The International Institute for Tropical Agriculture (IITA) and other organizations have begun to train a new generation of farmers under its IITA Young Agropreneurs programme.
The Deputy Director-General, Partnership for Delivery, IITA, Dr. Kenton Dashiell, said many people have embraced farming and are seeing it as a viable career with lots of opportunities.
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Participants of the programme would be taught on how to build agri-businesses, scaling up of small-scale ventures, managing finances, marketing products; all geared towards agricultural growth.
Director, Systems and Site Integration, IITA, Dr Kwesi Atta-Krah said the institute’s entrepreneurship programme was a recognized one.
He said its aim was to teach young graduates on how to turn ideas into food products that add value to the society.
In a bid to help young people discover new practical skills, Atta-Krah stressed that youths need to have a wide range of skills. For this reason, the institute provides them with enough manpower skills.
As part of the project’s plan is to also instil practical knowledge.
He opines that if issues such as poverty, unemployment, and inequality were to be solved, there would be the need to create an enabling environment for agric-entrepreneurship, which could be a potent catalyst for change.
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In the same vein, the Chief Executive, Business Incubation Platform, Frederick Schreurs said incubator business plays a major role in injecting commercial business growth into agriculture.
He revealed that the BIP was particularly focused on two areas of commercial growth, which are the creation of innovative and commercially-viable products by IITA scientists.
Furthermore, he noted that IITA’s Business Incubation Platform (BIP) supports the institute’s strategic goals and accelerates the commercial development of its proven and profitable R4D technologies.
Founder of Agrihub Nigeria, Aderonke Aderinoye is also a leading voice that clamours for young and aspiring farmers to be allowed to grow their businesses.
