Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has embarked on the training of the young rural dwellers in the country on tool fabrication and blacksmithing to diversify means of livelihood, reduce poverty rate and promote development of rural areas.

The ministry is organising the training in collaboration with the National Centre for Agricultural Mechanisation (NCAM) in Ilorin at where the one meant for a group of rural dwellers from across the states of the South West zone had been commenced

The minister in charge of the ministry, Akinwumi Adesina, at a programme held to mark commencement of the training, said by the programme, the trainees would be exposed on means of deriving their incomes from a diverse portfolio of activities in rural non-farm sector of the economy.

Adesina, who was represented at the occasion by the Permanent Secretary of the ministry, Ibukun Odusote, said the training would help “In breaking the vicious cycle of poverty when sudden shock occur in sole food production efforts within the rural economy.”

He added: “It is obvious that when the non-farm sector is encouraged and supported, it is likely to boost employment opportunity in rural settings (other than food production alone)”

The minister also described the training as a programme that would enhance the Agricultural Transformation Agenda of the government, saying this is so because “The rural youths are trained in skills to fabricate domestic/industrial parts for rural economy in the production of farm tools to support our dominant rural scale farmers in their food production efforts.”

He disclosed that the ministry would put in place monitoring mechanism to ensure sustainability of the programme through evaluation performance of those trained.

Adesina, who said some other people would also benefit on the training in future, tasked the present participants to take the training seriously.

“I specially appeal to the trainees to take the training, particularly, the practical aspect of this workshop, with all seriousness and commitment as it will definitely expose you to designs, drawings, foraging and fabrications that will be useful to you in this vocation for the needed transformation of our rural areas,” he stated.

Also speaking, Director of Department of Rural Development of the ministry, M.O. Azeez, said reliance on food production aspect of agriculture  as the only key for rural development had hindered the scope for a multi-sectoral and integrated approach to rural development programme and express hope that the training programme would make the approach more functional.

He disclosed that each of the trainees would be presented with a starter package to enable him put into practice what he has learnt.

Executive Director of the NCAM, Ike Azogu, who was represented at the occasion by an Assistant Director of the institution, Muhideen Kasali, advised the participants to focus  on the training they are to receive to enable contribute to development of the rural areas as expected of them.