The AYuTe Africa Challenge in Nigeria, an enterprise programme, has awarded $40,000 in grants to three young agritech innovators to enhance farming methods and food production. Lekan Tobe, Country Director of Heifer International, announced this at the grand finale of the 2024 AYuTe Africa Challenge Nigeria on Thursday in Abuja.
Tobe highlighted the initiative’s goal to encourage the use of technology for transforming Nigeria’s agricultural sector. “Leveraging youth and technology presents an opportunity for the transformation of agriculture, ensuring food security, youth employment, and economic development,” he said. He emphasized that technology helps close the yield gap, create sustainable value chains, reduce post-harvest loss, and increase fertilizer, water, and soil use efficiency. It also helps smallholder farmers become better organized and engage more effectively with the market.
According to Tobe, the competition identifies and supports outstanding young agritech innovators, enhancing their visibility, growth, and productivity for smallholder farmers. He mentioned that Heifer International awards $1.5 million annually through a regional competition to leading agritech innovators across Africa.
Akeem Oyerinde, Dean of the Faculty of Agriculture at the University of Abuja, stressed the importance of youths in leveraging technology to transform the agriculture system in Nigeria. “We all need to rejuvenate agriculture to where it belongs. Each and every one of you can key into any agricultural products and business by using various technologies. A technology like mobile phones can be used to promote productivity and address some of the challenges affecting smallholder farmers in Nigeria,” he said.
Daniel Bature, Director of Technical Services at Nasarawa State Agricultural Development, urged youths to utilize technology to create innovations that would advance Nigeria’s agriculture sector. Femi Oluwagbemi, Special Adviser to the Minister of Labour and Employment, highlighted that agriculture could facilitate job creation and self-employment for young people, enabling them to access funding through such programmes.
Manir Umar, Special Adviser to the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security on Youth and Agribusiness, noted that collaboration with stakeholders is essential for implementing policies in Nigeria. “The government can create policies, but cannot be the implementers, so we try to collaborate with stakeholders to ensure efforts like this are being strengthened. Youths are the drivers of the agricultural revolution. So, the ministry is giving a lot of focus to the Renewed Hope Agenda,” he said.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the beneficiaries include Ruth Ede of Scratop Nigeria Ltd., awarded $20,000 for her innovation in converting bio waste into nutrient-rich biofertilizers. Akpem Shadrach of Vet Konect received $12,000 for providing comprehensive care for livestock farmers via mobile devices using AI tools. Chinasu Stephanie-Meltus of Scarecrow Green Eden’s 4th industrial revolution received $8,000 for using technology to combat climate change effects and increase farming efficiency for smallholder farmers.
Ede, the highest beneficiary, told NAN she would use the $20,000 grant to improve access to nutrient-rich biofertilizer for farmers to boost their production.
Credit: NAN (Text Excluding Headline)
