Engineer ‘Seyi Makinde’s government in Oyo State has approved N500 million to support beneficiaries of the Youth Entrepreneurship in Agribusiness Project.

This decision, announced during an Executive Council meeting presided over by Acting Governor Bayo Lawal, is part of the state’s Sustainable Actions for Economic Recovery programme.

YEAP, facilitated by the Oyo State Agribusiness Development Agency, trained about 3,300 youths in 2021.

A late Wednesday post on the state’s official X account revealed that the approval was a significant move to bolster youth entrepreneurship in the agricultural sector.

According to the post, this 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 the Oyo state government to ease the economic burden placed on the people as a consequence of subsidy removal of Premium Motor Spirit, popularly known as petrol.

The N500m contribution from the state government is further augmented by an additional N1bn provided by FCMB, bringing the total support to N1.5bn.

It read, “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.”

The collaborative effort between the Oyo State Government and FCMB is expected to significantly enhance the capacity of young entrepreneurs in the agribusiness sector, contributing to job creation and sustainable economic development in the region.

In February, the state government announced 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 the YEAP programme.

The International Institute of Tropical Agriculture stated on its website that the Oyo State YEAP offers intensive agribusiness training and support to empower youth aged 25-35, aiming to reduce unemployment and improve livelihoods.

A report on the site titled, “Intensive Agribusiness Training for YEAP Beneficiaries,” stated.

It read, “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.”

Credit: punchng.com