NGOs Train Youths on Agribusiness Innovations, Capacity Building

Kemi Olaitan in Ibadan

Towards complementing efforts of government at creating young entrepreneurs within the agricultural sector, two Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs), Horti Nigeria and Onelife Initiative, have trained and empowered about 110 youths and women in Oyo State.

The participants drawn from all the 33 local government areas in the state were trained and empowered with knowledge, skills and equipment to increase cucumber production and productivity, as part of activities to mark the celebration of the International Youth Day 2023.

The Executive Director, Onelife Initiative, Sola Fagorusi, speaking at the free workshop with the theme, “Profitable Innovations in Boosting Cucumber Production and Productivity on at Least Two Plots of Land,” said the organisation serves as the Innovation and Business Support Service (IBSS) provider for the Horti Nigeria Project in the state, emphasising the importance of including youth in agribusiness innovations and capacity strengthening.

According to him, “We want the youth to see the business behind agriculture. If the government can clear farming areas around dams and provide young people with access to the land, it will create tremendous opportunities. Just imagine if Governor Seyi Makinde’s administration offers 100,000 hectares of cleared and fully irrigated land, specifically for young people to produce the space we have will not occupy the young people.”

The representative of Horti Nigeria, Bisi Ilebani, said the objective of the programme funded by the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, was to promote a youth agenda within the horticulture sector and encourage the participation of young people in entrepreneurial hubs created in Oyo and Ogun states.