Nigeria’s youth development Minister visits IITA, explores partnerships to advance youth agribusiness

27 February 2026

Nigeria's Minister for Youth Development, Honorable Ayodele Olawande Wisdom visited the IITA -CGIAR recently, where he was received by the Director General, Dr Simeon Ehui, and engaged with scientists and members of the IITA Youth in Agribusiness (IYA) program led by Aline Mugisho.

During the visit, Honorable Olawande Wisdom held discussions with IITA leadership, researchers, and the youth agripreneurs to explore strategic partnership opportunities aimed at strengthening youth-led agribusiness, fostering innovation, and expanding employment opportunities across the agricultural sector in Nigeria.

Speaking with the Minister on how IITA prioritizes youth and policy engagement as part of its 2024-2030 Strategy, Dr Ehui said the institute is committed to working with governments in Africa to foster youth development and transform food systems.

"We remain committed to turning ambition into action, through partnerships that place youth at the center of food systems and transformation," Dr Ehui said.

Highlighting the critical role of agriculture as a driver of sustainable development and national prosperity, particularly for young people, Deputy Director General Partnerships for Delivery and Scaling, Dr Tahirou Abdoulaye spoke on some of the existing innovations that align with the agricultural transformation agenda in Nigeria.

Participants discussed how science, entrepreneurship, and policy alignment can accelerate youth participation in agribusiness and ensure that empowerment initiatives deliver sustainable, measurable impact.

During his visit to the Youth in Agribusiness Office (IYA), the Minister, accompanied by Dr Ehui and some staff of the institute, expressed his satisfaction with IYA's giant strides in empowering young people to thrive in agriculture, while stating the readiness of the ministry to work with the unit.

He said during his remarks that unemployment remained one of the factors fueling insecurity, noting however that the collaboration with the IITA would help to curb crime and create wealth for more young people. "We are partnering with you to drive the engagement of young people in agriculture so that majority of them would be properly engaged."

He stated, "There are five cardinal areas we are targeting; Sport, Tech, Agriculture, Education, and Creative, so that at the end of the day, we will be able to reach out to a lot of young people. Your initiative at IYA has the potential to shake the continent, and so we can leverage it to get many youths equipped with various skills."

"What you are doing is supporting many young people to build a strong foundation and we want to be part of it. Nobody will change Nigeria or Africa for us. Despite the challenges we face as a country, a lot of farmers are making money. And people need to know that it takes time to build wealth."

Meanwhile, the Minister pointed out that the Nigerian Youth Academy (NiYA) launched by President Bola Tinubu had become a strong platform for equipping people with various marketable skills. He said the initiative creates a platform for training and creating a digital community.

Speaking on the impact of his first visit to IITA-CGIAR, the Minister said seven days after he visited the IITA Abuja Station in December, the various enterprises and the dignified way of farming motivated him to set up a fish pond. "I'm a proud fish pond owner now," he stated. "I'm starting small, so you can count me as one of your participants. What gave me the inspiration was everything I was shown at the Abuja Station."

"The IYA has done a lot, and you have equally shown that farming can be done with dignity. Our founding fathers were not in thousands; they were a few people who were determined to create change, and they gave it whatever it required. They were not part of this jet age. They didn't have the technologies and innovations we now have access to. That means we can do lot with what is available now."

After his roundtable discussion with the IYA team, the Minister visited an exhibition by past project beneficiaries showcasing their various products, before heading to the enterprises run by the unit. From the screenhouses for various horticultural crops to the feed formulation facility, fish hatchery and fish ponds, Honorable Olawande Wisdom, who was visibly impressed, commended the IYA team for setting a strong example.

The Chief Executive Officer, IYA, Ms Aline Mugisho, pointed out that IITA-CGIAR is primarily a research organization with research outcomes that are sometimes technical. She, however, noted that young farmers were being positioned as catalysts for spreading solutions both in rural and urban settings. "Looking at how our technologies can be scaled by young people; we can change the agri-food system."

She added, "The farming population is also aging, and the younger ones entering the space are not necessarily equipped, whether with the knowledge or resources required. Thus, countries need to invest in these kinds of activities in partnership with organisations like IITA-CGIAR."

Engagements during the Minister's visit has reaffirmed IITA-CGIAR's commitment to empowering Africa's next generation of agricultural leaders through research, capacity development, and collaboration with government and private sector partners, while underscoring the importance of aligning youth-focused agricultural initiatives with national development priorities to maximize impact.

The visit concluded with a shared commitment to deepen collaboration and create pathways for young Nigerians to thrive in agriculture through innovation, enterprise development, and strategic partnerships.

Contributed by Jesutofunmi Robinson and 'Timilehin Osunde