By Kemi Olaitan
Youth Agric Mandate, YAM, has assured of creating 20,000 job opportunities both skilled and unskilled through agriculture business and enterpreneurship for the teeming youths across the country before 2020. Speaking at the group’s launch and press conference in Ibadan on Thursday, the Group Head of YAM, Mr. Akinolu Olubayo, said there was an urgent need for the government to begin looking into diversification of various sectors of the economyso as to attain solid economic growth. While stating the objectives of the group, he said 20,000 youths were expected to benefit from the job opportunities in the 36 states of the federation including the Federal Capital Territory, FCT. Some of the objectives of this initiative he said include creating job opportunities for 20,000 youths (both skilled and unskilled) in each state nationwide by 2020 and reduce dependence of beneficiaries on the government.
While noting that petroleum had contributed substantially to the country’s revenue since its discovery, he however said it was a known fact that for a country to attain growth and development, its economy had to be diversified. He said: “This initiative intends to enhance economic development for sustainable growth, to reorient the youth from economic monopoly to micro economic through economic diversification and to create wealth and alleviate poverty among citizenry.
“As a matter of fact, there is an urgent need for the Nigerian government to begin looking into diversification of various sectors of theeconomy so as to attain solid economic growth. Since its independence, Nigeria has been well known for the significant amount of its export of items like groundnuts, cocoa and oil palm products.
A formal arrangement was made to market these exports globally. “Diversification does not occur in a vacuum. Monoeconomy needs to give way to the productive development of various sectors of the economy”, Olubayo added. He explained further that since independence, Nigeria had been well known for the significant amount of its exports of items like groundnuts, cocoa and oil palm products.
According to the agribusiness investor, there exists a positive relationship between economic growth in Nigeria and diversification of other sectors because, “when therewere proper management of human resources, huge investment and concentration on agriculture, Nigerian economywas recorded to be healthy and vibrant.”
Olubayo said further that the effect of Nigeria’s oil dependency had wasted much of its opportunities to break away from under development despite its massive natural and human resources endowment. In his lecture titled ‘The Role of Youth in Economic Diversification in Agriculture and Technology Innovation for Nation Building and Wealth Creation’, the Dean, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Ibadan, Prof. Bamidele Olutoyin, said if agriculture was properly harnessed, it could provide food, raw materials and foreign exchange earnings for the country.
He, however, lamented that due to prolonged neglect of the sector and over reliance on oil, the country had been experiencing serious economic problem.
Source:National Mirror
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