By Mahmoud Dogara (Bauchi State Correspondent)
A Non-governmental Organization known as the Office Chérifien des Phosphates, (OCP Africa) has partnered with the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, Bauchi to empower 30 youths selected from five northern states to boost Agriculture under its pilot phase of Empowering African Youths (EMAY) project in Nigeria.
The company is giving the trainees N30,000 monthly stipends for three months which amounts to N27 million to enable them start their business without difficulty.
The Senior Agronomist, OCP Nigeria, Dr. Donald Madukwe, stated this in an interview with journalists on Sunday at the end of a one week long training which held at the Bauchi State Agriculture Development Programme.
He said that the African young leaders were trained on good agricultural practices, soil sampling and testing techniques for Empowering African Youth (EMAY) and Agripromoters Project, adding that in addition to the three months stipends, the beneficiaries were also given them tricycles, digital tablets for farmer data collection, digital soil laboratory test kits among others.
"OCP is empowering them with the equipment they need to work. Today, we are giving them Android Tablets because this is also a digital drop we have created for them, the tablets will enable them collect farmers' data, collect reference soil samples from farmers' fields.
"We're equiping them with digital soil lab kits and they have other tools such as soil orga and sampling materials they need to carryout this work.OCP is also going to support them for the first three months of their activities with stipends before they can be able to start generating revenue from this venture.
"They also have tricycles, each of these young leaders will have these items and the tricycles are to enable them convey their laboratory to various locations as well as convey farm inputs to the various locations which they can make margins for.OCP is also prepared to release inputs to them and they can deliver additional margins.
"They will get nothing less than N30,000 each monthly stipends for three months that will enable them at least fuel the tricycles around and maybe for other emergencies. They are not being employed, it is just a stipend to support them" he said
Madukwe said that the training was in order to encourage the youth to participate in agriculture and to encourage them take charge and create value along the value chains of agriculture because it is the new shift that is needed. NNL.
