To prepare youths for the future and contribute to efforts towards economic diversification through agriculture, the management of the Bamidele Olumilua University of Education, Science and Technology Ikere-Ekiti (BOUESTI) has introduced a compulsory course on practical farming. The management revealed that the two-unit course ‘Practical Skills in Agriculture’ was designed for 200-level students to plant and nurture crops in the institution’s farm for hands-on knowledge on farming and to encourage them to embrace agriculture after their graduation to boost the economy. Speaking on the development, a supervisor in the Department of Agriculture, Pius Ogunjobi explained that the initiative was conceptualised for students to have basic knowledge in farming and prepare them towards making a living for themselves. He said, “The school is looking in the direction of the government towards making agriculture attractive, guaranteeing food security and boosting the economy.” On his part, the Vice-Chancellor of BOUESTI, Professor Victor Adeoluwa noted that the university was determined to produce graduates that would compete favorably in the labour market, armed with needed skills across all sectors of the economy. According to him, the farming course was necessary to ascertain graduating students are empowered not to be job seekers. “The time has gone beyond certificates in education but acquiring skills in order to survive in the labour market. “All we are doing is to encourage students that they can make a life for themselves through agriculture and be self-reliant. We want them to be employers of labor and farming is a potent tool to achieve this.”
