Business
Agric: Youth Mull PPP In Value-Chain Dev
The Association for
Youths Unity in Agriculture (AYUA), said that the association was targeting private sector partnership to develop agricultural value-chains.
AYUA’s President, Mr Temitope Odetola, told The Tide source in Lagos that over-dependence on government was affecting the sector negatively.
Odetola said the Public Private Partnership (PPP) was still a huge challenge in the agricultural sector in Nigeria.
“Ordinarily, we would have jumped on all the many offers available by both states and the Federal Government, but we need to help ourselves.
“Depending on government at the crucial time of economic downturn would only hinder production in the long run.
“The association is looking at partnering with the private sector to develop the value-chains.
“However, we are going to do our homework by drafting workable roadmaps that will guide us.
“Although the major challenge we have faced in past and recent times is that the private sector does not want to invest in agriculture.
“But we will encourage them to invest in the sector,’’ he said.
Odetola urged youths in agribusiness to identify with the association, to strengthen their activities toward ensuring food security
He said that such identification with the association was in line with the government’s diversification drive, from oil to non-oil economy.