President Speech
Members
of the Board of Trustees of United Young Farmers Forum,
Project Manager & Consultants
United Young Farmers Forum,
Executives of UYFF,
Special Guest of Honour,
Gentlemen of the Press,
Members of United Young Farmers
Forum.
I welcome you to this August
Occasion. It is a delight to host this three in one event: Where we intend to
train executives of UYFF, host our inaugural meeting and brief Gentlemen of the
Press on the various activities of our organization. United Young Farmers Forum
is a movement of Nigerian Youths for Nigerian Youths. We are focused on
mobilizing Nigerian Youths into various Agricultural Value Chains. Our Mission
is to create a new generation of vibrant prosperous farmers who will ensure
food security for Nigeria, create massive jobs to tackle unemployment and
consequently create wealth for development of the National Economy.
Youths
are the foundation of a society. Their energy, inventiveness, character and
orientation define the pace of development and the security of a nation.
Through their creative talents and labour power, a nation makes giant strides
in economic development and socio-political attainments. In their dreams and
hopes, a nation founds her motivation; on their energies, she builds her
vitality and purpose. And because of their dreams and aspirations, the future
of a nation is assured.
Agriculture
is the second most important sector after the petroleum sector in the Nigerian
economy with respect to foreign exchange earnings, but the most important in
terms of contribution to employment and livelihood sustenance. Currently, the contribution to GDP is
estimated at about 21%. The sector
provides the bulk (over 60%) of food consumed in Nigeria, especially in the
rural areas, and employs about 70% of the work force. The sector in addition to feeding the people
provides food to livestock as feeds, pasture, offal, fodder, haulms and grains.
Presently we have 250,000
registered members across Nigeria and we intend to mobilize 20 million young
farmers in 10 years.
Our Core Strategies are to:
Mobilize and sensitize youth for participation
in agriculture; Improve the
quality of youth and women in agriculture through training, seminars and
exhibitions; Promote gender
mainstreaming in agriculture; Identify
and document youth cooperatives and groups in agribusiness; Encourage the participation of
youth hand women in exhibitions nationally and internationally; Provide relevant information in
best modern agricultural practices through -extension services; Identify and Advocate for support
from development partners, the private sector and states; Collaborate with Ministries
Department and Agencies especially the Ministry of Youth & Ministry of
Agriculture & Rural Development; Help
Establish credit windows at single digit interest rates which will be available
to youth.
Achievements
So far
We have signed Memorandum of Understanding with
Major Agricultural Institutions in Nigeria, New Zealand, India, Israel and
Thailand to build capacity of aspiring young farmers in Rice Value Chain,
Irrigation, Dairy Farming, Aquaculture and Conflict resolution to address
issues of Farmer-Herdsmen conflicts. We have successfully established state
chapters of UYFF with registered members across 36 states of the Federation and
FCT
Conclusion
We humbly request for the support
of the Federal Government, Development Partners, Civil Society Groups, the
Press and private individuals to support our initiatives. We know agriculture
holds the future for Nigeria. UYFF is ready to work with all stakeholders and
we look forward to meaningful partnerships with key players in the Agricultural
sector and the nation at large. Thank you for listening, God bless the Federal
Republic of Nigeria.
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