TUC Seeks Youth Empowerment In Agric

The Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC), Rivers State chapter, has advocated the need for youth empowerment through agriculture.

The state Chairman of the Union, Comrade Chika Onuegbu, stated this in an interview with The Tide in Port Harcourt recently.

Comrade Onuegbu said agriculture would resolve greatly the challenge of youth unemployment in the country today.

He said easy money gotten from petroleum led to the abandonment of agriculture, changes in the fiscal federalism and the pursuit of easy life by the government and the people.

The union leader said youth unemployment rate in Nigeria is burgeoning and presently stands at well over 30% of the nation’s workforce, stressing that when segregated, the figure become more alarming when the figure for the youth unemployment in Urban areas stands at 70% and 60% in the rural areas.

Comrade Onuegbu said agricultural sector as one of the major real sector of the economy ought to be one of the basic drivers of employment creation in every society but that has not been the case in the country as a consequence distorted national policies.

The union leader said agriculture accounted for a larger percentage of the number of people in employment which account for about 70% of those in employment, stressing that the emergence of oil revenue created a situation where more people left agriculture for white collar employment.

He said agriculture could generate increasing work places for the unemployed in its various stages and processes.

Comrade Onuegbu stressed that the sector provides the needed platform towards mitigating unemployment for the youth.

He urged the community to support the Youths by creating the needed platforms to propel the youths into participating in agriculture as a reasonable direction of employment generation.

Philip Okparaji