To ensure a tremendous boost in agricultural sector in the country, the United Nations {UN) has canvassed involvement of Youth in agricultural business. This according to the UN Representative to Nigeria and Economic Community of West Africa (ECOWAS), Grace Ongile is key to agricultural growth. The UN envoy who said this in Abuja at the 4th stakeholders meeting on 1st African Youth Agric Festival organised by Fresh and Young Brains Development Initiative (FBIN) in collaboration with United Nations Women stressed the need for agricultural re-orientation and education among Nigerian youth.
Ongile said:”I really believe that youth can play a very important role in agribusiness in trying to influence policy coming up with new ideas, particularly related to the accessibility of information. We know that the youth are active in the new technology whereby the farmers may not even know information on the current trends but this can be done by the youth perfectly. “The youth still need orientation because they have negative mindset in agriculture thereby looking for opportunities that are not related to agriculture. Their mindset is that agriculture is peasantry,” she added
She also emphasized the role of women in food production sector, adding that Their involvement boosts the agricultural sector. “We know the role of women in agriculture. Women are the ones who boost the food production in the country because they are the one that go to farm. We close our eyes to the fact that in Africa including in Nigeria women play an important role in food production. “How do we move with women not just men alone? Because you know it is not the issue of men moving without the women. So UN women is getting in here in this collaboration to ensure women are there with the evidence of the women who are producing the food we eat everyday and yet we ignore them when we come to policy recommendations. “She said.
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