Youth participation key to food security and agricultural innovation – IITA DG
"IITA–CGIAR Director General, Dr Simeon Ehui, has emphasized that youth involvement is crucial to the future of agriculture and global food security. He noted that youth play a strategic role in driving the adoption of innovative agricultural practices that boost productivity while safeguarding the environment. The DG, represented by the Deputy Director-General, Partnerships for … Continue reading Youth participation key to food security and agricultural innovation – IITA DG The post Youth partic"
Dr Simeon Ehui, IITA – CGIAR Director General, has emphasized that youth involvement is crucial to the future of agriculture and global food security. He noted that youth play a strategic role in driving the adoption of innovative agricultural practices that boost productivity while safeguarding the environment.
The DG, represented by the Deputy Director-General, Partnerships for Delivery, Dr Tahirou Abdoulaye, spoke in Ibadan recently at this year’s International Youth Day event. The event was organized by the IITA’s Youth in Agribusiness Unit (IYA) with the theme ‘Local Youth Actions for the SDGs and Beyond.’
He pointed out that the institute introduced the IYA over ten years ago to recognize young people’s pivotal role in sustainable agriculture and food security. He stated, “IITA is a research and development institute, and we realized early enough that supporting young people to scale our technologies and share such innovations with the rest of the world positions them to contribute significantly to the attainment of Sustainable Development Goals like no poverty, zero hunger, decent work and economic growth, and Climate action. This is why our program for the youth has grown to become a movement. Now, we must make other youths across Africa realize that agriculture is profitable and sustainable.”
“IITA is proud of the achievements of the Youth in Agribusiness Unit, in terms of the thousands of youth-led agribusinesses and jobs the unit has supported young people to create. We recognize the youth as one of the drivers of the SDGs and agricultural transformation, knowing that without the youth, the future of agriculture is in jeopardy.” — Dr Simeon Ehui, IITA – CGIAR Director General
In her remarks, Adetola Adenmosun, the Partnership and Stakeholder Engagement Manager at IYA, noted that the International Youth Day was about celebrating and reminding young people that they have key roles in bringing about the change they want to see in their communities. She added, “The Youth in Agribusiness unit of IITA started with about 20 corps members, but today, thousands of young farmers in several African countries have benefited from the programs, and many donor organizations have embraced our model as a viable means of engaging young people in agriculture. This means no idea is too small. Let us, as young people, endeavor to start small and have a plan to grow big. Many big businesses of today started small.”
The program featured a debate between four teams of corps members who, in pairs, spoke for and against the topics: ‘With capacity development and the right support, young women do better than their male counterparts in sustainable agribusiness and achieving the SDGs’ and ‘Is supporting the youth to embrace agribusiness a sustainable solution to unemployment and attainment of relevant SDGs?’ At the end of the competition, which sparked interest and elation from the audience, the winners and the first and second runners-up received farm inputs in their chosen commodities, worth thousands of naira.
One of the judges, the General Manager of BATN Foundation, Oludare Odusanya, encouraged young people to explore the vast opportunities in the agricultural sector, whether as entrepreneurs or employees. Odusanya, one of the pioneer corps members who started the IYA, added, “On this special day to celebrate young people, I like to reiterate that there are vast opportunities across agricultural value chains for the youth to play profitably, including production, value addition, logistics, marketing, and branding. It is very profitable to own a farm now, but even without it, there are opportunities to be tapped and money to be made from this important sector.”
Other judges included Zainatou Sore, Head of the IITA Capacity Development Office (CDO); Dr Adebayo Adebola, Technology Transfer Officer at the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI); and Dolapo Ogunsola, Director of Youth Empowerment at the African Agriculture Leadership Institute (AALI). In her remarks, Sore reiterated the need for young people to explore the opportunities in agriculture, given the prominent role food would continue to play globally.
Ogunsola charged young people, especially corps members, not to shy away from agriculture, saying it could be a launch pad for their career in either entrepreneurship or paid employment. “At AALI, our mandate includes country advisory, youth empowerment, and private sector collaboration to accelerate Africa’s agricultural transformation,” she added.
At the event, some of the young farmers who established their agribusiness enterprises after participating in the IITA Youth in Agribusiness program emphasized the need for the youth to embrace agribusiness opportunities. They noted that the training, input support, mentoring, and institutional support from IITA helped them to establish and scale up their enterprises.
Deep Analysis
AI Intelligence
Automated insights generated by DeepSeek-V3 based on the article content.
Key Impact
- Youth involvement is positioned as a critical driver for achieving food security across Africa, including Ghana.
- The IITA's Youth in Agribusiness unit has already helped create thousands of youth-led agribusinesses and jobs in several African countries.
- Without active youth participation, the future of agriculture and the attainment of Sustainable Development Goals like zero hunger and no poverty are at serious risk.
- Ghanaian youth could directly benefit from IITA's proven model to scale agricultural technologies and innovations.
Background
- The IITA Director General, Dr. Simeon Ehui, speaking at the 2024 International Youth Day event in Ibadan, stressed that youth are strategic for adopting innovative farming practices that boost productivity and protect the environment.
- IITA established the Youth in Agribusiness Unit (IYA) over ten years ago specifically to recognize and support young people's role in sustainable agriculture and food security.
- The event featured debates among corps members on topics such as whether young women outperform young men in sustainable agribusiness when given the right support, and if youth agribusiness is a sustainable solution to unemployment.
- Winners of the debate received farm inputs worth thousands of naira, showing direct material support for youth agri-entrepreneurship.
Benefits
- Youth engagement in agriculture drives the adoption of climate-smart and environmentally friendly farming practices, which is vital for long-term food production in Ghana.
- The IYA model has proven scalable: from 20 corps members to thousands of young farmers across Africa, demonstrating that youth agribusiness can grow into a movement.
- Young entrepreneurs can start small with agribusiness and plan to expand, as emphasized by IYA's Partnership Manager, noting that many big businesses began small.
- Supporting youth in agribusiness creates decent jobs, reduces poverty, and directly contributes to Ghana's progress on the Sustainable Development Goals, especially zero hunger and economic growth.
Risks & Warnings
- Without deliberate investment and support, the potential of youth in agriculture remains untapped, jeopardizing food security and economic transformation in Ghana.
- The success of youth agribusiness programs depends on continuous access to capacity development, land, credit, and market linkages—gaps that persist in many Ghanaian regions like the Northern and Upper East.
- Gender disparities could undermine outcomes: the debate topic on young women versus young men highlights the need for targeted support to ensure equitable benefits for both female and male youth.
- Scaling youth initiatives requires sustained funding and institutional commitment; without it, programs may not reach the majority of rural youth who need them most.
Who Is Affected
- Young men and women in Ghana—especially those in rural areas such as the Ashanti, Bono East, and Northern Regions—who are seeking employment and opportunities in agribusiness.
- Agricultural research institutions like the IITA and its partners, including Ghana's Ministry of Food and Agriculture and local universities, which must collaborate to adapt and scale youth programs.
- Ghanaian policy-makers and development agencies that need to prioritize youth in national agricultural policies and investment plans to ensure food security and innovation.
- Local communities and farming households who stand to gain from increased productivity, income, and generational renewal in agriculture if youth are effectively engaged.
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