NDDC trains 203 in modern farming

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.