IITA YOUTH Agripreneurs

12/08/2026

On this year's edition of International Youth Day, the IITA YOUTH Agripreneurs (IYA) celebrates every young African embracing agricultural innovations to , improve food sufficiency, lead better lives and contribute to a for all.

In line with the theme, '𝘿𝙞𝙛𝙛𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝘾𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙭𝙩𝙨, 𝘾𝙤𝙢𝙢𝙤𝙣 𝘼𝙨𝙥𝙞𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨', IYA is pleased to have supported thousands of from different backgrounds and contexts to realise their unique but similar aspirations, which range from to opportunities, meaningful participation and improved livelihoods.

We have a clear commitment, which is to continue to train, equip, and young Africans with skills and that help them transition from where they are to more fulfilling jobs and profitable enterprises.

Join us on this journey!

25/07/2026

Today, we celebrate 59 years of scientific excellence, innovation, and impact at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA). 🥳🎊🎉

For nearly six decades, IITA has worked alongside farmers, governments, development partners, and research institutions to develop solutions that improve food security, strengthen livelihoods, and build resilient agricultural systems across Africa.

As we mark this milestone, we celebrate the scientists, staff, partners, alumni, and farming communities whose dedication continues to transform lives through science.

Here's to advancing innovation, empowering communities, and shaping the future of agriculture for generations to come.🥂

CGIAR Radio IITA IITA Madagascar IITA International Institute of Tropical Agriculture-RDC IITA Benin Officiel IITA TV

21/07/2026

𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙛𝙪𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙖𝙜𝙧𝙞𝙘𝙪𝙡𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙚 𝙞𝙨 𝙛𝙞𝙣𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙚𝙭𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙞𝙣 𝙪𝙣𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙚𝙨
Recently, the IITA YOUTH Agripreneurs Unit (IYA), joined students, researchers, and academics at the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile Ife, Osun State, for the Ife Crop Day Conference (ICDC) 5.0. The event was to share insights on one important question:
𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘯𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮 #𝘢𝘨𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘢 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘧𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦?

The session handled by a Business Development Officer from the IYA challenged students to see agriculture beyond , but also as a dynamic ecosystem of , technology adoption, , agribusiness services provision, and enterprise development.

Participants were also introduced to the Technologies for African Agricultural Transformation -TAAT and how innovations are increasing productivity, strengthening value chains, improving , and creating new opportunities for across Africa.

Through advocacy, capacity development, business incubation, , and access to , IYA is nurturing a new generation of young agripreneurs equipped to transform Africa's food systems, even before they join the .

The students' enthusiasm, curiosity, and thoughtful questions reminded everyone at the event that 's greatest agricultural innovation is its young population.

Championing mindset change, one campus at a time!


Radio IITA

01/07/2026

"𝙏𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙠 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮 𝙢𝙪𝙘𝙝 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙚𝙭𝙘𝙚𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙠. 𝙍𝙚𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮 𝙞𝙢𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙫𝙚," these were the words of CGIAR's Chief Scientist, Dr Sandra Milach, during her visit to the IITA YOUTH Agripreneurs (IYA) Unit.

Accompanied by stakeholders from the academia, government, and the private sector, Dr Milach's visit highlights how can promote profitable enterprises and open opportunities for .

From our climate-smart screenhouse to our youth-led enterprises, our guests experienced firsthand how innovations can create , strengthen , and improve livelihoods.

One question from Dr Milach stood out:
"𝙏𝙧𝙖𝙞𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙞𝙨 𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙥, 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙝𝙤𝙬 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙨𝙪𝙥𝙥𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙜 𝙥𝙚𝙤𝙥𝙡𝙚 𝙤𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙞𝙧 𝙟𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙣𝙚𝙮?"

At IYA, we are invested in our participants' agribusiness journey. Beyond training, we support our participants with establishment, input distribution, , business development and registration, and finance linkage, and through our Agribusiness Parks.

We continue to build a network of successful young agripreneurs who are adopting and promoting CGIAR within their communities.

Transforming isn't just about equipping young people with skills; it's also about creating an ecosystem where they can start, grow, and thrive.

We thank all our who joined us in reaffirming this shared vision for agricultural transformation.

Radio IITA

26/06/2026

𝘽𝙚𝙮𝙤𝙣𝙙 𝘿𝙚𝙜𝙧𝙚𝙚𝙨: 𝙋𝙧𝙚𝙥𝙖𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙎𝙩𝙪𝙙𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙨 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝘾𝙖𝙧𝙚𝙚𝙧𝙨 𝙞𝙣 𝘼𝙜𝙧𝙞𝙘𝙪𝙡𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙚
Recently, we engaged students of the Faculty of Agriculture at the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, on the opportunities, innovations, and skills shaping the future of .

The session explored the importance of developing the right mindset for success in . It also highlighted opportunities across the agricultural value chain; from production to value addition, , agribusiness services, marketing, and enterprise development.

Students were also introduced to innovations developed by the Technologies for African Agricultural Transformation -TAAT, and how they can improve productivity, profitability, and create sustainable employment opportunities for .

