40 youths undergo training in animal fattening, sorghum cultivation procedures

The Institute for Agricultural Research (IAR), Zaria, has started the training of 40 youths in modern animal fattening and sorghum cultivation procedures on a train-the-trainer platform.

Its Director, Prof. Ibrahim Umar-Abubakar, made this known in an interview with News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on the sidelines of a weeklong training at IAR, Samaru, Zaria, on Friday.

Umar-Abubakar, who spoke through the Deputy Director, Prof. Dauda Yusuf, said that IAR, a crop-based research institute, was established in 1922 to solve the problems facing agriculture in North-West agro-ecological zone.

“The institute is involved in the areas of research as well as training and empowerment of youths and women,” he said.

Umar-Abubakar said that the ongoing training had to do with youth empowerment in agricultural business skills, which covered livestock fattening and sorghum production.

He said that the essence of the training was to expose the beneficiaries to agricultural business skills that would enable them to become self-reliant and employers of labour, while training others.

“This has to do with training of 10 youths selected from Sokoto and Zamfara states respectively, as well as 20 youths selected from Kebbi. They are brought here to be given the necessary skills in livestock fattening and sorghum production.

“It is a constituency project of some federal legislators in the three states. I am glad that we are conducting this training because the main focus of the Federal Government now is how to empower the youth by creating more job opportunities.

“We want these youths to become employers of labour tomorrow; nobody will be happy that his or her children, out of school — either at secondary or university level — are sitting at home doing nothing,” he said.

According to him, the training aims at moulding the participants to become productive and useful to the society.

Umar-Abubakar said that the participants, after the training, were required go back and practise what they had learnt, while teaching other persons because the training mainly entailed practical exercises.

While commending the sponsors of the programme for the initiative, Umar-Abubakar appealed to other elected officers to take a cue from the gesture.

Also speaking, Prof. Shukurat Adunni-Sanni, Assistant Director, Extension, Monitoring and Evaluation, IAR, said that the institute would collaborate with other research institutes to provide the requisite skills for the beneficiaries.

“We have the mandate for sorghum production and we have our sister institute who have the mandate for animal production; together we shall give the participants the necessary skills.

“Ultimately, we want to ensure that the participants are skilled in livestock fattening and sorghum production,” she said.

She said that the participants were expected to be knowledgeable in agronomic practices such as crop rotation, weeds control, fertiliser application and all other requirements in sorghum production.

“On animal fattening too, we want them to be skilled in how to fatten animals and sell them off and be able to make profits from the venture.

“However, not all the trainees will be trained in the two areas; 20 will be trained in sorghum production, while 20 will be trained in livestock fattening,” she said.

Malam Musa Ibrahim-Imam, the IAR Procurement Officer and the liaison between the institute and members House of Representatives who sponsored the training, said that the whole exercise centred on the need to promote economic self-sufficiency.

He said that apart from the training, each participant would receive a take-off grant to start a business immediately after the training.

Ibrahim-Imam said that the exercise was part of the 2017 constituency project of some members of the House of Representatives.

He named the legislators as Rep. Isa Ibrahim, representing Gusau/Tsafe federal constituency of Zamfara and Rep. Aliyu Danladi, representing Zuru/Pakai/Sakaba/Danko-Wasago federal constituency of Kebbi.

He said that the remaining sponsor of the training was Rep. Ahmad Abdullahi-Kalambaina, representing Kware/Wamako federal constituency of Sokoto State.

One of the participants, Malam Yasin Mohammed-Kalambaina, who spoke on behalf of others, thanked the sponsors of the training and the institute for the opportunity given to them to get trained.