Follow Us on Google
The International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) and Bells University of Technology (BUT), Ota, Ogun State, have signed an agreement to develop young entrepreneurs in agribusiness.
At an event held recently at BUT, the parties agreed that the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) will see them collaborate on the establishment of an incubation hub in Ota to train youths in agripreneurship. The two institutions also agreed to make BUT an agricultural centre for farmers in Ota metropolis and its environs.
The partnership also includes the development of an Agriprenuership curriculum with input from the already established MBA program in Agriculture run by IITA with the University of Ibadan, as well as the facilitation of joint research and grant proposals.
According to IITA’s Deputy Director-General, Partnerships for Delivery, Kenton Dashiell, “the MoU will foster cooperation for the development and implementation of collaborative programs. These include technical backstopping to BUT’s Centre for Agricultural Technology and Entrepreneurial Studies (CATES) that will equip graduates with theoretical and practical knowledge in agriculture and entrepreneurship.”
He added that Nigeria and Africa as a whole would benefit hugely from the partnership between IITA, which, in the past 50 years, has been generating agricultural innovations to address hunger, malnutrition, poverty, and natural resource degradation. BUT will also leverage on IITA programs such as the IITA Youth Agripreneur (IYA) program aimed at addressing widespread youth unemployment using agriculture; and the Start Them Early Program (STEP), designed to take agribusiness studies to primary and secondary school students.
In his address, BUT Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Jeremiah Ojediran, described the MoU as the dawn for a new era for the university and the country to harness the international expertise of IITA. The partnership between IITA and BUT, Daily Sun gathered, was initiated by former President Olusegun Obasanjo and IITA Director-General, Dr Nteranya Sanginga, to fast-track the transformation of agriculture in Africa, as officials from both parties witnessed the signing of the MoU.
