Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi’s administration has sent another batch of 260 youths selected from the 17 Local Government Areas of Enugu State, who have a passion for farming, including Reverend Sisters, to Keffi, Nasarawa State, for a two-week agricultural training at CSS Global Farms.
The first batch of 260 youths was successfully trained recently at CSS Global Farms, Keffi, under the sponsorship of Gov. Ugwuanyi’s administration.
Addressing the new participants before their departure for Nasarawa State, yesterday, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Agriculture, Engr. Michael Ogbuekwe, said that Gov. Ugwuanyi was committed to his mission of producing “the next generation of agriculture business men and women in Enugu State”.
Engr. Ogbuekwe added that the participants are “the people that will go, acquire the skills, technology transfer, come back to Enugu State and become influencers, innovators and people that will change the narratives in the agriculture sector of Enugu State”.
According to him, “The first set went and came back successfully and what we have seen is that there is a need to keep training more and more people.
“Consequently, our dear Governor, His Excellency, Rt. Hon. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, decided to send our 260 youths for the second batch of training, to learn food production, processing, packaging and marketing of agricultural products.
“They will see agriculture economics in place. They will see how agriculture businesses are set up from the scratch so that when they come back they will utilize and maximize every opportunity around both in the urban and rural areas to earn a living and contribute to the GDP of Enugu State”.
Engr. Ogbuekwe, therefore, commended Gov. Ugwuanyi for his steadfastness and visionary approach to empowering the youth of the state through agricultural ventures and other lucrative endeavours.
“Gov. Ugwuanyi has made a mark in achieving food sufficiency and food production in Enugu State. And the way we can achieve this in fullest is by training people to acquire experience in agricultural farming in line with international best practices, to increase our production capacity.
“I, therefore, urge you, the beneficiaries, to show dedication to the training programme, make Enugu State proud and acquire knowledge that would help you enhance and rebrand your skills in modern agricultural value chain, in your interest and overall interest of the state”.
In his goodwill message, the State Chairman of Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Rev. Emmanuel Ede, expressed gratitude to Gov. Ugwuanyi for his vision, benevolence, forthrightness, peace and good governance initiatives, and driving principles in empowering the people of Enugu State.
Rev. Ede, who doubles as the Chairman of Enugu State Christian Pilgrims Welfare Board, prayed God to grant the participants the protection, good health and wisdom to accomplish the task ahead, saying: “I wish you safe journey as you are going and coming back”.
Reacting, one of the participants, Rev. Sister Amarachukwu Nwaka of Daughters of Divine Love Congregation, Enugu, described the training as “God’s design”, stressing that it is a worthy step towards the fulfillment of her passion for agriculture.
The participants who spoke on behalf of others, Kingsley Sunday Odo and Joy Nneoma Ojile, thanked Gov. Ugwuanyi for the rare opportunity he gave them to expand and enhance their skills in modern agriculture and promised to make him and the state proud.