AN EVALUATION OF THE PERFORMANCE OF GRADUATE AGRICULTURAL SELFEMPLOYMENT SCHEME IN IMO STATE: THE CASE OF FINANCING FOOD PRODUCTION

The idèa of establishirig the· National Directorate of Employment (NDE) or{ginated ove the last few yearswhen there Wli.S a remarkable inctease in unemployment particularly amongst· school leavers and uniiersity graduates. In view of the unemployment scourge, the Fecleral G vernment set up a committee to_look into tbEise problem areas . On receiv1ng the report of the co mittee, the government decided thit a maJor assault on the problem of uriemployment and food supply needed to be undertaken a.ncl consequently, the NDÈ. was e ablished (Adamson and Ola unde, 1988).
· The·:Nati"ona.lTîü.:.ectorate of Employment was irtaugurat.ed on November 17_ 1986, and was launched into a6tiori on January 30 1987, by the Federal Military Government. This was in its poise to_ launch an attack on the presen_t- unemployment plague, no'w seen by many as a first degree socib-economic problem threatening yirtually ev ry household in the co ntry, and
by extension, evefy firm and the ve y exi tence of our nation (Olikof 1987).