The senator representing Ekiti Central Senatorial District, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele, has empowered 250 youths and women in rice and fish farming as well as animal feed production in Ekiti State.
The 250 trainees, empowered to revamp agriculture in Ekiti State, will benefit from take-off funding to start the business that would make them economically independent, rather than being job seekers.
The trainees were trained by experts from the Institute of Oceanography and Marine Research, Lagos.
Speaking at the end of the training in Ado-Ekiti on Tuesday, Bamidele, represented by his Senior Legislative Assistant, Mr. Bunmi Oguntuase, said his vision was to encourage youth into farming to make them economically relevant.
Bamidele, a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, maintained that the level of unemployment has reached a petrified point in the country, making it imperative for the leaders to think outside the box and find both lasting and continuous solution to the menace.
He stated that agriculture becomes the readily available option as the country strives to diversify its economy from sole dependence on oil.
“Nigerians must look back and read their history very well. During the time of regional system, Chief Obafemi Awolowo relied on agriculture to fund free education and other laudable projects at that time.
“Available statistics showed that over 85 percent of the Nigerian graduates are either unemployed or underemployed. This is killing and not too good for our future as a nation.
“Many Nigerians are still having the nostalgic feelings of the old cocoa period of the south west and the groundnut pyramid of the North. Those were the good old days when the country’s development indices was high and favourable unlike what we are getting now.
“Why can’t we encourage our youths. One thing I have noticed over the years is that, our youth don’t hate agriculture, but what was lacking is the encouragement . That was why we have encouraged them with money to start off the business .
“Agriculture has gone beyond subsistence level. It has become a veritable source of business that can create employment and wealth,” Bamidele said.
The Chairman, Senate Committee on Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters, added, “The Igbemo brand of rice remains one of the best local delicacies in Nigeria. For this brand to gain national and international recognition, we have to sustain production and encouraging our youths will be of tremendous help in this regard.
“The state government under Governor Kayode Fayemi had signed Memoranda of Understanding with DANGOTE and Stallion Group for the establishment of N3.5 billion Rice Mill in Ekiti State.
“Production has started and we as locals must complement what the companies will do to be able to continually be in production .
“Local production of rice in Ekiti will encourage consumption of local foods and reduce the price, because rice has become a staple delicacy in our country”.
Some of the beneficiaries, Mr. Michael Akinleye, Prince Olu Aladeloye and Adenike Popoola, commended Senator Bamidele for the timely innovation to reduce poverty in his constituency.
They said the training would reduce crime among youths in all forms due to engagement in profitable ventures.
They therefore warned other beneficiaries against lavishing the start-up funds so that the kernel of the programme can manifest in the economy of Ekiti through robust and meaningful contributions to the state’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).