PROJECT SUMMARY
MAIN COMPONENTS OF PROJECT
AGRO INSTITUTE
An institute that trains future reliable and independent farmers to carry out agricultural research
PROJECT NARRATIVE
Our dream is to create an environment whereby youths, male and female are helped to find meaning in life through a practical training in Agriculture that makes them to view Agriculture as a possible project that can change their lives. Our farm comprises of 3 main components; An Agro Institute that champions the training of youths in the act of Modern Farming, an Agro Farm which is essentially an integrated Farming system with Crop and Animal Farming and plantations as well as an Agro-Processing-Industry. There will also be a full fledge farm settlement. This project is targeted at youths and young families with the intention of offering them hope for the future through empowerment in the area of modern agriculture. It is, therefore, aimed at helping many youths become self-reliant in order to be of help to their families. It is the desire of our Diocese to lunch into agriculture to enable us create opportunities for self-employment to our teeming youths, most of whom are led into illegal migration due to unemployment. Our project is being pursued in three phases.
- FIRST PHASE: PILOT SCHEME
First is the pilot project, which aims at helping us to develop within ten hectares of land, what we shall establish in 500 hectares. This first phase is about 40 percent completed. We have established two piggery houses, two poultry houses, twenty fish ponds and a small vegetable farm. We need to put up irrigation facilities to make for an all-year round vegetable production.
SECOND PHASE
We are yet to begin the second phase. This phase will entail the establishment of an Agricultural farm-settlement. The various value-chains of modern agriculture from production, processing, marketing and distribution to consumers shall be maintained when the second phase is fully operational. Within the 500 hectares of land we shall expand the three value chains like: Animal farming, Crop farming, Plantations already begun in the pilot phase. This project is built in the form of integrated farming system whereby the product of each aspect of the farm shall be used to feed the others; thereby reducing the cost of maintenance of the farm. This project is styled towards the Songhai experiment in Benin Republic.
THIRD PHASE: AGRIC TRAINING INSTITUTE
The third and most important aspect of this project is the establishment of a training institute where we aim at training at least 500 youths every year in the modern art of farming. At the end of their training, we shall help them to secure soft loans which will enable them establish their own farms to become self-reliant. It shall admit youths especially graduates as well as non-graduates and offer them training in Agriculture. The training shall offer three packages: A six-month course which shall enable one to have a general idea of modern farming while deepening their knowledge of only one aspect of agriculture. That means that if one is to take the six-month package, one will be introduced briefly into general agriculture and be allowed to choose to deepen their knowledge in, for instance piggery or poultry farming. There will be a one-year course and two years course which will aim at being trained in more aspects of agriculture. We have already built a classroom with 50 sitting capacity, equipped with teaching and learning facility.
