By | Goodluck E. Adubazi, Abuja
The Minister of Livestock Development, Idi Mukhtar Maiha, has called on Nigerian youths to embrace opportunities across the agricultural and livestock value chains, stressing that production without access to markets is not sustainable.
Maiha made the call on Tuesday in Abuja while delivering the keynote address at the National Youth Agriculture Summit (NYAS) 2026, organised by the Initiative for Reviving and Restoring Agriculture in Nigeria (IRRAIN), with the theme: “Market Access and Value Chain Development: Empowering Youth for Agricultural Prosperity.”
The summit was held at the FCT Area Council Service Commission Conference Hall, Area 3, Garki, Abuja.
The Minister said Nigeria must move beyond encouraging young people merely to become farmers, urging them instead to participate across the entire agricultural economy, including production, processing, logistics, technology, finance, marketing and international trade.
He said the livestock sector alone offers enormous opportunities for young Nigerians in breeding, feed and fodder production, animal health services, meat processing, cold-chain logistics, data services, digital livestock solutions, waste-to-energy enterprises and commodity trading.
“Livestock is not only about keeping animals; it is about building businesses around the entire value chain,” Maiha said.
According to him, the Federal Government is committed to creating an enabling environment for young Nigerians to become producers, entrepreneurs, innovators and investors under the Renewed Hope Agenda and the National Livestock Growth Acceleration Strategy.
He stressed that access to finance, technology and skills must be connected to markets and reliable off-takers.
“Our young entrepreneurs must be encouraged to develop solutions that connect farmers to markets, reduce production costs and losses, improve processing and packaging, enhance traceability, and create Nigerian livestock products that can compete in African and international markets,” he said.
Maiha also urged youths to focus on solving practical problems in the sector, including reducing feed costs, connecting farmers with buyers, improving milk collection and processing, modernising livestock logistics and converting animal waste and by-products into useful products.
Earlier, Chairman of the NYAS 2026 Planning Committee, Olanrewaju Ekundayo, said the summit was designed to inspire young Nigerians to see agriculture not merely as a subject or farming activity, but as an avenue for innovation, entrepreneurship and national development.
He announced plans to introduce a National Youth Agriculture School Initiative, under which students from selected secondary schools would participate in innovation challenges, essay-writing competitions and quizzes, while school gardens would be introduced or reintroduced to strengthen practical agricultural education.
Ekundayo said the initiative was aimed at developing a new generation of young agricultural leaders capable of contributing to food security, wealth creation and national prosperity.
He commended government agencies, development partners, private-sector organisations and youth participants for supporting the summit, saying collaboration remained critical to unlocking opportunities across agricultural value chains and strengthening market access.
Also speaking, a representative of the Nigerian Agricultural Insurance Corporation (NAIC) stressed the importance of building trust, data infrastructure and quality assurance in Nigeria’s agricultural sector.
He said the challenge was no longer simply producing agricultural commodities, but ensuring that farmers could consistently meet market specifications, demonstrate the quality of their products and provide reliable information about the origin and standards of their commodities.
He urged stakeholders to expand the participation of young people beyond farming into quality assurance, traceability, agricultural finance, technology, procurement, infrastructure development and international trade.
The NAIC representative further called for stronger partnerships among government, development partners and the private sector, noting that no single stakeholder could transform Nigeria’s agricultural sector alone.
He also highlighted the importance of agricultural insurance in protecting farmers against risks associated with drought, pests, diseases and other natural hazards.
He assured young farmers that NAIC was prepared to collaborate with them and provide risk-mitigation support to enable affected farmers to recover and return to production.
The summit also emphasised the need to strengthen partnerships, peace and stability within agricultural communities, particularly in addressing challenges affecting relations between farmers and herders.
The organisers said the discussions and recommendations from NYAS 2026 would contribute to developing practical strategies for expanding market access, strengthening agricultural value chains and positioning Nigerian youths at the centre of the country’s agricultural transformation.
