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The National Directorate of Employment (NDE) in Bayelsa State has started training 100 unskilled youths in sustainable agriculture so that they can contribute to the country’s development.
This was stated by Mr Nuhu Fikpo, Director-General of NDE, who was represented by Mr Aham Osuchukwu, Bayelsa Coordinator, at the inauguration of the training in Yenagoa on Thursday.
It was gathered that the training, which will last for three months, comprises fish farming, poultry production, snail and crop farming.
Fikpo charged the youths to embrace agriculture and its value chain, as they were the only viable sector providing employment opportunities in the country.
He said that the Federal Government was employing unemployed youths, increasing food production, assuring food security, improving quality of life, fostering young self-esteem, minimizing rural-urban migration, and instilling an entrepreneurial spirit in them through NDE’s actions.
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According to Fikpo, 38 youngsters who finished the scheme’s training were given loans totaling N3.8 million at a rate of N100,000 per individual.
“The loan is repayable at the rate of nine per cent simple interest over a period of three years,” he said.
The coordinator urged the beneficiaries to invest properly so as to generate enough returns on their agricultural investment.
Also speaking, an early beneficiary of the loan scheme, Mr Livinus Lagos, explained that out of the loan granted him by NDE, he had established cassava, plantain and fish farms, with more than 2,000 fishes waiting to be harvested.
(NAN)
