No
fewer than 203 young farmers drawn from the seven Niger Delta States of
Abia, Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Edo , Imo , Ondo and Rivers have benefited
from a two-week training programme on agriculture production,
processing and entrepreneurship by the Niger Delta Development
Commission.
The training which also enabled
participants acquire knowledge on modern farming techniques was held
at the National Root Crops Research Institute Umudike , Abia state.Speaking at the graduation ceremony of the trainees, the Managing Director of NDDC, Mr. Dan Abia, represented by Mr. Salami Olaniyi, said the gesture was part of the commission’s empowerment programme for Niger Delta youths.
He added that it was also intended to boost food production in the country, while urging the trainees to reciprocate by keying into the agricultural transformation programme of the Federal Government.
In his remarks, NRCRI Chief Executive Officer Dr. Julius Okonkwo commended the NDDC for choosing his institute for the training, boasting that the institution “has the facilities to host and impart the needed knowledge.”
He urged the graduates to apply the knowledge they acquired as this would facilitate government’s quest for the country to attain Food Security.
Adding her voice, the NRCRI Coordinator of the Training , Dr. Tessy Madu, described the two weeks training as very challenging and charged the trainees to justify the investment on them.
“Now that you have successfully completed the training in various agricultural production, processes and enterprise development, we charge you to go back to your states to create jobs, make money and extend the knowledge you have acquired to others,” she said.
Speaking on behalf of other trainees, Mr. Acha Roberts from Edo State thanked NDDC for the gesture and promised not to defeat the aim of the policy.
He, however, pleaded that the gesture be extended to other Niger Delta youths as one of the practical ways to reduce unemployment and youth restiveness in the region.
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