Community Leader Urges Youths To Embrace Farming

A community leader in  Ahoada East Local government Area of Rivers State, Mr. Nwaneri Okirigwe, has urged youths in the area to resort to farming to enable them earn a living in order to counter the effect of unemployment among them.

Okirigwe who made the appeal at his country home Ula-Upata over the weekend explained that experience had shown that majority of the local people were able to survive economically due to the consistency of their involvement in agricultural activities.

He said most parents were able to build houses of their own, train their children and  helping members of their extended families through farming.

Okirigwe further explained that it was because of the economic gains derived from agriculture that prompted even workers and teachers in the various local government councils across the state to go into farming to complement their meager salaries, wondering why young school leavers should not follow suit.

According to him, the idea of moving to the cities immediately after school, should be discouraged among the youths, rather, they should lend  a helping hand to their parents in their farms to enable them have a first hand experience of family responsibilities.

Mr. Okirigwe explained that the number of years spent in the city looking for non available employment, with the attendant inconveniences could not be compared with the benefits derivable from farming.

However, Okirigwe urged the state government under the leadership of Governor Chibuike Amaechi to take a proactive approach toward the improvement of the agricultural sector with a view to encouraging the youths in the state to take advantage of the available arable land in the state.

He also appealed to the various local government councils in the state to empower its people to enable them establish their own farms through the disbursement of soft loans especially the teaming youths.