The Director-General, National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), Maj.-Gen. Shuaibu Ibrahim, has appealed to personnel of the NYSC Farms and Ventures to shun acts of sabotage, dishonesty, mismanagement and other vices.
He made the appeal on Monday in Abuja while declaring open the 2022 NYSC Farm and Ventures Managers Workshop with the theme: “Effective Planning and Budgeting: A Necessity for NYSC Enterprise Operation.”
Ibrahim, who was represented by Mr Leke Abiodun, Director, Internal Audit, said it was important to shun vices as they were capable of undermining the scheme’s efforts.
He also said that as part of efforts to strengthen the management of the farms and other ventures nationwide, a circular had been issued, directing personnel manning them to report to the Director, Ventures Management.
This, he said, was for effective supervision, policy implementation and control.
He added that the move was to ensure accountability, “as we have ensured the opening of corporate accounts in commercial banks by all the ventures.
“The managers and accountants are to also ensure appropriate documentation of financial transactions for ease of reference.”
He also said that management had approved the insurance of the scheme’s crops with the National Agricultural Insurance Corporation (NAIC) during the 2022 farming season.
This, he said, was in view of the problem of low crop yield experienced in 2021 at the scheme’s farms in Kebbi and the FCT due to climate change.
Ibrahim said that a department was created in 2012 to enable the scheme provide veritable platform for Nigerian youths to achieve self-reliance, develop entrepreneurship spirit and contribute to national food security.
He said the department was to meet some of the requirements of youth corps members’ kits and orientation feeding.
He added that “this workshop is, therefore, another modest stride in our efforts to rejig the NYSC farms and other ventures for enhanced revenue generation.
“Management is particularly desirous of building the capacity of the ventures managers by acquainting them with modern skills in agricultural and business management.”
The Director, Ventures Management Department, Mr Momoh Mohammed, said that the theme of the workshop was in line with the conviction that planning and budgeting were important for sustainable and profitable operation of business enterprises.
He said that revenue generation was an added mandate for the scheme’s ventures, and without profit being generated, no revenue would accrue to the investor.
Mohammed said “I wish to put on record that the journey of revitalising and repositioning our farms and ventures have not been a smooth sail.
“While the ventures are posting profits and fulfilling other mandates, the farms need to do more to be at par with them.
“Although for our farms, there are challenges posed by unusual weather patterns, fluctuating and increasing prices of inputs and other natural phenomenon, managers must put all hands-on deck to mitigate these challenges.”
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the one-day workshop is expected to enhance the capacity of officers of the ventures for improved performance. (NAN)
