The Ogun Commissioner for Agriculture, Dr Adeola Odedina, says that the state government is set to revive young farmers’ club in public secondary schools, with the establishment of modern demonstration farms in the schools.
Odedina made the disclosure in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Friday in Abeokuta.
He said that the state government, through the Ministries of Agriculture and Education, Science and Technology, was working towards actualising the resuscitation of the club.
The commissioner noted that modern demonstration farms would be established in each of the schools in order to inculcate agricultural practice in students.
He added that agric teachers in the schools would be trained on various agricultural best practices so as to make the programe effective.
“We are trying to ‘catch them young’ by inculcating farming in them. This will encourage them to find farming attractive and see agriculture from another perspective.
“Most of our younger ones believe that only the old people engage in farming; but with this plan, they will find farming interesting and engage in it so as to make them self-reliant, create jobs and eradicate poverty among them,” he said.
The commissioner, however, expressed delight over the achievements recorded so far in agricultural empowerment for youths, adding that this would culminate in food sufficiency in the state.
He also said that a total of 3,500 youths had been empowered in cassava plantation and another 1,165 in rice cultivation, under the Anchor Borrowers’ Programme.
Odedina added that 54 youths had completed three cycles of rearing broilers at the Eweje Farm Institute, Odeda, under the Ogun broiler project.
He also said more than 40,000 small holder farmers had been empowered with planting materials, such as maize seedlings and cassava stems as well as cocoa and cashew seedling
