NDE graduates 108 agric trainees in Osun, empowers each with N100,000

By Richard Akintade, Osogbo

The federal government has been called upon to provide the right orientation and encouragement to the Nigerian youth, and other unemployed persons to venture into agric businesses, because of its potentials to provide greatest employment opportunities.

The Director General of the National Directorate of Employment (NDE) Mallam Abubakar Nuhu Fikpo, made the call in Osogbo, Osun State Capital, while speaking through the NDE State Coordinator, Mr Julius Fakunle, at the disbursement of loan package to 108 graduated trainees of NDE, who benefitted N100,000 each, under its 2021 Sustainable Agricultural Development Training Scheme (SADTS), as well as orientation exercise for the new intake into NDE Agriculture Extension Training Scheme (AETS).

The NDE boss re- emphasised that “the agricultural sector has the potentials to absorb the teeming unemployed persons, because of its value chain- which consist of production and marketing.

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Mallam Fikpo disclosed that the objectives of the NDE Sustainable Agricultural Development Training Scheme (SADTS) are to enhance food production, provide more profitable farm income, enhance quality of life of farm families, communities and provide mass employment, among others.

The NDE DG, explained that the beneficiaries, who were mainly unemployed youths, school leavers, graduates of tertiary institutions, and other category of unemployed persons, who have passion for agriculture as an enterprise were offered the training, and now benefitting from loan assistance with which to set up their agric businesses, while advising the participants to repay the revolving loan, as at when due, so that the opportunity can be extended to other potential beneficiaries.

He admonished all other unemployed persons in the state to tap into the window of opportunities provided by the NDE in the areas of vocational skills acquisition, agricultural training and entrepreneurship.

Also speaking at the occasion, the NDE Director of Rural Employment Promotion (REP) Department, Dr. Michael Mbata, represented by Mrs. Beatrice Oruonyehu, enjoined the newly recruited trainees, under the Agric Extension Training Scheme (AETS) to consider themselves lucky to be shortlisted among thousands of interested unemployed persons in the state.

The REP Director, enumerated some of the topics, under the Agric Extension Training Scheme (AETS) to include; components of agric extension delivery system, weeds and method of weeds control, dissemination of research based production information, information on income generation agric projects, among others.