By Michael Oche
Stakeholders at the 2025 Agricultural Youth Summit have called for stronger policy alignment, innovative financing, and the integration of digital tools to unlock Nigeria’s agribusiness potential and achieve food security.
The summit, jointly organised by the Leventis Foundation Nigeria (LFN) and the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) in Abuja, brought together policymakers, development partners, and young agripreneurs to explore practical strategies for transforming the country’s agricultural landscape.
In his welcome address, the Executive Director of the Leventis Foundation Nigeria, Hope Usieta, said the event was designed to drive strategic dialogue and generate actionable ideas that could reposition agriculture as a major driver of youth empowerment and national development.
Usieta stressed that improving access to agricultural finance and digital innovations remains critical for smallholder farmers, who cultivate most of Nigeria’s farmland.
He added that bridging financing gaps and strengthening institutional support would boost productivity, scale agribusinesses, and create decent jobs for young people.
“Despite the various interventions in the agricultural sector, challenges still abound,” Usieta noted. “Hence, there’s a critical need for policy coherence and increased support for agri-finance to advance the needed solutions.”
The summit featured workshops on business formalisation, digital tools for agribusiness growth, and mainstreaming agricultural finance, aimed at equipping participants with practical skills and insights.
In his goodwill message, the NYSC Director-General, Brigadier General Olufemi Nafiu, represented by Mr Abe Dankaro, emphasised that agribusiness presents a viable solution to the twin challenges of youth unemployment and food insecurity in Nigeria.
Chairman of the Leventis Foundation Nigeria, Alhaji Ahmed Manti, described the summit as a “platform for innovation, dialogue, and policy alignment” to empower Nigerian youth and promote sustainable agricultural development.
He disclosed that LFN has trained over 31,000 young Nigerians in modern agricultural and entrepreneurship skills and recently signed an MoU with the Abuja Enterprise Agency to provide business development services for its trainees.
Manti urged stakeholders to sustain investments in youth-led agriculture, saying: “As a nation, we must continue to invest in our youth, for they remain our greatest asset and the key to building a resilient agribusiness sector.”
