Alleviating Hunger and Poverty Through Agriculture: Today’s Youth – Tomorrow’s Leaders | 15 Feb 2021

On yearly basis, Nigeria graduates undergo the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) program. The service year provides time for young people to develop and establish common ties, fostering national unity in this way.

Important for every youth, this is a time in which career choices are made, job experience in specific disciplines is obtained, and the spirit of self-reliance is acquired by developing work skills. With expanded prospects for self-employment in agriculture, its portrayal as an outdated, unprofitable, and backbreaking occupation by many educated young people limits its potential as a career choice and occupational preference.

This perception is inaccurate, with very few youths being exposed to knowledge on agricultural production and processing techniques and know-how of obtaining financial, land, business, and market information. Hence, it is important to provide youth that are in the NYSC program with opportunities to learn more about agriculture or agribusiness and appreciate how it can be a lucrative career and business development opportunity that could drive development in Nigeria.


Youth corps members serving in IITA have been inspired into helping transform the Nigerian economy through the development of African agriculture but many are neither equipped nor exposed to skills needed to be able to contribute to national food security. Some youth, with no agricultural background, are inspired by theresearch prowess of IITA to nourish Africa’s agriculture and are eager to learn and integrate new skills that would help enhance agricultural development and agribusiness. Hence, the NYSC members are proposing symposium that would help youth corps members be engaged more in transformative agricultural development.

This can inspire youth corps members grow into successful agricultural leaders who can continue to lead local, state, and national
communities. Owing to a technologically savvy generation, digital tools used in agribusiness that will help reduce the cost of business transactions and improve the profitability of agriculture will also be emphasized to make the agricultural value chain more interesting to potential agripreneurs.

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