300 Oyo youths benefit from agribusiness empowerment scheme
Over 300 youths from Oyo State have graduated from the Youth Entrepreneurship Programme, held at the International Skill Acquisition Training centre, CSS Global Integrated Farm, Gora, Nasarawa State.
The beneficiaries, who were part of the first batch of the 3,300 youths from the state were taken through a two-week intensive training across the fields of leadership in agribusiness, irrigation farming, Information/Communication Technology application in agribusiness, fishery farming and management, hydroponics farming, cassava and rice value chain and poultry farming, among others.
This is just as the state Governor, Seyi Makinde unveiled plans to expand the number of the beneficiaries from the initial 3,300 to 10,000 youths.
He said the state would empower only 1,000 youths through the scheme.
“If 10,000 youths in the state were successfully trained and launched forward, if their annual turn over is about N10m, that means N100b economy for Oyo State.”
The Governor urged the youth to utilise what they were taught as the state government is ready to support them and also provide market for their produce.
Earlier, the YEAP Coordinator and Director-General of the state Agribusiness Development Agency (OYSADA), Dr. Debo Akande, said the training is a starting point for the trainees, noting that everything required for the enterprises has been provided by the governor.
He disclosed that when the youths return to the state they would be attached to various agricultural outfits like the International Institute for Tropical Agriculture (IITA), among others where they would be provided additional knowledge to launch them in their Agribusinesses
He disclosed that the training programme was fully sponsored by the state government, adding that they would be provided with credit facility from Fidelity Bank that will enable them start well, perform optimally and if they move up the ladder, there will be other support.
