Oyo State Government has approved N500 million to support beneficiaries of the programme, Youth Entrepreneurship in Agribusiness Project (YEAP).
Gatekeepers News reports that YEAP which trained about 3,300 youths in 2021 is facilitated by Oyo State Agribusiness Development Agency.
The development was announced during an Executive Council meeting presided over by Acting Governor Bayo Lawal, as part of the state’s Sustainable Actions for Economic Recovery programme.
According to a late Wednesday post on state’s official X account; the approval was a significant move to bolster youth entrepreneurship in the agricultural sector.
The financial support is part of the broader SAfER programme, aimed at driving economic recovery and growth in the state.
SAfER is a multi-prong intervention implemented by Oyo state government to ease economic burden placed on people as a consequence of subsidy removal of Premium Motor Spirit, popularly known as petrol.
The N500m contribution from state government is further augmented by an additional N1bn provided by FCMB, bringing the total support to N1.5bn.
The post goes, “The Oyo State Executive Council (ExCo) met today and approved the sum of N500 million as enterprise support to Youth Entrepreneurship in Agribusiness Project (YEAP) beneficiaries.”
“The N500 million was approved for YEAP beneficiaries under the Sustainable Actions for Economic Recovery (SAfER) programme.”
“The support is being provided in collaboration with First City Monument Bank (FCMB), which will be providing an additional N1 billion, making a total of N1.5 billion.
“Acting Governor, Barr. Abdulraheem @BayoLawal, presided over the ExCo meeting.”
Collaboration of Oyo State Government and FCMB aims to significantly enhance capacity of young entrepreneurs in agribusiness sector, contributing to job creation and sustainable economic development in the region.
In February, the state government announced that it would disburse N340.270m to crop farmers as part of its SAfER initiative, following a recent N416.850m disbursement, with a total of N1bn allocated to support farmers, including those trained under YEAP programme.
International Institute of Tropical Agriculture stated on its website that
Oyo State YEAP offers intensive agribusiness training and support to empower youth aged 25-35 and aims to reduce unemployment and improve livelihoods.
This was revealed through a report posted on the site titled, “Intensive Agribusiness Training for YEAP Beneficiaries.”
It goes, “The youth between the ages of 25-35 years, with at least 30% female, will be provided with the appropriate agribusiness skills, mentorship, and business startup support via training and hands-on demonstrations.”
“By employing an agribusiness incubation and apprenticeship model, youths will be trained annually and leverage partnerships with development partners and private sector actors in downstream, midstream, and upstream agribusiness activities.”
