Investment Investment Opportunities

Youth Empowerment: Oyo State Launched €2.4m Agricultural Project

by admin on | 2026-09-19 17:43:17

Share: Facebook | Twitter | Whatsapp | Linkedin Visits: 32

---

Youth Empowerment: Oyo State Launched  €2.4m Agricultural Project

By Ahmad Sirajo Makama 

The Oyo State Government and the International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD) have launched a €2.4 million agricultural project aimed at empowering about 700 youths and reducing the pressure driving irregular migration.

The Youth Empowerment and Reintegration Project (YERP), funded by the Danish Government, will target people aged 18 to 35, particularly youths in rural communities and migrants returning to Nigeria, who are from the South-West.

At the signing of the project agreement, held in Ibadan, the Oyo State Commissioner for Agriculture, Olasunkanmi Olaleye, said the project would support the state's efforts to provide access to agricultural training, farmland, cooperative development, market opportunities and livelihood support.

He stated: “The project aims to address rural youth unemployment, support the sustainable reintegration of returnee migrants, curb irregular migration and drive rural economic development through climate-smart and sustainable agriculture.”

Olaleye disclosed that the state government has secured 1,766 hectares of unencumbered farmland in Ilero, Kajola Local Government Area, and another 50 hectares at the Rural Community Development Centre in Aawe, Afijio Local Government Area, for the project.

He said the government would facilitate access to land, security, agricultural training, mechanisation, market linkages and other support required to help beneficiaries establish sustainable livelihoods, while the project would promote sustainable land management and contribute to Oyo's food-security efforts.

The commissioner noted that the project builds on existing initiatives of the Governor Seyi Makinde administration aimed at making agriculture attractive to young people as a business and career rather than merely subsistence farming. 

He highlighted programmes in youth training, agribusiness development, climate-smart agriculture, mechanisation, digital soil testing, extension services, and market-oriented interventions, saying YERP is expected to generate evidence that could inform future policies on youth employment and migration management.

“YERP is therefore coming into an environment where a foundation for youth participation in agriculture already exists. What the partnership with ICMPD brings is an additional opportunity to extend these efforts to more rural young people and returnee migrants,” Olaleye stated.

The commissioner urged young people to explore opportunities across the agricultural value chain including production, processing, logistics, mechanisation, digital agriculture, and marketing.

The ICMPD Portfolio Manager for the Pan-Africa Region, Marcello Giordani, described Nigeria as ICMPD’s biggest and most important partner in Africa, saying that while ICMPD has several projects in Nigeria YERP stands out because of its potential to create sustainable opportunities for young people through agriculture.

Giordani stated: "With new technology and the right conditions to enable them to build their future and earn a living through agriculture, I believe this project could be of great help.” 

He commended the Oyo government for its commitment to the partnership, saying the signing demonstrated the state's ownership of the project.

Officials of the Oyo State Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, including Permanent Secretary Abosede Owoeye, and representatives of ICMPD attended the signing ceremony.