YAS holds Abuja conference as the Netherlands Embassy hails IITA over impact

The Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Nigeria has reiterated its continued support for initiatives that place young people at the center of agricultural transformation in Nigeria.

The Policy Advisor for Food Security and Climate at the Embassy, Foluso Adejoro, stated this at the networking conference organized by the Dutch-funded Youth in Agribusiness: Enabling Scaling of Innovative Technologies for Sustainable Food Solutions, also known as the YAS Project, which was held recently.

He stated, “The YAS project is one that we are proud to support because we deeply believe in the power, creativity, and entrepreneurial spirit of Nigeria’s young people. Through our partnership with YAS and other initiatives, the Netherlands remains committed to ensuring that young people have the skills, network, and opportunities to thrive in the agribusiness sector.

“The theme of this conference perfectly reflects what we value: collaboration between governments, the private sector, and young innovators to unlock sustainable long-term results. We refer to it as the Dutch Diamond Approach. The Embassy congratulates IITA–CGIAR, BopInc, and all partners involved in this program. We celebrate the achievements of this project. When you hear that over 7,000 young agribusiness owners have been trained, they are real people. No fewer than 10,599 youths have been trained in all, and we are very proud to be a partner.”

In her remarks, YAS Team Lead and Chief Executive Officer, IITA Youth in Agribusiness Unit (IYA), Aline Mugisho, pointed out that in the last three years, when the project started, about 7,718 agribusinesses were accelerated into more sustainable businesses, adding that 2,147 incubators were introduced to agribusiness, while linkage with finance resulted in €49,821 loan accessed by participants.

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