By Bisola Adeyemo
In contribution to agricultural outputs sector, Delta State Job and Wealth Creation Bureau, has commenced this year’s Youth Agricultural Entrepreneurs Programme, (YAGEP) cycle with an orientation workshop for 158 crop farmers.
Addressing the beneficiaries, the Chief Job and Wealth Creation Officer of the State, Prof Eric Eboh, on Tuesday, said YAGEP was aimed at creating jobs and wealth by training, establishing and supporting youths to become agricultural entrepreneurs who would be gainfully self-employed and employers of labour.
He explained that the Orientation and Farm Enterprise Training, OFET was organized to enrol and familiarize the beneficiaries with the principles and methods of YAGEP with special reference to key management topics and issues such as critical success factors in farm enterprise management, farm records and accounts, managing risks and uncertainties in agricultural production and agricultural insurance by Nigerian Agricultural Insurance Corporation, the Vanguard reports.
He said; “The 2020-2021 cycle is the 6th consecutive run of the programme. Specifically, it will cover a total of 400 youth agricultural entrepreneurs in the Brown YAGEP category. The programme commences with Orientation and Farm Enterprise Training (OFET) for 2020/2021 Brown YAGEP beneficiaries (1st Batch) holding today 25th of May 2021.
“The enterprises covered in the 2020-2021 programme cycle are poultry, piggery, fish production and cultivation of arable crops including cassava, yam, maize, rice, tomato, okra, watermelon, pumpkin and plantain.
“The farm enterprise training workshop will be followed with the provision of support packages to the beneficiaries such as fertilizer; animal feeds; crop agrochemicals; livestock vaccination; cash to pay for critical farm labour in land preparation; weeding; animal husbandry and harvesting; innovative production technologies and profitable agribusiness depending on the type of farm enterprise.
“YAGEP is improving significantly to agricultural outputs and overall growth of the agricultural sector in Delta State. Estimates show that, from 2015-2020, YAGEP beneficiaries have produced 1,689.87 metric tonnes of poultry, 61,358,690 eggs and 4,977.98 metric tonnes of fish, while its outputs include 1,706.91 metric tonnes of pig, 1,109.23 metric tonnes of cassava roots, 1,339.58 metric tonnes of grains, 477.70 metric tonnes of plantain and 1,753.87 metric tonnes of vegetables namely tomatoes, watermelon and cucumber. A recent survey shows that the success rate among YAGEP beneficiaries averages about 71% across the various agricultural enterprises.”
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