As part of our commitment to continuous learning, participants were introduced to the ENABLE-TAAT Virtual Training Platform, a free online learning platform where young people can access self-paced courses in agriculture and agribusiness, strengthen their skills, and earn certificates to support their and entrepreneurial journeys.

🔗 You can access the ENABLE-TAAT Learning Platform via: https://enabletaatacademy.org/

At IITA YOUTH Agripreneurs, we believe that equipping young people with the right knowledge, technologies, and opportunities is essential to building a new generation of innovative agripreneurs and agricultural leaders.


Radio IITA

02/06/2026

𝘼 𝙣𝙚𝙬 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙩𝙝 𝙞𝙣 𝙖𝙜𝙧𝙞𝙗𝙪𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝙝𝙖𝙨 𝙗𝙚𝙜𝙪𝙣
“𝘈𝘴 𝘸𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘶𝘯𝘤𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘠𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘩 𝘪𝘯 𝘈𝘨𝘳𝘪𝘣𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘓𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘛𝘳𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘍𝘶𝘯𝘥 ( #𝘠𝘪𝘈𝘓𝘛𝘍) 𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦, 𝘭𝘦𝘵 𝘶𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘦 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘴𝘶𝘤𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘶𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘴 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘴𝘵, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘶𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘨 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘦𝘥, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘶𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘦𝘴 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘫𝘰𝘣𝘴 𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥. 𝘛𝘰𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳, 𝘸𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘥 𝘢 𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘴𝘶𝘤𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘢𝘨𝘳𝘪𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘶𝘳𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘫𝘰𝘣𝘴, 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘶𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘢𝘨𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘈𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘢.” This was the closing charge of our DG, Dr. Simeon Ehui at the national launch in Abuja on Monday.

At the event, the Federal Ministry of Youth Development, Nigeria and International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) reaffirmed a shared commitment to unlocking for young Nigerians through agriculture. Starting with structured access to , which has been a major barrier for many intending over the years, the YiALTF initiative is also designed to link participants with extensive agribusiness training, modern technology, mentorship, , enterprise development, and markets. These would create an enabling ecosystem for agribusiness growth.

Over the next three years, the initiative aims to transform 42 Youth Development Centres nationwide into , train six million young Nigerians, and support the growth of 500,000 agribusiness enterprises.

As a key technical partner, we at IITA YOUTH Agripreneurs (IYA) are proud to contribute our expertise in and agribusiness development to help build a new generation of agripreneurs who will contribute to , job creation, and .

In the coming weeks and months, the modality for and participation will be unveiled. Do stay with us.

Radio IITA

01/06/2026

The Youth in Agribusiness Land Trust Fund ( ) Launch is Live!

Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

29/05/2026

𝙂𝙤𝙤𝙙 𝙣𝙚𝙬𝙨 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙩𝙝𝙨 𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙞𝙣 𝙖𝙜𝙧𝙞𝙘𝙪𝙡𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙚
Are you a young Nigerian interested in but limited by access to ? There is hope on the horizon.

The Federal Ministry of Youth Development, in partnership with the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) is launching the Youth in Agribusiness Land Trust Fund (YiALTF), which is an initiative aimed at improving the youths' to land for agribusiness.

For years, access to land remains one of the biggest barriers to participation in agriculture. With this initiative, however, young people would be able to access land for and value addition. The YiALTF is designed to provide a platform for the youth to get involved in to improve their and contribute to food security, job creation, and the nation’s .

You are cordially invited to join us for the launch. The event is scheduled as follows:

📅: Monday, June 1, 2026
🕐: 10 am.
🔗: Kindly click to join the event live: www.shorturl.at/CjRrn

See you there!



Radio IITA, IITA TV

27/05/2026

𝗡𝘂𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗡𝗲𝘅𝘁 𝗚𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻
As Nigeria commemorates Children’s Day under the theme, “Future Now: Promoting Inclusion for Every Nigerian Child,” we are reminded of the immense , talent, and potential embedded in every child. When nurtured in the right environment with access to care, support, and , these potentials can shape a more prosperous and inclusive society.

The vision of the Start Them Early Program (STEP) strongly aligns with this theme, as we continue to introduce secondary school students to opportunities within the while fostering a safe, supportive, and enabling learning environment for them to thrive.

We are, however, deeply saddened by the continued captivity of the students and teachers in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State. We stand in solidarity with the affected families and the entire , while praying for their safe and swift return.

Happy Children’s Day.

27/05/2026

As the world celebrates Eid-el-Kabir, the virtues of sacrifice, faith, gratitude, compassion, love, and obedience, which the season exemplifies, remain central to a united, better and prosperous society. On this beautiful occasion, therefore, we at IITA YOUTH Agripreneurs celebrate with every Muslim faithful.

As this season encourages privileged persons to share with others, particularly those in need, we are reminded of the importance of , whether for and , such that everyone has enough to eat at all times.

To our partners, participants, stakeholders, and colleagues, we wish you abundant blessings, peace, hope, and joy this season and beyond.

Have a blessed Eid celebration!