No fewer than 70 young farmers have received essential farm inputs and equipment from the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) in Ibadan, Oyo State capital under the institute’s Youth in Agribusiness Project.
The intervention, aimed at supporting agribusiness start-ups and expansion, followed similar distributions held in Abuja, Kano, and Ogun States.
At the event held at the IITA headquarters in Ibadan, about 70 beneficiaries received items including solar irrigation systems, stems of improved cassava varieties, rotary slashers, defeathering machines, fertilizers, improved maize seeds, garri fryers, vegetable seeds, fish and poultry feed, seedling trays, coco peat, generators, knapsack sprayers, and garri pressers.
Representing the IITA Senior Management Team, Head of the Genetic Resources Center, Prof. Michael Abberton, congratulated the beneficiaries and encouraged them to take advantage of the support network established by the project.
“Youth involvement in agribusiness has been the focus of IITA’s Youth in Agribusiness Office over the last decade. This initiative is important to us, as your businesses will scale up and create employment through expansion,” he said.
Abberton emphasised the potential impact of the distributed inputs across multiple value chains including cassava, fish, poultry, horticulture, and cassava processing.
Also speaking, the CEO of IITA Youth Agripreneurs, Aline Mugisho, represented by a Business Development Expert, Idowu Osun, highlighted the project’s commitment to continuous mentorship and support.
“We encourage you to take advantage of our coaching programmes and networking opportunities. Agribusiness is big business, and we are here to support you,” she said.
Project Coordinator, Adebayo Awotodunbo, who thanked the Kingdom of the Netherlands for supporting the initiative, stressed the importance of properly utilising the distributed items.
“Our monitoring and evaluation team will revisit your farms to assess how the inputs are being used. If they find you’ve sold the items, you’ll be removed from the scheme,” he warned.
One of the beneficiaries, Ayomikun Oyesiji, expressed appreciation, noting the significant impact of the training on her agribusiness.
“The training gave me valuable insights into managing my farm and its business operations. Since then, my business has experienced a turnaround,” she said.
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