Lagos state government has decided to train and empower around 15,000 youths and the unemployed in the next four years in agricultural value chains
The Lagos state commissioner for agriculture Prince Gbolahan Lawal said that the training time period would be reduced to six months from the one year, highlighting that the goal is to increase the human capacity of the youths involved, thus adding to food security in the state.
As reported in The Eagle Online, Lawal explained that the state’s vision for the next four years includes food security and improved nutrition by using local production, sustenance and resilience agricultural practices, the creation of dignified jobs in the agricultural sector using technology as an enabling tool as well as economic diversification.
He said, “This training programme will no doubt improve agricultural production, train new sets of farmers that will drive the development of agriculture, create employment opportunities for new generation of youths, contribute to the food security of the state, improve the standard of living of youths through self-sufficiency in agro-based enterprises and increase economic activities of the surrounding communities."
The state government is expected to extend the school agricultural programme to correctional schools in the state to further stimulate the interest of the youths in agriculture, Lawal added.
According to him, “The major aim of the school agricultural programme is to promote practical and commercial agriculture among youths in schools within the State with the aim of empowering students with sound and practical knowledge of agriculture to complement the theoretical aspect taught in the classroom.”
