24th May, 2014
Lagos State lawmaker, Ibrahim Layode, on Saturday called for more funds to expand the Youth Empowerment Scheme (YES) and other agricultural programmes of the state.
Layode (APC-Badagry II) told NAN that expansion and sustenance of the programmes would boost food production.
“What the Ministry of Agriculture is getting from the state government should be increased.
“We are performing our oversight functions on this and follow the budget it presents to us,” Layode, the Chairman of the Lagos State House of Assembly Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development, said.
He noted that YES had been training youths in different areas of agriculture for six months.
“We have lands where we farm in Badagry, Epe and Ikorodu.
“We train them on rice and poultry farming and other areas; we are graduating the fourth set in Epe.
“We are training about 100 students; the state government has been giving graduates money to start businesses while we monitor them.
“There are people planting rice in Badagry, where they cultivate 10,000 hectares of land; some of them are into poultry farming.
“The government will give them 60 per cent of the money needed,” he said.