In a major push to reduce dependence on oil and reposition agriculture as a catalyst for inclusive economic growth, the Delta State Government has launched an ambitious programme to empower 1,000 youths with the skills, knowledge and practical tools required to establish and manage profitable agribusinesses.
The initiative is designed to move young people beyond subsistence farming into commercially viable agricultural enterprises capable of creating jobs, stimulating local production, attracting private investment and expanding Delta State’s contribution to Nigeria’s food security and foreign exchange earnings.
Delta State Commissioner for Agriculture and Natural Resources, Mr. Val Arenyeka, disclosed this while declaring open a Wealth Creation Training Programme through agriculture for Youths in Ughelli, describing agriculture as a major avenue for wealth creation, employment and sustainable economic development.
Arenyeka urged youths across the state to take advantage of the vast opportunities in agriculture, stressing that farming should no longer be regarded merely as a subsistence activity but as a lucrative business capable of creating wealth and transforming livelihoods.
He said agriculture remained one of the biggest employers of labour and had the capacity to produce some of the wealthiest individuals in the world, urging participants to approach the training with seriousness and a business-oriented mindset.
According to him, the administration of Governor Sheriff Oborevwori was committed to strengthening the state’s economy through strategic investment in agriculture and youth empowerment, with a view to moving young people from dependence on government employment to becoming self-reliant entrepreneurs and employers of labour.
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The Commissioner highlighted Delta State’s enormous agricultural potential, noting that the state was naturally endowed with fertile land and favourable climatic conditions for crop production.
He urged the youths to exploit these comparative advantages, adding that the state’s natural endowments provided an opportunity for farmers to cultivate a wide range of crops with minimal dependence on artificial inputs.
Arenyeka said the training would initially focus on four major agricultural value chains—cocoa, coffee, cotton and ginger—which, according to him, offered significant opportunities for value addition, investment and income generation.
The Commissioner disclosed that about 1,000 youths would eventually benefit from the programme, noting that the current training constituted the first phase.
He said the programme would subsequently be expanded to accommodate more young people and introduce additional agricultural value chains.
He commended Governor Oborevwori for his commitment to youth empowerment and development, particularly his efforts to expand the involvement of young people in agriculture and agribusiness.
While speaking at the programme, the Special Adviser to the Delta State Governor on Agriculture and organizer of the three days intensive training exercise, George Oyefia, called on youths in the state to embrace agriculture and agribusiness as viable pathways to wealth creation, employment and economic independence, stressing the need for young people to take advantage of the opportunities across agricultural value chains.
Oyefia, who later conducted journalists round the training facilities, showcased a mini tractor that would be used to train participants on mechanised farming, as well as a chaff cutter for the production of livestock feed.
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He said the provision of practical equipment underscored the significance of the programme and its focus on equipping youths with hands-on skills.
He also disclosed that the programme had made available 10,000 cocoa seedlings, 100,000 cotton seedlings, 5,000 coffee seedlings and 5,000 ginger seedlings for distribution to participants, to enabling them translate the knowledge acquired during the training into practical farming activities and establish sustainable agribusiness ventures.
A facilitator of the Training Programme, Mr. Israel Yusuf, popularly known as Dr. Fish, said the initiative focuses on ginger, cotton, coffee and cocoa because of their high export value and strong international demand, with emphasis on market access, value addition and investment readiness.
Yusuf said the programme was also designed to tackle youth unemployment, poverty and social vices by providing young people with legitimate and sustainable sources of income.
He expressed confidence that the initiative could generate millions of dollars in revenue for Delta State, while creating a new generation of young agribusiness entrepreneurs who would become wealth creators and employers of labour rather than depend solely on government jobs.
Speaking separately, some of the participants, Duchess Ikpasa and Kesiah Idodo, expressed optimism about the impact of the programme, describing it as an opportunity to acquire practical knowledge and expand their agricultural activities.
