Stakeholders in the agricultural industry have gathered to find solutions to the sector’s varied problems in Nigeria and Sub-Saharan Africa.
The Agricultural Policy Research Network (APRNet) held its 7th Agricultural Policy Stakeholders Forum and 1st Annual International Conference in Asaba with this as its main purpose.
The two-day conference, titled “Towards a Resilient and Sustainable Agri-Food System by 2025 in Nigeria and Sub-Saharan Africa,” was attended by key agricultural stakeholders from across the country and abroad, including agribusiness entrepreneurs, academics, top government functionaries, public servants, and political appointees from both the public and private sectors.
Prof Eric Eboh, the State Chief Job and Wealth Creation Officer and the Head of the State Job and Wealth Creation Bureau, harped on the goals of his paper in his keynote address, “Youth Employment and Wealth Creation through Agricultural Entrepreneurship: The Delta State Model as Evidential Case for Paradigm Shift.”
According to him, “the goal is to demonstrate, using live evidence from Delta State, that youth agricultural entrepreneurship is a veritable strategy for not only solving youth unemployment but creating wealth and promoting a resilient and sustainable agri-food system.”
He stated that youths could take advantage of the huge economic opportunities along the agricultural value chain through active participation in agriculture for self-employment using the targeting approaches, which he described as a deliberate effort tailored to suit the circumstances, constraints and needs of youths.
“Delta state YAGEP model is programmed to solve youth unemployment and to develop agricultural value chains through youth agricultural entrepreneurship: agricultural skills training, internship and support for start-ups as well as support for marginal (surviving) enterprises; and to train, equip, establish and sustain youth agricultural entrepreneurs for self-employment and economic independence,” he emphasized.
When looking for ways to get more young people involved in the agricultural value chain, the head of the job creation bureau said that the lessons learned in the seven years that YAGEP has been in place in the state are the answer and that other states should use them.
He put the solutions into three groups: removing the barriers that keep young people from joining the agricultural value chain, getting consistent political support, and the Program Learning Curve, which is the willingness to use real feedback to fix mistakes.
He said that from 2015 to 2021, YAGEP had produced 2,298.46 metric tons (MT) of meat, 72,680.767 MT of eggs, 6,682.91 MT of fish, 2,342.25 pigs, and 3,084.40 MT of cassava, among other crop products, with the help of 1,520 active beneficiaries in fish, poultry, pig, and crop productions.
He said that with the right mix of success enablers and drivers, like the conditions, factors, and processes that have been used to implement YAGEP over the years, youth agricultural entrepreneurship is an effective way to deal with youth unemployment and has a lot of potential for promoting a resilient and sustainable agri-food system.
Earlier, at the opening ceremony, Dr. Anthony Onoja, the President of APRNet, said that the goals of the conference were based on the fact that there is still a food crisis in the world because of climate change and wars, which have made life hard for families in Nigeria and Sub-Saharan Africa.
He said that the problems were why APRNet brought together scholars and people with a stake in the agricultural sector to talk about how to solve problems like a lack of food, poverty, hunger, malnutrition, migration caused by climate change, and invasions by herdsmen and boko haram, which have led to many camps for people who have been forced to leave their homes (IDPs.)
“Food inflation is high. People cannot afford decent meals even among the middle class. How do we get out of this mess? Nigeria was better than this. We are looking for solution. To eradicate hunger and poverty, the government should adopt innovation.
“Government should be open to implementing research results that advocate for innovations in reviving the agricultural food system, developing agricultural food value chain and improving access to food inputs to farmers. Farm inputs should be made available at the right time to enable them utilize them to achieve result.
“It was reported that Anchor Borrowers’ Programme loan got to some farmers late when they did not need it, making the propensity to default high. Government should be timely to dispense whatever input they have and to provide the enabling environment in terms of security to boost food production,” he stated.
He explained that, following their deliberations, a statement will be created and published in scholarly global journals, as well as used by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources for policy formation and execution.
The delivery of goodwill messages by APRNet partners and the presenting of papers by other speakers were highlights of the inaugural ceremony.