The National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) has resuscitated it four farm settlements across the country as part of efforts to meeting some basic needs of the scheme.
The director general, Brigadier General, Shuaibu Ibrahim, stated this on Thursday during a media parley with, reporters, editors and bureau chiefs in Abuja, saying the four farms located in FCT, Bauchi, Kebbi and Oyo states are now into full-scale farming activities.
He said the farms have been provided with modern implements and corps lodges as they are also serving as training grounds for Corps members under the agriculture component of the NYSC skills acquisition and entreneurship development programme.
The farms according to him include the garment factories located in Niger and Anambra States, Rice Mill in Ebonyi, Feed Mill in Lagos, Garri processing factory in Kwara State and Water Bottling Plant and Bakery in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
He also said a number of skill centres have been established across the country for the post-camp training of corps members.
“Through our public-private partnership drive, Access Bank has undertaken and completed the building and furnishing of a 1000-capacity mega skills training centre for the north east zone of Nigeria located in Gombe.
“In this same vein. The American multi-national, General Electric in conjunction with the International Labour Organisation (ILO) under the Cognitive Advisory Partnership has trained 40 NYSC staff who are now ILO certified Business Entrepreneurship Trainers.
“In line with the Federal Government’s policy of diversifying the economy through harnessing the country’s potentials in the non-oil sector and our desire to contribute towards ensuring food security, the scheme is resuscitating its farm settlements across the country,’ he said.
He said as part of his policy thrust, he has set up committees to work out strategies for the reinvigoration of the Skill Acquisition and Entrepreneurship Development (SAED) programme.
“We are working vigorously to ensure that our ventures, especially the Farms and Garment Factories, are more functional and able to produce reasonable quantities of products needed by the scheme,” he said.
He said since the inception of the scheme, 4,644,804 Nigerians have participated aside from those who were exempted, while 1,132,409 corps members have been sensitised on its skill acquisition and entrepreneurship development with 700,000 trained in various forms of skill trainings.
The director, Press and Public Relation, Mrs Adenike Adeyemi, commended the scheme’s relationship with the media saying NYSC over the years has become a household name in Nigeria with visible impacts in the socio-economic development of the country.
“As an organisation that values its critical stakeholders, we have continued to enlist the support of our media partners to showcase the scheme’s efforts and contributions towards advancing our dear country to greater height.
“The present management is particularly aware of the fact that our partnership with the media over the years has earned the Scheme immense goodwill within and outside the shores of the country. Hence the director general’s determination to strengthen the existing bond with the fourth estate if the realm. It is our fervent hope that at the end of this event, the relationship will grow stronger, better and more fruitful in pursuit of the Scheme’s mandate,” she said.
