{"id":13716,"date":"2026-06-20T12:30:04","date_gmt":"2026-06-20T12:30:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dev.iita.org\/news-item\/iita-launches-agribusiness-training-program-for-secondary-schools-in-oyo-state\/"},"modified":"2026-06-29T21:36:41","modified_gmt":"2026-06-29T21:36:41","slug":"iita-launches-agribusiness-training-program-for-secondary-schools-in-oyo-state","status":"publish","type":"news-item","link":"https:\/\/iita.org\/fr\/news-item\/iita-launches-agribusiness-training-program-for-secondary-schools-in-oyo-state\/","title":{"rendered":"IITA launches Agribusiness Training Program for secondary schools in Oyo State"},"content":{"rendered":"Ibadan, Nigeria –<\/strong> Le Institut International d'Agriculture Tropicale<\/a> (IITA), through a new initiative known as the Start Them Early Program (STEP), is introducing agribusiness training in secondary schools in Oyo State.\n\nTo promote interest in agriculture and learning among the secondary-school aged children, IITA will launch a modern agribusiness training facility at Fasola Grammar School in Fasola community, Oyo State, on 15 July 2020. His Excellency, Governor of Oyo State, Engr. Seyi Makinde will inaugurate the program and the training facility.\n\nThe STEP initiative was established in 2018 to advance agribusiness development to secondary schools in Africa. The program aims to expose young people in secondary schools to viable opportunities in agribusiness at an early stage. This is expected to help direct their aspirations towards careers in modern agriculture and as a result, breed new African agribusiness leaders.\n\n\"IITA\n\nThe idea for STEP came out of IITA\u2019s efforts to \u2018catch them young\u2019 and change young people\u2019s mindset about agriculture.\n\nIITA has realized that young people at this age\u2014between 11 and 18\u2014are at a critical stage in life when they decide on livelihood paths. Hence, the need to expose them to viable and sustainable opportunities inherent in agriculture, while building their capacity to harness them well.\n\nIITA Director General Dr Nteranya Sanginga<\/a> recognized this. In 2018, as he received the Africa Food Prize award on behalf of the Institute<\/a>, he promised to take a step further by engaging young people who are still in secondary school to expose them to the opportunities available across the various value chains of agriculture.\n\nThe facility in Fasola will be used by the STEP team in Nigeria to engage a selected number of students and teachers at Fasola Grammar School and train them on modern agricultural technologies, including production and value addition of agricultural commodities such as cassava, maize, soybean, poultry, and vegetables. They will also be exposed to how to use mechanization and ICTs to enhance agricultural productivity, with serious implications towards agricultural transformation.\n\n\"IITA\n\nFasola Grammar School is one of the three schools where IITA is implementing the program in Nigeria. The other selected schools are Oluponna High School in Iwo Osun State and Lead City International School in Ibadan, Oyo State.\n\nSpeaking on the impact of the program so far, STEP Program Coordinator Adedayo Adefioye said that STEP, which is also implemented in DR Congo and Kenya, has recorded a measurable change in mindset of the beneficiaries about agriculture.\n\n\u201cIn Nigeria, we have trained over nine school instructors and established nine student agribusiness clubs and 27 pilot agribusiness enterprises. Also, over 1,000 students have now been registered and trained in agribusiness through the clubs,\u201d said Adefioye.\n\nTo achieve the program objectives, STEP has adopted a hands-on approach based on experiential learning activities. This approach involves coursework in a formal curricular setting, the establishment of an extracurricular club, and the operation of pilot agribusiness enterprises.\n\nThe initial operations of the program, including its pilot phase, are funded by the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) for two years in three countries\u2014DR Congo, Kenya, and Nigeria, under the project titled \u201cBuilding the Next Generation of Agribusiness Leaders in Africa.\u201d\n\nHashtags: #STEPnigeria, #CatchThemYoung, @startthemearly_, @IITAYOUTHAGRIP\n

\u00c0 propos de l'IITA<\/strong><\/h3>\nLe <\/em>Institut International d'Agriculture Tropicale<\/a> (IITA) is a not-for-profit institution that generates agricultural innovations to meet Africa\u2019s most pressing challenges of hunger, malnutrition, poverty, and natural resource degradation. Working with various partners across sub-Saharan Africa, we improve livelihoods, enhance food and nutrition security, increase employment, and preserve natural resource integrity. IITA is a member of CGIAR, a global agriculture research partnership for a food-secure future.<\/em>\n\nMedia contacts: <\/em>\n\nAdetola Adenmosun<\/strong><\/em>, IITA Youth Agripreneurs lead, a.adenmosun@cgiar.org\nKatherine Lopez<\/strong>, Head of Communication, k.lopez@cgiar.org<\/em>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), through a new initiative known as the Start Them Early Program (STEP), is introducing agribusiness training in secondary schools in Oyo 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