Prompted by mission to empower jobless youths and drive massive investments in agriculture and agribusiness, Ogun State government has started engaging youths for agricultural production, which is covered in the 10 commodities selected by Central Bank of Nigeria for special intervention.
Recall that Godwin Emefiele, governor, Central Bank of Nigeria, was in 2019 selected 10 essential commodities – rice, maize, cassava, cocoa, tomato, cotton, oil-palm, poultry, fish and livestock/dairy product, for special intervention, spanning five planting seasons and designed to empower youths within the agricultural and agro-processing value chain.
Consequently, Ogun State government has begun massive production and processing of poultry under Ogun State Broiler Project and cassava plantation and processing with a view to generating job opportunities, creating wealth and improving contribution of gross domestic products coming from Ogun State to the nation.
Speaking during a spot check at the Eweje Farm Settlement, Odeda, where the tilling of land and flagging of the second phase of state broiler project are being undertaken, Adeola Odedina, Ogun State commissioner for agriculture, said the state was committed to making agriculture more attractive to youths as the state enjoys partnership with the CBN and agro-processing firms to venture into various agricultural productions such as poultry, cassava, rice, millet, maize, among others.
The commissioner, who was accompanied by a team from CBN, said, “23,000 youths have registered for cassava opportunity. We have started land preparation. In totality, over 50,000 people have registered for opportunities in agriculture and a good number of them are young people.
“Also, we have been very successful in raising young people as pilots to introduce or stimulate the interest of other young people in poultry value chain.
“The first set of beneficiaries are 54 youths, tendering 54,000 broilers with profit of an average of N130,000 in six weeks and we have been reliably informed by the youths themselves that in this round, they are targeting over N200,000 in six weeks.”
“These youths are supposed to go for four rounds or five, every six weeks, each beneficiary would be earning about N150,000, I think that is a very go way to start with the youths.
“And because of this pilot phase, over 9,000 youths have registered with the Ministry Agriculture to participate in this opportunity given by the Ogun State government in poultry value chain.
“We are going to replicate this in all the agricultural zones in the state. We have the applications already and we are working on the pens, we are working on infrastructure and CBN and other banks are ready to support other youths with credits. Off -takers and processors are ready to partner us.”
Kunle Badejo of the Development Finance Office, CBN, noted: “Basically, we are here to see fund being put into use and clearing of land for the youths in Ogun State. Cassava, as you know, is one of focal commodities that CBN has emphasised on and invested in.
“To this end, we have empowered the state to clear land for cassava plantation. So, what we are doing today is a spot check on how far we have gone, we have equally gone to other parts of the state, Apojola, Ijebu, Omu and others, to see how the work is being done.”
