As a build up event to the 2024 Children’s Day celebration, the SAHE Foundation is set to launch the Tech Young Farmers Club (TYFC) for schools in Lagos, in partnership with the National Association of Proprietors of Private Schools (NAPPS).

Themed: “Becoming a Technology-Driven Farmer,” the launch, scheduled for May 24, 2024, at the Jelili Adebisi Omotola Hall A, University of Lagos, Akoka, will feature activities such as lectures and trainings on modern agricultural techniques, keynote address by the Director-General, Premier Agribusiness Academy, Dr Francis Toromade, creative farming experience, words game and lots more.

The TYFC is an initiative, which aims to mentor and empower young individuals, regarded as the next generation of farmers, with knowledge, skills, and resources they need to become future leaders in sustainable agricultural practices.

In a statement signed by the Chair, Learners Activities Committee, NAPPS Lagos, Dr Olaoye Jonathan Abiola, he said the TYFC is an opportunity to introduce modern farming techniques and technology to young adults from ages 12 – 16 (SS1 – 3 classes).

“The students will be empowered with polished seeds that are grown in their various schools in customised sacks and properly monitored and maintained. This year’s Children’s Day celebration is aimed to help students see agriculture as a hunger eradicating tool by way of growing what they eat and by extension making a living from what they grow.

“It has been projected that Africa’s agricultural business will be worth $1tr by 2030 and that the next generation of millionaires and billionaires in Africa will be farmers. As such, we intend to prepare our children to embrace and see agriculture as a tool for prosperity by exposing them to opportunities in the modern, technology-driven agricultural ecosystem.”

On her part, the Founder/CEO of SAHE Foundation, Dr. Idongesit Mbaram, said despite the central role the evolving agriculture sector has reserved for the youth, particularly, in the agricultural technology industry, the youngsters are still largely unwilling to take up responsibilities to power the sector.  

According to her, the goal is to demystify misconceptions about agriculture by putting efforts in place to identify and mop up wrong ideologies and occasion a mind reset by taking the youths through a thought process that is deliberate, sincere, evidence based and intentionally targeted to interchange the wrong mindset and the way they view agriculture by opening up investment areas and training on how to create wealth from the sector.

“This initiative is the brainchild of the Sustainable Agro and Hunger Eradication (SAHE) Foundation, which is a dedicated advocacy platform for youth and women empowerment. SAHE’s mission is to alleviate hunger and promote sustainable agriculture by implementing innovative solutions, empowering communities, and advocating for policies that support food security and environmental stewardship.

“The TYFC is in collaboration with the NAPPS, Lagos and we intend to convene about 1,200 students from SS1-SS3 from various secondary schools in Lagos at the inception workshop and launch of the initiative.

“The foundation will support the schools and participating students with seedlings, branded sacks, and modern farming technique kits, among others,” she said.