In its bids to boost food production and strengthen food security, the National Youths Service Corps (NYSC) and Leventis Foundation have announced plans to strengthen the agricultural training program for serving Corps members, across the six geopolitical zones.
The program, BusinessDay gathered over the weekend, is also part of plans to reduce unemployment, create jobs and empower Corps members with relevant skills, for self-sustaining jobs.
This is as the National Youth Service Corps said more serving corps members are now embracing agricultural trainings, to strengthen food security.
The Foundation through the partnership which was signed last year has trained and graduated 40 Corps members with modern forming techniques, aimed at strengthening agro-prenureship.
The Executive Director of the Foundation, Hope Usieta, told BusinessDay in Abuja that the “program is aimed at equipping young graduates in Agriculture for self-reliance and for creating jobs for others”.
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The first set of corps members who have undergone training at different Leventis Foundation Nigeria (LFN) Agricultural training schools under the LFN-NYSC Skills Acquisition and Entrepreneurship Development (SAED) partnership.
“Forty (40) Corps members have undergone agribusiness training and internship across LFN’s training schools in the different agro-ecological zones in Nigeria with the aim to empower corps members with skills for self-employment,” a statement from the Foundation said.
The corps members were trained in “practical sustainable agriculture and agribusiness as trainees and at the same time, transitioned to interns in our system. It is our hope that these corp beneficiaries has found this unique arrangement impactful and it will form part of their future going forward.”
The training also keys into the federal government action plan aims at equipping farmers in streamlining and simplifying procedures for agricultural export trade.
The NYSC Director of Skill Acquisition and Entrepreneurship Development SAED, Walida Sadique sees the program as highly beneficial to the Corps members as they advance in agric business.
Sadique revealed that the “ NYSC is working with the Bank of Industry ( BOI) to for take off grants for the graduate farmers”
“We at the NYSC are impressed with the large number of young graduates that are taking up bigger roles in the areas of agriculture and we are excited that the Leventis Foundation is providing them with the opportunities”
Sadique believes the next batch will involve even more of Corps members because the Bank of Industry is partnering with the NYSC to grant loans to the young farmers.
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