NAN
The Kogi State Agricultural Development Project (ADP), on Thursday, inaugurated an Information Communication Technology (ICT) and Agricultural Training Centre at its headquarters, in Lokoja.
The Managing Director of ADP, Mr. Oyisi Okatahi, said at the inauguration that the centre would begin a three-day training of youths in the general use of information technology on May 30.
He said that more than 50 people, in addition to 50 ADP workers, had been enrolled for the training at the centre.
He said that the participants would be trained in subjects such as database management, software applications and Microsoft Office applications, among others.
Besides, Okatahi said that the centre would train the participants in livestock, crop production, fishery, agricultural extension services and agricultural best practices.
He said that the knowledge which the participants would acquire during the training would equip them with the wherewithal that would enable them to contribute the state’s agricultural production.
He stressed that the acquisition of a combination of information technology and agricultural skills would boost efforts to enhance youth empowerment.
“The training is more practical than theoretical. Due to the difficult economic situation, the training will be free for early comers but it will subsequently attract a fee to enable it to be sustainable,’’ he said.
Okatahi, therefore, urged those who were interested in enrolling for the training to contact the ADP headquarters in person or online for further details.
He commended Gov. Yahaya Bello for putting in place new innovations which would transform the agricultural sector of the state.
The managing director advised the youth to key into the federal and state governments’ agricultural programmes to enable them to become employers of labour.
Kogi ADP inaugurated an online agricultural marketplace in February.
The programme was aimed at enabling farmers in the state to sell their produce at good prices without the undue interference of middlemen.