As part of efforts to boost food production in Nigeria, HortiNigeria, a Dutch-funded programme of the International Fertiliser Development Centre (IFDC), on Thursday pooled youths from across Oyo State for a free workshop on tomato production.
The ‘Free Workshop on Profitable Innovations in Boosting Tomato Production and Productivity’, held in Ibadan in commemoration of the United Nations International Youth Day, drew youths in agribusiness from across the state.
To build a sustainable and inclusive horticulture sector in Nigeria, the Dutch and Nigerian governments established HortiNigeria, a four-year progamme implemented through a consortium led by the International Fertilizer Development Centre.
Other consortium partners include East-West Seed Knowledge Transfer (EWS-KT), Wageningen University and Research (WUR), and the KIT Royal Tropical Institute.
Giving an overview of the programme, Benedict Ukpulpen explained that the HortiNigeria programme works through four components to achieve its goal: increasing productivity and income, piloting production system innovation, increasing access to finance for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), and enhancing sector coordination and facilitating BSB (Business-to-Business) linkages and partnerships.
While the first component, among others, focuses on capacity building of smallholder vegetable farmers on eco-efficient practices and climate-smart technologies, the second component pilots innovative technologies with 2000 young entrepreneurial farmers in Oyo and Ogun states – with the objective of boosting productivity, and reducing the impact of the seasonality often experienced owing to high dependency on vegetable supply from the northern Nigeria.
The third component seeks to facilitate sustainable inflow of semi-commercial capital worth six million Euros, especially for women and youth-owned, -run and -led MSMEs within the horticulture sector; while the fourth component focuses on enhancing sector coordination and facilitating business-to-business linkages.
Speaking on the topic ‘Empowering Youths: The Key to a Sustainable Future in agriculture’, the Oyo State Project Communication Officer, Youth in Agribusiness (YAS), a project of the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Mr Babatunde Ajaja, noted that across all sectors, including agriculture, the future of Africa lies in the hands of today’s young people.
“In 2023, Africa’s population was about 1.48 billion people, 70 percent of which are young people. But in spite of this huge population, the United Nations reported that Africa’s food import bill exceeds $60 billion annually. That is a mismatch, and in fact a dramatic irony that calls for attention,” he said.
Ajaja stressed that with such a huge population, coupled with its huge land mass and the availability of several technological innovations in the agricultural space, Africa has no business importing food.
He noted that Nigerian youths, with their creativity, energy and resilience, are uniquely positioned – and ready – to revolutionise the sector.
To buttress this claim he said: “In February when we launched our ‘Call for Application’ for training in Q1 2024, within two weeks, we received 46,606 entries, out of which we could only train a few all-year round.
“Therefore, we must appreciate the enormity of the task ahead and continue to empower young people.
“In less than one year, the YAS project has trained over 4,500 youths and supported many in the value chains of various agricultural commodities, including horticulture, poultry, aquaculture, yam, maize, soybean, cassava and groundnut. However, there is a lot more to be done by all stakeholders.”
Ajaja bemoaned the rate at which Nigeria’s population grows without corresponding increase in food production, which he described as “a short course to crisis”; therefore stressing the need to harness the country’s growing population to drive up food production.
He underscored the need to continue to provide youths with capacity development, access to resources and markets, as well as creating opportunities for young agripreneurs.
“Let us be reminded that the future will inevitably come; however, we have to decide if it will be one with food sufficiency and sustainable agricultural practices, or one that will be laced with hunger, poverty, malnutrition, harmful agricultural practices, unemployment and huge food import despite shrinking resources. What we do with today’s youths will determine what will be our lot.”
The keynote speaker and resource person, Ms Kamilat Balogun, in her presentation delved into the agricultural and business aspects of tomato production.
She itemized and explained the technicalities of seed selection, land selection/preparation, transplanting, pruning, weed control and pesticide application, among others.
She also stressed the importance of meticulous record keeping as a way of gauging the progress or otherwise of the whole process.
Another agripreneur, Mark Olusegun, in his brief remarks, lamented that despite having vast and more resource-rich land in the South-West, the region still depends largely on the North for its tomato needs.
Olusegun also gave tips on the importance of nutrient supply to tomatoes, how and the right time to maximize yield.
Mr Olufemi Odusanya, a representative of the chairman of the Mile 12 International Market, Alhaji Shehu Usman Idris, thanked HortiNigeria for its efforts at boosting food production in Nigeria.
While also noting that Nigeria’s large youth population can make a huge difference in food production and sustainability, Odusanya gave tips on modern tomato storage system, and the need for tomato farmers to imbibe appropriate marketing practices.
He also listed some challenges besetting tomato production, and the need for farmers to give serious thought to how to get the right reward for their efforts by seeking market information.
Odusanya advised tomato farmers to not just walk into a market and expect a good deal, but to seek out and transact through the leadership of the market to get a good reward for their products on which they have expended so much time, energy and resources.
At different points through the programme, there were interactive sessions during which young people in agribusiness sought clarifications on issues, both from the keynote speaker and other resource persons.
READ ALSO: Food insecurity: Army deploys officers to protect farmers in the north
