By Agrobroadcast Team
Stakeholders rally around climate-smart, finance-driven strategies to unlock opportunities for young agripreneurs.
The Federal Government has intensified calls for coordinated action to place young Nigerians at the forefront of agricultural transformation, stressing that youth inclusion remains critical to building a resilient and competitive agro food system.
Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Sen. Abubakar Kyari, made this known on Tuesday in Abuja at the maiden National AgriBusiness Strategy Youth Dialogue, themed: “Building Climate-Resilient and Finance-Enabled Pathways for Youth in Agrifood Systems in Nigeria.”
Kyari described the forum as a strategic platform to channel the creativity and drive of young people who account for more than 70 per cent of the country’s population into strengthening food systems through innovation and access to finance.
According to him, empowering young people goes beyond supporting individual ventures, as it helps to deepen markets, enhance resilience and shape the long-term trajectory of Nigeria’s agrifood economy.
Despite agriculture’s central role in livelihoods across Africa, the minister noted that the sector continues to grapple with deep-rooted structural constraints.
He said unlocking the leadership and entrepreneurial potential of young Nigerians is essential to overcoming these bottlenecks and modernising food systems.
Kyari stated that the ministry’s alignment of the Sustainable Development Goals and the African Agricultural Youth Strategy with national agricultural technology frameworks reflects a deliberate shift toward inclusiveness, sustainability and innovation-led growth.
He reaffirmed Nigeria’s collaboration with the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), noting that the organisation has consistently championed youth-driven innovation and strong collaborative networks across the continent.
To translate policy into measurable outcomes, the minister said the government is working closely with key financial institutions, including the Central Bank of Nigeria, National Agricultural Development Fund, Bank of Agriculture and Nigeria Agricultural Insurance Corporation.
He added that reforms under the administration of President Bola Tinubu have broadened access to agricultural credit, reduced investment risks in rural areas and expanded funding channels for youth-led agribusinesses. The measures, he said, also support climate risk insurance and digital financial inclusion in underserved communities.
Kyari emphasised that national and global recognition of Nigeria’s leadership in youth-focused agricultural policy must be matched with practical implementation at the state level.
He advocated structured mentorship systems, improved market linkages and stronger partnerships to help young entrepreneurs build sustainable and competitive enterprises.
“A strategy must move beyond documentation to domestication,” he said, underscoring the importance of stakeholder alignment, resource mobilisation and measurable delivery.
In his remarks, Permanent Secretary in the ministry, Dr. Marcus Ogunbiyi, said the dialogue was convened to harness resilience and financial innovation in agriculture by bringing together young leaders and innovators to influence policy direction.
He stressed that achieving food security central to the Renewed Hope Agenda requires deliberate investment in the next generation of agripreneurs.
Climate change, limited access to capital, infrastructure gaps and land constraints, he noted, remain significant barriers to youth participation.
Ogunbiyi reiterated the ministry’s resolve to create an enabling environment where agriculture is viewed as a viable, technology-driven and globally competitive career path for young Nigerians.
“We must transition from rhetoric to measurable results, from isolated interventions to coordinated programmes that can scale nationally,” he said.
Also speaking, Mr. David Adama, Senior Specialist for Continental and Regional Engagement at AGRA, said the current focus has expanded from primary production to holistic food systems development.
He disclosed that the target is to ensure that at least 30 per cent of participants in every food system value chain are youth and 30 per cent are women, while narrowing gender gaps among young people by half.
Adama commended Nigeria for becoming the first country to domesticate the Africa Agribusiness Youth Strategy through the dialogue and urged young participants to actively contribute ideas that would shape the national implementation framework.