NYSC DG Urges Corps Members to Embrace Agribusiness as Six Receive N10m Grants
Oru Leonard
The Director-General of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), Brigadier General Olakunle Nafiu, has urged Corps Members to take advantage of the opportunities offered by the service year to venture into agribusiness, commodity marketing and other viable enterprises.
Nafiu gave the charge in Abuja during the presentation of cheques totalling N10 million to six Corps Members who emerged winners of the Farmers for the Future Programme, organised by the British American Tobacco Nigeria Foundation (BATNF) in collaboration with the NYSC.
The beneficiaries are Dominic Olufemi, who received N3 million; Temitope Adewole and Abdulwaheed Bala, N2 million each; while Olanike Mayungbe, Kingsley Udoeyen and Lorember Lorsue received N1 million each.
The NYSC DG described agribusiness as a viable pathway for young Nigerians to build sustainable enterprises, create wealth and generate employment.
He commended BATNF for supporting youth entrepreneurship through value-chain development and its partnership with the NYSC.
Nafiu also stressed the importance of value addition to the success and sustainability of businesses, while congratulating the grant recipients.
“I charge you to spread the news around. We have seen the outcome, and it is a good idea,” he said.
Earlier, the Acting Director of Skills Acquisition and Entrepreneurship Development (SAED), Mrs Winifred Shopeka, disclosed that nearly 3,000 Corps Members applied for the Farmers for the Future Programme.
She said the applicants underwent a rigorous selection process which produced 20 finalists. The finalists subsequently participated in a boot camp and a final pitching session, from which 10 top presenters emerged before the six ultimate beneficiaries were selected.
According to Shopeka, the beneficiaries have also been mentored and attached to established market operators to support the marketing of their products.
She added that Corps Members who did not reach the final stage were also trained by BATNF.
The Team Lead of BATNF, Mr Oludare Odusanya, congratulated the beneficiaries and encouraged Corps Members in agribusiness to acquire the knowledge and skills required to build successful ventures.
Odusanya said the foundation was established to contribute to poverty reduction in Nigeria through sustainable agricultural practices and other interventions.
He explained that the Farmers for the Future Programme was created in partnership with NYSC to encourage Corps Members to venture into agriculture and agribusiness and become job creators.
He assured that BATNF’s collaboration with the NYSC would continue, adding that beneficiaries would be attached to mentors who would guide them in developing their businesses.
He said the programme had continued to strengthen the entrepreneurial capacity of Corps Members since its inception.
