The National Directorate of Employment (NDE) has empowered no fewer than 491 residents of Gombe State under its Rural Employment Promotion (REP) programme, aimed at tackling agricultural deficit and enhancing food security.
Speaking on Friday, the Director General of NDE, Silas Agara, said the initiative aligns with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, which prioritises economic growth, job creation, and poverty reduction.
Agara, who was represented by the Gombe State Coordinator, Mawa Lamu, explained that the training was designed to prepare participants for practical agricultural ventures.
According to him, “491 were trained under the Rural Employment Promotion theoretical aspects for five days, from there to practical training for a month. For the Sustainable Agricultural Development Training Scheme, 28 will be trained for three months. For Community-Based Agricultural Training Scheme, there are 78 beneficiaries specialising in cluster farming in vegetables.”
He further revealed that the initiative covers several specialised agricultural schemes. “For Fish Production and Feed Formulation Training Scheme, they will be taught about fish production and formulation of feed instead of buying, they will be trained for a month. For Micro Agricultural Livestock Training Scheme, 75 persons are benefitting in beekeeping and rabbitry. We have Organic Agricultural Training Scheme with 87 in number, they will be trained on how to grow things in sac. For Small Stock Goat Production Scheme, 112 persons will be trained on sheep and goat fattening,” he said.
The NDE boss stressed that the overall goal was to reposition agriculture as a viable source of wealth and employment in Gombe and beyond.
“The objective is to ensure food security in the state and country. The idea is to encourage more youth participation in agriculture, by extension create wealth, enhance self-reliance, and food sufficiency,” Agara added.
