- From
-
Published on
02.12.25
The IITA–CGIAR Director General Dr Simeon Ehui, has called for increased youth involvement in agriculture, stating that this is crucial in addressing the challenges of hunger, poverty, and youth unemployment in Africa. Speaking in Abeokuta recently at the networking conference organized by the Youth in Agribusiness, “Enabling scaling of innovative technologies for sustainable food solutions,” also known as YAS Project, Dr Ehui, represented by the Coordinator of the Technology for African Agricultural Transformation (TAAT) program at the institute, Dr Chrys Akem, said the future of sustainable agricultural practices lies with young people.
The conference, jointly organized by the Oyo and Ogun agribusiness hubs of the YAS project, had the theme, ‘Enhancing public-private partnership to sustain the capacity of youth in agribusiness’. Dr Ehui stated, “We believe that if we want to sustain profitable agriculture, solve the challenge of hunger, and create more jobs for Africans, we must invest in our youth, and that is why the YAS project, funded by the Kingdom of the Netherlands, got the mandate to empower the youth with technology and innovations that are crucial to making agribusiness more attractive and profitable.”
The Chief Executive Officer, IITA Youth in Agribusiness Unit, Aline Mugisho, lamented the level of hunger on the continent, saying, “Africa is being told to feed the world, but the face of hunger is still Africa. When you go to London, Japan, or the United States, the image of that beggarly child that you see at the airports is that of an African. I am not saying what they have done is good, but we have been challenged to change that perception today, not only by putting food on our tables, but also by ensuring it is affordable for all. To achieve that, we need to engage our large youth demographic and equip them with modern skills.”