ECOWAS Donates $78 Million to Train FCT And Bauchi Farmers

To increase food security in Nigeria, ECOWAS has provided 150 farmers in Bauchi State and the FCT with training grants totaling 78 million dollars.

Farmers from the Community Allied Farmers Association of Nigeria (COMAFAS) are the recipients.

This was announced by Massandje Toure-Litse, ECOWAS Commissioner for Economic Affairs and Agriculture, at the beginning of a workshop on poultry training for beneficiaries on Tuesday in Orozo, Abuja.

The grant, according to Ms. Toure-Litse, would give young people more opportunities to participate in food production and agribusiness value chains.

She noted that the money would be used to teach 150 young people about poultry and fishing, noting that these two industries were crucial to the subregion's development and economy.

According to her, ECOWAS has organized the training of 3,032 young people, 30% of whom are men and 70% of whom are women.

According to Ms. Toure-Litse, West Africa's agricultural competitiveness and productivity have a propensity to have a beneficial influence on the subregion's food security, economic growth, and standard of living.

She claims that because it emphasizes agricultural productivity and competitiveness, the ECOWAS Agriculture Policy continues to serve as the bloc's 15 countries' compass.

The program seeks to enhance the capacity of youth and women farmers and promote their access to resources and markets and their involvement in agribusiness, she said.

She continued by saying that urgent action was required to address the issue of women's participation in food chains, crops, forestry, livestock, and fisheries as well as youth employment.

When it comes to intra-community trade, products from crops, livestock, and fisheries are the second largest, with strangely, cattle being the greatest item.

"By 2030, it's expected that at least 30% of the sub-region's young people will work in the agricultural industry.

According to her, this will reduce young underemployment by 75% in rural areas.

Austine Maduka, the founder and president of COMAFAS, stated in his speech that despite the growth of the poultry sector in Nigeria, it could only meet 30% of the demands of Nigerians.
The program, according to Mr. Maduka, was designed to teach young farmers the best ways to begin and manage output.

He said that the collaboration with ECOWAS will increase efforts to guarantee the availability of meat and other foods as well as have an impact on essential skills for long-term initiatives to combat poverty.

75 of the 150 beneficiaries, according to the News Agency of Nigeria, would receive training in chicken farming in the FCT, and the other 75 would receive training in fish farming in Bauchi.

The FCT beneficiaries were given 50 birds each, bags of poultry feeds, and drugs as start-up capital.

Reporter: Zakariyya Adamu