VCDP organises forum for agro youth to improve productivity

An agriculture youth forum has been held in Abuja to deepen young people’s involvement in agriculture.

The gathering, which is an initiative of the value chain development project, allows young agricultural entrepreneurs to share their successes and challenges with a view to improving their output and productivity.

The forum is also an avenue for young people under the project to share experiences including challenges and success stories.

The Value Chain Development Programme, VCDP is a collaborative effort of the country’s agriculture authorities as well as the International Fund for Agricultural Development.

Its primary attention is on helping subsistence farmers make more returns on their agricultural investments in various parts of the country.

The value chain development programme is already implementing a robust youth empowerment project along the rice and cassava value chains.

This has over time recorded impressive results.

The VCDP administration regard the conference of young people as an opportunity to boost progress on food security, agriculture development, and inclusive growth in line with the SDGs.

The project’s beneficiaries access it through farmer groups, which has them split into different segments of the rice and cassava value chains.

The groups were also further dividend into groups by gender with principal focus on women and young people.

The value chain development project has particularly targeted rice and cassava products by introducing farmers to better storage practices , processing and packaging with the aim of doubling their incomes and job creation.