By Mohamed T Massaquoi
A non-governmental organisation, PaRD Sierra Leone, in partnership with Growth Centre has presented certificates to 175 young people across the district at the end of a three-month training in agricultural production.
Speaking to Politico, the PaRD Sierra Leone director, Mahmoud Borbor Kargbo said the training was designed to help young people become "useful agents in development initiative".
Kargbo said his organisation's "major concerns for the training were to impart technical knowledge to the trainees on how to process cassava and rice in different forms that will be attractive and economical to society and to help them in adult literacy education".
He said the trainees were given a stipend and "we didn't train them to become farmers but to use their technical ideas in helping local cultivators in buying their produce for final processing". He said the trainees would be divided into ten cooperative groups and given financial support worth over Le 60 million.
Kargbo said a monitoring process would be set up to make sure the funds were used judiciously and pleaded with development agencies and the agriculture ministry to provide additional support to the groups in the district.
The Regional Coordinator of the National Youth Commission in the South, Kabba Sesay encouraged members of the cooperatives to make the best use of their technical knowledge and urged the district council and other NGOs to work with the young people of Pujehun.
Massah Mallah, one of the beneficiaries assured the trainers and the World Bank who provided the funds that their efforts would not go in vain.
(C) Politico 11/02/14
