Uniabuja Ventures to enrol 100,000 students for farming scheme

By Matthew Denis, Abuja

In a bid to enhance farming activities in the country, the University of Abuja (Uniabuja ) Ventures Limited has concluded plans to enroll 100,000 students nationwide with the target of ensuring food availability, security and profitability.

The Chief Executive Officer and Group Managing Director of UniAbuja Ventures Limited, Hon.Teslim Balogun made the disclosure during the Agro and Environmental 2024 Summit powered by the ventures held in Abuja on Wednesday.

He said, “Yesterday we were able to get some support from the Turkish and Danish delegations in terms of scholarship, grants, seed funding for more research works, you know we are doing research here we want to improve the seedlings.

“For example, we have various species of rice seeds but we now have a popular seed called faro 44. When you plant it you can have more yields and output production on each hectare of land.”

The GMD revealed that the Turkish Delegation is pledging funds between $10 to $30 million for three major schemes such as the Agro Processing Hub, Machineries so that our Agro products increase in terms of value addition in terms of monetary aspects.

“The Turkish also believes in investing in scale businesses to provide the equipment for farming, research methodology, exchange programmes as well that is why we are bringing the students to key in thereby providing them seedlings and equipment for farming.

“The programme we are trying to set up we want to have a 100,000 students capture in the next four years, which is a youth programme across the 36 states, and people can apply in any part of the country so far you viable idea and register your business.:

“When you apply for these funds we will come and do some verification and the funds will be injected into your farm, and there will be off takers agreement to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Uniabuja Ventures and the Turkish Delegation to secure these foods production,” He said.

Speaking on the summit he emphasised that it is about food security, application of technology in Agriculture to improve our yields, climate change and climate funds as well and how to access it.

“We are also looking at the supply chain optimization that involved in moving Agric products from one country to another and issues partnering to storage facilities.”

Hon. Balogun stressed that the summit is apt, and an opportunity for major stakeholders to deal with the major crisis of food scarcity, inflation and how to proffer solutions to improve yields, farmlands, storage facilities and to enhance roads logistics network hinterlands etc.

According to him, the programme is targeted at the use of technologies on the farmlands thereby shifting from the old spraying techniques to the modern spraying techniques.

He said, “It will take a farmer a lot of time to spray 100 hectares of land but with the use of modern sprayers like drones it can cover these hectares within the period of six hours.

“On climate change he explained that there are many factors affecting the farming system in Nigeria such as deforestation without reforestation programmes which is becoming dangerous to the ecosystem.”