Youth agribusiness in Africa: not just about knowledge, but action

A week ago, I was fortunate to speak at the latest Brussels Rural Development Briefings (Briefing number 49)* that took place at the ACP secretariat in Brussels, Belgium. The briefing focused on “Youth in Agribusiness: shaping the future of agriculture”. One of the key takeaways I took from the conference was that we cannot force young people to go into agriculture. We should rather provide a supporting environment for the youth tothrive in agriculture and agribusiness. Then the youth can be encouraged to make use of the numerous promising opportunities that the sector can provide especially employment in the agricultural value chain.

Presently, there are many challenges that the youth in agriculture encounter. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has clearly identified six principal challenges affecting youth in agriculture. These include:

Insufficient access to knowledge,
information and education,
limited access to land,
inadequate access to…

View original post 1,264 more words

About Dr. Bukar USMAN, mni

I started as a field Veterinary officer with Borno State Ministry of Agriculture and later joined College of Agric, Maiduguri as a lecture & a Researcher in the Department of Animal Health & Production. I was appointed the Provost of the College In 2003. In 2007 I was appointed Hon. Commissioner & Member Borno State Executive Council and later appointed Permanent Secretary with the Borno State Civil Service in 2009. I was the National Facilitator Animal Health, National Programme For Food Security of the Federal Ministry of Agric & Rural Development, Abuja. I was Director, Veterinary Medicine & Allied Products (VMAP) and now Director North East Zone NAFDAC. I’m a member of the National Institute’ (mni), Kuru SEC 40, 2018. I engaged myself in various aspects of the veterinary profession. I founded Sril Group Ltd, Nigeria. I’m now the Director General of Borno State Livestock Management Agency (BOLMA)

View all posts by Dr. Bukar USMAN, mni →