Akwa Ibom State Governor, Umo Eno, has committed to funding agricultural business training for 100 young people at CSS Global Integrated Farms in Nasarawa State, introducing another opportunity for youths to explore agriculture as a source of livelihood.

The pledge was made at the ninth Ibom Ignite Conference in Uyo on Tuesday, where the governor called on young people to develop the capacity to thrive in business through innovation, learning and a willingness to adapt to new realities, Channels Television reported.

Eno said youth empowerment remained a priority of his administration, pointing to previous interventions through the Ibom Leadership and Entrepreneurial Development Centre, where 2,000 participants received training and N750,000 each as start-up support. He also cited the Dakkada Skills Acquisition Centre, which has trained another 2,000 youths who received grants ranging from N500,000 to N1 million.

The governor added that plans were underway to establish youth development centres across all 31 local government areas of the state, as part of efforts to widen access to skills acquisition and enterprise opportunities.

The Ibom Ignite Conference, established in 2017, brought together speakers to discuss personal development and entrepreneurship under the theme, “Reinvent, Rethink, Reimagine, Redesign and Become.”