The youth program of the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) has won the 2019 International Innovation Award for sustainable food and Agriculture.

The award is in recognition of IITA’s commitment to improving both agribusiness opportunities and creditworthiness of youth across Africa.

The award which is the first of its kind and funded by the Government of Switzerland, was presented during the  41^st  conference of the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) at its Headquarters in Rome—an event that was attended by high-level government representatives across the globe on June 26, 2019.

FAO Director General, José Graziano da Silva  said, “My congratulations to all of you. Your work is an inspiration to all of us. Thank you for your contribution.”

He added, “It is very important to showcase positive results and concrete ways in which we can work together.”

The award which  was in two categories; category A, ‘award for excellence and digitization and innovation for sustainable food systems’, and category B ‘International innovation award  for sustainable food and agriculture’,   reflects the important role of innovation for the future of sustainable food and agriculture and the improvement of food security and nutrition for all, particularly in the face of increased environmental challenges, in accordance with the United Nations decade of family farming (which runs through the years 2019-2028), and the 2030 agenda for sustainable development.

Receiving the category B award on behalf of IYA, Evelyn Ohanwusi the Head of IITA Youth Agripreneurs (IYA), appreciated the organizers and sponsors of the award saying; “IITA Youth Agripreneurs (IYA) is grateful to have been recognized as an innovation that empowers youth in agriculture and food systems and chosen among other qualified nominees. We sincerely appreciate the Government of Switzerland and the Food and Agriculture Organization for contributing to our success story.”

She dedicated the award to young people involved in agricultural transformation, and  urged them to keep working hard towards resolving the problems of food insecurity and unemployment in Africa.

“This award is dedicated to all youths in the agriculture and food systems across the world especially in Africa. We have started the revolution and yes, we can achieve more!” she added.

The IITA Youth Agripreneur Program is a youth in agribusiness initiative that was established in 2012, by the Director General of the IITA, Dr. Nteranya Sanginga, to address the issue of widespread youth unemployment, and to provide a platform that propels young people towards self-employment in agriculture. The program started in Ibadan, Oyo state Nigeria and has expanded into 13 groups with over 385 members operating 36 learning-by-doing enterprises in about 10 African countries including; Democratic Republic of Congo, Zambia, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Nigeria, Cameroon, Sudan, Madagascar, and Togo.

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The 10-man delegation understudying the IYA model was led by Karitia Caulibaly, Deputy Director of Cabinet, Ministry of Youth Employment. The team wants to get firsthand knowledge of IYA, as the country prepares to sign up to the African Development Bank’s funded program on youth in agriculture titled: ENABLE Youth.

The IYA model is a job creation and mind-set changing program aimed at attracting young men and women to agriculture by exposing them to the opportunities in the agriculture value chain, while at the same time providing training and mentorship to the youngsters.

Initiated in 2012 by the Director General of IITA, Dr Nteranya Sanginga, the IYA model came to limelight after it successfully drew young people to agriculture with some of them establishing their own businesses and creating decent jobs for themselves. The initiative is currently being supported by the African Development Bank under the bank’s ENABLE-Youth program.

IITA director general, Dr Sanginga said the IYA model was established as a means of creating a career path for unemployed young people in agriculture by training, coaching and mentoring the youths to embrace agriculture as an income generating option. He added that the successes recorded from the IYA model was recognized by other institutions including the AfDB and had been adopted for replication and expansion through projects like ENABLE-Youth.

The Head of Youth in Agribusiness Office, Ms. Evelyn Ohanwusi said the training received under IYA had transformed many young people with many of them migrating from being job seekers to job creators. She added that some of the young people had established independent agribusiness enterprises which are providing jobs for several other youths.

The ENABLE Youth Coordinator in Cote d’Ivoire, Guy-Herve Pillah, while giving an update on the ongoing activities of ENABLE Youth program in that country said the team had selected sites that would serve as incubation centers for the beneficiaries of the program. “The renovation of the sites to suit the purposes of the program would commence in earnest,” Pillah added.

The Cote d’Ivoire delegation also visited some IYA business spin-offs in Ibadan and Abuja.

In Abuja, the team was delighted over the progress made by Onyeka Okaro, the Chief Executive Officer of Yeka Farms. Yeka Farms is located in Apo, a suburb in the Federal Capital Territory. Giving a background into the start of the business, Okaro explained that during his incubation  period between 2016 and 2017 at IITA, he saved money from the stipend earned to establish Yeka farm. To further expand his business, he developed a business plan and applied for funding under the ENABLE-TAAT program which was approved after adequate scrutiny.

“The training I had during my incubation period was sufficient as it was experiential. It was both on the field and practical in approach. The content was technical and covered business management and ICTs. I did not have an agricultural background when I joined the program but today, I run my farm myself. I hope this will inspire one more person to take up farming. I will use the new funds to expand my farm and diversify into fish smoking,” he said.

Okaro also revealed that he had placed an order for an automated fish smoking kiln from the Nigeria Institute for Oceanography and Marine Research.

The head of the delegation, Ms Caulibaly said the experience with the youths  in Nigeria inspired her to embrace farming.

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