Kwara State government is to generate 20,000 agro-related jobs annually to eradicate poverty and create wealth, especially among youths.

Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed spoke when participants of Course 38 of the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), Kuru, Plateau State visited him.

He noted that it could improve people's lives.

The governor said about 50,000 Small Medium Enterprises had been empowered, adding that N2 billion would be injected into the scheme in three years, with priority on youths and women beneficiaries.

"Our determination is to generate a successor-generation of commercial farmers driven by an entrepreneurial mindset for job and wealth creation."

He said poverty remained a dominant issue in the country, as the 2015 Human Development Index ranked Nigeria 152 of 188 countries in 2014.

Leader of the NIPSS team Brig.-Gen. Daniel Chinoko said the team, which is Group 6 of the course, was in the state to understudy the government's poverty reduction programmes and policies.

Chinoko, who said the theme of Course 38 is 'Strengthening institutional mechanism for poverty reduction and inclusive governance', promised that the team's report would be unbiased.