The Kogi State Government has provided jobs for 4,479 women and youths in the last one year.
Dr Temitope Sinkaiye, Special Adviser on Women and Youth Development to Governor Idris Wada, disclosed this to newsmen.
Sinkaiye said that the beneficiaries were 1,019 university and polytechnic graduates as well as 3, 460 secondary school leavers.
She said that the graduates were engaged in agriculture after receiving one week training in poultry production, fishery and cattle rearing.
Sinkaiye said that at the end of the training, the graduates were given N250, 000 each in instalments to start their businesses based on their business plans.
The special adviser said that government decided to focus on agriculture due to the vast arable land, water resources and good climate the state had.
She said that some of the graduates were being assisted by her office to access loans from the Bank of Agriculture to expand their businesses.
Sinkaiye said that the 3,460 secondary school leavers were engaged to clean roads and drainages, cut grass and sweep schools and public places between the hours of 7 am and 10 am on week days.
She said that the school leavers, who were paid monthly stipend of N7, 000 each were reporting to training centres where they were being trained in various skills of their choice after their work.
According to her, the N7, 000 stipend was to cover their feeding and transportation for the one year period of the programme.
She said that the government spent an average of N23 million per month to maintain the beneficiaries who were selected from the 21 local government areas of the state.
Shinkaye also told newsmen that no fewer than 8,000 women and youths had been engaged in cassava and accelerated rice production programme of the government.
She said that government had provided free improved seedlings sourced from the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture to farmers in the state.
