The Eastern Regional Office of the National Youth Authority (NYA) has trained 500 youth in the area since the beginning of the year in poultry farming at the Youth Training Institute at Afienya.

After five days training, each trainee was given 100 birds free to start his or her own poultry farms with the aim of empowering the youth.

Mr. Paapa Adjei-Kyeremeh, Eastern Regional Director of the NYA said this when speaking to the Ghana News Agency (GNA) during a visit to their stand at the on-going regional policy fair in Koforidua.

He said the birds which were imported from Japan were given to the trainees after six weeks.

Mr. Adjei-Kyeremeh said the programme existed to provide relevant and conducive environment that defined and supported the implementation of effective youth empowerment.

He said throughout the world, the youth were recognized as the most important human capital, hence the interventions to enhance their development.

Mr. Adjei-Kyeremeh said that, the NYA primary mission was to prepare the youth to assume the responsibility of adult life to contribute to national development.

Mr. Samuel Ashitey, Senior Public Relations Officer of the NYA, said the authority operates Youth Leadership Training Institutes (YLSTI) which provided young people between the ages of 15 and 23 with a two-year training programme in areas such as agriculture, dressmaking, catering, electrical installation, masonry, carpentry and joinery and metal works as well as computer studies.

He said in addition, students of these institutes were taught fundamentals of English, Mathematics and Bookkeeping.

Mr. Ashitey said opportunities were provided for the students to develop their skills through the job training and that an important element of the course structure of these institutes is the leadership training, which involves character development and physical training”.