Author: The Eagle Online

However, Kwara State under the able leadership of Dr Abdulfatah Ahmed has brought certain levels of intervention to the people of the state through the medium and small enterprise funding windows where entrepreneurs, small traders are made to access funds either under associations, groups or cooperatives to trade in their small businesses. But one critical angle took by the administration to change the economic environment of the state and create employment opportunity for the teeming youths, is driving agriculture. Agriculture is, therefore, one area that the administration has taken seriously as a means of creating jobs, the state has commenced a programme called the Off-Taker Demand Driven Agricultural Scheme (ODDA) which has engaged youths across the state in farming. It was designed to begin to make youths move away from the so-called white caller jobs. The government in turn invested in land clearing, agricultural inputs, credit facilities, fertilizers, seedlings and land for farming. Also, road infrastructure is provided to enable the transportation of agricultural produce to urban centres. The essence of ODDA scheme, nevertheless, is to guide participants from what they are producing to the ultimate consumer of their products and allow them to see the value chain that goes on in any typical production process. Interestingly, many youths in the state have keyed into the agricultural scheme thereby accessing funds meant for the scheme under the Commercial Agricultural Credit Scheme (CACS) that the Federal Government made available through Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). The sum of One billion naira was provided to the state by the Federal Government through CBN to fund the programme which gave birth to the ODDA initiative of the state government. About 800 farmers, including youths and farmers in the state have benefitted so far from the first stream. The scheme is expected to be upscaled this year while the state government will also benefit from another agricultural programme initiated by the Federal Government called the Anchor Borrowers Scheme which is another funding window by the Central Bank of Nigeria to raise another generation of farmers.

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He added: “Who knows? If you’re that big and that muscley, there’s something wrong. I have heard the word, I have looked at him and I have seen. He has been very close with Klitschko… he has been a reigning champion for a long time. So I don’t know… it may be true, or maybe not.

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