The Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) and the Mastercard Foundation have launched the Youth Entrepreneurship for the Future of Food and Agriculture (YEFFA) programme in Nigeria, targeting 143,000 young people for dignified and fulfilling work across the agrifood sector, with 70 per cent of beneficiaries expected to be young women.
The six-year initiative was introduced at a two-day convening in Abuja on October 7 and 8, bringing together 150 participants, including 100 young people, alongside government representatives, private-sector leaders and development partners to identify barriers to youth participation in agriculture and shape the programme’s priorities.
The programme, a Pan-African partnership active in eight countries, will operate in the Federal Capital Territory and Niger, Nasarawa, Kaduna, Ogun and Oyo states. It will focus on maize, rice, soybean, horticulture and aquaculture value chains.
Nigeria’s Minister of State for Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi, officially launched the programme, urging young people to approach agriculture as a full-time business, develop practical skills and seek mentorship from experienced farmers.
He noted that agricultural training curricula are now required to devote 70 per cent of their content to practical learning, while highlighting opportunities in areas beyond primary production, including processing, cocoa, mushroom cultivation and exports.
During the convening, young agripreneurs and youth leaders identified access to finance as the biggest barrier to growing their businesses. In a live digital poll, 44 per cent of respondents selected access to finance as their top investment priority, followed by youth leadership and inclusion at 20 per cent and technology and innovation at 17 per cent.
Participants ranked mentorship and coaching ahead of affordable financing and practical skills training when asked to prioritise interventions that could strengthen their agribusinesses.
AGRA Nigeria Country Director, Dr Rufus Idris, said the programme was designed by young people for young people, with beneficiaries expected to play an active role in its implementation.
He added that YEFFA was intended to generate wider systemic change across Nigeria’s agricultural sector, benefiting young people beyond its direct participants and partners.
Wambui Chege, Director of Agrifood Systems for Pan-African Programs at the Mastercard Foundation, said Nigeria would benefit from lessons gained through the partnership’s implementation in other countries since 2023.
Representing youth perspectives at the launch, Baliqees Salaudeen, a 28-year-old agripreneur and regional coordinator of the African Youth Initiative on Climate Change, called for greater youth participation in decisions affecting the sector.
She outlined priorities including easier access to finance with lower collateral requirements, stronger links to buyers and processors, affordable digital tools, and deliberate inclusion of young women, persons with disabilities and displaced youth.
Salaudeen also advocated a youth advisory mechanism that would give young people regular access to programme decision-makers, alongside transparent implementation and business support.
The Bank of Agriculture Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Ayodeji Oludare Sotinrin, said the bank financed more than 500,000 farmers in the previous year and pledged to collaborate with AGRA and the Mastercard Foundation on a dedicated financing mechanism for YEFFA participants.
Mastercard Foundation Nigeria Country Director, Rosy Fynn, said the programme was designed to address challenges identified by young people, including limited access to finance and markets and post-harvest losses. She stressed that achieving its objectives would require shared responsibility among participating partners.
Other recommendations from the convening included establishing shared, certified post-harvest and aggregation hubs, providing patient financing tailored to young entrepreneurs, expanding agricultural insurance and integrating farm, market and financial data to reduce risks for lenders and insurers.
Participants also explored solutions such as agribusiness incubation, mentorship, youth-responsive financing and digital agriculture tools to improve productivity and business sustainability.
The outcomes and commitments from the convening will inform YEFFA’s operational roadmap, partner frameworks and implementation activities across Nigeria.