The acting secretary, Agriculture and Rural Development, Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Malam Abubakar Ishaq Saddeq, has said that in the quest of the country to eliminate hunger and guarantee food security, it is pertinent to properly engage youth in Agriculture.
He said this recently during an inspection visit to the FCT/Leventis Agricultural Training Cnentre, Yaba, in Abaji area council.
He stated that part of the focus of the FCT administration has been to make agriculture more attractive to the teeming youth population in the FCT as a way of addressing the challenges of unemployment, youth restiveness and criminal activities.
The establishment of the institute in collaboration with the Leventis Foundation, he added, was part of the strategy by the administration to draw the attention of youth to agriculture and equip them with the necessary skills for producing food and earning sustainable livelihood.
He restated the resolve of the secretariat to strengthening its mentorship programme to ensure that trainees of the centre are properly guided to ensure that they are abreast with modern trends in agricultural practices thereby helping to improve their living conditions and enable them to become employers of labour while contributing their part to improving food security.
Sadeeq assured the management of the centre that the FCT administration and particularly the Minister of State, Dr Ramatu Tijjani Aliyu, who is passionate about issues of agricultural empowerment will do everything possible to address the challenges facing the institute to ensure it realises the desired objectives of its establishment.
He said: “The FCT administration as you are aware is doing everything possible to create employment opportunities for our teeming youth population. We want to ensure that even after imparting them with knowledge; we ensure that the follow-up support to them is effective, that will ensure their ability to operate in their various areas of practice after graduation.”
Speaking earlier, the principal of the institute, Mrs. Agnes Yusuf, said that the foundation will continue to work to promote sustainability in agriculture and food production through training.
‘Your presence here today has demonstrated yet again, the commitment of the FCT administration’s dedication to providing quality training of agricultural businesses for the FCT populace.”
