By Emeka Oluka and Joy Adeyiga
The Organic Agriculture Project in Tertiary Institutions in Nigeria (OAPTIN), has presented certificates to 32 Work, Earn and Learn Programme (WELP), Trainees who have completed the 10th and 11th Training cycles of the Programme.
Speaking at the occasion of the Certificate Award Ceremony, the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Babatunde Kehinde charged the Graduands to go beyond the certificate, adding that the University Management would be supporting them with finance and facilities to ensure they are well established to attract companies and other well-meaning Nigerians.
He congratulated the Trainees for the successful completion of the Programme, which according to him is the future of agriculture in Nigeria. He added that the sky is their limit because they have made the right decision.
He also commended the coordinator of WELP, Prof. Isaac Aiyelaagbe whom he referred to as the father of organic agriculture in Nigeria, and all the facilitators for their tireless efforts in making sure that the training year was successful.
Earlier in his Opening Remarks, the Coordinator of WELP, Prof. Aiyelaagbe disclosed that the Programme has trained 230 youths and four staff members of the University drawn from different Departments, adding that WELP has also trained up to 200 tudents who took some modules of Organic Agriculture in their Farm Practical Year (FPY).
He noted that some of the WELP Alumni have gone on to establish their small-scale organic enterprises using the knowledge and skills gathered, while others work for big organic farms.
The Coordinator who will be stepping down after fifteen years expressed his gratitude to WELP for the opportunity granted him to serve the University community, acknowledging that it was the cooperation of the members that made him successful as the pioneer Coordinator of the Programme.
The keynote Speaker, Mr. Yomi Onabolu of Amazon Farms in his speech, appreciated the opportunity granted to Amazon Farms at the occasion, noting that WELP is doing a fantastic job in ensuring that the future of agriculture in Nigeria is shaped in the right direction.
Congratulating the participants for being in the right place, he stated that people were beginning to appreciate organic products, noting that a lot of producers are coming into Nigeria, which has increased the level of its demand even beyond the shores of this country.
He further explained that 70 percent of what was needed to understand organic farming is science-based, 20 percent of the experience, and 10 percent of the initiative would go into packaging and branding the farm produce.
Mr. Onabolu while congratulating them for making the best choice, wished them the best in their future endeavors.
OAPTIN is a project established with the sole aim of building entrepreneurs in organic agriculture in the country, while WELP is one of the capacity-building programmes of the OAPTIN Project.
The Programme was conceived in 2009 as a collaborative project between the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta (FUNAAB), and the Conventry University, United Kingdom (UK) for developing Entrepreneurship in organic agriculture among graduates in Nigeria.
Highpoint of the event was testimonies from Graduands, presentation of gift to some of the best Trainees and Award of certificate to all the graduating students.
