The Nigerian Government has unveiled the Youth Entrepreneurship for the Future of Food and Agriculture (YEFFA) programme to promote inclusive economic growth and expand opportunities for young Nigerians across the agricultural value chain.
Sen. Aliyu Abdullahi, Minister of State for Agriculture and Food Security, said this at the unveiling of the programme on Thursday in Abuja.
Abdullahi said the initiative aligned with President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, which prioritised young people as drivers of inclusive economic growth.
He said the programme would help young Nigerians take greater ownership of opportunities in agriculture, while addressing challenges such as limited access to finance and markets.
The minister said ongoing reforms at the Bank of Agriculture (BOA) were aimed at improving access to finance for young agricultural entrepreneurs.
He added that the National Agricultural Insurance Corporation (NAIC) was implementing programmes to strengthen farmers’ resilience and protect them against climate-related shocks.
On agricultural production, Abdullahi said research institutes had released about 137 improved crop varieties in 2026, including zinc-biofortified rice and varieties resistant to tomato diseases and stem borers.
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He described agriculture as central to national development, noting that food security had been recognised as a constitutional priority.
“We are working very hard to see that we continue to produce what we eat and eat what we produce,” he said.
Abdullahi commended the Mastercard Foundation and the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) for convening the programme and pledged the ministry’s support.
He added that BOA had indicated its commitment to matching funding under the initiative.
Rosy Fynn, Country Director of the Mastercard Foundation, said the foundation would work to improve young Nigerians’ access to finance and markets, describing youth participation as critical to the country’s food security.
Fynn said Nigeria was deliberately the last participating country to join the programme to benefit from lessons learnt in other countries.
She said the initiative was designed to address barriers facing young people in agriculture, including limited access to finance and markets, as well as post-harvest losses.
“We have put structures in place to make sure we eliminate a lot of these barriers,” she said.
Fynn added that young agricultural entrepreneurs would participate in governance structures, including steering committees, to promote accountability.
“They will hold us accountable. If things are not going the right way, they will voice it. And that is what true partnership is about,” she said.
She reaffirmed the foundation’s commitment to collaborating with the private sector, government and development institutions to expand opportunities for young Nigerians.
Also speaking, Ayotunde Sotinrin, Managing Director of BOA, said the bank would match funding under the programme and reform its financing model to better serve young entrepreneurs.
Sotinrin said the programme’s theme, “From Dialogue to Action”, reflected a commitment to translating discussions into tangible outcomes for young people and institutions across the agricultural value chain.
He said BOA had financed farmers and rural enterprises, including those owned by youths, women and persons with disabilities, for about five decades.
“Young entrepreneurs remain constrained by limited collateral, informal records and distance from formal lenders. We are working to change this.
“Through the reform of our support and funding programme, we are linking finance to extension services, aggregation and guaranteed markets,” he said.
Sotinrin said the bank had financed more than 500,000 farmers and aggregated over 72,000 tonnes of grain under its guaranteed pricing programme, which provided farmers with a floor price.
He said young entrepreneurs should be recognised not only as farmers but also as processors, aggregators, technology providers and employers across the agricultural value chain.
With more than 70 per cent of Nigerians below the age of 30, Sotinrin said investing in young people was critical to the country’s economic future.
He added that BOA was reforming its financing model to make public agricultural finance fairer and more accessible to young Nigerians.
