Uplifting Youths through Agriculture (UYOTA), a Civil Society Organisation(CSO), says self-sufficient farming will go a long way in addressing youth unemployment.
The Co-Founder of UYOTA, Nnamdi Adigwe, made this submission in an interview with the Newsmen on Thursday in Abuja.
Adigwe said that self-sufficient farming was key to achieving food sovereignty for national prosperity.
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He said the CSO was working towards organising a youth summit aimed at re-orientating the youths on the benefits of agriculture.
“The planned summit focuses on addressing youth employment, especially in the rural areas.
“We plan to come up with tangible solutions and programmes in the agricultural sector as we believe agriculture provides a great opportunity for addressing youth unemployment.”
Adigwe said the CSO was committed to engaging youths in agriculture through the traditional rulers.
According to him, UYOTA has reached out to youths in different geopolitical regions, educating them on self-sufficient farming and encouraging them to see farming as an attractive and viable profession.
Adigwe expressed confidence in the capability of agriculture to address the problem of brain drain otherwise called Japa syndrome.
“UYOTA is in partnership with ED Group Nigeria, and support from China Association for International Economic Cooperation (CIBDC).
“We have proposed Smart Farming Industrial Estate with the model being Live-Learn-Work which focuses on youth employment in Nigeria,” he said.