IITA and Mastercard Foundation have engaged the organized private sector to create profitable partnerships with youth-led agribusinesses to transform and revolutionize the agricultural sector and unlock its opportunities.
Both organizations made this known at the ‘The Agribusiness Investment Forum” organized by Innovative Youth in Agriculture (I-Youth) held on 18 June.
Speaking at the event, IITA Deputy Director-General, Corporate Services, Hilde Koper, explained that the Institute had done a lot in scaling technologies and innovations while providing the much-needed capacity, knowledge, and skills to attract youth participation in agriculture. However, she conceded that they need more support from investors to retain their interest in the sector.
While singling out Mastercard Foundation for providing necessary funding for agribusiness training, Koper stated that it has become essential for the private sector to provide loans or microcredit to youth-led enterprises to scale their businesses. She stressed that successful youth-led agribusinesses are also a viable employment opportunity for Nigerian Youth.
Also speaking at the occasion, the Country Head, Mastercard Foundation-Nigeria, Chidinma Lawanson, stated that the Foundation aims to leverage the youth population in Africa to deliver on the target of providing 7 million dignified and fulfilling jobs in the agricultural sector. She noted that IITA is a strategic partner in realizing this objective.
“We remain committed to working with IITA to train the youth to have linkages to financial services and work opportunities. Also, create that access to market to make sure that there are no goods lost by evaluating the entire value chain from production to micro processing, warehousing, etc., and IITA has been a strong partner in achieving this,” she said.
While admitting that youth tend to be more attracted to the creative industries than agriculture, she said the narrative seems to be changing for the agric sector in recent times, particularly with the introduction of technologies and innovation by strategic partners.
Executive Manager, I-Youth Project, Aline Mugisho, stated that the Institute has assisted in providing the capacity for the youth to become innovation and technology catalysts but lacks the necessary support to bring their ideas to life.
“Agribusiness can have its risk, which includes poor soil and diseases. But at the I-Youth project, we are bringing innovations and technologies and skilled youth into the market, which helps mitigate the risks. We have been investing in the business of young agripreneurs and would require viable partnerships with the private sector to transform the agricultural sector. There are challenges in the agric sector, but with the right expertise, good research and soil analysis, climate-smart agriculture technologies, and mechanization, Nigeria can become the food basket of Africa. We need the private sector to start exploring investment and business opportunities in agriculture to grow the sector,” Mugisho said.
Also speaking, Director, Agribusiness, Lagos State Ministry of Agriculture, Aramide Ganzallo, who represented the Commissioner for Agriculture, Mrs Abisola Olusanya, expressed profound appreciation to IITA and Mastercard Foundation for their commitment to making agriculture attractive to the youth. Ganzallo noted that the Lagos State government would continue to do its best to prioritize the youth by harnessing their potential for the growth of the agricultural sector in Nigeria.
The Agribusiness Investor’s Network Forum was a platform for private, public, and development stakeholders to discover investment opportunities and the role of youth in the agro-industry. Financial institutions, commercial banks, recruitment agencies, agripreneurs, community leaders, angel donors, and Fin-Tech attended the event. It was an opportunity to introduce investors to economic prospects in agribusiness and an avenue to learn about agribusiness markets worldwide, digital financing, import and export opportunities, and profitability in the agri-food system.
Contributed by Adetola Adenmosun
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