FG to create 5m jobs through agriculture

The Federal Government will create five million jobs for unem-ployed youths before 2015 through its agricultural transformation programme,
Minister of Agricul-ture, Dr. Adewumi Adesina, has said.
The minister, who stated this yesterday at the ground breaking ceremony of the joint accelerated rice farming programme in Okumi Oworo in Lokoja Local Government Area of Kogi State, added that the Federal Government will ensure the provision of water and access roads to the farms so as to encourage private participation in the project.
He said the Federal Government is determined to make the country the net exporter of rice and cassava.
The minister charged Kogi State government to intensify efforts in its agricultural programmes so as to generate more employment opportunities for its youths.
Earlier,  Kogi State Governor Idris Wada said the state government through collective participation of individuals, cooperative societies and corpo-rate organisation, was able to clear 3,000 hectares of land for rice cultivation