Nasarawa State Governor Abdullahi Sule says his government has finalised plans to access N1.5 billion credit facilities from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) that will enable youths set up small-scale agricultural and trading enterprises in the state.
Governor Sule, who stated this on the occasion to mark his 100 days in office, said his government had so far made “deliberate efforts towards the empowerment of our youths and women in line with our policies and programmes geared towards wealth creation, employment generation and poverty alleviation.
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“Government has also concluded arrangements in collaboration with the CBN to access credit facilities in the sum N1.5 billion to enable our youth set-up small-scale agricultural and trading enterprises.”
He said, “the process has commenced with the distribution of application forms to cooperative groups across the state.”
The governor, who acknowledged agriculture as the main pre-occupation of the people, said his administration “intends to harness for increased food production, security and value chain addition.
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“Accordingly, we have identified crops of comparative advantage to the State and are making arrangements to boost the production and processing of such crops.
“I believe that this will open new vistas of employment and economic prosperity for our farmers in particular and the state at large.”
The governor revealed that his government has procured and distributed 33,000 metric tons of fertilizer to our farmers, aimed at boosting agricultural production in the State.
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“Additionally, 50,000 tons have been acquired by the government and will soon be distributed to our farmers, in addition to the provision of other agricultural inputs.
“Government has also intensified effort to revitalize the activities of the Nasarawa Agricultural Programme (NADP) for enhanced extension services and agricultural productivity,” he maintained.
He explained how his administration within the 100 days flagged-off a training programme on Compressed Earth Brick Making and Laying conceived to impart vocational skills on our youths for self-reliance.
He posited that “41 fabricated machines were distributed to enterprise groups where 246 young men and women in a ratio of six to one (6/1), are expected to benefit across the state.”
