Kogi to create 50,000 jobs through agriculture

In a bid to combat the scourge of recession, the Kogi state government has assured the people of the state that it would create over 50,000 jobs with the new focus on agriculture.

The state governor, Alhaji Yahaya Bello, disclosed this on Sunday while appreciating the massive agricultural activities at Omi Dam in the western senatorial district of the state saying that it is one of the significant projects of his administration designed to tackle the recession through up-scaling of agricultural production.
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The governor said his administration has identified agriculture as the crucial sector of the Nigerian economy that will provide massive food production, youth engagement and improve the value chain of a year-round farming which the project offers.

Bello, who spoke through his Director General, Media and Publicity, Kingsley Fanwo, said: “We are targeting massive wealth creation at the Omi Dam Irrigation Project. A number of investors are already there and we hope to push higher in the coming months and open a vista of opportunities for the people. Our target is to generate over 50,000 jobs at Omi and engage our youth in commercial agriculture as a way of disengaging them from crimes. It is already paying off as we are also exploring such opportunities in other Senatorial Districts across the state.”

Bello said his administration is working with a number of agricultural programes and policies that will serve as impetus for higher agricultural production, expressing satisfaction with the seamless mechanism for fertilizer supply to improve yield.
“The New Direction administration is committed to food security through commercial agriculture and we want investors to keep trooping into the state to tap into our great agricultural potentials. Kogi is ready to feed Nigeria”.

The Governor called on the youth to form agricultural cooperatives and be prepared to be job creators rather than job seekers, assuring them of continued support by his administration.