A) Challenges facing youth after going through development initiative in Agriculture
I interviewed some youth that had received training on agriculture. Below were some of the challenges they faced after going through development initiative in Agriculture:
- Inadequate/ lack of access to initial capital outlay for establishing agricultural enterprises.
- Inadequate access to land for large scale production.
- Paucity of fund for maintaining set up enterprises.
- Lack of / inadequate agricultural enterprises management skills.
- Low return on investment, especially for small scale agricultural enterprises
B) Success Stories after going through development initiative in Agriculture
Some of the Youth (Agricultural graduates) trained by Agricultural and Rural Management Training Institute (ARMTI) through the support of Federal Government of Nigeria have become employers of labour. Moreover, success stories were also recorded by some participants of Youth Empowerment in Agriculture Programme (YEAP) who received post capacity development training on Management skills development in agribusiness. The training was organised by Gender and Youth Department of Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD), supported by FAO and facilitated by ARMTI.
The success stories of the Agricultural graduates were as a result of the fact that some of the participants trained were taught how to write business proposal and how to access loan/grants for agribusiness. Moreover, complimenting management skills with technical training for YEAP participants also contributed to the success recorded by them.
C) How to enhance the sustainability of the impact of development initiative for Youth in Agriculture:
- Linking them up on how to access fund.
- Complimenting their technical skills with agribusiness management skills.
- Facilitating their access to land for large scale production.
- Establishing interactive platforms for participants after capacity development programme.
Dr. Abigail Iyilade