The National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) is urging active Nigerian youths to engage in agribusiness as a means to address the country’s food insecurity and unemployment challenges. This call was made by the NYSC Director General, Brigadier General Olakunle Nafiu, at the 3rd Agricultural Youths Summit in Abuja. Nafiu, represented by Abe Dankaro, Director of Ventures Management at NYSC, emphasized that the agricultural sector presents vast opportunities for innovation, job creation, and national development, particularly when driven by young Nigerians.
Nigeria is currently grappling with high youth unemployment and rising food security concerns. However, the agricultural sector is seen as a potential solution to these challenges. According to Nafiu, agribusiness is a sector rich in potential but in need of young minds to drive its transformation. The NYSC has collaborated with Leventis to build a new generation of “agripreneurs” equipped not only for farming but also for entrepreneurship.
The partnership aims to create a generation of self-reliant, job-creating, and economically empowered youths who will take agriculture to new heights of innovation and enterprise. Nafiu encouraged youths to see themselves as nation builders armed with knowledge, resilience, and purpose, rather than just job seekers. The Chairman of Leventis Foundation Nigeria (LFN), Ahmed Manti, also emphasized the need for improved access to agricultural financing to support smallholder farmers and scale youth-led agribusinesses in the country.
Limited access to agri-financing and the preparedness of smallholder farmers to secure such funding are major challenges that need to be addressed. Strengthening investment in agriculture is a key policy tool for boosting productivity and achieving food security in line with the Sustainable Development Goals. The Agricultural Youths Summit aims to strengthen the agricultural ecosystem and drive economic development. By promoting agribusiness and providing support to young farmers, Nigeria can potentially address its food insecurity and unemployment challenges, while also driving national development.