Fourteen youths trained in poultry farming under the 2019/2020 Youth Agricultural Enterpreneurs Programme (YAGEP) of the Delta State Job and Wealth Creation Programme have been empowered with 7,000 day-old broilers to start their poultry enterprises.
The 14 beneficiaries who are called Green YAGEPrenuers each got 500 of the day-old broilers and that was apart from support packages earlier given to them by the state government in preparation to the commencement of their businesses in poultry.
The empowerment exercise took place after the beneficiaries completed their three-month training in Poultry Business and Management under the YAGEP.
The Chief Job and Wealth Creation Officer of the state, Eric Eboh, a professor, made the disclosure at the Delta State Rural Development Agency (DARDA), Ibusa, venue for distribution of the day-old chicks to beneficiaries in Asaba environs.
He listed the establishment package for each beneficiary to include a 500 capacity poultry pen at maturity; 500 day old broilers; 145 bags of feeds given in tranches to avoid expiration; 20 adult drinkers, 20 adult feeders, 10 baby feeders and 10 baby drinkers; a roll of 15kg black nylon for brooding; provision of vaccines at different doses; 4 stoves and trainings.
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He said the delivery and distribution were carried out in the night/early hours of the morning to protect them from the harsh intensity of the sun in order to keep them stable and to avoid mortality.
Eboh who was represented by the Coordinator of YAGEP, Samuel Ndikanwu, reiterated the state government’s resolve to make sure the programme succeeds, said all machinery had been set in motion to ensure that all vaccines were administered to the birds at the right time under close supervision of their trainers.
He also spoke on the establishment of beneficiaries in their personal lands in contrast to the YAGEP Cluster Farm method adopted in previous cycles.
“The job creation office through its review of the previous cycles considered the challenge faced by beneficiaries whose places of residence are far from the YAGEP Cluster Farms. To solve this challenge and to sustain the programme, we now establish beneficiaries right in their premises and communities to ensure that the poultry farms are managed effectively and to achieve the desired result envisioned by the state government.”
Speaking at Owa-Alero, the first venue of the distribution, Uzoma Ebenezar, a beneficiary, said he was satisfied with quality of training given in terms of brooding, administration of vaccine, hygiene in poultry and establishment with a poultry pen which is 21 by 31 feet in size, drinkers, feeders, feeds to train the birds to table size amongst other support inputs.
He viewed the cost the support package provided by the government to each YAGEPreneur in Poultry to be above 2m. Thus, he pledgied to make good use of the opportunity to provide jobs for other unemployed youths in his community.
At DARDA in Ibusa, Precious Obaje said that the establishment package came to her as a surprise as she was not expecting that much.
An elated Obaje exclaimed that the state government gave them all, from training to marketing of products, which they neeed to succeed
Also speaking from Sapele in a telephone interview, Okimute Beauty expressed her gratitude to the state government for the opportunity given to her to train as an entrepreneur and pledged to work hard to sustain her business and to uphold the vision of the governor in building a new generation of entrepreneurs.
