The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) has identified youth mobilisation for agriculture as critical for transformation of the food system in Nigeria.
The Country Director of IFAD Nigeria, Ms Dede Ekoue, stated this at the 2022 edition of Value Chain Development Programme (VCDP) National Youth Forum in Abuja on Wednesday with the theme: “Promoting Sustainable Youth Empowerment in Agribusiness and Entrepreneurship’’.
Ekoue said youths who accounted for 70 percent of Nigeria’s population have great potential to expand the country’s capacity at the regional economic hub of Africa and globally.
According to her, this can be achieved by using agribusiness, entrepreneurship and technology to improve the livelihoods of youths and women, thereby enhancing food security, boosting economic growth and accessing decent employment.
She however regretted that in spite of the youthfulness of the country’s population, the average age of farmers in the sector was 60 per cent.
Ekoue said it implied that the sector was yet to maximise the country’s demographic dividend of young population.
She lauded the federal government’s efforts towards bridging this gap, through the FGN/IFAD-assisted VCDP, which had continued to promotee youth empowerment in agribusiness and entrepreneurship among young men and women in the country.
According to her, there are over 35,000 youths participating in the project at the moment.
(NAN)
