Chairman of the Federal Civil Service Commission (FCSC), Prof. Tunji Olaopa, has listed some measures to break barriers to participation of youths, women and other categories of citizens in agribusiness.

Olaopa spoke in Abuja on Monday during the “High-Level Dialogue of AfDB on Bridging the Gap-Access to Finance & Empowering Youth and Women for Agribusiness Success.”

In a goodwill message, he commended AfDB’s unwavering commitment to dismantling the constraints against youths and women for more profitable and productive ventures in agribusiness, noting that the bank’s support had been phenomenal with the redoubled momentum injected by Dr. Akinwunmi Adesina during his tenure as president of the financial institution.

According to Olaopa, the clear message of the AfDB to Nigeria, especially to policymakers, is that meaningful strides in agribusiness expansion cannot be achieved without dismantling the systemic barriers that limit the capacity of young people and women from accessing finance, resources and knowledge.

He observed that improvement in grants could help youths, women and others to experiment with innovations and technologies.

His words: “If banks and financial institutions are, however, unwilling to extend facilities to this cohort given the risk involved, it is understandable. Policy intervention is, therefore, critical to de-risk lending to young entrepreneurs in agribusiness if the country is to make reasonable progress in expanding their participation and the profitability of such ventures.

“Youths also need mentorship by established agribusiness players, as is standard for growing startups anywhere in the world. Without significant incentives extended to such players, this sense will remain a pipe dream.”

Minister of Youth Development, Ayodele Olawande, urged youths to be job creators, and not seekers of government employment.

On his part, Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Atiku Bagudu, emphasised the need to recognise agribusiness as a viable commercial venture, and not merely a subsistence activity.

In the same vein, Minister of Livestock Development, Idi Maiha, said the ministry was implementing a livestock initiative targeting 37,000 youths and women across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).