Federal Government engages 17,000 youths in rabbits farming

The Federal Government announced its program to engage over 17,000 youths in rabbits farming across the country.

Paul Ikonne, the Executive Secretary of National Agricultural Land Development Authority, revealed this in newsmen in Abuja on Wednesday, December 2.

The programme which has already started in some states which include Imo, Abia, Cross River and Oyo states, and is also expected to involve more youths in other states, especially in the southern part of Nigeria.

“The President had inaugurated the national young farmers’ scheme, and we intend to take in 774,000 young Nigerians into the entire agribusiness. This programme has started implementing the first leg, which is our animal husbandry. Ikonne said.

Ikonne also added the government would be providing the rabbits, cage, vaccine and training for participants at no cost attached.

However, he noted that the first set of participants would be required to bring back the kitten from the rabbits they train in other to use in the empowerment of other youths.

“In this segment, we are doing goat and rabbit rearing. A lot of people do not know the potentials, the benefits and the money they can make from rearing rabbits. Rabbit has an entire value chain, nothing is a waste farming rabbit.

“So we are engaging our youths into rabbit farming, NALDA has designed a programme to take in 17,000 rabbit farmers especially in the South, and we have commenced the engagement in some states.”