Kaduna State Governor Mallam Nasir El-Rufai has said the state, in partnership with Master Card, is set to float an agricultural project that will employ three million Kaduna youths in the next couple of months.
Governor El-Rufai, who said this in Kaduna yesterday while speaking at the 30th anniversary of the Maize Association of Nigeria (MAAN), said agriculture, remains the best option towards getting millions of youths in the country employed.
El-Rufai, who was represented at the event by the Commissioner of Agriculture, Alhaji Ibrahim Hussain said the government is also setting aside a lot of land for agriculture, which would be allocated to the youth.
Also, yesterday, the Maize Association of Nigeria (MAAN) said it would learn new technologies, adopt new varieties to increase production to meet local demand.
National President of MAAN, Dr Bello Abubakar said this in Kaduna yesterday at the book launch and award to mark the 30th anniversary of the association which also formed part of the maize pyramid unveilings scheduled for later this week.
The Maize pyramid is expected to be unveiled by President Muhammadu Buhari, Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Godwin Emefiele.
Abubakar said the maize pyramid is a way of repaying the loans given to maize farmers under the Anchor Borrowers’ Programme (ABP) of the CBN.
He said the new technologies in maize are part of its continuous efforts to make the commodity available for Nigerians.
without importing.
“One continues to learn until the day he or she dies; hence, we shall learn new technologies in maize production, new varieties of maize and handling of grains,” he said.
As part of the 30th-anniversary celebration activities, MAAN also organised a retreat which is an avenue for maize farmers to appraise their performance so far, chat a way forward and train members to better position the association.
Training with the theme “New Strategies for Redirecting the Compass of Maize Association of Nigeria,” was also organised for members of the association on emerging issues in agriculture, improved seeds, commodity markets and agricultural best practices.
The book entitled: Maize of Nigeria: History, Achievements, Future Trends Detailing the Activities of the Association since Inception was launched by stakeholders at the 30th-anniversary celebration.