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By Adeola Badru/
Nigerian youth have been advised to tap into the various sub-sectors in the agricultural value chain in order to reduce unemployment as well as boost the country’s food security.
An agribusiness expert and the Group Managing Director, GMD, of Niji Group, Mr. Kolawole Adeniji, who identified the value chain as land, labour, water, technology, production, post-harvest handling, processing, storage and market, in an interview with Vanguard on why youths should take to farming, further said agriculture is the ultimate solution to youth unemployment in Nigeria.
Adeniji said youths constitute more than half of the Nigerian population, adding that it is this important segment of the population who are unemployed.
He said: “Agriculture can be the viable and pragmatic panacea to this ticking time bomb. Agriculture is one of the few sectors that can employ a large number of hands at the same time because the agricultural value chain is quite expansive.”
He said that government should also pay attention to industrialisation to solve the endemic problem.
“There are lots of jobs each value chain is creating and with stakeholders in the industry embracing technology,
On how to encourage youths to take up agricultural jobs, Adeniji said the sector has gone beyond the days of hoes and cutlasses.
“We must tackle this perception. Agriculture has embraced technology. It has gotten to the extent that youths do not need to be a farmer before investing or working in a farm.”
“It is about the youths equipping themselves with the needed skills to take advantage of these jobs.”
The agribusinesses expert also advised the incoming government of Asiwaju Bola Tinubu
to focus more on agriculture to solve the problem of youth unemployment.
“The industrial parks, which are scheduled to be constructed, have the capacity to ameliorate joblessness among the teaming youths.”
“The agriculture sector should be improved on to curb the unemployment problems,” Adediji said.
He also advised the incoming government to focus on non-oil resources, particurlarly lead, to improve the nation’s earnings and create jobs for many young people.