Oyo State Agribusiness Education Development Programme

Attracting youth to and retaining them in the agriculture sector so they become the engine driving new agriculture and agribusiness enterprises as well as rural transformation is a key OYSADA goal.

Research shows that experiences acquired during the formative period of an individual’s life often set the future direction of a person’s life course by affecting the choices made.

Sadly, many young people remain unaware of the vast career opportunities available in agriculture beyond the farm and too few youths have embraced food production and agribusiness as a career field.

In order for agriculture to thrive in Oyo State, it will be up to younger generations to step up to the plate and carry on the responsibilities of aging farmer communities.

OYSADA will reverse the decline in youth participation in agriculture by ensuring students are aware of the variety of career opportunities connected to the agriculture sector and provide the preparation required to pursue those careers.

We will challenge counterproductive mindsets through agricultural education in formal education systems via the secondary schools’ agriculture curricula; provide hands-on experiences that play to the inherent creativity of today’s youth to reinforce what is taught in the classroom including providing supervised agricultural experiences that will help students develop skills in agricultural production.

These statewide programs will provide students the opportunity to interact with agriculture in a focused and guided format, helping younger generations become interested in agriculture as a career path and setting them up for a lifetime of success in the industry.

The envisaged effect is that students continue their pursuit of postsecondary education in the agricultural disciplines and related and that tertiary institutions produce the kind of graduate that meets agribusiness needs of today and is prepared to tackle challenges in the future.

Additionally, by transforming their mindsets and exposing them to the rewarding possibilities agriculture promises, these students can help propagate the virtues of agribusiness and their peers about the viability of agriculture as a career choice.