By NewsCritic Reporters
Abia State Secretary Council of Community Youths, Comrade Iheanyi Uche, has appealed to Abia State Governor Dr Alex Otti to consider the 2019 trainees of CSS Integrated Farm Nasarawa in the new arrangement the State government wants to enter with the Nasarawa State based Farm.
In 2019 former Gov Okezie Ikpeazu, according to the Youth Leader selected about 200 youths from Abia to undergo training at CSS Integrated Farm Nasarawa, in mechanized farming and food processing with a promise to empower or take them in the state ministry of agriculture. He said after the training which lasted for two weeks, the former Gov Ikpeazu did not fulfil his promises to the trainees until the end of his tenure in May 29, 2023.
He is therefore making a case for Gov Alex Otti who was on a working visit to the CSS Integrated Farm recently, and about to enter into a Memorandum of Understanding with the organisation to train Abia farmers, to also carry along those already trained and waiting on the government to assist them to start something.
Comrade Uche said that the 2019 set of trainees got the information that Gov Otti had asked the Commissioner Ministry of Agriculture and Special Adviser on Agriculture, Prof Monica Ironkwe and Dr Cliff Agbaeze, to meet with the chairman of CSS Integrated Farm to establish a MOU, adding that they want to be considered in this new plan.
Said the comrade “the actual number that were trained is 188 farmers because 12 of us couldn’t be available. We were trained in mechanized farming and agricultural value chain and food processing. The governor assured us that when we return government will empower the trainees to start something or absorb them in the ministry of Agric to pass the knowledge to others. And we were not given any allowance or incentives throughout the period of the training.
“Since we came back, we have been disturbing the government to honour its promise to enable us start something but no response. Afterwards we were asked to open account with Bank of Agriculture that they will pay the money into the account, which we did and till date nothing happened. This is the true situation.
“We are making a case for the first set of trainees that Gov Otti should look into their plight and see how to settle them or merge them with the new group to be retrained because it will help to boost food production in the state and we can rely on Gov Otti.
