The downturn of the Nigerian economy over the last few years and the rapid increase in unemployment among Nigerian youths have had stakeholders calling for diversification into large scale agriculture as a way to save the economy and engage the youths positively.
The Director General of the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Dr Nteranya Sanginga has however explained that the full development of agriculture as a business-oriented, revenue-making venture is dependent on the favourable political will of Nigeria’s policy makers.
Dr Sanginga who made this disclosure on Wednesday, 2nd August, 2017 at an exclusive interview with CEOAfrica, affirmed that agriculture is a sector that has the capacity of increasing the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), adding that youths can serve as veritable tools for turning agriculture into a money-making enterprise.
The IITA DG, who is the first African to occupy the position at the Institute, stated that some of the challenges militating against the development of agriculture in Nigeria is inadequate financial and land resources, adding that there are lots of abandoned lands and ponds that could be used for agricultural purposes.
The Director General of IITA, Dr Nteranya Sanginga
He however stated that if the government can come up with policies that will support and encourage agriculture by providing land and financial resources to trained youths, then the development of the country’s agriculture will be rapid. “If the political will is there and policy makers implement policies that will motivate youths into engaging in agribusiness, then agriculture will expand,” Dr Sanginga said.
While explaining the benefits of ‘Agripreneur’ to the country’s development, Dr Sanginga mentioned that he had recently attended a function in Imo State where 12 youths who had been trained in Agricultural Entrepreneurship, cultivated and harvested baskets of tomatoes, a product that hitherto, was produced exclusively in the Northern part of the country.
The IITA DG noted that the Institute, which he had been heading for five years, is committed to the vision of alleviating poverty through researches in agriculture. He noted that since his assumption into office in 2011, he has initiated two major programmes which are; the business incubation platform and the involvement of youths into agriculture.
Dr Sanginga, who has a PhD in Agronomy, revealed that agriculture and farming has grown beyond the old ways of cultivating farmlands, adding that agriculture has become a business enterprise that would require the involvement of youths to enhance the commercial value of agriculture.
He stated further that there is a need to change the orientation and mind-sets that people have about farming as a means to provide food alone into seeing agriculture as a business venture and a means of revenue generation. He noted that it is the youths that can be conveniently orientated into taking advantage of the business aspect of agriculture.
The IITA Boss stated that this realisation propelled him to commence the programme of training young unemployed people in agribusiness. He noted that the institute has graduated several agripreneurs who have established agricultural businesses of their own. He also noted that the agripreneur training has been introduced in several African countries to help empower youths and develop agriculture in Africa.
While noting that IITA will soon commence training of more youths in agriprenuer, Dr Sanginga appealed to the government and policy makers to provide the enabling environment for youths to venture into agriculture which would not only ensure food security, but also empower youths and develop the economy. He also encouraged youths to believe in themselves and work towards Africa’s development.
