ABUJA, (21th February 2020). The programme Skills Development for Youth Employment – SKYE funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and implemented by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH in collaboration with FarmAgric Foundation for Agriculture has concluded the first phase of the Agricultural Skill Acquisition Programme (ASAP) 2020. At the end of the first phase, 300 young people have been trained on Good Agricultural Practices (GAP).
Participants at the ASAP GAP training were made up of young Nigerians with interest in agriculture, unemployed and under-employed youths; and low-income farmers. The four weeks training which ended on the 14 February was a success as beneficiaries expressed their excitement for the exposure to the knowledge and skills of modern good agricultural practices.
Nonye Ezenwa, a participant of the training said “I never knew Agriculture could be this simple. With this training, I feel like I can go into a field, cultivate and have a good harvest. The classes were very practical, way beyond just head knowledge”.
The Executive Director of FarmAgric Foundation, Ms. Veronica Valentine, while speaking on the end of the training said, “We are steadily achieving our aim of training and equipping Nigerian youths for better inclusion in Agriculture. So far, we have trained 300 people and are looking to increase the number to 500 in module two which is scheduled to commence on the 24 February 2020.”
“We are very pleased of the level of interest from the youths especially the number of females in the training. 78 out of 300 participants is a good number to start with, given that one of the main challenges in the agriculture sector is women empowerment and gender equality. SKYE is committed to ensuring at least 30 percent female participation in all our interventions in the agriculture sector.” GIZ’s Cluster Coordinator for Sustainable Economic Development (SEDEC) and Head of Skills Development for Youth Employment – SKYE, Hans-Ludwig Bruns, said about the project.
The registration for the second module of the training which is in Farmer Business School (FBS) is already ongoing. To promote the use of digital technology in the sector, interested applicants are encouraged to apply via the FarmAgric Foundation website – www.farmagricfoundation.org. The FBS training will commence on the 24th of February 2020. The training will help participants learn how to make their farming enterprises and overall farm operations profitable, and how to respond to market demands.
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The programme Skills Development for Youth Employment – SKYE, is a four-year programme funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and implemented by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH. SKYE focuses on the acquisition of knowledge and skills for the labour market through Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) to tackle unemployment and underemployment, root causes of irregular migration and socio-economic degradation in Nigeria. The programme is addressing the supply and demand sides of the integrated employment approach by focusing on improving the quality of TVET in the labour-intensive construction and agriculture sectors and the occupational field of industrial mechanics. SKYE promotes public and private stakeholder dialogues about TVET and supports Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs).
For more information, please contact
PR and Communications Advisor, GIZ-SKYE, M +234 906 253 4048; skye@giz.de
The FarmAgric foundation is an Initiative of the FarmAgric, a technology-driven agricultural company that empowers farmers through the provision of required capital and inputs using funds raised from the investing public. Founded in 2019, FarmAgric Foundation is a non-governmental organization whose mission is to empower farmers to spur unprecedented growth and development in the agricultural sector in Africa. We build capacity of new and existing famers with our tailored training sessions, provide opportunities for hands-on internships on our farms and mobilize resources for rural farmers. Improvement of farmers’ lives and farm produce form the basis of our work. The Foundation’s commitment to capacity building and community development creates effective and sustainable solutions to even the most difficult and persistent challenges such as youth unemployment, hunger and poverty.
For more information, please contact 08169942774 Email: info@farmagricfoundation.org