Ayade’s Aide Makes Case For Interest In Agriculture

Chiemeka ADINDU, Calabar

Special Assistant to Cross River State governor on agric extension services, Precious Jabe Besong has challenged youths in the state to maximize the natural resources God has endowed them with. She said Cross River was a blessed land which the youths ought to ride on to ensure they develop themselves and become entrepreneurs.
She made the call during a one day Agro Industrialization summit held in Calabar on the topic “Promoting agricultural value chain to boost economic development, food sufficiency and to curb youth restiveness”. She said this is the time the youths need to think outside the box and go back to agriculture knowing that there is a high level of unemployment in the country.
Besong added that the summit will also serve as a way of kicking off this year’s farming period in the state. “Personally, I am an enterprising person and I decided to encourage, educate, motivate and sensitize Cross Riverians, especially the youths on the need for us to go back to agriculture because agric is the next big lane. We are doing registration and accreditation for follow up and to build a platform and a database to be able to follow up these participants to see those who are implementing what they have gotten from this summit and to see how to encourage them to achieve their goals.
“So it’s not just about a day, the event will be extended to Cross River Central and North and to follow up with the event, there will also be a follow up talk at the 18 local government areas. I want us as young people not to sit idle and wait for white collar jobs. Let’s go back to agric not as a way of life but as an investment, it doesn’t matter how little you want to start, but what matters is, start something.

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“If you are not running you should be crawling, if you’re not flying you should be running but the basic thing is do something. With that your free grandfather’s land, with that you free grandmother’s land, with that your free father’s land, learn fallowing. You can start from there when you get support from bank institutions you can push the support from there if you get support from government you can channel the support there”, she expressed.
She also commended the state governor for his agro industrialization projects, calling on the youths to maximize the opportunities already provided for them by the state government. She said, “Another thing I want to mention is that we already have existing industries the state government has put in place, we should be the feeders of these industries beginning from the young people. We should be able to feed the calachica, the cocoa processing factory, the vitalized rice mill in the Northern senatorial district; if the government has set in place these industries, we the youth should take advantage of them”.