The Government of Netherlands, International Institute for Tropical Agriculture, and Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) have jointly unveiled the Youth in Agribusiness Scheme (YAS)
The three-year initiative program according to the Dutch Ambassador to Nigeria, Wouter Plomp, was designed to nurture and support 8000 youths in Agriculture and pave the way for more 2000 youths, saying that half of them will be young women considering that women are the backbone of agriculture.
The goal of the project he stated, was to tackle food insecurity by empowering the youths, noting that emphasis was on the youths because they believe that when the young minds are paired with old traditions, magic can happen.
Plomp stated, Agriculture is no longer about hoes and cutlass, it is about drones, climate smart farming and sustainable technology. It is also about supporting Nigeria agripreneurs to take their rightful place in the global market, exporting not just produce but also innovations.”
The YAS project the ambassador maintained, encompassed business training and capacity development to include comprehensive training program, merging Nigeria agricultural practices with Dutch innovations. He added that they want to build the bridge between Nigeria’s rich legacy and modern methodologies
Speaking on access to finance, he mentioned that having recognized that many brilliant ideas often perish in their infancy due to lack of resources, he said they will be working with financial institutions to develop tailor made access to finance for agripreneurs He also pledged to ensure that all their agripreneurs have access to market globally
The Dutch Ambassador stated that their aim was to create a group of vibrant, innovative agripreneurs who will not only ensure Nigeria food security but also place Nigeria at the forefront of global agriculture innovation.
The Food and Agriculture Organization, stated that people have been talking about youths in agriculture but it was more important to involve the youths in agriculture given rising population globally.
He stressed the need to transform the way agriculture was being done through food systems, saying that African Food System programmed held recently in Dakar, Senegal, harped on the need for African leaders to build the food systems by focusing on youths and women.
While stressing the need to make agriculture attractive to the youths, he stated that to achieve that, there was need to create an enabling environment for the youths that allow the youths access to land, finance, markets, technology, innovation and knowledge.
He added that just like the YAS project was jointly implemented by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, Embassy of Kingdom of Netherlands as well as France Embassy, there was need for partnerships to achieve goals, because everyone has their own expertise that could be brought together to achieve a common goal.
The IITA Director General and CGIAR Regional Director for Africa, Dr. Simeon Ehui, in his address, stated that the YAS project was a partnership between IITA the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Trade and the Global Cooperation. He informed that the program would be implemented in collaboration with Dutch based NGO.
He said, “YAS is focused on creating viable agribusiness enterprises using innovative climate smart technologies and business practices that increase income and productivity, and improve access to markets in the agribusiness sector.”
“The project is expected to reach 10,000 youths between the ages of 18 and 35 in four states including, Kano, FCT, Oyo and Ogun States.
