Group targets 10,000 climate-smart agribusiness farms by 2020
Agroup, Youth Farm Project (Yfarm) has disclosed plans to establish 10, 000 climate-smart agribusiness farms across the country by 2020.
The Programme Manager, Yfarm Project, Nkiruka Nnaemego, disclosed this at the end of a 4-day boot camp capacity building.
The project, tagged ‘My Farm, My Swag’ is aimed at promoting a youth-led agribusiness society, reduce poverty and increase active youth participation in sustainable agriculture by 2020.
The group said it had trained 80 youths and women on climate smart agriculture.
She said the training was for 80 rural and vulnerable youths in Abuja, Kaduna, Benue, Kogi, Imo, Enugu, Anambra, and Rivers states.
According to him, the body has been promoting agriculture as a fun activity, culture, career and business among rural and urban youths across Africa.
Naemego said the youths were trained in climate smart agriculture, personal and agribusiness development, food security, gender, and peace and conflict resolution.
The youths were also given intensive training on turning waste into wealth.
Nnaemego, who is also the founder of the Young Brain Development Initiative (FBIN), said climate smart agriculture would help to create agribusiness and climate smart farms.
She added that the project would increase their income and contribute to community development.
She disclosed that Open Society Initiative currently funds the project for West Africa (OSIWA), which has three phases.
These include restoring and upgrading Alexijan Farms to climate smart farms, demonstration boot camps in Abuja and Imo state, and a mock parliament on food security, storytelling of project successes and exchange visits.
OSIWA Programme Manager, Joseph Amenaghawon said it supported the Yfarm project because of their interest in youth development.
He said the intersection between climate change and agriculture and booth camp, were necessary to understand and tackle climate change in agriculture.
He stressed the need to support the youths to manage their farms against the devastating effects of climate change.