Hi Fellow concerned Nigerians,

How are you coping with this meltdown? Our over dependence on oil money has landed us in this mire.The world's vulnerable, hungry people is about a billion now? Which means about 1 out of 6 people you see around is going to bed on their empty belly tonight and shall have to wake up tomorow to face the same tale!

Worse still is the fact that agriculture is left in the old hands. People that scarcely know the competitive nature of today's world. According to a youth world congress on agriculture held some few years back, youths are better positioned to tackle the problems of food and agriculture.

Today's dog knows how best to catch today's rabbit. Youths are more equipped with knowledge, information and ICT tools. Even educated old ones must learn to respect the young minds of today.Great solutions, untapped, reside in the youths of today.

The question that now bothers the mind is: in the face of this upper hand that youths of today have, why are youths in Nigeria, nay the whole africa agrophobic? Why are more youths ready to go, cap in hand, for jobs that pay pittance, while they are better equipped for E- Agriculture? Why is Nigeria so vulnerable to meltdown when so much internet-aware youths in Nigeria can easily lead practical onslaught against hunger, poverty and joblessness? The old hands are getting more and more incapacitated in a world ruled by internet and other ICT tools for development. Can Somebody with nice idea tell us how to bell this cat ( of agrophobic trends)?

Lend your voice to this agricultural call. Send your mail to : YIAnet@googlegroups.com

good question.

because everyone wants easy money and you dont always get that in farming, especially during the first few years.

Its also labor intensive.

Dear tpia,
Thanks,
You sure speak volume in your short reply. This situation is all over this vulnerable Africa!Easy money! Young People don't want to dirty their fingers.

Anyway, how do you think we can draw the youths back to agriculture again. My study of divergent thinking as a way of creating solutions to problems has helped me to come across a gret idea that can pull in about 8000 youths covering all the local governments in Nigeria. I have also received more than 15 modules of powerful capacity building courses from international organisations helping developing countries to grow their agriculture and food security systems and online networking.

I seek to apply this skill in Nigeria here. It has helped similar developing economies like ours- The one that strikes me most is the case of Tanzania. I am optimistic that even youths can still participate, create jobs and sustainable development and help stimulate rural entrepreneurship while making money in the process.

What the youths of today are doing is what the earliest american capitalists did to raise a nation that all nations seek to emulate. Youths are simply capitalists. And I stand to say that let them come over to agriculture and exert their capitalistic drive to agriculture. It will rev to life again.
Please, tpia and all out there, let's reason together to save agriculture.