Agriculture

NYFN Seeks For More Participation Of Youths In Agriculture

Published

6 years ago

October 2, 2020

Joel Ajayi

The Nigeria Young Farmers Network (NYFN) is seeking for more participation of Nigerian youths in embracing agriculture in order to reduce insecurity, unemployment, and another social menace.

The National Coordinator of NYFN, Promise Amahah who made this call during a peace full rally in Abuja, explained that the goal of the president is to lift over millions of Nigerians out of poverty in 10 years and that can only be achieved when young people get involved in agriculture.

According to him, youth across the country lack knowledge about the opportunities in agriculture, lack knowledge of business opportunities in agriculture.

He added that they don’t understand that agriculture is a source of wealth creation.

‘’We are represented from a different state, we have members across that 36 states of Nigeria, we are in every local government and every ward actively and our major tool is information and data, without data we won’t be able to do much in agricultural development, so we are gathering data of young people across the country to know their interest and to connect them to the opportunities in the agricultural value chain and that is what we are set to do.

‘’We are also partnering with the federal ministry of agriculture to be able to achieve this and also to leverage on government programs already on agriculture, so we are everywhere in the country, we are over 2 million and going and we expect that by the end of the year we must have reached 10 million.

‘’The goal of the president is to lift over millions of Nigerians out of poverty in 10 years and we can only achieve that when our young people get involved in agriculture. Agriculture is the highest employer of labour and agriculture is the quickest tool out of poverty, with agriculture, most problems will be solved and that’s why we are here.

‘’What we found that is the major challenge is lack of knowledge, young people nationwide lack knowledge about the opportunities in agriculture, lack knowledge of business opportunities in agriculture, they don’t understand that a lot of wealth can be created through agriculture and most of us who are already engaged in agriculture are doing very well and living comfortably., ‘’ he said.

The Director of Federal Department of Agricultural Extension (FDAE) Engr. Frank Satimari while speaking with pressmen said that the government is interested in mobilizing and sensitizing youths for agriculture.

Satimari who was represented by the Deputy Director of FMARD, Muhammad Bashiru explained that FDAE was to train and deploy75,000 youths aimed towards creating new skills and generate job for the teeming population of unemployed youths in Nigeria, to increase the productivity of farmers through continual access to information, innovation, and technology for improved practices in the agricultural value chain.

His Words:“We are concerned with mobilizing the youth for agriculture. That is why the Ministry currently mandated the Federal Department of Agricultural Extension (FDAE) to train and deploy 75,000 young farmers ratio. The objective is to create new skills and generate jobs for the teeming population of unemployed youth in Nigeria, to increase the productivity of farmers through continual access to information, innovation, and technology for improved practices in the agricultural value chain.

‘’In this regard, the youth population in Nigeria is encouraged to embrace agriculture as a profitable venture by engaging in various forms of agricultural activities within the respective sub-sectors and value chains.

‘’Agriculture has always been an innovative sector. But we need to improve faster through Information and Communication Technology (ICT) if we are to achieve our goals.

‘’It is a known fact across the globe that for a country to attain growth and development, its economy has to be diversified. Mono-economy needs to give way to the productive development of various sectors of the economy.

‘’The fundamental challenges we face today is not how to produce more but how to produce better. I want to stress that innovation in agriculture is the key priority to tackle food insecurity and unemployment in Nigeria.

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Agriculture

PULA, Leadway Assurance Disburse ₦396 Million to Climate-Affected Farmers, Strengthen Food Security Efforts

Published

3 weeks ago

April 24, 2026

The Gleamer

In a major intervention to shield smallholder farmers from climate shocks, agri-insurtech firm PULA has spearheaded the disbursement of ₦396,697,672 in insurance claims to over 40,000 farmers impacted during the 2025 wet season.

The payout, executed in partnership with Leadway Assurance and supported by the Presidential Food Systems Coordinating Unit (PFSCU), covered farmers across Taraba, Borno, Kaduna, and Plateau States who suffered climate-related losses.

The initiative was made possible in part by Bayer Foundation, whose $450,000 premium subsidy support in 2025 wet season helped lower the cost of insurance for thousands of vulnerable smallholders in 8 states, with 4 states receiving payouts. The Foundation is set to scale up its contribution to match the growing aspirations of state governments.

Speaking at the cheque presentation ceremony in Abuja during the 2025 Wet Season Insurance Claims Payout under the National Agribusiness Planning Mechanism (NAPM), PULA’s Nigeria Country Director, Dr. Michael Enahoro, said the initiative goes beyond compensation, insisting that it’s about securing Nigeria’s food systems.

“Our focus is not just on payouts but on increasing food production. We must continue to support farmers who work tirelessly under harsh conditions to feed the nation,” Dr. Enahoro said. He called for stronger policies that directly impact farmers and reaffirmed PULA’s commitment to expanding agricultural insurance as a tool for resilience.

PULA’s data-driven approach to climate risk was key to identifying affected farmers and triggering payments. The company worked with Leadway Assurance to underwrite the risk, while PFSCU aligned the program with the national food security agenda. State governments also supported grassroots enrollment.

Gboyega Lesi, MD/CEO of Leadway Assurance, described the payout as “a reinforcement of a safety net that protects the hard work of thousands of farmers,” adding that “through climate insurance, we ensure that a bad season does not translate into total loss of livelihood.” He commended PULA’s technology and field structure for making rapid, transparent payouts possible.

Ayoola Fatona, Global Head of Agric Solutions at Leadway Assurance, noted that the 2025 wet season brought significant climate variability and yield fluctuations. “The true value of insurance lies in claims payment, especially in challenging periods. Our data-driven partnership with PULA helped mitigate losses,” he said.

Looking ahead, PULA and Leadway Assurance plan to scale coverage to 73,000 farmers in the 2026 farming season, deepening penetration of climate insurance across Nigeria’s food-producing belts.

Commissioners from the beneficiary states commended PULA and Leadway Assurance for de-risking agriculture, restoring farmers’ confidence, and building a more resilient agricultural sector

State-by-state breakdown of claims facilitated by PULA: