1,100 beneficiaries begin cassava scheme pre-season training

Pre-season training for Batch C’ Ogun State Cassava Anchor Borrowers Programme (ABP) nominees, who have received credit facilities and got land allocations from the state government (2,500 hectares) at various locations, has begun.

The youths, who had earlier registered on the Ogun Job Portal, have been linked to FGN/CBN Cassava ABP opportunities, and are now gathered in four zones for pre-season activities of training and sensitisation, ahead of the planting season. 

The 1100 youths are in addition to the previous 4,565 beneficiaries in the state.

As approved by Governor Dapo Abiodun, the state is providing supplementary technical assistance to the beneficiaries, in addition to the training opportunities embedded in the FGN/CBN scheme. 

The state Commissioner for Agriculture, Dr Adeola Odedina, at the inauguration of the training at Ogun State Agricultural Development Programme (OGADEP), Abeokuta, yesterday, said: “In preparation for cassava farming activities, Ogun State Government…has prepared 2,500 hectares of land to support these young beneficiaries who claimed not to have land, while filing their documentation with CBN under the guidance of the Government of Ogun State.”

He added that at the commencement of rain, the beneficiaries would be linked with inputs such as improved stem cuttings, fertiliser and further training, as agreed by the farmers’ organisations and CBN in terms of timing, quantities, price and who to procure.

He disclosed that the government did not and would not interfere in the procurement process, rather, it was the farmers themselves that took the earlier decision under the guidelines of the CBN for the ABP. 

He said the additional training opportunity was being fully funded by the state government, outside the loan structure of the CBN.

“I will implore participants to take full advantage of the free advisory services that are being provided by OGADEP, which will be in addition to training programmes already embedded in the ABP guidelines,” he said.

The state has one of the biggest Cassava ABP in the country with over 5,000 people already on board.