{"id":15216,"date":"2026-06-20T12:41:26","date_gmt":"2026-06-20T12:41:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dev.iita.org\/news-item\/fmard-nigeria-iita-holds-critical-position-in-nigerias-agricultural-sector-2\/"},"modified":"2026-06-29T20:45:06","modified_gmt":"2026-06-29T20:45:06","slug":"fmard-nigeria-iita-holds-critical-position-in-nigerias-agricultural-sector-2","status":"publish","type":"news-item","link":"https:\/\/iita.org\/fr\/news-item\/fmard-nigeria-iita-holds-critical-position-in-nigerias-agricultural-sector-2\/","title":{"rendered":"FMARD \u2013 Nigeria: IITA holds critical position in Nigeria\u2019s agricultural sector"},"content":{"rendered":"Mr Richard-Mark Mbaram, the Technical Adviser on Knowledge Management and Communication to Nigeria\u2019s Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Honorable Mohammed Sabo Nanono, has highlighted\u00a0IITA<\/a>\u2019s role in the nation\u2019s agricultural sector. He spoke on this during a visit to the Institute on 18 December 2020.\n\nAccording to Mbaram, the visit aimed to explore opportunities to encourage the country\u2019s youth to engage in productive and profitable agricultural enterprises. In his words: \u201cYoung people, by their nature, are capable of generating the economic energy needed to recalibrate the Nigerian economy.\u201d\n
\"IITA
Mbaram with IYA members at the board meeting discussing purpose of visit.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nIITA Deputy Director General, Partnerships for Delivery,\u00a0Kenton Dashiell<\/a>, received the Ministerial aide and a team of\u00a0IITA Youth Agripreneurs<\/a>\u00a0(IYA). Mbaram watched a presentation highlighting IITA\u2019s innovative contributions to agriculture, particularly the IYA program, which aims to improve Africans\u2019 quality of life by creating employment. A significant highlight of the visit was a tour of the IITA campus, including the hatchery, TAAT Aquaculture Compact demonstration site, the fishpond, and cage culture.\n\nWhile there are so many ways young people can be economically engaged, Mbaram stated that the Minister is pushing for a revitalization of Nigeria\u2019s agro-industrial competencies, with its attendant benefit of job creation. He noted that the African Development Bank (AfDB) is supporting this objective through the $500 million Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zones (SAPZ) Program.\n
\"
Group picture of Mbaram and Dashiell with IYA members.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nThe IITA DDG noted that \u201cYouth have the fundamental background that gives them the capacity to learn quickly, to be ingenious, and come up with ideas.\u201d\n\nHe added: \u201cFor the past nine years, we have had a major program with youth in agribusiness. A lot of mistakes have been made, successes celebrated, and we will continue to learn. But it all began with helping youth have a mindset change about agriculture, which was very negative. This was changed after they were exposed to modern agriculture as a business and not the traditional labor-intensive methods that rely on the use of hoes and cutlasses.\u201d Dashiell further indicated the willingness of the Institute to understand the vision of the Honorable Minister and to be part of his delivery team.\n\nFor Mbaram, the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development\u2019s (FMARD) emphasis on the SAPZ program hinges on the immense economic growth potentials present in the agricultural sector. \u201cWhen this is combined with the promise of qualitative job creation, one\n\ncan see that the Honorable Minister intends to deploy it as a means to address the youth unemployment challenge.\u201d Speaking further, the Technical Adviser pointed out that the current high levels of postharvest losses experienced in the agriculture sector are alarming, with a total loss rate of 50\u201260% at different stages from harvest to consumption. \u201cAs a team, we believe industrialization is key to addressing this. Increased industrial off-take of farmers\u2019 harvest will surely reduce postharvest losses and guarantee good returns for our primary producers,\u201d Mbaram stated.\n
\"IITA
Mbaram on a tour of the hatchery.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nHe also revealed the plan to roll out the SAPZ program in the early part of 2021 in different locations representing Nigeria\u2019s geo-economic zones. He added that the various zones would become hotbeds for job creation and agribusiness incubation for young people once the Program begins.\n\nAlso contributing, IYA representatives Adedayo Adefioye, Oluyemi Adunoye, Bolanle Larinde, and Idowu Osun, fully supported the SAPZ plan confirming that agribusinesses would be very successful in the supportive environment contemplated by the SAPZ and that the IITA Youth in Agribusiness programs would like to partner with the Ministry in the Program\u2019s implementation.\n\nIn his closing remarks, Dashiell said: \u201cYou have really motivated us to work even harder for the Nigerian youth in 2021. We appreciate your words of encouragement and advice and the goodwill message from the Honorable Minister, which reflects our shared ideologies in transforming agriculture in Nigeria. This is very encouraging for us.\u201d","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Mr Richard-Mark Mbaram, the Technical Adviser on Knowledge Management and Communication to Nigeria\u2019s Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Honorable Mohammed Sabo Nanono, has highlighted IITA\u2019s role in the nation\u2019s agricultural 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