by crossriverwatch admin
Honorable Nkoyo Toyo, the member representing Calabar/Odukpani in the House of Representatives is investing the sum of 80 million naira to train two hundred and fifty youths in her constituency on modern farming skills.
Hon Nkoyo Toyo who assembled the youths in the facility built for the purpose at the Akim Market Calabar said the training is for the youths to acquire modern farming skills in poultry, fishery, piggery, and grass cutter farming.
“This is my constituency project to make sure youths of my constituency are self-employed. “Every year I receive constituency allowance on behalf of my constituency so it is my responsibility to ensure that I invest in the people; this training scheme is to ensure that the youths of my constituency and indeed all people of the state who care to be a part of it are trained in modern farming skills”.
She said every year the value of the skills of the trainees would be improved upon through further training before they are allowed to stand on their own. “We are not just going to train them but we would ensure that we make funds available to them that is why we are collaborating with a lot of agencies including Medium Enterprise Development Agency, MEDA, the Central Bank of Nigeria Enterprise Development Center, EDC, so that the fund they need to succeed would be made available to them”.
According to her, seeing the youths through their teething problems through training and fund acquisition would give them the needed advantage to succeed and employ other young people, which she said is the only panacea to the unemployment in the state.
“We have acquired 100 hectares of land at Atan in which the trainees would practicalize the skills they acquire here. There is a hostel, an administrative block, other facilities that would make the trainees feel comfortable as they learn the needed farming skill”.
She also revealed that she has acquired 154 plots of land at Ndon Owong to build a social housing scheme and for those ready to build houses in the place. “This land is given free but anyone who wants to get land there must be ready to build. Already we have started work there by getting the first things like electricity, road and school in place for those who are moving there”.
Ntufam John Okon the PDP Chairman in the state said the most challenging issue the state is facing is youth unemployment that makes young people go into such vices like prostitution, armed robbery and kidnapping.
“I have witnessed her scholarship program which is one of the biggest by an elected official in the state and now this one which would take the youths off the streets which is quite laudable”.
He called on the trainees to be a serious with the knowledge acquisition adding that it will change their lives as they would no longer roam the streets in search of work.
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