By Mokobia Rita.
UGHELLI/Nigeria: The Delta State Government has commenced a three-day training programme designed to equip 1,000 young people with practical knowledge and skills to develop businesses around selected agricultural value chains.
The programme, which began in Ughelli, is focusing initially on cocoa, coffee, cotton and ginger, with participants expected to gain practical exposure to production, value addition, market opportunities and other aspects of agribusiness.
Declaring the training open, the Delta State Commissioner for Agriculture and Natural Resources, Mr Val Arenyeka, urged young people in the state to look beyond subsistence farming and consider agriculture as a business capable of providing income, creating jobs and supporting economic independence.
Arenyeka said agriculture remained a major source of employment and wealth creation, urging the participants to approach the training with seriousness and a business mindset.
He said the state government was committed to strengthening agriculture and youth development, adding that the administration of Governor Sheriff Oborevwori was interested in creating opportunities for young people to become self-reliant entrepreneurs and employers of labour.
The commissioner also pointed to the state’s fertile land and favourable climatic conditions as opportunities for increased agricultural production, urging the participants to make productive use of the knowledge and skills acquired during the programme.
According to him, the current training represents the first phase of the initiative, which is expected to eventually reach about 1,000 beneficiaries and expand to other agricultural value chains.
The Special Adviser to the Governor on Agriculture and organiser of the training, Hon George Oyefia, also urged young people to explore opportunities across the agricultural value chain, describing agribusiness as a viable pathway to employment and income generation.
Oyefia later took journalists round facilities provided for the practical component of the programme, including a mini tractor for training in mechanised farming and a chaff cutter for livestock-feed production.
He said the equipment was provided to ensure that participants were exposed to practical aspects of modern agriculture rather than relying solely on classroom instruction.
The organiser disclosed that 10,000 cocoa seedlings, 100,000 cotton seedlings, 5,000 coffee seedlings and 5,000 ginger seedlings had also been made available for distribution to participants.
He said the seedlings would give beneficiaries an opportunity to put their training into practice and begin developing agricultural enterprises around the selected crops.
One of the facilitators, Mr Israel Yusuf, popularly known as Dr Fish, said the four crops were selected because of their export potential and demand in international markets.
Yusuf said the training was also addressing areas such as market access, value addition and investment readiness, noting that successful participation in agriculture required an understanding of the business side of the sector.
He said the programme could help address youth unemployment and poverty by exposing young people to sustainable economic opportunities within agriculture.
Yusuf expressed optimism that the initiative could contribute to increased revenue generation for Delta State while helping participants develop businesses capable of creating employment for others.
Two participants, Duchess Ikpasa and Kesiah Idodo, said they were optimistic about the opportunities offered by the programme, describing the training as useful for acquiring practical knowledge and strengthening their involvement in agriculture.
With the combination of technical training, practical equipment and agricultural seedlings, the organisers expect beneficiaries to translate the knowledge acquired into productive activities across the four selected value chains.
