The challenge of unemployment in African countries is a high-priority issue, particularly for the youth, who make up a significant portion of the population. In response to this challenge, IITA–CGIAR established the IITA Youth Agripreneurs (IYA) initiative, a youth-in-agribusiness model designed to combat widespread youth unemployment and foster self-employment in agriculture. In August 2012, the institute convened young people at its headquarters in Ibadan, Nigeria, and launched this innovative agribusiness incubation program. Participants received technical expertise, training, and mentorship, which opened their eyes to various business opportunities across agricultural value chains. Within a year, these young entrepreneurs were managing enterprises focused on cassava, maize, soybean, banana, vegetables, fish, and swine while also exploring value addition and food processing. After an 18-month incubation period, participants developed bankable business plans and accessed loans from commercial banks to establish their independent agribusiness enterprises. Many, including young women, have since become owners of successful […]

A former President of Nigeria and Ambassador of the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, has stressed the need for stakeholders in the agricultural sector to introduce some glamour and innovations to farming if young people must find it attractive. The former President, who stated this during the inauguration of the Southern Africa Research and Administrative Facilities of IITA in Zambia, noted that everything necessary must be done to make young people embrace farming. Obasanjo also narrated how he convinced his son, Seun, to embrace farming despite having PhD in Electronics from the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom. He noted that Seun had, after his PhD programme, got an offer to lecture at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the United States, but that after spending some time on his farm (Obasanjo Farms), he fell in love with farming instead of returning to the US […]

The Youth in Agribusiness: Enabling scaling of innovative technologies for sustainable food solutions (YAS) project joined no fewer than 130 organizations and businesses for a three-day exhibition and conference at the recently concluded Nigeria Agro Food Fair in Lagos. During the exhibition, the YAS team showcased various agricultural products that were produced, processed and packaged by beneficiaries who have participated in their training and have established their businesses. YAS, since its launch in 2023, has trained over 2,700 persons in the value chain of various agricultural commodities, including cassava, yam, aquaculture, groundnut, soybean, maize and horticultural crops like tomatoes and vegetables. The YAS team also had engagements with industry stakeholders and guests, who visited the YAS booth for discussions and enquiries. Prominent individuals who visited the YAS booth included IITA Ambassador and former President of Nigeria, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, and the Netherlands Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr Wouter Plomp. IITA Ambassador […]