The Director-General, Agricultural and Rural Management Training Institute, Mr. Samuel Afolayan, has identified agriculture, training and skill development as measures to reduce the high rate of unemployment in Nigeria.

He stated that there were many jobseekers because many youths did not have the requisite skills to be employed.

He spoke during a training tagged 'Reaching Agents for Change', in Ilorin on Monday. The training was organised by ARMTI in collaboration with the Hellen Keller Institute and Central International De la Papa. It involved representatives of some companies and organisations from some other African countries.

He stated that  young graduates or other young but jobless people should be encouraged to take up agriculture as a source of livelihood.

According to him, there are great opportunities in the agricultural sector which if properly harnessed would provide millions of jobs and consequently drastically reduce youth and even graduate unemployment.

He stated that the development and massive production of orange-fleshed sweet potato would not only provide employment, but improve food security as well as boost foreign exchange inflow into Nigeria's economy.

Afolayan said, "Training and skill development can help reduce unemployment. It is one thing to have the skill, it is also one thing to be trained and another thing to practise it. If you are traine and you have the skills but you do not have other things that are required to practise, then the training or skill will not be of any help.

"We can use agriculture to fight unemployment in the country. But we need to have concerted efforts to actually encourage the young ones because we cannot rely on the old people and expect something because some of them are already getting old. .

"There may be the need for the government and agencies to encourage the young ones by providing opportunities for them to take loan in the form of money or to be given loan in the form of equipment which they will use instead of having to do everything manually. The problem they have in taking loan is that they do not have collateral. I believe when they are helped, they will be more and more interested in farming."