The Director-General of the National Youth Service Corps, Brigadier General Olakunle Nafiu, has urged corps members to take advantage of their service year by venturing into agribusiness, commodity marketing and other viable enterprises.
Nafiu said agribusiness offered young Nigerians an opportunity to build sustainable businesses, create employment and generate wealth.
The NYSC Director-General spoke in Abuja during the presentation of cheques totalling N10 million to six corps members who emerged winners of the Farmers for the Future Programme organised by the British American Tobacco Nigeria Foundation in collaboration with the NYSC.
The beneficiaries are Dominic Olufemi, FC/25C/1143, who received N3 million; Temitope Adewole, ED/26A/2251, N2 million; Abdulwaheed Bala, ED/25B/1402, N2 million; Olanike Mayungbe, OG/26B/1037, N1 million; Kingsley Udoeyen, KG/26A/1735, N1 million; and Lorember Lorsue, JG/25B/1742, N1 million.
Nafiu congratulated the beneficiaries and commended BATNF for placing Nigerian youths at the centre of its entrepreneurship initiatives through value-chain development, employment creation and its partnership with the NYSC.
He also stressed the importance of value addition to the growth and sustainability of businesses, urging the beneficiaries to maximise the opportunity provided by the programme.
“I charge you to spread the news around. We have seen the outcome, and it is a good idea,” the NYSC Director-General said.
He urged other corps members to explore opportunities in agriculture and related value chains rather than limit their activities during the service year to conventional employment options.
In her remarks, the Acting Director, Skills Acquisition and Entrepreneurship Development, Mrs Winifred Shopeka, said the Farmers for the Future Programme began with an online registration portal through which corps members involved in agribusiness submitted their business plans.
She said the programme particularly targeted corps members with existing agribusinesses that had the potential for expansion and sustainability.
According to Shopeka, nearly 3,000 corps members applied for the programme and underwent a rigorous selection process that produced 20 finalists.
She explained that the 20 finalists participated in a boot camp before proceeding to a final pitching session, which produced the 10 best presenters.
From the 10 finalists, six ultimate winners were selected to receive the grants.
Shopeka added that the six beneficiaries had been mentored and attached to established market operators who would assist them with the marketing of their products.
She said corps members who did not make it to the final stage of the competition were also trained by BATNF as part of efforts to broaden the impact of the programme.
The Team Lead of BATNF, Mr Oludare Odusanya, congratulated the beneficiaries and urged corps members engaged in agribusiness to understand the fundamentals of their businesses and acquire the necessary knowledge and skills to succeed.
“We are happy with our collaboration with the NYSC, and it will continue,” Odusanya said.
He explained that BATNF was an independent organisation established to contribute to poverty reduction in Nigeria through sustainable agricultural practices and other interventions.
Odusanya said the Farmers for the Future Programme was established in collaboration with the NYSC to encourage corps members to venture into agribusiness, build sustainable enterprises and become job creators.
He added that the beneficiaries would be attached to experienced mentors who would guide them in developing their respective businesses and improving their chances of success.
According to him, the programme has, since its inception, continued to strengthen the entrepreneurial capacity of corps members by exposing them to practical business opportunities, mentorship and agricultural value-chain development.
