The Ondo State Agribusiness and Empowerment Centre (OSAEC) has disbursed over N15 million grant to 100 trainees in poultry works to start up their poultry farming.
The Chairman of OSAEC, Mr Wemimo Akinsola, while disbursing the cheque to the beneficiaries in Akure, said the event marked the end of the second batch of the Adiye Irorun Initiative.
He said that the beneficiaries were drawn from the northern zone of the initiative to be followed by the southern and central zones to receive their grants after their training period.
Akinsola noted that the state was planning to have its own hatchery that would produce chicks for the smooth running of the programme and for the farmers that might need them.
He added that the aim of the initiative was to have a ready market for the poultry products for consumers and provide job opportunities for youths in the state.
“We’ll give you the necessary tools that you need for you to be able to be productive in the field that we’re teaching you.
“The whole idea is for the poultry level to go up. It’s for most people who are doing fast food to be able to buy chicken locally instead of going outside the state.
“It’s also for the price of chicken to actually come down because that’s one of the simplest proteins that we have, aside from fish,” he said.
Akinsola said that the government was planning to expand the programme in order to accommodate more youths that are interested in farming.
He added that the government had acquired 100 ponds to train interested youths in fish farming in a couple of months’ time.
In her remarks, Mrs Olukemi Akinyemi, the Permanent Secretary, OSAEC, commended the participants for their doggedness and resilience during the six-week training.
Mr Gideon Adelegan, the Acting Director, Livestock Services in OSAEC, lauded Gov. Lucky Aiyedatiwa for his commitment to agriculture and empowerment of youths in the state.
Adelegan appreciated the OSAEC Chairman for his leadership traits that had encouraged youths to go into agriculture as a career.
He urged the participants to replicate what they had learnt, and to judiciously utilise the money given for multiple effects of the initiative.
Similarly, Mr Fadipe Olawande, the state Chairman of the poultry association, enjoined the beneficiaries to see it as a golden opportunity to be financially independent.
The Director of Planning, OSAEC, Mr Bamidele Ojo, said that the objective of the programme was to take the unemployed youths out of the streets, urging the beneficiaries to practice what they had learnt.
Ojo said that the OSAEC was planning to facilitate credit facilities through partnership with some banks for interested people.
Mr Adeola Adegboyega, on behalf of the beneficiaries, appreciated the grant saying that the initiative, if sustained, would drastically reduce the rate of unemployment in the state.
