Agriculture

Shaping youths’ perception of Agriculture through Agrovest reality TV show

Published

1 year ago

August 21, 2024

Joel Ajayi

The Agrovest reality Television show initiative aims to influence and change the way young people think about agriculture, redirecting a positive mental attitude .

Reality TV shows are TV programs where ordinary people are filmed in real life situations rather than actors.

Shaping ,implies molding or forming a new perspective of Agriculture on the minds of youths will go a long way in bringing about a change of attitude among young people.

Dr Emmanuel Abuhson ,CEO Tremma Agro Limited and the initiator of the Agrovest reality Television show says Agrovest reality TV show seeks to challenge negative stereotypes and misconceptions about agriculture among young people and showcase the exciting and rewarding aspects of agriculture.

One thing that stands out for the show is the trend of making agriculture attractive to the youths while giving them a positive and constructive perception of agriculture .

Abuhson said this during a stakeholder meeting held in Abuja that the word Agrovest has been coined from two word meaning Agro from agriculture and vest from investment (Agrovest) .

37 boisterous young Nigerians would be selected from the 36 states and will be competing for a 60-day periods in a Agrovest reality TV show between the ages of 18 to 40.

He said that each of the 36 states, including the Federal Capital Territory, will have one representative each. Which will make a total of 37 boisterous young Nigerians that will be competing in the
Agrovest reality TV show.

He said Agrovest is an edutainment TV reality show’s that its objective is to change the narrative in the agricultural sector.The show is a comprehensive agriculture training, advocacy and mentoring program delivered on an entertainment platform.

“These representatives from each state will showcase creative ways of exploring the agriculture industry, commercial insights and more .

“ The representative from each state will live and work together as a team on various agricultural chores that would be given to them during the competition.

“ This is where the commodities association comes in ,they will be training the participants on various agriculture commodities and will also form part of the judges to select who emerges the winner(s)as the case might be,” he said.

He also said that the selected participants will be required to complete all of these duties tasks over the course of the 60 days period and the winner will walk away with a N20 million cash reward and other consolation prizes that we will shortly disclose soon.

“ The idea is an effort to support our efforts in the food sector, innovation, and food security narratives across the country, shifting old viewpoints and making agriculture really appealing. Thereby gaining youth participation in agriculture,” he added.

“ This is in alignment with the President’s vision to ensure food security and the food crisis we have in all over the world.

“ I commend the support and commitment of the stakeholders including the Ministry of Agriculture and all our partners who are working day and night to make this project a reality.

The Presidents of various commodities including soursop, bamboos ,sesame were present at the first stakeholders meeting held in Abuja.

The Office of Senior Special Assistant
to the President on Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation ( HAPA) are in Collaboration with AgroVest TV Reality show.

Others partners are the Ministry of Agriculture, commodity association and other agriculture stakeholders across the country and globally.

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Agriculture

IWMI: Promoting affordable irrigation technologies for smallholder farmers

Published

1 week ago

October 21, 2025

The Gleamer

Mariam Sanni

Smallholder farmers are challenged with erratic rainfall leading to drought spells, crop water stress and eventually reduced growth and yield penalties

Water insecurity is the major risk to smallholder farmers and a major driver for low investments in agricultural innovations

Even when water resources are sustainably available, smallholder farmers are unable to invest in irrigation equipment due to high upfront costs.

Smallholder farmers have limited access to loans and credit facilities even though irrigation usually is a profitable investment.

Promoting affordable irrigation for smallholders involves increasing access to low-cost technologies like drip and sprinkler kits and solar pumps, and supporting them with financial tools like subsidies and credit.

Also the Farmer-Led Irrigation Development (FLID) has helped farmers to independently invest in, manage and maintain irrigation equipment, adapting technologies to local needs without relying on large-scale projects, reduces farmers’ reliance on erratic rainfall and leads to increased farm investments (good seed, fertilizers, etc.)

Farmers move from 1 rain-fed crop, to multiple harvests per year, boosting yields, income, and food security

Nigeria and other countries have high potential for solar-based irrigation, irrespective of the type of water resources.

As part of efforts to boost local capacity to produce and maintain simple, low-cost irrigation, International Water Management Institute, IWMI through multi- stakeholder dialogues, policy support is partnering with stakeholders created an enabling environment for inclusive and sustainable irrigation development .

The Researcher , Agricultural Water Solution, IWMI Dr Adebayo Oke during his presentation at the International Conference on Climate Change and Just Energy Transition 2025, highlighted that the institute has foster SMEs’ inclusive scaling of bundled irrigation solutions through inclusive business model development and strategic partnerships

The Conference which was theme: Sustainable Clinate Resilience and Just Energy Transition in Africa: A Collaborative Pathway through Policy, Capacity Building, Research and Inclusion was held in Abuja.

He added that its has deployed an impact accelerator program to develop new bundled solutions and SME collaborations that address multiple value chains

According him, IWMI has attracted sustainable finance investments in SMEs to fast-track the adoption of bundled water solutions by smallholder farmers.

Speaking on experience in Nigeria: scaling solar irrigation solutions –Solar scaling pathway studies (Kaduna, Kano, Kebbi) has stratifying the smallholder farmers using the Discrete Choice Experiment.

He mentioned bundling of irrigation technology and financial services to determine scaling pathway/different financing models.

Dr Oke added they also developed a credit facility to enable the scaling of SPI.

Furthermore, he stated IWMI-West & Central Africa Priorities for 2024-2030 as building resilient agric food system against climate change , leveraging water for resilience in fragile and conflict affected settings, enabling circular water and food economy innovations, supporting water infrastructure and allocation decisions among others .

The Country Director , Ghana and Regional Representatives for West and Central Africa, Professor Kehinde Ogunjobi in an interview with newsmen at the event highlighted the importance of evidence-based data for farmers, aquaculture, and environmental ministries.

He said that there is need to raise awareness and emphasized the importance of government support for research and developmental projects on climate change and its impact on agriculture, livelihood, and other sectors.

Professor Ogunjobi has implored government to build capacity of people working in the field of climate change and capacitate farmers to turn evidence-based data into reality.

He encouraged the government to do more to support research and address the impact of climate change, which is more evident in the West African region compared to developed countries.

He urged stakeholders to collaborate with the government and institutions like IWMI Ghana to improve the impact of climate change mitigation and adaptation efforts and improve the livelihood of people in the region.

He noted the political shift in the US, with the previous administration no longer supporting climate change initiatives, emphasizing the need for Africa to look inward.

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