August 19, 2021
By Ilyasa Baa
Investigations mounted by this medium have revealed that over eighty bushels of rice on nursery supposed to be transplanted to the youth farm in Ribbi chiefdom, which
are in need of fertilize, could not be transplanted due to “highjacking” of the land allocated in Batbai, Ribbi chiefdom in Moyamba district,.
The Vice Chairman, Ribbi Youths Council, Alusine Korom aka Gentri informed A-Z newspaper that out of the one hundred and twenty bushels of rice seedlings allocated for the Youths Farm, only eighty-five of that quantity was utilized due to certain challenges.
He explained that the remaining bushels of seeds were reserved adding that requests have been made to the Ministry of Agriculture and that of Youth Affairs to intervene so that their efforts could not go in vain.
He said the Youth Council members got disturbed by the action of the land owning family which happens to be the Cole familly of Batbai.
He complained that the time some of them were preparing the youth farm for the rice cultivation, the current occupiers did not show up during the work only to see them putting up a family farm, apparently.
“We are willing to farm but the latest development has set us back and put the whole project in jeopardy and choas”, he admitted.
He added that the project was a welcome idea as most of them believed that it is in line with the President ‘s agenda for youth empowerment and food security.
The Cole family has maintained that they ended up planting on the land in question because they noticed the land was not cultivated.
The Youth Farm project, it could be recalled was designed by government in order to alleviate unemplyment among youths and boost the production of rice. It was projected that the Ministry of Youths Affairs would cultivate 8,000 hectares with 40 hectares in each chiefdom. The project aims at providing employment opportunities for 10,000 youths with 50 in each chiefdom.