‘YEAP’s Inauguration In Rivers, Not FAO Sponsored’

L-R: Mr Habila Kaura, Chief of Ebba vilage, New Karu Nasarawa State, Chief Yakubu Maikabila; West African Regional Director, United States Latino American Chamber of Commerce (Uslacc), Mrs Ifeoma Ejiogu and her husband, Mr Ejiogu, at the launch of Agriculture Youths Empowerment Programme in Ebba Village in Nasarawa State last Monday

A representative of the
Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), Dr Rabe Mani, has disclosed that the recent inauguration of the Youth Employment In Agrciulture Programme (YEAP) and the Rivers State Steering Committee (SSC) recently was not an FAO project.
Mani who was addressing participants at the event recently explained that YEAP was a national programme.
According to him, the support which FAO was providing were purely technical, finance and expertise “we are providing the resources, providing technical support because that is our mandate and not to take over anything”, he said.
He said FAO was reluctant to own the project even as he called for caution on the emphasis on graduate entrepreneurs.
According to him, one does not necessarily need to be a graduate to be an entrepreneur.
“More often than not, graduates are not the successful ones because they want to look at the book and do the book agriculture”.
The FAO boss added that the programme was meant for and open to both graduates and non-graduates adding that graduates may have their special needs in terms of training.
He said the important aspect was how the process was approached according to each group because even non-graduates would have their special needs in terms of training and capacity building.  The programme was organised  by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture in collaboration with the Rivers State Ministry of Agriculture.