Youth Employment in Agribusiness and Sustainable Agriculture (YEASA) project has completed the training of 200 youths in Nigeria and Republic of Benin in the space of three years.
The Project which started in 2019 is to train 1000 youths in 10 Agricultural commodities by three institutes. IITA being part of the implementing institute is to train 200 youths along the value chain of Cassava, Maize, Cowpea/Soybean and plantain.
In the first year, 57 youths were trained in Nigeria and the republic of Benin for two weeks, while 123 were trained in the second year. The dynamics of the training changed in the second year due to COVID-19 pandemic, with the introduction of online training for two weeks.
The Final training for the project was done in September 2021, with 32 youths trained online on Soybean/Cowpea and Maize for two weeks, using the IITA Youth Agripreneurs e-learning platform http://aglearn.youthagripreneurs.org/. 20 out of the 32 participants were invited for the practical session based on their performances online. The practical session covered production, processing/value addition, soft skills and entrepreneurial skills.
The trainees are currently writing their business plans which will be used in giving of grants after it has been reviewed by the business development expert.