The Oyo State Government and the International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD) have launched a €2.4 million Youth Empowerment and Reintegration Project (YERP) aimed at empowering 700 youths through agriculture and reducing irregular migration.
The project, funded by the Government of Denmark, targets young people aged 18 to 35, particularly those in rural communities and returnee migrants across the South-West.
Speaking at the signing of the project agreement in Ibadan on Friday, Oyo State Commissioner for Agriculture, Barrister Olasunkanmi Olaleye, said the initiative would tackle youth unemployment, support the reintegration of returnee migrants and promote rural economic development.
Olaleye said the project would provide beneficiaries with opportunities in climate-smart agriculture, cooperative development, market access and other areas of the agricultural value chain.
He disclosed that the state government had 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.
According to him, the government would work with host communities, private-sector operators and development partners to provide beneficiaries with land, security, agricultural training, modern farming techniques and market opportunities.
“YERP is an important intervention designed to support teeming youth, particularly rural young people and returnee migrants, by creating sustainable opportunities for them through agriculture and related economic activities,” he said.
The commissioner said the project was designed to go beyond the allocation of farmland, stressing that it would promote sustainable livelihoods and generate evidence capable of informing policies on youth empowerment and migration management.
He added that the state government would also support the tractorisation of the farmland, while the project would promote sustainable land management and contribute to Oyo’s food security efforts.
Olaleye said YERP complemented existing agricultural initiatives of the Governor ‘Seyi Makinde administration, including youth training, agribusiness development, mechanisation, climate-smart agriculture, digital soil testing, extension services and market-oriented interventions.
He urged youths to explore opportunities across the agricultural value chain, noting that modern agriculture had moved beyond subsistence farming to include production, processing, logistics, mechanisation, digital agriculture and marketing.
Also speaking, ICMPD Portfolio Manager for the Pan-Africa Region, Marcello Giordani, said the organisation considered Nigeria its biggest and most important partner in Africa.
Giordani said YERP was particularly significant because of its potential to create sustainable economic opportunities for young people through agriculture.
He expressed confidence that access to modern technology and the right conditions would enable beneficiaries to build sustainable livelihoods in their communities.
Giordani also commended the Oyo State Government for its commitment to the partnership, saying the signing of the agreement during his second visit to the state demonstrated the government’s ownership of the project.
The event was attended by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Mrs Abosede Owoeye; directors and senior officials of the ministry; and representatives of ICMPD, among others.
