{"id":14045,"date":"2026-06-20T12:32:41","date_gmt":"2026-06-20T12:32:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dev.iita.org\/news-item\/step-agri-competition-iita-encourages-participation-of-younger-generation-in-agriculture\/"},"modified":"2026-06-29T21:33:12","modified_gmt":"2026-06-29T21:33:12","slug":"step-agri-competition-iita-encourages-participation-of-younger-generation-in-agriculture","status":"publish","type":"news-item","link":"https:\/\/iita.org\/fr\/news-item\/step-agri-competition-iita-encourages-participation-of-younger-generation-in-agriculture\/","title":{"rendered":"Concours agricole STEP : L'IITA encourage la participation de la jeune g\u00e9n\u00e9ration \u00e0 l'agriculture"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">To attract, retain, and change the perception of young people about agriculture, the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.startthemearly.org\/\">Start Them Early Program (STEP)<\/a>, under the Oyo State Government, organized the 2021 STEP Schools Agri-Competition, the first of its kind, on 29 November. The event encouraged young people to embrace agriculture and develop career paths, including agribusiness. STEP Communication Officer Temiloluwa Adedeji moderated the event.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><figure id=\"attachment_23925\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-23925\" style=\"width: 820px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-23925\" src=\"https:\/\/iita.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/DG.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"820\" height=\"411\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-23925\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">IITA Director General Nteranya Sanginga highlighting the importance of the competition.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Agri-competition had in attendance the STEP impacted schools: Fasola Grammar School (FGS), Bishop Philip\u2019s Academy (BPA), Iresadu High School (IHS), Methodist High School (MHS), and UMCA Secondary Grammar School. Omolade Mosadoluwa, STEP Laboratory Technician, moderated the Quiz session.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/iita.org\/fr\/\">IITA<\/a> Directeur g\u00e9n\u00e9ral <a href=\"https:\/\/iita.org\/fr\/iita-staff\/sanginga-nteranya\/\">Nteranya Sanginga<\/a> explained the importance of the STEP program and commended the secondary school students on their ability to use the modern facilities. He also stated that the competition would identify the potentials in the younger generation. Furthermore, the \u201cfood business would be the largest business in the continent, providing leadership and job opportunities for people,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><figure id=\"attachment_23929\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-23929\" style=\"width: 820px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-23929\" src=\"https:\/\/iita.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/STEP.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"820\" height=\"411\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-23929\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Some STEP Agri-competition participants visiting the laboratory during a tour of IITA facility.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Technical Advisor to the DG, Paul Woomer, gave an overview of STEP and complimented the organizers and stakeholders for the program\u2019s rapid expansion. Excitingly, he stated that \u201cthis assembly is\u00a0 absolute proof that Nigeria has become one.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Coordinator of <a href=\"https:\/\/taat-africa.org\/\">Technologies pour la Transformation Agricole en Afrique (TAAT)<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/iita.org\/fr\/iita-staff\/akem-chrysantus\/\">Chrysantus Akem<\/a>, said that youth involvement is at the core of activities carried out in IITA. He explained that STEP activities had encouraged the younger generation to build their career in modern agriculture, which will benefit the continent. He further explained that these activities were done by introducing them to modern machinery, the climate-smart agricultural concept, using high-yielding seeds, and ensuring appropriate inputs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">STEP Coordinator Adedayo Adefioye stated that the agri-competition serves as a tool to build agribusiness leaders and have a sustainable livelihood. He noted that the competition cuts across six agribusiness enterprises\u2014value addition, crop production and mechanization, poultry, information and communication technology (ICT), science, and aquaculture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The CEO, Abisal Foods, Saidat Dauda, while sharing her agricultural experience, mentioned that the Internet, marketing, and networking are important strategies to boost the sales of the products. She further explained that partnering with other companies will increase employment and production capacities and the marketing of products. She encouraged the younger generation to utilize the agribusiness training opportunity and add value to their products.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><figure id=\"attachment_23931\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-23931\" style=\"width: 820px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-23931\" src=\"https:\/\/iita.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Step-winners.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"820\" height=\"411\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-23931\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">STEP team and the Agri-competition winners.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Adedeji announced the winners across the agricultural enterprises: value addition- IHS; crop production and mechanization- MHS; poultry- IHS; ICT- UMCA; science- BPA, and aquaculture- MHS. The awardees were rewarded \u2018Starter tool kits\u2019 for their home agribusiness enterprises. Moreover, the youth went on a tour of IITA facilities.