Olakitan
150 farmers in Bauchi State and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) will receive a $78 million training grant from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to enhance food security in Nigeria.
The ECOWAS Commissioner for Economic Affairs and Agriculture, Mrs. Massandje Toure-Litse, revealed this recently in the Orozo neighbourhood of Abuja at the beginning of a poultry workshop for grant recipients.
Farmers from the Community Allied Farmers Association of Nigeria (COMAFAS) are said to be the recipients of the ECOWAS grant, according to the News Agency of Nigeria.
According to Toure-Litse, the funding will increase young people’s potential to participate in agriculture value chains and food production.
She added that the money would be used to teach 150 young people in the fields of fisheries and poultry, emphasising how important it is for these two subsectors to drive the sub-region’s economy and promote its growth.
According to Toure-Litse, ECOWAS has created thorough training modules and set up a training department for a total of 3,032 young people, with 30% being women and 70% being men.
She emphasised that improving West Africa’s agricultural production and competitiveness has the potential to have a significant influence on the subregion’s food security, economic growth, and way of life.
Toure-Litse emphasised the ECOWAS Agriculture Policy’s continued role as the governing framework for the organization’s 15 members while highlighting the policy’s emphasis on agricultural productivity and competitiveness.
The main objective of the programme is to increase the capacity of young people and female farmers by making it easier for them to access resources, markets, and agribusiness opportunities.
She emphasised the urgent need for action in youth employment, the food supply chain, and other areas of gender engagement in agriculture, including crops, forests, livestock, and fisheries.
When it comes to intra-community trade, “products from crops, livestock, and fisheries are the second largest, and interestingly, livestock is the largest item.”By 2030, it is predicted that at least 30% of the subregion’s youth will work in the agricultural industry.
According to her, this will reduce young underemployment by 75% in rural areas.
According to Dr. Austine Maduka, the founder and president of COMAFAS, the training programme put on in cooperation with ECOWAS intends to instruct young farmers on efficient starting and managing production tactics.
He emphasised that the cooperation will be essential in assuring the availability of meat and other food items and in providing people with the necessary skills to carry out long-term policies for reducing poverty.
Of the 150 recipients, it should be noted that 75 will be trained in chicken farming in the FCT and the remaining 75 will be trained in fish farming in Bauchi.
50 birds each, along with bags of poultry feed and the necessary drugs, have been given to the FCT beneficiaries as initial support to help them get started in their attempts.