The Cross River State Government on Tuesday disbursed N800m to empower 400 young farmers operating in the state.
Youths who benefitted from the state government’s empowerment scheme include former members of the defunct Bakassi Defence Force who were supported with their reintegration and entrepreneurial growth through agriculture and other ventures.
Beneficiaries include those who recently completed intensive training on Innovative and Integrated Agricultural Value Chain at CSS Farms in Nasarawa State who were given ₦2 million each as seed capital to enable them set up their enterprises.
The amount was part of the state’s broader “People’s First” agenda, targeted at wealth creation, employment generation, and the promotion of food sufficiency by the administration of Governor Bassey Otu.
Addressing the beneficiaries of the programme on Tuesday in Calabar, Governor Otu stated that the initiative was designed to redirect the energy of young men and women from destructive activities to productive ventures, adding that no society thrives when its youths population was idle.
“Today’s empowerment programme is primarily targeted at redirecting the strength and energy of our youths from destructive to productive ventures.
“The youth as a critical demographic set is the pulse of the society, as they are as versatile as they are volatile,” Otu stated.
The governor stressed that the gesture was not an exhibition of abundant state resources, but a strategic investment in human capital aimed at transforming societal liabilities into development assets.
Otu stressed that he deliberately selected agriculture sector, given its cascading benefits and critical role in food security.
“We are poised to remove the character of our young ones and transform them from being societal liabilities to veritable development assets.
“The seed capital we are giving out today is to test your dexterity and commitment. Once we see what you have done with this, we are ready to add another,” Otu stated.
He further assured the former agitators that they were not stigmatised, but rather welcomed as integral contributors to the state’s development, noting that empowerment had always been his guiding principle since his days in the National Assembly.
In his remarks, the State Commissioner for Wealth Creation and Employment, Mrs. Patrick Egbede, described the event as a milestone in the state’s drive to promote economic development and create jobs.
A beneficiary of the programme who spoke on behalf of others, Mrs. Mary Ekuri, lauded the state governor for the kind gesture, promising to utilise the money to boost her small scale enterprise.
