Food Security: IITA Donates Input to Young Farmers in Kano
Ahmad Sorondinki in Kano.
The Youth in Agribusiness (YAS) project of the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) has donated various farm input to no fewer than 400 young farmers in Kano State.
The input came as additional support to the participants, who had previously been trained in the value chain of various agricultural commodities, including poultry, horticulture and aquaculture.With funding support from the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Nigeria.
Speaking to the participants during the distribution at the IITA Kano office weekend, the Project Coordinator, Mr Adebayo Awotodunbo, said the support could contribute to increased food production and reduce reliance on imported goods.
According to him, items distributed by the project included bags of chicken feed, knapsacks, bags of fertilizer, chicks, planter machines, bags of fish feed, seedling trays, coco peat, packs of sweet pepper and tomato seeds, among others.
The project coordinator added that the process started with an extensive technical and business training, followed by the support they were given to enable them to either start profitable agribusinesses or scale-up their existing agribusinesses.
Awotodunbo, who represented the Team Lead of YAS, Ms Aline Mugisho, said: “The motivation for this support is to develop the capacity of the young farmers for them to be able to scale up their production, as well as attract more youths to agriculture.
“The purpose is increased agricultural productivity, better yield, improved livelihoods for the youth, and food security for Nigeria. It’s also intended to equip them to contribute to food security in Nigeria.
“When we started the training, we informed those who were already into agribusiness that we would support them after visiting their farms for verification.”
Speaking on behalf of the beneficiaries, Abdul Nuhu, revealed that the project had exposed many of the participants to numerous opportunities that exist in Agribusiness.
