The Chairman of the Federal Civil Service Commission (FCSC), Prof. Tunji Olaopa, has listed some necessary measures to take in order to break the barriers to the participation of youths, women and other categories of citizens in agribusiness.
Olaopa spoke on Monday in Abuja at a high-level dialogue of the African Development Bank (AfDB) on: Bridging the Gap-Access to Finance & Empowering Youth and Women for Agribusiness Success.
In a goodwill speech, the FCSC chairman lauded AfDB’s unwavering commitment to removing the constraints against youth and women for more profitable and productive ventures in agribusiness.
He noted that the bank’s support had been phenomenal with the redoubled momentum injected by Dr. Akinwunmi Adesina during his tenure as President of the continental financial institution.
According to him, the clear message of the AfDB to Nigeria, especially to the policy makers, is that meaningful strides in agribusiness expansion cannot be achieved without the dismantling of the systemic barriers that limit the capacity of young people and women from accessing finance, resources and knowledge.
Olaopa noted that improvement in grants could help youths, women, and others to experiment with innovations and technologies.
“If banks and financial institutions are, however, unwilling to extend facilities to this cohort given the risk involved, it is understandable. Policy intervention is, therefore, critical to de-risk lending to young entrepreneurs in agribusiness if ever the country will make reasonable progress in expanding their participation and the profitability of such ventures.
“Youths also need mentorship by established agribusiness players as is the standard for growing startups anywhere in the world. Without significant incentives extended to such players, this sense will remain a pipe dream.
“Equal access to land and market, as well as a deepened partnership among government, industry, civil society and development partners, for synergy, and to ensure a coordinated and effective response to systemic challenges being faced by the young people and women in agribusiness will be critical.”
