Youth-in-agribusiness initiatives key to solving youth unemployment

Despite the introduction of several intervention programs to reduce or eradicate youth unemployment, creating jobs to reduce unemployment has been a major and trending issue across most developing and less developed countries in the world.

However, the increasing unemployment rate in Nigeria among the youth within the age bracket of 25-35 remains a challenge to social and economic stability. This has been attributed to insufficient basic and social infrastructure, among other factors. For example, the erratic power supply affects the economy, especially the manufacturing and agriculture sectors.

With about 1.6 million youth graduating annually from tertiary institutions in Nigeria, the labor supply outgrows the demand, and there are limited job opportunities for the growing workforce. While agriculture can solve the unemployment challenge, it can also create jobs for other youth. However, a minority of youth have entrepreneurial skills in agribusiness or other businesses as they are primarily dependent on white-collar jobs.

There have been various intervention initiatives in Nigeria to address youth unemployment, such as Youth Empowerment Agricultural Program (YEAP), the FADAMA youth program, and Ogun Women and Youth Empowerment Scheme (OGW-YES).

Findings of a study conducted by Olalekan Bello under the IFAD-funded IITA -CARE project suggest that participation in Youth-In-Agribusiness (YIA) programs could increase youth employment opportunities, especially in entrepreneurship.

Bello also revealed that some differences among the participants and non-participants of YIA programs include more productive assets and monthly income for participants than non-participants. The factors influencing participation in these programs include education, training, farming experience, membership in a youth organization, productive assets, access to credit and extension services.

The study shows that participants of YIA programs are more likely to be gainfully employed in several agribusiness enterprises ranging from maize production to catfish farming.

Bello, who carried out the study on two YIA programs (FADAMA and OGW-YES) in two states in Nigeria, Ondo and Ogun, said, "these programs involved the training and setting up of businesses for youths in different fields of agriculture such as crop and animal production."

He recommends vocational and capacity building training to be considered by stakeholders, donors, government or non-governmental organizations, as it will help improve the skills of youths in agribusiness.

"There is also a need for policy directed towards strengthening both private and governmental institutions in providing credits to empower youths," he added.

With IFAD funding research by young scientists across 10 countries in Africa, under the IITA-CARE project, the study carried out by Bello explores the impact of youth-in-agribusiness programs on creating gainful employment in Nigeria. According to Bello, the extension service system ought to be upgraded to one which can operate not only physically but through media such as the internet, radio, and television. Through this media, programs on prospects in agriculture could also increase awareness and participation in YIA programs, eventually creating gainful employment for youth.

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