The federal government has called for stronger collaboration among stakeholders to empower Nigerian youths in the agricultural sector.
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The Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Abubakar Kyari, made the appeal on Tuesday in Abuja at the maiden edition of the National Agribusiness Strategy Youth Dialogue.
The dialogue, themed “Building Climate-Resilient and Finance-Enabled Pathways for Youth in Agrifood Systems in Nigeria”, focused on equipping young people with the tools and opportunities needed to thrive in the agrifood space.
Kyari highlighted the critical role youths can play in advancing climate-resilient and finance-driven agrifood systems, noting that they account for more than 70 per cent of Nigeria’s population.
He described the forum as a call to harness the energy, innovation, and resilience of young Nigerians to transform the agricultural sector.
“When we empower our youth with access to finance and opportunity, we are not simply supporting individual enterprises.”
“We are shaping markets, strengthening resilience, and defining the future of our agrifood systems,” he said.
He said that despite the resilient production systems, agriculture, the backbone of economic activity across Africa, continues to face persistent structural challenges.
The minister said there is a compelling need to harness the energy, innovation, and leadership of the young people to drive the transformation of agrifood systems.
According to him, the integration of the Sustainable Development Goals and the African Agricultural Youth Strategy into the National Agricultural Technology demonstrated the ministry’s clear commitment to building a sustainable, inclusive, and innovation-driven agricultural sector.
Kyari said that Nigeria identifies with its strategic agriculture transformation partner, the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), which recognised the place of innovation and strong networks of collaboration among young people.
“We are backing our commitment with action through strategic collaboration with the Central Bank of Nigeria, National Agricultural Development Fund (NADF), Bank of Agriculture (BOA), Nigeria Agricultural Insurance Corporation (NAIC), and other key financial institutions.”
“The President Bola Tinubu-led administration has expanded access to agricultural finance, derisked rural investment, and unlocked capital for youth-led enterprises.”
”These reforms are strengthening credit delivery, scaling climate risk insurance, and extending digital financial services to underserved communities, building a more resilient and youth-driven agrifood system,” he said.
Kyari said that the national and global positioning underscored the need to translate leadership into tangible solutions for the youth.
He called for robust mentorship frameworks, expanding market access and fostering strategic partnerships to empower young entrepreneurs to build viable and competitive agribusinesses.
“A strategy on paper is not enough; domestication through state-level adoption, stakeholder alignment, resource mobilisation, and measurable implementation is where real impact lies,” he said.
Earlier, Dr Marcus Ogunbiyi, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, said the dialogue aimed to leverage resilience and finance in agriculture, bringing together young innovators and leaders to shape the sector’s landscape.
Ogunbiyi said that food security, a national priority under Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, could be achieved without securing the future of Nigeria’s youth in agriculture.
He said that challenges like climate variability, limited finance, weak infrastructure, and barriers to land, among others, necessitated the dialogue to encourage young people’s participation.
Ogunbiyi said that the ministry is committed to creating an enabling environment where young Nigerians see agriculture as a first-choice career – modern, profitable, technology-driven, and globally competitive.
“We must move from rhetoric to results, from fragmented interventions to coordinated impact, and from pilot projects to scalable national programmes,” he said.
In his presentation, Mr David Adama, Senior Specialist, Continental and Regional Engagement for Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), said that the talk now is about food systems.
“We are no longer just talking about agriculture; we are talking about food systems.
“Our target is clear: we must empower at least 30 per cent of youth and 30 per cent of women in every food system value chain, while reducing the youth gap between men and women by 50 per cent.
“Nigeria is leading the way as the first country to domesticate the Africa Agribusiness Youth Strategy through this dialogue,” he said.
NAN