Bauchi State Government says it has concluded arrangements with International Skills Acquisition Center (ISAC), to train 1,000 youth in modern agricultural expertise as part of effort to boost food security and proved employment opportunities.
Bala Mohammed, the State Governor disclosed this on Friday when he received a delegation from ISAC, led by Pastor John Kennedy Opara, A former Executive Secretary of the National Christian Pilgrims Welfare Commission at the Government House, Bauchi.
Governor Bala lamented that Nigeria is suffering “because of the method of food production which is unacceptable in European Standards because is full of chemicals and impurities.”
“We have been trying and l have sent my Commissioner for Agriculture to one of the ISAC farms and l got a favourable report”, he added.
The Governor said ISAC proposal was in tandem with the State’s agricultural policy, which he says had softens the ground for collaboration with the state.
“We are connected by our desire to use expertise, improved technology and other techniques so that we can provide employment for our teeming youths to increase production and yield as well as our GDP,” he said.
The governor argued that state government lacks the capacity to employ all the graduates in the state says the initiative will, “employ all these graduates and all those youth that are productive and are there without any direction.”
“We can also leverage the Central Bank of Nigeria policy , NIRSAL Micro Finance bank and the rest so that we can do this training without any pain but we must know that there is no free lunch anywhere”, the governor added.
On his part, the Executive Director of ISAC, Dr. Kennedy Opara explained that his organization was using Israeli model and expertise to drive food production using modern technology argued that the innovation will help the state government achieve food security.
He said many state governors have visited the centre, adding his centre runs the best training on modern agriculture in Nigeria.
“When we finish training the students you don’t need to look for money to pay them but we will help them set up their farmlands by providing all the necessary supports”, he mulled.
