Oyo will support graduates from its Youth Entrepreneurship in Agribusiness Project (YEAP) with a bank facility to invest as the scheme expands to train 10,000 youths by the CSS Integrated Farms Limited, Gora, Nasarawa State.
The state has a facility with Fidelity Bank from which loans can be drawn to support the products from the training programme to start their own business. The first batch of 300 graduates from the YEAP scheme from the training at the CSS Integrated Farms Limited, will be the first to benefit from the bank’s facility.
The State embarked on the programme for which it previously planned for only 1000 youths but later increased to 3,300 at 100 per local government from which 300 has just graduated from the one-month training at the CSS Integrated Farms.
However, in view of the richness of the programme and its capacity to turn the economy of the state into a multi-billion Naira economy through agribusiness graduates, the government decided to train 10,000 youths in agribusiness.
The first batch of 300 drawn from 30 local government trainees was trained by about 15 lecturers/professors across the fields of leadership in agribusiness, irrigation farming, Information/ Communication Technology application in agribusiness, fishery farming and management, hydroponics farming, cassava and rice value chain and poultry farming, among others.
At the graduation ceremony, Governor Seyi Makinde, said: “I know the importance of empowering our youths. I started business at age 29 and now, I am 53. Since the age of 29, I have been paying salaries.
“That is what we want to replicate in Oyo State. Gone are those days when politicians use the youths as political thugs and then abandon them to become burdens to society. We want to empower youths in the real sense of empowerment so that you all can empower others and thereby lift Oyo State from poverty to prosperity”.
“We were going to train 1,000 youths but when I got the brief and I came to Saki and saw the youths, I said we should increase that number to 3,300. That is 100 per local government.
“We have less than two years and I did my arithmetic and saw that if we are training 600 youths every month, the programme will run for about five and a half months. But with that simple arithmetic, we have done, we will increase the number to 10,000”.
“Now, the training will go on till the end of next year. This is where we are going. If each of you can start with day-old chicks at N230 per bird and you have 1,000 birds; that is just about N240,000, which is about the money for one motorcycle.
“If you sell those birds, you can generate up to a million each in six months. If 10,000 youths can leverage this kind of advantage, that means the state can become a N100billion economy in a few years, in just this sphere of endeavour.”
Governor Makinde pledged the state government support for the trainees, saying “Look, we are here to support you. We will look for markets for things you will produce”.
“Go ahead and incorporate yourselves. Since we have 300 graduates here today, I should have 300 incorporated enterprises and if you are partnering, we should have many partners. The state will support you by giving you the necessary ingredients to succeed.
“I know you are the Youtube generation, send the words out there that this opportunity exists so that more youths can key into the opportunities.
“I look forward to meeting you in the fields and buying some products from you.
“I am glad that I made it here and I am equally glad that when the story of the turnaround of Oyo State is told, our names will be remembered.”
The YEAP Coordinator and Director-General of the Oyo State Agribusiness Development Agency (OYSADA), Debo Akande, said the training is a great opportunity for youths to make a difference, stating that the state has sown seed by increasing the number of trainees in the project.
The training is a starting point for the trainees as the state has a facility with Fidelity Bank from where support can be drawn, according to the Akande
Two of the trainees, Ojekunle Edward Oluwasogo and Ogundiran Omosalewa, commended the state for the opportunity provided to the youths, promising to return to the state to make an immediate impact.
Ogundiran said: “I appreciate Governor Seyi Makinde for the opportunity given to us. He has been doing amazing things in Oyo State, which we have never experienced before.
“Our Internally Generated Revenue used to be N1.2 Billion but the governor has increased it to about N3.6 Billion.
“Our politicians used to empower youths with okada, but Governor Makinde brought us here where we were exposed to world-class training in different areas of agriculture and agribusiness.
“We are assuring His Excellency that when we return to Oyo State, we are going to make an impact and will begin to contribute to the growing IGR of the state.”
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