By Blessing Eniola Apena, Edited by Nkechi Obi.
Prescribing that more youths go into agriculture due to unemployment does not fully define the need for youths in the Agric space. It only concludes that, for there to be more employment opportunities, the Agricultural Sector must be populated. Yes! Undeniably, Agriculture helps greatly in the creation of jobs as it is a major booster in the economy and it encompasses so many fields to make it what it is, but it should not be seen as just an open space for any or everyone that cannot find a job of their specialisation to key into. Instead, it should be seen as one of the other “important” fields that people run into, because it is. It should be seen that for there to be less unemployment, there should be a drive to wanting to dwell in a sector that has no restriction to the number of people in the field. This sector needs more hands in it, preferably more young hands, and sharp minds that fully understand it as much as have passion for it.
Youths mentally escape from agriculture with the thought of it being a “dirty man’s job” or for the older people, or a job with not much revenue, and so have classified it for a duty meant for a certain class of people or a certain ethnic group. These reasons and more, deterred youth participation, driving the need for the promotion of youth participation in this sector. Various stakeholders have developed new strategies to encourage youths in Agribusiness involvement, such as linking agriculture to technology and social media. As technology and media are used as main attractions to get the youths into the space, and for a fact it is of good effect, as we now have more youths in the Agric business thanks to the use of technology. However, I am proposing that the youths go beyond technology when it comes to agriculture, but also be physically involved. The active participation of the younger generation is of great importance to the future of the Agricultural sector, and the introduction of new innovative practices into agriculture will make agriculture easier and
more exciting. These new practices should include GPS Guided Drone, Soilless Farming, Smart Farming, Agro Crowdfunding and few others.
Why Do We Need Youths in the Agric Space?
Better Ways to Attract Youths into Agriculture?
To brighten the knowledge of agriculture, Lagos Commodities and Futures Exchange provides a platform, for youths to participate actively in the commodities business.
Agriculture is one of the main sectors being supported by the Exchange through the development of unique financial instruments to support the following:
The above reasons indicate hope for a brighter future for agriculture in Nigeria.
The use of the world’s advancement tool “technology” and active participation as labourers, Nigeria’s economy is sure to improve through this sector. The involvement of the Youth not just through online activities, trading activities, or investment activities, but also in labour activities will contribute to the growth of agriculture which would boost the ecosystem and help the nation at large.