Currently at 33%, and with data showing a constant increase in the nation's unemployment figures over the years, youths have been urged to take advantage of the opportunities available to them in agro-allied ventures.
Through the Ministry of Youth and Sports Development, the federal government said it has provided start-up packs and other agro-allied equipment for interested youths to become self-employed and job creators instead of waiting for non-existent white-collar jobs.
Sunday Dare, minister of Youth and Sports Development, said during the closing ceremony of a two-week National Youth in Agriculture Empowerment Training Programme in Jos that the scheme is designed to close the growing unemployment rate among Nigerian youths - especially those between 15 to 29 years nationwide.
Dare, represented by the director of Enterprise Development and Promotion Department (EYD), Prince Momoh Olugbenga, said the training was also conceived to address the growing restiveness among youths. He said it would arouse their interest in profitable agro-allied businesses to boost economic growth and development.
"A general survey has indicated and confirmed that Agriculture and Agro-allied business are one of the areas where jobs and employment opportunities abound and will continue to be relevant and as well play significant roles in the economy of this and other centuries," he said. "There is [a] need to build the capacity of our youth in areas where we have [a] comparative advantage in both material and human resources."
He said tapping into the potentials of the youth could prove a crucial asset for the country's economic development with the acquisition of relevant and marketable Agro-allied skills that meet the demands of the 21st century.
He, therefore, called on relevant stakeholders to invest and harness the potential of the youth and mobilize their energies, talents, visions and creativity for socio-economic development.
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