IITA empowers young farmers with multi-million naira agribusiness support

The International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) has supported young farmers in Oyo State with farm inputs and equipment through its Youth in Agribusiness Project.

According to the institute, the input support was to facilitate agribusiness start-up and expansion, noting that a similar exercise had been held for young farmers in Abuja, Kano, and Ogun states.

IITA’s Head of Genetic Resources Center, Prof Michael Abberton, who represented the Senior Management Team, congratulated the beneficiaries as he urged them to leverage the support network created by the project to improve their Agribusiness.

Items included fertilisers, packs of improved maize varieties, garri fryers, vegetable seeds, fish and poultry feed, seedling trays, coco peat, generators, knapsack sprayers, and garri pressers.

In his address at the presentation ceremony, held at the Agricserve Building, IITA, Ojoo/Moniya Road, Ibadan, the Chief Executive Officer of the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture Youth Agripreneurs, Idowu Osun, urged the beneficiaries to make good use of the provided items.

He said, “We are interested in what you are able to achieve with this little support you have received. It is not all you need to run a business, but we expect you to supplement it with your own resources.

“We don’t want excuses because we will follow up on your progress. We want to receive reports and hear about your achievements. We want to track the success of your agribusiness enterprises.

“Make sure you make the best use of this opportunity. When we started, our earlier training sessions did not include the provision of inputs like these, but we have worked hard to make it possible. Please, we fought to secure these resources for you, and the best way to repay us is to produce the best results. When you succeed, future generations of beneficiaries will be able to leverage your achievements and secure more resources for themselves.”

Similarly, the representative of the IITA Head of Station, Abuja, Adebayo Awotodunbo, warned the beneficiaries against selling the distributed farm inputs.

“These items are not meant for sale. I say this because we have seen cases in the past where people were supported, but instead of using the inputs for their businesses, they sold them. That does not make sense. Let’s always strive to do the right thing.”

Speaking on behalf of the Managing Director of the International Fertilizer Development Center (IFDC), HortiNigeria, Benedict Ukpukpen, the IFDC HortiNigeria said, “We are proud to be part of this impactful YAS input distribution initiative—a critical step towards empowering young agripreneurs and strengthening our agricultural value chains.

“At HortiNigeria, we believe that access to the right inputs, knowledge, and networks is key to unlocking the potential of youth in transforming agriculture.

“Today’s event is not just about distributing inputs—it is about sowing seeds of opportunity, productivity, and resilience.

“As you receive these inputs, we encourage you to make the most of them, apply climate-smart practices, and continue to build agribusinesses that contribute to food security, economic growth, and sustainable development.”

One of the beneficiaries, Ayomikun Oyesiji, disclosed in a sideline interview that the training had positively impacted her agribusiness.

“I underwent training in December 2023, and it gave me insight into managing a business, especially the business management aspect.

“I had been a farmer before, but I struggled with keeping records, balancing accounts, and handling financial calculations.

However, after the training, my business has experienced a significant turnaround.”

ALSO READ FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE