‘Before us today is a great future, a future that must be fed, and a future population of over 200 million people to be fed daily in the next 10 years. We need to plan now to feed our tomorrow and future’.

1. ATTRACTING
AND RETAINING
NIGERIAN
YOUTHS IN
AGRICULTURE
By ‘Before us today is a great future, a
future that must be fed, and a future
sotonye anga, population of over 200 million people to
Agribusiness expert be fed daily in the next 10 years. We
and strategist need to plan now to feed our tomorrow
and future’.

2. ATTRACTING AND RETAINING NIGERIAN
YOUTHS IN AGRICULTURE BY SOTONYE
ANGA
We cannot talk about attracting Nigerian youths in to Agriculture
without first commending and appreciating our trailblazers and touch
bearers, our old or aged farmers, without them we will not have any
Agriculture in Nigeria, they have with them knowledge, experience and
expertise about weather, seed, character of crops, forest reserve, and
soil. Their understanding of our farmlands and forest reserve is deep
and rich. This body of wisdom and knowledge is valuable and
important. So in going forward, we must celebrate our old farmers and
really make them happy so they can be stimulated and get into the
right frame of mind to pass on their knowledge. Our old farmers are
custodian of knowledge; they are great, wonderful and powerful. I
celebrate them, they have weathered the storm, conquered our land
and made it to produce enough to feed and sustain the nation. With
their bare hands, hoe, and cutlass they have created paths through our
forest placing a demand on our soil to yield her increase. Irrespective of
how crude their methods may be, they have made great impact.
Therefore, it is right for us to continue to celebrate them for their
ingenuity, industry and courage.
Be that as it may, life is in phases, I believe at this point of our nation’s
history, there is need for more youths to get involved in Agriculture.
Most of our farmers are old, and yet we have a large population of over
160 million people to be fed daily. Again, this justifies the need for
Nigeria to deliberately change and diversify the labour composition of
our farmers by integrating more of our youthful population into real
time, viable and prosperous Agribusiness.
Before us today is a great future, a future that must be fed, a future
population of over 200 million people to be fed daily in the next 10
years. We need to plan now to feed our tomorrow and future. If

3. ATTRACTING AND RETAINING NIGERIAN
YOUTHS IN AGRICULTURE BY SOTONYE
ANGA
anything, this is the time for our federal Government to really take
Agribusiness seriously by creating and providing the enabling
environment for the private sector to drive Nigeria’s Agricultural
revolution armed with the right Agric friendly policy, tools and
infrastructure with our youths as chief drivers of the process.
Agribusiness is about wealth creation, it is about job creation, and
Nigeria is blessed with great Agricultural resource and assets that must
be exploited and converted into wealth and prosperity for our people.
We need to understand that Agribusiness holds and carries with it the
solution for youth unemployment.
For Agriculture to work, we need to get our seed, inputs, farm
machineries, transportation, funding, storage and marketing right. This
is the time for the Nigerian youths to take over in the Agribusiness
landscape. We need therefore, to prepare them by giving them
Agribusiness responsibilities that will challenge their ability. When we
do this, we will see the glory of Nigeria’s Agriculture.
Nigerian youths today shy away from farming and Agriculture because
they cannot see the dignity, prosperity, beauty, glory and profits in
Agriculture.
The picture youths have about Agriculture is that of poverty, suffering,
pain, hardship and intensive labour without gains. So the first task
Government have is to get our youths see Agriculture differently. By
deliberately giving Agriculture the attention and funding it deserves.
The Honourable Minister, Dr Akinwunmi Adesina CON, has done quite a
lot by pointing youths to the prospect and potentials that exist in our
Agricultural sector but more work is required to support his advocacy,
as the decay in the nation’s Agriculture is very deep. President
Goodluck Jonathan is also determined to diversify the nation’s

4. ATTRACTING AND RETAINING NIGERIAN
YOUTHS IN AGRICULTURE BY SOTONYE
ANGA
economy using Agriculture. I believe him and he needs to make it
happen now.
Let us make Agriculture pay in Nigeria.
Government needs to make Agriculture attractive for our today’s young
men and women by providing them with access to improved high
yielding, disease resistant seedlings, access to finance at single digit
interest rates, access to high performing and efficient tools and farm
machineries and other supportive infrastructure.
Nigeria’s youth can feed Nigeria’s future, so let us get our youths today
to take their place in the nation’s Agriculture.
Youths in Agriculture is the right way forward. Let us create the
attraction and you will find them rushing in to Agribusiness.
Thank you.
Sotonye Anga
Coordinator, Agribusiness and youth empowerment
COMMUNITY OF AGRICULTURAL STAKEHOLDERS OF NIGERIA
2/12/2012