Nestlé Nigeria, in collaboration with the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) and youth agripreneurs, is improving the ability of the youth to find opportunities in the country’s agricultural sector.
At the just concluded 2019 International Youth Day celebration at the IITA Centre in Ibadan, over 90 National Youth Service Corps members, aspiring agripreneurs and prospective farmers were exposed to the potentials in the sector.
The programme,‘Nestlé Needs Youth’s initiative’, shared knowledge on the opportunities existing within the food and agriculture value chain.
Nestlé Needs Youth is one of the ways Nestlé mitigates the scourge of youth unemployment in the society.
The initiative is focused on several programmes and campaigns to boost entrepreneurship and employability among the youth through career fairs and skills’training to equip young people to find decent employment or profitable entrepreneurship.
The Country Human Resources Manager, Nestlé Nigeria, Mr. Sola Akinyosoye, said that celebrating the 2019 International Youth Day is an opportunity to draw the attention of youths to available opportunities in agriculture.
Through the ‘Nestlé Needs Youth’ initiative, there is a focus on the creation of job opportunities and empowerment for the youth, he said, adding “We do this around three pillars; one of them is employment and employability.”
“We ensure that we train, equip and give support for young Nigerians so they can be self-employed and get employment with us or other companies,” Akinyosoye also stated.
Commenting at the event, the Chief Executive Officer, Business Incubation Platform, IITA, Dr. Fredrick Schreurs, said youth engagement would pave way for sustainable growth in the agriculture sector.
“We take technology coming from IITA and disseminate to the markets; in line with this, we create jobs for youth agripreneurs,” he said.
