Lagos graduates 200 agriprenuers to scale-up food security status
Agriprenuers
By Olayinka Olawale
Lagos, March 15, 2020 (NAN) The Lagos State Government says the 200 beneficiaries of the Lagos Agripreneurship Programme (LAP) have been empowered to scale-up food security and self-sufficiency status in the state.
The State Commissioner for Agriculture, Mr Gbolahan Lawal, said this at the graduation of the first batch of the participants at the Lagos Agriprenuership Programme at the Agricultural Training Institute, Araga Epe on Sunday.
Lawal said that the participants had been exposed to world class threshold and practical training in poultry, aquaculture, piggery and vegetable production as well as business management, entrepreneurship and e-Agriculture.
He said that the programme had been able to achieve its objective of engaging, equipping and empowering women and youths to become world class Agripreneurs and boost the food production level in the state.
Lawal said that the state government was strongly committed to the implementation of the second phase of the programme that would involve the state government going into partnership with the existing farms/agribusinesses.
He said that it would help the state to attach beneficiaries to agribusinesses closet to their residences for internship pending linkage to sources of finance.
He said that government would also facilitate access to financing for the 200 beneficiaries as well as establish additional enterprise-specific farm estates across the state.
He said that participants would be allocated land space according to the enterprise of interesting those farm estates.
According to him, this programme was conceptualised by the state government to solve the hydra-headed problem of women and youth unemployment in the state.
He said that ths state government had observed how ayoung school leavers and women had been migrating daily to Lagos in search of jobs that had, over the years, continued to be elusive.
“I am delighted to report that the Lagos Agripreneurship Programme which was flagged off on Feb. 10, 2020, has trained 200 participants comprises of 100 males and 100 females.
“Of this number, 135 were trained in the poultry and piggery value chains and 65 in aquaculture value chain.
“Let me, therefore, congratulate all the beneficiaries for being part of the army of job creators and food producers that we desire to build.
“It is my belief that this is the beginning of your greatness and I sincerely urge you to manage and utilise the knowledge and skills that you have acquired during the course of this 30-day training to your maximum advantage,” Lawal said.
The commissioner explained that the previous administrations in the state had embarked on a journey to creating jobs, alleviating poverty and ensuring food security in the state .
He said this was through the establishment of agriculture-based Youth Empowerment Scheme popularly known as Agric-Yes.
He said the scheme resulted in the training of 600 youths in the various agricultural value chains over the years.
“In view of the increasing rate of unemployment among youths and women, this is like a drop in the ocean.
“As a result, the administration of Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu evolved a new approach; the Lagos Agripreneurship Programme (LAP).
“It is capable of training and empowering a much larger number of women and youths in the agricultural value chains such as aquaculture, poultry, piggery and vegetable as well as equipping them with entrepreneurship and e-agric skills among others,” the commissioner said.
Lawal said that a committee would be set up to look into their business plans in order to facilitate funds and grants through partnership with the CBN and ETF with a view to placing them in the value chain that they are best suited for.
Earlier, the Special Adviser on Agriculture, Ms Abisola Olusanya, had urged the participants to fill in the gaps in the agricultural value chain by adding value to the system.
She advised them to be accountable to what they had learnt during the 30 days of intensive training and the society at large adding that they must give back to their immediate communities.
One of the graduating students, Olayinka Alabi, who spoke on behalf of other beneficiaries appreciated the state government for coming up with the initiative to empower women and youths.
He said that the programme had exposed them to several opportunities that exist in the agricultural value chains and promised that they would tap into the opportunities presented.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Mrs Titlayo Olarinde emerged the best overall student at the training.
Olarinde would be given a land in any location of her choice within the state farm estates settlement to farm.
Other winners are: Mr Olusegun Oyewole, best in the poultry value chain, Mrs Zanaib Hameed, best in aquaculture, Mr Olayinka Atere, best in vegetable value chain, Mr Ibrahim Adele, best in entrepreneurship and Adeola Diyaolu, best in e-agriculture.(NAN)
OOG/BOLA/PAD
==============
Edited by Bola Akingbehin/Peter Dada