Food Security: FG, Commision Empower 37 Young Agripreneurs

The Federal Government, through the Ogun—Oshun River Basin Development Authority (O-ORBDA), on Wednesday graduated 37 agripreneurs trained under its Graduate Youths Empowerment Programme (GYEP) for the 2024/2025 batch.

The 37 participants, already graduates with largely agricultural backgrounds, were also empowered with N18.5 million in start-up capital as part of the O-ORBDA’s strategic commitment to reducing Nigeria’s graduate unemployment.

Speaking at the Passing Out Ceremony (POC), held at the premises of the Authority in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, the agency’s Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer (MD/CEO), Engr. Deji Ashiru charged the new graduates with contributing “meaningfully” to the country’s strive to achieve self-sufficiency in food production.

With specific admonition on ensuring the continuous growth of their businesses, Ashiru also charged the benefiting graduates to see the start-up capital granted each of them as an investment in Nigeria’s future and a seed that must be planted wisely to yield an abundant harvest.

The O-ORBDA’s MD stated that the empowerment grant represented more than financial support for their careers; it embodied the Authority’s faith in their potential and “our commitment to your success.”

In his keynote address at the ceremony, Ashiru disclosed that the 37 GYEP beneficiaries had undergone six months of practical training under the tutelage of O-ORBDA in three critical areas of agribusiness that formed the backbone of the Federal Government’s food security strategy.

Listing the areas to include poultry production, arable crop production, and fishery development, Ashiru further disclosed that the GYEP scheme has trained 208 Nigerians in agribusiness and has been supported by the agency since its beginning in 2016.