Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Akinwumi Adesina, has disclosed that the Federal Government is to train a total of 750, 000 graduates on commercial farming through a new scheme that is to be launched for young graduates.
According to the minister who spoke Monday at a news conference organised by the Rockefeller Foundation, an international NGO, as part of the activities to mark the foundation’s Centennial anniversary, the scheme is to be called Nagroprenuers.
Adesina who said the scheme would help to reduce the level of unemployment in the country and change the labour composition of the agriculture sector, added that, the Federal Government will provide access to land, technical skills, business management skills and the finance for this programme.
According to him, the programme will turn the agriculture sector into a more competitive sector, as the Agricultural Transformation Agenda (ATA) of the ministry is a structural transformation of the economy.
Recalling how the Rockefeller Foundation facilitated the fertiliser summit in Abuja in 2006, which resulted in the African Green Revolution declaration, he said over 40 African Heads of State signed the declaration.
While commending the foundation, Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala had earlier affirmed the synergy between the finance and agriculture sectors in the country, saying the Federal Government has set aside N3bn in the 2013 budget for gender mainstreaming in the agriculture and health sectors.
President of the foundation, Judith Rodin also noted that focus of the foundation is agriculture but it has initiated programmes that have benefited the region and its farmers economically. She added that the foundation was out to promote the well-being of humanity throughout the world.
