IITA, IFAD to Empower 30,000 Nigerian Youths in Agribusiness

The International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), alongside key development partners, have announced plans to scale up the AgriHub programme to empower at least 30,000 rural youths across Nigeria.

The announcement was made in Abuja during a roundtable themed “Creating Rural Youth Employment Opportunities/Support to Agribusiness Hubs in Nigeria”, which brought together government agencies, donors, financiers, and private sector leaders exploring ways to unlock fresh opportunities for young people.

IFAD Country Director, Dede Ekoue, told journalists that the AgriHub programme exceeded expectations in its pilot phase, providing practical training and linking youths to agribusiness jobs and markets.

Ekoue noted that over 7,000 young people participated in the first phase, prompting expansion plans targeting states in the Niger Delta, as well as Benue, Enugu and Anambra, with further extensions to the North-East and North-West regions.

IITA’s AgriHub Nigeria Project Coordinator, Adesanya Omotomiwa, said lessons from the pilot would guide the broader rollout, especially in fragile and conflict-affected communities.

“In the first phase, it surpassed its targets on youth employability and entrepreneurship achieving over 100% and 150% respectively,” she said.

“Looking at how we impacted 7,200 youths, we aim to leverage those lessons, place more youths in jobs and support about 30% of beneficiaries to start their own agribusinesses.”

The initiative supported by Germany’s Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and the Visa Foundation has created more than 7,000 jobs over the last five years and is widely regarded as one of Nigeria’s most promising youth-focused agribusiness programmes.