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>To attract, retain, and change the perception of young people about agriculture, the Start Them Early Program (STEP), under the Oyo State Government<\/p>","protected":false},"featured_media":14046,"template":"","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}}},"tags":[],"science-area":[],"program":[],"location":[32],"news-type":[],"hub":[61],"crop":[],"impact-areas":[],"item-year":[199],"class_list":["post-14045","news-item","type-news-item","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","location-nigeria","hub-western-africa","item-year-199"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>STEP Agri-Competition: IITA encourages participation of younger generation in agriculture - IITA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/iita.org\/fr\/news-item\/step-agri-competition-iita-encourages-participation-of-younger-generation-in-agriculture\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"fr_FR\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"STEP Agri-Competition: IITA encourages participation of younger generation in agriculture - IITA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"To attract, retain, and change the perception of young people about agriculture, the Start Them Early Program (STEP), under the Oyo State Government\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/iita.org\/fr\/news-item\/step-agri-competition-iita-encourages-participation-of-younger-generation-in-agriculture\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"IITA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/IITA.CGIAR\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-06-29T21:33:12+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/iita.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/DG.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"820\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"411\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@IITA_CGIAR\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Dur\u00e9e de lecture estim\u00e9e\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/iita.org\\\/news-item\\\/step-agri-competition-iita-encourages-participation-of-younger-generation-in-agriculture\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/iita.org\\\/news-item\\\/step-agri-competition-iita-encourages-participation-of-younger-generation-in-agriculture\\\/\",\"name\":\"STEP Agri-Competition: IITA encourages participation of younger generation in agriculture - IITA\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/iita.org\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/iita.org\\\/news-item\\\/step-agri-competition-iita-encourages-participation-of-younger-generation-in-agriculture\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/iita.org\\\/news-item\\\/step-agri-competition-iita-encourages-participation-of-younger-generation-in-agriculture\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/iita.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/DG.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-20T12:32:41+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-06-29T21:33:12+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/iita.org\\\/news-item\\\/step-agri-competition-iita-encourages-participation-of-younger-generation-in-agriculture\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"fr-FR\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/iita.org\\\/news-item\\\/step-agri-competition-iita-encourages-participation-of-younger-generation-in-agriculture\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"fr-FR\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/iita.org\\\/news-item\\\/step-agri-competition-iita-encourages-participation-of-younger-generation-in-agriculture\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/iita.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/DG.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/iita.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/DG.jpg\",\"width\":820,\"height\":411},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/iita.org\\\/news-item\\\/step-agri-competition-iita-encourages-participation-of-younger-generation-in-agriculture\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/iita.org\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"News\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/iita.org\\\/news-item\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"STEP Agri-Competition: IITA encourages participation of younger generation in agriculture\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/iita.org\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/iita.org\\\/\",\"name\":\"IITA\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/iita.org\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/iita.org\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"fr-FR\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/iita.org\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"International Institute of Tropical Agriculture\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/iita.org\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"fr-FR\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/iita.org\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/iita.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/07\\\/IITA-Logo-finalll.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/iita.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/07\\\/IITA-Logo-finalll.png\",\"width\":1788,\"height\":591,\"caption\":\"International Institute of Tropical Agriculture\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/iita.org\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/IITA.CGIAR\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/IITA_CGIAR\",\"http:\\\/\\\/www.linkedin.com\\\/company\\\/iita\",\"http:\\\/\\\/www.youtube.com\\\/user\\\/IITAPUBLISHING\"]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"STEP Agri-Competition: IITA encourages participation of younger generation in agriculture - IITA","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/iita.org\/fr\/news-item\/step-agri-competition-iita-encourages-participation-of-younger-generation-in-agriculture\/","og_locale":"fr_FR","og_type":"article","og_title":"STEP Agri-Competition: IITA encourages participation of younger generation in agriculture - IITA","og_description":"To attract, retain, and change the perception of young people about agriculture, the Start Them Early Program (STEP), under the Oyo State Government","og_url":"https:\/\/iita.org\/fr\/news-item\/step-agri-competition-iita-encourages-participation-of-younger-generation-in-agriculture\/","og_site_name":"IITA","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/IITA.CGIAR","article_modified_time":"2026-06-29T21:33:12+00:00","og_image":[{"width":820,"height":411,"url":"https:\/\/iita.