By AVESEH ASOUGH, Abeokuta –
In a move aimed at positioning young Nigerians as drivers of Nigeria’s agricultural transformation, Sasakawa Africa Association (SAA), has commenced a specialized training for 100 young graduate Cassava Seed Entrepreneurs (CSEs) in Ogun State.
The training, which is in partnership with the Industrial Cassava Stakeholders Association of Nigeria (ICSAN) and the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta (FUNAAB), is taking place at the Career Services and Linkages Unit, FUNAAB Abeokuta, and combines technical knowledge, business development and leadership training, to enable young graduates to establish, manage and grow profitable cassava seed enterprises.
While opening the training, the Country Director of SAA, Dr Godwin Atser, who was represented by Dr Bidemi Ajibola said, the initiative is being implemented as part of ongoing partnerships under the PROSSIVA project, which seeks to strengthen vegetatively propagated crop seed systems, especially Cassava and improve access to quality planting materials for farmers and other actors across the value chain.
As part of the programme, the SAA PROSSIVA team paid a courtesy visit to the Vice-Chancellor of FUNAAB, Professor Olusola Babatunde Kehinde, who reaffirmed the university’s commitment to the partnership and announced the donation of 25 hectares of land for demonstration activities for the graduate CSEs after the training.
In his welcome, the VC, Prof. Kehinde said the training was timely, particularly as Nigeria seeks to create more opportunities for young people while strengthening agricultural production.
He explained that FUNAAB has been involved in cassava production, processing and marketing since its establishment in 1988, and therefore has a strong institutional basis for collaborating with organisations seeking to develop Nigeria’s cassava sector.
The Vice-Chancellor described the partnership with SAA and ICSAN as an opportunity to combine institutional knowledge, technical expertise and practical experience to strengthen the cassava industry.
He particularly commended SAA for its contribution to agricultural development and knowledge creation.
According to him, strengthening the cassava sector requires continuous learning and the deliberate transfer of knowledge to young people entering the agricultural space.
“We should keep updating our knowledge about cassava,” Prof. Kehinde said, emphasising that young people must be brought up to speed on improved ways of producing and adding value to the crop.
He said FUNAAB was already incorporating entrepreneurship into its academic programmes because graduates must be equipped not only to seek employment but also to create businesses and employment opportunities.
“We have incorporated the issue of entrepreneurship into our training,” he said.
The university, he added, is teaching students how to identify opportunities, develop careers, establish small businesses and scale them into sustainable enterprises.
“We are teaching them how to be inspired, how to create, how to start small-scale businesses and how to scale businesses up,” he stated.
For the young CSEs undergoing the SAA-led training, the programme provides an opportunity to move beyond viewing agriculture simply as a means of production and instead approach cassava seed as a viable commercial enterprise.
The technical component of the training is designed to strengthen participants’ understanding of cassava seed production and quality, while the business and leadership components are expected to improve their capacity to manage enterprises, engage markets and build sustainable businesses.
The 25-hectare demonstration land provided by FUNAAB will further complement the classroom component by providing space for practical learning and field demonstrations.
Prof. Kehinde called for deeper collaboration among universities, development organisations, industry players and young agricultural entrepreneurs.
“Let’s synergize so that together we will go to cassava as a crop, and then we will make sure that our graduates and our youth have the same opportunities outside there and have these opportunities to progress in their careers and their businesses,” he said.
The training reflects a growing emphasis on developing agricultural value chains not only through improved technologies and production systems but also by investing in the people who will operate and lead those systems.
Other partners facilitating the training are the National Agricultural Seed Council(NASC), National Root Crops Research Institute(NRCRI), and the Oyo State Ministry of Agriculture.
