By Victor Nwegede, Abakaliki.
Songhai in collaboration with the Master Card and Regina Pacis Foundation has empowered over 200 Ebonyi youths with farm inputs, other agriculture facilities and cash.
The non-governmental organizations (NGOs) distributed the facilities to the already trained young Ebonyi indigenes dominated by females according to their agriculture value chains.
The team leader of the Songhai, Fachessi Robert stated this during the distribution of the agriculture facilities yesterday at Abakaliki, Ebonyi State capital.
He explained: "This is the Master Card program in partnership with the Songhai, mainly focused on the training of the youths especially the female.
"The beneficiaries are 70 per cent females and 30 percent for males, they are trained to be able to reduce unemployment in Ebonyi and Nigeria in general.
"They are trained for three months and after that they will be given a start up facilities. They are trained in batches, in different areas of specializations in agriculture like crop production, fishery, food processing, agro forestry, poultry, other livestock farming, market garden, etc."
After the three months, according to him, the trained students would go back, and start their own farm or improved on it if they had been into farming.
He said that each of the trained individuals must employ two more persons as part of reducing unemployment and boosting economy in the country as the organization gave them start up kits.
Robert commended the partners of Songhai especially the founder of Regina Pacis Foundation on his passion to touch life especially in helping the youths.
In her remarks, the Co-founder of Regina Pacis Foundation, Lady Mary Nkwegu commended the Chief Executive Officer of the Songhai, Rev Fr Geoffrey Izzaminjor for the gesture, saying Ebonyi youths have become the leading beneficiaries of the organization in the country.
Lady Nkwegu who specializes in farming further disclosed that the program came to being in Ebonyi when the Songhai team approached the founder of the Regina Pacis Foundation for partnership, to train the youths, most especially the female folks.
She noted that Master Card through the Songhai brought the agricultural facilities to support Regina Pacis staff, who were trained on modern agriculture, saying the distribution of the inputs was part of supporting them for advancement.
Lady Nkwegu thanked the Governor of Ebonyi State, Chief Francis Nwifuru for giving the residents of the state, an enabling environment, pointing out that, since he assumed office, the members of organization have been operating without encountering any security problem.
She explained that the start up kits for the trained students were brought from Owerri, noting that the beneficiaries majored into fishery, agro forestry, market garden, food processing, catering, crop farming, livestock production and among others.
She advocated for massive participation in agricultural practice especially the youths, and disclosed that she has no government job except farming, which in her words, has been very rewarding.
Lending his voice, Mr Opia Francis, the Manager of the Regina Pacis Farm recalled that the program has lasted for years with a remarkable achievements, noting that the distribution of the inputs to the trained students would encourage them to improve their own agricultural activities.
Meanwhile, the beneficiaries including
Dr Dandy Erogu, Nwamba Ruth, Rebecca Cynthia Ofoke, Ukangbu Ijeoma, Ifeoma Dandy among others specializing different areas have commended the three organizations and assured of utilizing the facilities for the benefit of humanity.
