The Youth Entrepreneurship Scheme for Agribusiness Advancement (YESAA), an entrepreneurship initiative on agribusiness, is making plans to host the first national agri-startups exhibition and finance masterclass for youths and women in agribusiness.
Themed ‘AGRIKSTARTEXPO’, the event aims to bring together Nigerian youths and women in agribusiness, in order to provide support to rural farmers’ groups and cooperatives.
In a statement, Bisi Oladele, a founding member of YESAA, noted that the event will attract young people in agribusiness as the nation contends with challenges such as food insecurity, food inflation, youth unemployment, increasing rural-urban migration, and poverty.
According to Tony Adeyinka, another member of the organisation, one of the highlights of the event is the recognition of President Tinubu for his vision and deliberate actions in making agribusiness “attractive for youths, even from the campaigns and several initiatives, subsequently at encouraging and supporting youths/women to participate in agribusiness.”
Bolade Oluwo, chairman of the organisation, says there is no limit to the number of initiatives that they can partner with the federal government on, noting that “ because the government cannot do it alone.”
The organisers note that special recognition will be given to Abubakar Kyari, minister of Agriculture, as well as to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) under Olayemi Cardoso, CBN governor, for the huge commitment to yields via the fertiliser donation scheme.
“Agristartexpo is coming at a time when the nation is recovering from misdeeds of previous administrations, and will serve as an event for improved market access, business development and business interconnectivity,” the statement read.
