The International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Ibadan and Mastercard Foundation has engaged the organised private sector to create profitable partnerships with youth-led agribusinesses to transform and revolutionise the agricultural industry and unlock opportunities in the sector.
Both organisations made this known at the ‘The Agribusiness Investment Forum” organized by Innovative Youth in Agriculture (I-Youth).
Speaking at the event, the deputy director-general, Corporate Services, IITA, Hilde Koper, said though the institute had done a lot in scaling technologies and innovations while providing the much-needed capacity, the knowledge and skills required to attract youth participation in agriculture, there was support from investors to help retain their interest in the sector.
While singling out Mastercard Foundation for providing necessary funding for agribusiness training, Koper stated that it had become significant for the private sector to come in by offering loans or microcredit to youth-led enterprises to scale their businesses.
She stressed that successful youth-led agribusinesses are also a viable employment opportunity for Nigerian youths.
The country head, Mastercard Foundation-Nigeria, Chidinma Lawanson, said the foundation aimed at leveraging the youth population in Africa to deliver on the target of providing seven million dignified and fulfilling jobs in the agricultural sector, noting that IITA is a strategic partner in the realization of this overall objective.
“We remain committed to working with IITA to train the youth to have linkages to financial services and work opportunities. Also, create that access to market to ensure that there are no goods lost by evaluating the entire value chain from production to micro processing, warehousing, etc., and IITA has been a strong partner in achieving this,” she said.
Executive Manager, I-Youth Project, Aline Mugisho, stated that the institute had assisted in providing the capacity for the youth to become innovation and technology catalysts but lacks the necessary support to bring their ideas to life.
Also speaking, the director, Agribusiness, Lagos State Ministry of Agriculture, Aramide Ganzallo, who represented the Commissioner for Agriculture, Mrs Abisola Olusanya, expressed appreciation to IITA and Mastercard Foundation for their commitment to making agriculture attractive to the youth. Ganzallo noted that the Lagos State government would continue to do its best to prioritize the youth by harnessing their potential for the growth of the agricultural sector in Nigeria.
The forum was a platform for private, public, and development stakeholders to discover investment opportunities and the role of youth in the agro-industry.
