AUGUST FOCUS: INCREASING YOUTHS PARTICIPATION IN AGRICULTURE Nigeria is blessed with diverse resources; prominent among these are agricultural resources. Despite the enormous potential of agriculture in the country, Nigeria still grapples with various challenges which include high poverty rates, hunger, and starvation, food insecurity among others.
Unfortunately, the diverse agricultural resources in the country which has great potentials in providing employment, income generation, and food security for Nigeria’s teeming youth population has been grossly underutilized. At the moment, the country is yet to achieve self-sufficiency in agricultural production and still depends significantly on imported agricultural products. There has also been a sheer unwillingness of the young population of the country to dive into the agricultural sector.
The government in a desperate bid to diversify the country’s economy especially as oil-prices has continued to fall in the global market, has increased emphasis on agriculture lately. Despite the government’s efforts in revitalizing the agricultural sector, there is much more work to be done in ensuring the transformation of the agricultural landscape to make it attractive for young Nigerians. It is in the light of this that the Awakening program seeks to beam its searchlight on youths and agriculture in Nigeria, with emphasis on the South-East geo-political region.