By| Goodluck E.Adubazi, Abuja
Experts in agriculture, trade and enterprise development have called for stronger collaboration among government agencies, private-sector players and development partners to improve market access, certification, financing and value-chain opportunities for young Nigerian agripreneurs.
The call was made on Thursday at the ongoing National Youth Agriculture Summit (NYAS) 2026, organised by IRRAIN, with the theme, “Market Access and Value Chain Development: Empowering Youth for Agricultural Prosperity.”
Speaking during a panel session on agriculture trade and export systems, the Head of Export Inclusiveness at the Nigeria Export Promotion Council (NEPC), Mrs Leticia Ify Onu, stressed the need to ensure that youth, women and smallholder agripreneurs understand and meet international grading, quality and certification standards.
Onu said stronger collaboration among certification agencies, commodity stakeholders, farmers and exporters was necessary to harmonise Nigeria’s grading system with internationally accepted standards.
According to her, farmers and exporters must be adequately trained to understand both local requirements and the standards of the international markets they seek to access.
She said certification was critical to the credibility and acceptance of Nigerian agricultural products, noting that it could prevent products from being rejected in foreign markets.
Onu explained that exporters needed both national and global certifications, including relevant safety and quality certifications, depending on the market and product involved.
She further advised agripreneurs to study the requirements of their target markets, stressing that countries have different specifications regarding product quality, packaging, safety and hygiene.
“Quality starts from production,” she said, urging farmers to adopt good agricultural practices and ensure that their products meet the specifications of their intended markets.
The NEPC official also encouraged young agripreneurs to move beyond the export of raw commodities by investing in value addition, saying processed agricultural products could attract better prices in international markets.
She disclosed that Nigeria’s non-oil export earnings reached $6.1 billion in 2025, describing it as the highest recorded by the NEPC since its establishment.
Onu said commodities such as ginger and shea butter had significant export potential, adding that Nigerian shea butter remained highly competitive globally.
She also disclosed that the NEPC had been providing free certification and capacity-building opportunities to small businesses and entrepreneurs to enable them to become more competitive in international markets.
She urged prospective exporters to formalise their businesses, obtain the necessary documentation and export licences, and take advantage of the training programmes provided by the council and its partners.
The convener of NYAS 2026, Olanrewaju, called for a shift from dependence on government handouts to sustainable financing models that enable businesses to grow and create jobs.
He argued that government support should increasingly be channelled through productive partnerships with businesses, particularly those with measurable targets and the capacity to reach large numbers of farmers and entrepreneurs.
Also speaking, Joseph Fashola advocated co-creation and stronger partnerships between government and private-sector organisations in designing financing and empowerment programmes.
Fashola said many small businesses struggled with expensive commercial loans and that government interventions should be structured around the actual needs and capacities of beneficiaries rather than one-off cash distributions.
He cited a financing model under which small food vendors were provided with business inputs based on their individual operations, allowing them to repay after selling their products without being subjected to interest charges.
He said the model had recorded about 130 beneficiaries, with a reported 100 per cent repayment rate to date, while efforts were ongoing to scale up the initiative.
Fashola also urged young people, including students, to see agriculture as a broad ecosystem capable of accommodating virtually every profession.
He noted that agriculture offered opportunities not only to farmers but also to bankers, lawyers, medical professionals, journalists, writers, technologists and other professionals.
Meanwhile, Ujunwa Abor, Senior Technical Adviser at GIZ, speaking on agricultural commodity standards and grading systems, called for sustainable agricultural practices that would improve productivity while protecting soil, water and the wider environment.
Abor stressed the importance of proper soil management, responsible waste management, appropriate technology and informed decision-making in building sustainable agricultural systems.
She said agricultural practices must also make economic sense to remain sustainable, noting that young people needed opportunities to participate across the agricultural value chain.
She called for stronger partnerships among government, research institutions, development organisations and other stakeholders to move beyond awareness creation and provide practical support for young people entering agriculture.
The summit also provided an opportunity for secondary school students to participate in discussions, ask questions and learn about career opportunities in agriculture.
The speakers urged the students to see agriculture not merely as farming but as a diverse sector offering opportunities across production, processing, finance, technology, logistics, marketing and export.
