YOUTH INITIATIVE FOR SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE PARTNERS WITH U.S. GOVERNMENT ON COMMUNITY EMPOWERMENT SCHEME THROUGH AGRICULTURE.

The Youth Collaborative Community Agriculture Programme (YOCCAP) of the Youth Initiative for Sustainable Agriculture (YISA) Nigeria, received a support from the Government of United States through the U.S. Ambassador’s Self Help Project for a community  empowerment scheme in Umoda- Oju Community of Benue State.

Signing the Grant award documents on Friday, 31st May 2013 with the United State of America’s Ambassador to Nigeria, Amb. Terrence P. McCulley, the Initiator and National Coordinator of YISA, Comrade Ogirinye Innocent Adoga, explained that the grant is a major boost to the Organization’s commitment towards ensuring that unemployed  community youths and women are given life inherent in socio-economic independence.

The Grant will be used to set-up a Community Agricultural Skills Acquisition  Center.

United States of America’s Ambassador to Nigeria, Amb. Terrence P. McCulley, YISA Initiator/National Coordinator , Comrade Ogirinye Innocent and Mr. Effiom Vincent, Coordinator Ambassador’s Self Help Project.

”Specifically we are setting a up Fish demonstration Farm, designed to train Thirty-Five (35) unemployed Youths and Fifteen (15) Rural women in Fish production and Best practice Fish smoking and Packaging. The Fifty(50)  first Stage beneficiaries will be adequately trained and empowered to start their own fish farm. Though the grant is more like a seed capital but we shall leverage on it to solicit for more assistance to ensure that  the project is expanded; we shall plant the seed and ensure that it is properly watered to produce branches and multiple fruits. The Fish Project is just one component out of the Nine (9) components of the YOCCAP.” Were the declarations of the YISA National Coordinator.

He further went on, “The trainees will be formed into YISA Youth Fish Farmers Cooperative and the Cooperative tool shall be explored using every possible avenue to ensure that the trainees are properly empowered. We understand the passion and commitment of Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, the Honourable Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development to turn around agriculture in Nigeria through the President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan’s Transformation Agenda which  has special packages for Youths and women especially the rural dwellers with little or no access to job opportunities to earn a livelihood. This is our own way of contributing to the Transformation  Agenda and we believe strongly the short comings of the project will be augmented at the appropriate time from other renounced corporate entities with genuine desire to empower Youth and Women. He has earlier trained five (5) Youths on Poultry farming using his small-scale Poultry Farm(MagPaty Farms) located in the Community.

The YOCCAP of YISA is designed to address the problem of Youths’ lack of Interest in Agriculture, lack of access to land and other farm inputs, start-up capital and appropriate skills required for Sustainable Agricultural practices. The Collaboration will ensure that all production costs are shared and economics of scale is taken advantage of  towards ensuring profitable Agro-enterprise.

The Ministry of Agriculture under Dr. Adesina is treating Agriculture as a business and has developed programmes to sustain the initiative. However he urged the Government to do more on information dissemination/awareness programme to enable Young people and existing farmers to know about programmse and participate for enhance Agricultural productivity.

Comrade Ogirinye Addressing the press