ARMTI Rounds off Youth Empowerment/Training in Kwara

 

The Agricultural and Rural Management Training Institute (ARMTI) has trained youths from the six geopolitical zones of the country in order to promote Agripreneurship practises.

ARMTI in its Annual Youth Empowerment Scheme has taken it upon itself to steadily select designated number of youths according to availability of funds to equip a mass of youths with the necessary empowerment skills to unlock the huge potentials in Agribusiness.

The Executive Director, Dr. Olufemi Oladunni at the closing ceremony of the programme geared the youths to put to use the acquired skills they have obtained hin their course of training as he emphasised that the scheme is to drive economic growth through agriculture, to create wealth, jobs and alleviate poverty as well as securing food security for the nation.

This year’s edition of the Programme which usually focuses on a particular agricultural commodity value chain, has a batch of twenty youths and women who are practising poultry farmers, who were upskilled towards vegetable production and poultry feed formulation to enhance their yield and improve their enterprise.

Dr. Oladunni addressed the participants as they were being presented with their starter packs at the end of the Programme. He noted that the training Programme which was intensive and infused with a lot of field practicals, might have been challenging but agriculture, if well practised can solve the unemployment problem in the nation.

Therefore, he encouraged participants to focus on the benefits of the training by embracing challenges encountered on the field and see it as part of the training process.

Closing his remarks, ARMTI Executive Director appreciated all the stakeholders and partners who have continued to contribute immensely to the success of all ARMTI programmes.

He also acknowledged the presence of the security teams for ensuring the safety of participants.

The Programme Coordinator, Mr.Abdulhameed Odeseye explained that the training covered in-depth exposure to best practices as well as intricacies of effective farm practices.

The participants, numbering 20 in all, were also taken on field study visits to witness the practice of what they had been exposed to in class.

One of the participants, who is also the Class Governor, Abdurrazaq Rukayat Omotoyosi spoke about the new and insightful exposure she personally received, saying; “This programme is a very good one, it opened our eyes to a whole lot of new things especially for most of us that have been practising before.

“We have been equipped with business sense, I’ve learned a lot particularly in poultry, and now I’m yearning to go into my community to begin to solve essential needs with agricultural produce.”

“The training has impacted the value-adding process of agriculture to my knowledge. The secrets of agriculture have been unlocked to me. I can’t wait to infuse Vegetable production into my business and now that I can formulate my own feed, it’s a great leverage for me” said Olatunji Ebenezer Adedayo, another beneficiary.