Ekiti State Governor Biodun Oyebanji has stated that his administration will put all machinery in motion to encourage youths in the state to engage in agricultural business in order to help boost the state economy and his administration’s food security agenda.
The governor stated this over the weekend while on a working tour of some agricultural projects in Ado-Ekiti, saying he was impressed by the determination of some young people to pursue agriculture full-time.
He emphasized that they, too, would become labor employers one day.
The governor visited the Livestock Development Centre, which serves as a platform for the Ekiti Broiler Production Scheme; A-Bamsil Industrial Factory, a palm kernel processing plant; and JMK Rice Mill, stating that government alone cannot fund agriculture, thus the need for improved public-private partnerships to reposition the state’s economy.
He stated that his administration would establish platforms and institutions in collaboration with private sector players to allow Ekitians to apply their expertise in the drive to ensure that everyone lives well.
The governor, who addressed some of the broilers’ scheme participants, promised to remove all forms of business constraints in the state.
Governor Oyebanji, who noted that agriculture plays an important role in the economy, stated that agriculture has the potential to employ thousands of youths, provide them with a vibrant and profitable source of income, and boost the state’s economy.
According to him;
Part of our plan is to encourage our young ones to go back to the farm. The broilers’ scheme for our youths is a pilot scheme and I’m so impressed that our young ones are now showing interest in agriculture and it speaks to one of our agenda on agriculture, job creation and youth development.
And by God’s grace, once this one is stabilized, we intend to expand it, the beauty of this project is the fact that government will hand-hold them through the whole process of production.’