The Federal Government has identified youth and women participation in the Agricultural Sector as one of its deliberate policy directed at tackling unemployment in the country.
The Minister of State, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Hon. Mustapha Baba Shehuri made the disclosure in Funtua , Katsina State , when he presented cash gifts and farm items donated by Hon. Muntari Dandutse Mohammad, Chairman House Committee on Agricultural Production and Services, Representing Funtua / Dandume Federal constituency, for Small and Medium Scale Entrepreneurs in the Community.
The items include-140 motorcycles, 50 sewing machines, 1200 bags of fertilizers, 600 bags of grain to the Youth, Women, Widows and vulnerable families.
The Minister said, Nigeria previously spent about 1 trillion Naira annually on food importation but that the present administration is determined to harness the abundant human resources into agricultural productivity to boost its economy and discourage food importation.
Shehuri said the occasion was unique because it was an initiative that would engage the teeming youth and tackle unemployment in the country. He said the worrisome unemployment rate could be turned into opportunities through agriculture, adding that the inability of a nation to feed its people undermined its corporate existence, particularly in the export market.
In his speech, the Speaker, House of Representative, Rt Hon. Femi Gbajamiamila, represented by Hon. Ado Doguwa Kano, commended the efforts of Hon. Muntari Dandutse Muhammad on the empowerment Programme for his constituency and called on the Youth and Women in the area to take advantage of the opportunity. Rt. Hon. Gbajamiamila also called on elected political officers to emulate Hon. Dandutse gesture.
Abdulahad Nawani
For: D (Information)
