NDE, CSS Farms Train Yobe Retirees On Agribusiness For Life After Service

The National Directorate of Employment (NDE), in collaboration with CSS Global Integrated Farms and the Yobe State Government, has commenced a five day pre-retirement training programme aimed at equipping prospective retirees with practical agribusiness skills for sustainable livelihoods after leaving public service.

The training, holding in Gora, Nasarawa State, is focused on animal husbandry, fish farming and food processing, with organisers urging participants to develop alternative sources of income before retirement.

Chairman of CSS Global Integrated Farms, Prof. John Kennedy Opara, represented by the Training Coordinator, Dr Victor Umunnakwe, said the programme was designed to expose participants to agricultural ventures that could be established with limited capital and space, including at the backyard level.

Opara explained that animal husbandry, fish farming and food production were selected because they could be undertaken on relatively small spaces compared with large-scale crop farming.

He urged the participants to take the practical sessions seriously and acquire the skills required to establish and manage agricultural enterprises before and after retirement.

Representing the Yobe State Head of Service, Alhaji Abdullahi Musa, the Permanent Secretary, Public Service, Alhaji Ahmadu Babi, said retirement should not mark the end of an individual’s productive life.

Babi described retirement as an opportunity to begin a new chapter and urged the participants to maximise the training to acquire skills capable of providing sustainable income and greater financial independence.

The Director-General of the NDE, Mr Silas Agara, represented by the Chief Enterprise Development Officer, Mr Abba Adamu, said the initiative was aimed at promoting self-employment among prospective retirees by exposing them to viable opportunities across the agricultural value chain.

He said the training would help participants prepare for life beyond public service by developing practical skills that could translate into income-generating ventures.

The five day programme is expected to provide prospective retirees with the knowledge and practical experience needed to pursue productive agricultural enterprises and achieve greater financial independence after active service.