08/12/2015
An Abuja-based Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), the Salad Greenhouse Nigeria Ltd, on Thursday said it would train 1,000,000 youths in various agricultural practices. Mr Aliyu Ibrahim, the Managing Director of the NGO, said this in a telephone interview with newsmen in Lagos.
He said the programme, tagged “one million Youths in Commercial Agriculture in Nigeria and Grassroots Organic Agriculture Technology Initiative,’’ would begin in the first quarter of 2016. According to him, the organisation, in partnership with the Youth Programme on Agriculture Entrepreneurship Development (YPAED), will produce future young agricultural entrepreneurs.
“The programme is a nationwide project, focusing on the youths and their contribution to the development of agriculture.
“It will also create a support structure for the Youth Agriculture Entrepreneurs (YAE). “This will guide them on how to invest in agriculture for economic growth and food security.
“After the training, they will be able to conceive their own business ideas and establishing their own farms,’’ he said.
The manager said that participants in the programme would be grouped into teams, each of which would produce a small scale business plan to include a vision to explore existing markets. “They will be able to clearly state their proposal on a Business Model Canvas, which is the required standard for start-ups,’’ he added.
Ibrahim said that the programame would serve as a catalyst to mobilise communities towards inspiring shared strengths and values of agriculture in wealth creation and food security. According to him, the project is designed as a national initiative to be driven by a result oriented team representing a diverse mix of organisations working together.
Ibrahim listed the organisations to include the Federal Ministry of Youth Development (FMYD), Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD), the Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) and the Bank of Agriculture (BOA), among others.
