ibironkeeniola 
Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti (ABUAD) in collaboration with the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) has trained over 80 youths from Oyo and Ekiti States in agribusiness.
The Project Manager, Professor Amos Onasanya, who spoke during the closing ceremony of the first batch of participants of the two-week programme in ABUAD said the training was also supported by the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) under the Youth Employment in Agribusiness and Sustainable Agriculture(YEASA).
Prof Onasanya stressed that the aim of the training was to enable youths to acquire necessary agribusiness skills for improved productivity.
The University Don added that aside from the training on the fish value chain, and the product’s market linkages through Information communications Technology (ICT), participants were awarded start-up grants of N180,000 each.
He noted that the IFAD project which is to span for three years is aimed at targeting 1000 unemployed youths in both Nigeria and Benin Republic, in order to improve their livelihoods through agribusiness.
In his remarks, Vice-chancellor of the University, Professor Smiranda Olarinde noted that the training was set up to ensure job creation and adequate food security in the country.
He expressed that academic certificates without necessary skills, particularly in agriculture, would result in abject poverty.
Founder of ABUAD, Chief Afe Babalola, SAN urged the beneficiaries to ensure that the skills acquired and monies given were judiciously used.
According to him, “if Nigeria is to survive its current economic challenges, government at all levels must make agriculture more attractive to the people, especially youths”.
He said that the beneficiaries would be monitored to measure their level of development in the project stating that the investment should be a turning point in their lives.
“When I was born, there was no poverty because virtually everybody embraced agriculture but the reverse is the case now. We must get it right that agriculture remains the back born of our economy. We must come together to restore our dignity in agriculture; that is when the majority of youths can be fully employed and all these criminal activities will reduce.” He added
Babalola informed that the training would be conducted monthly until the expected number of youths is reached.
While stating that finance was a major challenge against agriculture in the country, Babalola urged the Federal Government to ensure that those who are interested in agriculture get loans at with low-interest rate ranging between 2-4 %.
According to him, “In advance countries, we have banks dedicated mainly to give loans at very low rates and that is what we need here.”
“These young ones after all these training need money. Funding is important in agriculture and if the government wants people to go back to it, something must be done in this regard”. He advised
SOURCE: AGRONIGERIA