An unemployed graduate of University of Abuja, Ms Felicia Ezekiel, said
her involvement in agriculture once saved her from committing suicide.
Ezekiel, who holds a B.Sc. Accounting degree, said this in an interview with NAN in Abuja yesterday.
She
recalled that her involvement in agriculture made her to jettison the
evil idea of committing suicide because of frustration induced by her
staying at home for three years without a job…
She
said: “After graduating and staying at home for three years, while
seeking a white-collar job as a graduate of Accounting which wasn’t
forthcoming, I became anxious and disenchanted.
“I was almost
going mad; I even went to the extreme by attempting suicide until a
Good Samaritan, who was into Ugwu (pumpkin) vegetable farming,
encouraged me to go into farming.
“I reluctantly went into Ugwu
vegetable farming as a last resort because I have exhausted all the
available options, as advised by my mother.
“I was motivated to
go into agriculture because of President Muhammadu Buhari’s
agriculture-driven policies which many citizens embraced and became rich
after crop growing and harvests.
“Today, I can tell you that I
am a proud Ugwu vegetable farmer; through farming, I have started making
money and paying my bills.
“I started by renting a parcel of
land for N20,000 annually in Kugbaru, Karu Local Government Area of
Nasarawa State, and today, I employ over seven persons and have over 40
off-takers,’’ she said.
Ezekiel said Ugwu vegetable farming had
given her more that she had bargained for, as she could now count her
achievements with joy.
“We have two graduates in the house
who are not working, a mother and other siblings, but through Ugwu
vegetable farming, I cater for the needs of my entire household.
“It
is through Ugwu vegetable cultivation that I pay my house rent and let
me shock you; I am currently building a house, which is already at the
roofing stage. I am paying the school fees of my younger ones and taking
care of my aged mother; through Ugwu vegetable farming, I am able to
take care of my family.
“I am planning to engage in the
cultivation of other crops like beans, maize and yam during this rainy
season but Ugwu vegetable farming will remain my main business.
“My
advice for those youths waiting for white-collar jobs is for them to
embrace farming because the Buhari-administration is promoting the
interests of farmers, including the youth,’’ she said.
