The popular phrase, “When life throws lemons at you, make lemonade,” accurately captures Azeezat Olayinka Olatunji’s remarkable transition from an aspiring medical doctor to a successful full-time farmer. Apart from owning a flourishing farm in her native Oyo State, she oversees a large agricultural enterprise, including a banana plantation of about nine acres, in Nigeria’s […]
As the world recently marked the International Day of Rural Women, I took some moments to reflect on the plight and prospects of women in Nigeria’s rural communities. Nigeria boasts hardworking women across all sectors, from the North to the South, whether in the city or rural hinterland. Indeed, in some communities, women’s involvement in[…..]
The Federal Capital Territory hub of the YAS project has inaugurated its aquaculture and horticulture agri-parks. At the event held in September, 40 trained beneficiaries were onboarded, comprising 17 horticulture and 23 aquaculture incubator trainees. The facilities at the agri-park include tarpaulin ponds, fish processing equipment, and a greenhouse for horticulture. Furthermore, the project provided[…..]
In its bid to enhance agricultural productivity, increase job creation, improve the livelihoods of youths, and contribute to food security in Nigeria, the IITA Youth in Agribusiness (YAS) project has donated farm input and machines to participants of the project in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The YAS project, supported by the Embassy of the[…..]
The IFAD Agrihub project, a key initiative implemented by IITA, played a pivotal role in hosting a job fair in Ibadan, Oyo State. This project, which focuses on employment and entrepreneurship tracks, was instrumental in facilitating job linkages and reducing youth unemployment in the agricultural sector. It underscores the importance of youth empowerment in driving[…..]
In commemoration of this year’s International Youth Day (IYD), the Youth in Agribusiness unit (IYA) of the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) and the African Agricultural Leadership Institute (AALI) hosted a symposium on youth involvement in agriculture and the imperatives of digitizing agricultural practices for sustainable development. The event, held on August 12 at[…..]
The International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Aletheia University, Ago Iwoye, Ogun State, to explore cooperation in agricultural research, knowledge transfer, and youth promotion in agribusiness. The MoU was signed recently at the institute’s headquarters in Ibadan by Dr Dashiell Kenton, the IITA’s Deputy Director-General for Partnerships[…..]
A quiet revolution is happening in the heart of Oyo State, Nigeria, transforming how secondary school students envision their futures. The catalyst for this change is the Start Them Early Program (STEP), a program dedicated to reshaping perceptions of agriculture and agribusiness among young minds. This innovative program’s success is now highlighted in a compelling[…..]
The Sector Counsellor of Food and Agriculture at the Royal Danish Consulate General in Lagos, Nigeria, Sanne Chipeta, and a Danish investor in Nigeria, Snorri Sigurdsson, stated that access to land, education, and finance is crucial in getting young people to embrace agriculture and succeed in their ventures. Speaking recently, when they visited the IITA[…..]
At the just-concluded IITA Board meeting in Abuja, the IITA Youth Agripreneurs (IYA) received the board members and showcased the initiative’s impact in the past decade. Some beneficiaries of the training and support initiatives by the various projects under the IYA exhibited their products while sharing their training and business experience with the institute’s board[…..]