The National Directorate of Employment (NDE) on Tuesday commenced the training of 50 unemployed youths on sustainable agriculture.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the training, held in Yenagoa, is packaged under the Sustainable Agricultural Development Training Scheme (SADTS) of the directorate.
At the flag-off, Mallam Abubakar Fikpo, Director-General (DG), NDE, said agriculture remained at the forefront of President Bola Tinubu’s Agenda of food security, employment generation and poverty reduction.
Fikpo, represented by the NDE coordinator in the state, Mr Aham Osuchukwu, says agriculture is the only solution to the hunger ravaging the nation.
According to him, sustainable development agriculture takes care of poverty, zero hunger, good health and well-being, decent work and economic growth.
“The training, which will last for three months, is broken into two weeks of theoretical work, and two and half months of practical training in agricultural farm demonstration to avail the trainees of practical experience in poultry and vegetable farming.
“The trainees, after the training, will be provided with soft loans with which to start their own farms,” he said.
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He admonished the participants to ensure judicial investment of the loans.
According to him, those who did previously are today investing, selling and smiling to the bank.
“The days of looking down on farmers are over,” he said.
The Director of the Rural Employment Promotion Department, represented by Mr Nkem Ekeamadi, says agriculture with its value chain provides a veritable means of livelihood.
He urged the trainees to pay rapt attention to the trainers as well as the topics to be covered such as: “Exotic Vegetable Production and its Value Chains”.
Other topics are, “Horticulture and its Value Chains”; “Poultry Production and its Value Chains”; “Animal Husbandry and its Value Chains”; and “The Use of Improved Seeds, and Seedlings to Increase Production” amongst others.
A participant, Mr Johnson Pepple, on behalf of others, commended the DG of NDE for initiating the scheme and promised to make very good use of the opportunity granted to them.
NAN reports that the trainees were selected from the eight Local Government Areas (LGAs) in Bayelsa.
