The second batch of beneficiaries of the Delta State Youth Agricultural Entrepreneur Programme (YAGEP) under the Job and Wealth Creation Bureau, have been charged to remain focused as no beneficiary who is enrolled into the programme remains the same.
The Job and Wealth Creation Officer, Prof. Eric Eboh, made the assertion on Thursday September 23rd 2021, during the Orientation and Farm Enterprise Training (OFET), workshop for 2020/2021 2nd Batch YAGEPreneurs, held in Government House, Asaba.
He revealed that the first five circles have covered 1174, YAGEP beneficiaries while the first batch of the 6th circle covers 158 beneficiaries for crop production.
“For the second batch, we invited 128 persons. So far, we are covering 286 beneficiaries under the 2020/2021 circle of the YAGEP which includes the first batch”.
According to him, except those who choose the other way round, “no beneficiary that comes into this programme that will remain the same. So, the wish of the Governor for you is that by the fact that you have been invited into this programme to be a beneficiary of the Youth Agricultural Entrepreneur Programme (YAGEP), your story will never be the same.
“The experience we had in the past, shows that many youths seems to be forced into agriculture and it was very catastrophy. We keep on doing everything that we have to do but no interest”, lamenting that all that was needed were provided, yet, they were not ready.
Speaking on the reason for the workshop, Prof. Eboh, said: “The purpose of this workshop, is to help you grow in your enterprise in three key areas; managing your agricultural enterprise successfully, helping you to understand how to write a business plan for your agricultural enterprise, helping you to imbibe the discipline of farm records keeping, encouraging and helping you to get your farm enterprise registered with Corporate Affairs Commission”, disclosing that the Bureau is already on it for the first batch.
He stressed that the most important thing is the improvement and learning capacity beneficiaries take home from the programme, adding that they should have expectations, “some values should be added to you”.
He disclosed that the programme would focus on records keeping and best practices, while other sessions of training would follow in the course of the programme after they have received their support packages.
The enterprises covered in the programme include fish production, Poultry, Pig Production and Bee keeping, “the Bee keeping is a very unique inclusion in this programme. This is the first time we started Bee keeping in this programme”, just as he added that the product that comes from Bee, “honey, is a very valuable industrial product”.
Resource persons whom he described as “Star Performance”, are persons that have gone through the programme since inception in 2015, which includes Chibuike Okonkwo, who took beneficiaries of fish production and John Okafor, took beneficiaries of Pig production and Emmanuela Clinton, took Poultry Production beneficiaries.
The originator of the Bee keeping, Comrade Sunday Ojenima, took beneficiaries on Bee keeping.
