By Henry Emeana
The National Directorate of Employment (NDE) has commenced the training of unemployed youths in Imo State on agriculture through its Sustainable Agricultural Development Training Scheme (SADTS).
The training, which saw the beneficiaries being trained on crop farming and livestock production, marketing, entrepreneurial training and business plan preparation, would also ensure the empowerment of no fewer than 100 unemployed youths from the state.
Speaking at the flag off of the training, the acting Director General of NDE, Mallam Abubakar Nuhu-Fikpo, explained that the training would help to empower the youths of the state, most of whom were unemployed graduates.
The DG, who was represented by the NDE State Coordinator, Mrs. Ngozi Ihenacho, disclosed that the participants were drawn from the 27 local government areas of Imo State as part of the Rural Employment Promotion (REP) programme and schemes redesigned to reflect emerging trends to grow rural employment and incomes through agribusiness engagements.
Ihenacho stated that, “NDE has used SADTS initiative to offer its participants agricultural skills that translates into self employment.
“At this juncture, I want to congratulate our prospecting beneficiaries, about 100 of you and admonish you to take the training very serious. I wish to inform you that the NDE has several Jon creation schemes that youths can key into. I therefore encourage other youths to avail themselves of these opportunities by their participation in NDE programmes”
The director Rural Employment Promotion (REP) Department: Dr. Michael Mbata, who was represented by the deputy director, Chukwuma Jinanwa told participants that they were expected to use the opportunity to launch into being entrepreneurs and employers of labour.
He said, “We’re making a paradigm shift from the subsistence farming that is used to be practiced in the rural communities by teaching you the modern ways of farming.
“We’re doing this to encourage our youths mostly graduates to venture into agriculture. This will encourage young graduate accept farming as an enterprise”
While providing the trainees with transport allowance of N6,000, Jinanwa assured that those who performed very well would be empowered to set up their farms or helping them to access loans up to N10 million at the end of the training.
Two of the beneficiaries, Mrs Benita Okoro from Nwangele LGA and Patricia Onyeanu from Owerri West, commended the directorate for the opportunity to be part of the programme and vowed to be among those whose farms would be set up.