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/DG.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_site":"@IITA_CGIAR","twitter_misc":{"Dur\u00e9e de lecture estim\u00e9e":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/iita.org\/news-item\/step-agri-competition-iita-encourages-participation-of-younger-generation-in-agriculture\/","url":"https:\/\/iita.org\/news-item\/step-agri-competition-iita-encourages-participation-of-younger-generation-in-agriculture\/","name":"STEP Agri-Competition: IITA encourages participation of younger generation in agriculture - IITA","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/iita.org\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/iita.org\/news-item\/step-agri-competition-iita-encourages-participation-of-younger-generation-in-agriculture\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/iita.org\/news-item\/step-agri-competition-iita-encourages-participation-of-younger-generation-in-agriculture\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/iita.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/DG.jpg","datePublished":"2026-06-20T12:32:41+00:00","dateModified":"2026-06-29T21:33:12+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/iita.org\/news-item\/step-agri-competition-iita-encourages-participation-of-younger-generation-in-agriculture\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"fr-FR","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/iita.org\/news-item\/step-agri-competition-iita-encourages-participation-of-younger-generation-in-agriculture\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"fr-FR","@id":"https:\/\/iita.org\/news-item\/step-agri-competition-iita-encourages-participation-of-younger-generation-in-agriculture\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/iita.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/DG.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/iita.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/DG.jpg","width":820,"height":411},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/iita.org\/news-item\/step-agri-competition-iita-encourages-participation-of-younger-generation-in-agriculture\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/iita.org\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"News","item":"https:\/\/iita.org\/news-item\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"STEP Agri-Competition: IITA encourages participation of younger generation in agriculture"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/iita.org\/#website","url":"https:\/\/iita.org\/","name":"IITA","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/iita.org\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/iita.org\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"fr-FR"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/iita.org\/#organization","name":"Institut International d'Agriculture Tropicale","url":"https:\/\/iita.org\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"fr-FR","@id":"https:\/\/iita.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/iita.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/IITA-Logo-finalll.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/iita.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/IITA-Logo-finalll.png","width":1788,"height":591,"caption":"International Institute of Tropical Agriculture"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/iita.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/IITA.CGIAR","https:\/\/x.com\/IITA_CGIAR","http:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/iita","http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/IITAPUBLISHING"]}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/iita.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-item\/14045","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/iita.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-item"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/iita.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news-item"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/iita.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-item\/14045\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":29970,"href":"https:\/\/iita.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-item\/14045\/revisions\/29970"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iita.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14046"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/iita.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14045"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iita.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14045"},{"taxonomy":"science-area","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iita.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/science-area?post=14045"},{"taxonomy":"program","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iita.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/program?post=14045"},{"taxonomy":"location","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iita.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/location?post=14045"},{"taxonomy":"news-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iita.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-type?post=14045"},{"taxonomy":"hub","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iita.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/hub?post=14045"},{"taxonomy":"crop","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iita.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/crop?post=14045"},{"taxonomy":"impact-areas","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iita.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/impact-areas?post=14045"},{"taxonomy":"item-year","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iita.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/item-year?post=14045"}],"curies":[{"name":"bien jou\u00e9","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}