Abuja: The Federal Government has inaugurated the Youth in Agribusiness Land Trust Fund (YiALTF), an initiative aimed at training six million young Nigerians in agribusiness within three years. The programme also seeks to expand access to opportunities across the agricultural value chain, positioning agriculture as a key driver of jobs, food security, and economic growth nationwide.
According to News Agency of Nigeria, Minister of Youth Development, Mr Ayodele Olawande, announced the initiative on Monday in Abuja, describing it as a programme designed to unlock land access and drive economic growth through agriculture. Olawande said the programme sought to position agriculture as a pathway to prosperity, noting that Nigeria’s greatest asset was its youth population, with more than 60 per cent of citizens under 30 years. Despite the talent and entrepreneurial spirit of young Nigerians, millions remain unemployed because they lack access to productive land, which remains a major barrier to youth participation in agriculture.
The minister said a review of ministry assets revealed 42 Youth Development Centres across the country with substantial untapped land that could support agribusiness development and youth empowerment initiatives. YiALTF was created to convert those centres into agribusiness hubs and remove land access as the key obstacle for aspiring young farmers. YiALTF goes beyond land allocation. It provides training, access to finance, technology, mechanisation, business incubation, mentorship, investment support, and market access to ensure young agripreneurs succeed beyond startup.
Olawande said the initiative aligned with President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, which placed young people at the centre of economic transformation and national development. Agriculture was highlighted as strategic for job creation, food security, wealth generation, and diversification. He emphasised that modern agriculture extended beyond farming and was increasingly driven by technology, innovation and entrepreneurship, creating opportunities for youths as business owners, processors, exporters and value-chain leaders.
YiALTF is built on experience from the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture. Visits to the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) in Abuja and Ibadan showed that with the right support and mentorship, youth can build thriving businesses and transform communities. According to him, YiALTF is a national programme designed for scale and impact rather than a pilot project.
He called on banks to provide affordable credit, development partners to contribute expertise, the private sector to create market opportunities and state governments to support implementation at the local level. Describing the inauguration as a call to action, Olawande urged stakeholders to contribute resources and expertise to ensure the success of the initiative. He said Nigerian youths possessed the talent needed to transform the economy, adding that YiALTF would connect them to land, finance and opportunities needed to build prosperous agribusiness enterprises.
In her welcome address, Permanent Secretary of the ministry, Dr Maryam Keshinro, described YiALTF as a landmark initiative designed to expand economic opportunities for young Nigerians through agriculture and agribusiness. Keshinro said the large turnout reflected growing recognition that Nigeria’s development future depended on empowering young people to participate in productive economic activities. She said that the programme addressed one of the most persistent challenges facing aspiring agripreneurs, namely access to productive land.
Keshinro said YiALTF was more than a programme, describing it as an opportunity to rethink how public assets, strategic partnerships and youth potential could drive sustainable development. She urged participants to engage actively and identify their roles in the initiative, expressing confidence that collaboration among government, development partners, investors, financial institutions and youths would deliver significant results.
Also speaking, Director-General of the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Dr Simeon Ehui, said the future of African agriculture depended on attracting and empowering the next generation of farmers and agribusiness leaders. He said that IITA had witnessed young agronomists transformed entire communities when provided with resources and opportunities, demonstrating the broader impact of youth-led agriculture on economic development. The programme aligns with IITA’s mission and Nigeria’s priorities on food security, economic diversification, and inclusive growth.