‘Why youths are not consistent in agriculture’

On Tuesday, thousands of young farmers and agriprenuers gathered in Abuja for an event on scaling up youth agripreneurship for food systems transformation organised by the FGN/NDDC/IFAD-assisted Livelihood Improvement Family Enterprises in the Niger Delta. While the event showcased the sector’s limitless prospects, it also highlighted the hurdles that young people face when attempting to […]

On Tuesday, thousands of young farmers and agriprenuers gathered in Abuja for an event on scaling up youth agripreneurship for food systems transformation organised by the FGN/NDDC/IFAD-assisted Livelihood Improvement Family Enterprises in the Niger Delta.
While the event showcased the sector’s limitless prospects, it also highlighted the hurdles that young people face when attempting to enter the agricultural field.
The Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Abubakar Kyari, noted that Nigerian youths, driven by inventiveness and dedication, were pioneering agrifood innovation ranging from precision agriculture to AI-powered farm equipment, soilless farming, financing and payment platforms, digital markets and agro-processing.
He said they were leading through innovation and a shared commitment to sustainable development and poised to revolutionise Nigeria’s agrifood systems, create dignified livelihoods and promote inclusive economic growth.
Senator Kyari, however, admitted that youths’ involvement was still “inconsistent” despite of these developments.
“Too many young people face obstacles/challenges—limited access to finance, land, processing facilities, markets and mentorship; insufficient skills aligned with market needs; and environments that do not fully reflect their potential,” he said.
Addressing the young people, Senator Kyari said: “Let me specifically speak to the young people in this room and those listening from across our great country Nigeria; you are the core of today’s agenda. Your ideas, your courage to take calculated risks and your commitment to building resilient livelihoods are what will drive transformation in our agri-food systems. We are here to listen to you, to specially note your challenges and to create the enabling environment that allows your various ventures to grow, thrive and create impact in quantum scale.”

Way out
The minister then spelt out the policy direction to address the challenges which the federal government has identified confronting young people, adding that to ensure the success and sustainability of youths-led agripreneurship, the federal government would re-engineer and strengthen the following support pillars to create a land access and tenure assistance programme that prioritised youth eligibility and transparent processes.
Another step is to introduce an innovative fund and financing mechanism with blended finance options and simplified access for youth-led agribusinesses, including maximum timelines for decision-making.
Kyari said the ministry would evolve an expanded set of business development services, including mentorship networks, virtual incubation and market linkages with measurable success metrics.
The ministry will in addition, create a digital platform for youth agripreneurs to showcase products, access buyers and receive real-time market intelligence.
He disclosed that the government would also ensure a practical and proactive climate adaptation and risk management framework integrated into all youths-led programmes, with training on sustainable farming, post-harvest handling and value-added processes.
The minister added that the government would create a robust monitoring, evaluation and learning (MEL) system that tracked progress by age, gender, region and value chain, and also shared lessons learned publicly.
He, however, warned that none of these ambitious plans would succeed without partnership, calling “on all actors—government ministries and agencies, financial institutions, development partners, the private sector, academia, farmers’ organisations, and, most importantly, young agripreneurs—to join hands.”
Speaking on the milestones, transformative impacts, lessons learnt and our forward-looking scaling-up strategy under the Livelihood Improvement Family Enterprises for the Niger Delta (LIFE-ND) Project, the National Project Coordinator, Dr. Abiodun Sanni, said they had so far trained over 29,620 youths and women as agripreneurs across priority value chains including cassava, rice, oil palm, aquaculture, poultry and horticulture and facilitated enterprise incubation through business mentorships with established master farmers and agri-enterprises.