Institute Inaugurates Agric Value Addition/Entrepreneurship Centre

As part of efforts targeted at addressing the rising unemployment rate in Nigeria, the Institute of Agricultural Research and Training (IAR&T), Moor Plantation, Ibadan, has inaugurated an agricultural value addition and entrepreneurship centre.
This was made known during the inauguration of the centre recently in the institute at Ibadan.
IAR&T, which is an  affiliate of Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, is expected to advance capabilities of the institute to cater for the increasing demand for entrepreneurship training to youth and consequently increase IAR&T’s outreach and impact.
Speaking during the inauguration ceremony, Director, IAR&T, Prof. Veronica Obatolu, said: “The rising rate of unemployment amongst graduates from our tertiary institutions is the major worrying trend observed when assessing the challenges faced by Nigerian youth today.
“It is no gainsaying that agriculture contributes to accelerated growth diversification and job creation for most African economies, and agricultural value addition is important for wealth creation and prosperity in Nigeria”.
She further stated that: “Never before, has it been more important to equip young people with quality entrepreneurship training in agricultural value addition than today”.
According to er, entrepreneurship training is a vital tool to address youth unemployment and empower them to tell the world what they can do with decent and gainful employment in agriculture.
“It is for this reason that IAR&T proposed this Agricultural Value Addition and Entrepreneurship Centre (AVAEC) to the Federal Government as one of her 2021 capital projects. On this note, I appreciate the Federal Government of Nigeria for this approval and for making this dream of the institute a reality.