The Lower Niger River Basin Authority (LNRBA) has started training and empowering 12 selected youths across Kwara and Kogi States.
Dr Adeniyi Aremu, the Managing Director of the authority, on Friday in Ilorin, explained that the training was in line with the Federal Government effort to improve the living standard of Nigerians.
He said the training programme, tagged ”Graduate Youth Empowerment Scheme”, was aimed at providing jobs for the unemployed youths and to ensure food sufficiency in the country.
Aremu assured that the scheme would be a continuous process that would engage carefully selected youths across the two states and in batches.
“The beneficiaries will be trained in animal husbandry, crop farming, vegetable farming and other sustainable agricultural activities.
“They will subsequently be empowered to establish any agricultural venture of their choice, thereby assisting them to be self-reliant and self employed,” he said.
Aremu underscored the need for youth empowerment through agri-business and sustainable agriculture projects.