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| Nkiruka Nnaemego |
Would you say the Nigerian government understands the challenges confronting young people in agriculture? If no what can be done?
I think they do understand some issues affecting the youth, but not all, especially issues relating to access to lands, technology, finance and mentoring. Without these, the youths will continue to flounder in a sector filled with opportunities. Most are challenged by lack of access to lands. The lands are there but how many of them can really afford them. Even if you can access them through loans, how many youths can afford the collaterals to access those lands? So there is the need for government to make some of these facilities more accessible to the youths.
Do you foresee a change in the development of the nation’s agriculture sector?
Yes, I do. There is so much potential in the nation’s sector, but the truth is that not much can be done without support. So government can create platforms to enhance accessibility and also stand in the gap for youths to be able to access the needed support to their agricultural development.
What are the peculiar challenges of the youths in agriculture?
Access to land, I would say, remains one of the most vital issues. Youths have no or limited access to land. We have to rent land which often affects our productivity as we have to focus on short term production to avoid conflict with the land owners. Access to credit is another challenge because most youths have no collateral to access credit facilities and in most cases, the processes are cumbersome or technical for the youth. Technology is another fundamental challenge because most young people, including myself, are still using the old system of farming as we do not have access to affordable technology and farm equipment to increase our production.
Mentoring and access to markets are also vital challenges to the development of the youths in today’s agriculture. Youths, especially at the grassroots level, lack mentors who can guide them on how to develop viable business plans that will help attract investments, and we are often faced with serious challenges with access to market because most of our products are not packaged or branded which often lead us to depend more on the middle men to sell our products at their cost. This is as a result of the high cost and duration of the registration process with the NAFDAC, CAC, and other bodies.
How did you benefit from the previous administration and what are your recommendations?
I am one of the 27 nagropreneurs who benefitted from the initial grant under the Youth Employment in Agriculture Programme (YEAP) of the past administration. From the grant I got, I supported 15 other youths to establish or upscale their small scale farms in line with our organisation’s, Youth Farm (YFarm), project which aims to establish and promote at least 10,000 youth-led farms and agribusinesses across Africa by 2020.
With the government’s diversification plan, what are your recommendations for onward development?
Government should integrate the youths into all agricultural policies, plans and programmes at all levels. They should implement the recommendations stipulated in the National Youth Manifesto on Agriculture which will be formally presented to the general public after review during the YFarm 2nd National Youth Agric Festival on August 11, 2016, in Abuja. The youths are the strength of a nation and with modern technology they can learn and acquire knowledge from other parts of the world.
Would you say that there are sufficient policies to encourage agricultural development?
Nothing is sufficient in life except God. Nigeria currently has the new roadmap on agriculture which we hope would capture the felt needs and aspirations of stakeholders in agriculture, especially the youths, women, pastoralist and other small-scale farmers. So while we may agree that there are policies, I would say that the policies must correspond with the daily changing demands of our daily life.
What are the benefits of having youths in agriculture?
Youths represent the link between past, present and future generations. They have the energy, time, ideas, talents and huge potential that can be harnessed for improved livelihoods and agricultural productivity. So having the youths in agriculture will ensure continuity as well as bring in fresh ideas to the development of the sector. They will bring in the needed changes for onward development of the sector and the necessary vitality and strength needed for the development of the sector.
What can the Buhari led-government do to encourage youth participation in agriculture?
We urge him to approve the YEAP to be implemented in all local government areas across Nigeria. The initial beneficiaries of the programme can be supported to act as mentors to other youths while also upscaling their agribusinesses. Youth-led agribusiness incubators should be established at community levels in line with the identified value chains of each community to promote ‘local’ produce.
How can Nigeria ensure food security?
Public private investments in small scale agriculture is very key. Budgetary allocation to agriculture should be increased to 10 per cent in line with the Maputo, CAADP and 2014 Malabo Commitments. Specific fund should be created for small scale farmers, especially youths and women because they make up the greater population of agricultural workers in Nigeria, but funding remains a big challenge to tackle technology and inspire youths participation towards security and poverty alleviation.
What are the challenges to the government diversification plan?
Government diversification efforts is one that should be encouraged at all levels, but the need to ensure the inclusion of all stakeholders in planning, implementation and evaluation should not be under rated. Every one is important, the youths, men and women, either as farmers, processors and even the end market, therefore, it is important to create a place for all. Effective maintenance and evaluation strategy to measure impacts and track progress is also vital as this is the only way to measure successes and challenges.
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