President Speech

Members of the Board of Trustees of United Young Farmers Forum,

Project Manager & Consultants United Young Farmers Forum, 

Executives of UYFF,

Special Guest of Honour,

Gentlemen of the Press,

Members of United Young Farmers Forum.

I welcome you to this August Occasion. It is a delight to host this three in one event: Where we intend to train executives of UYFF, host our inaugural meeting and brief Gentlemen of the Press on the various activities of our organization. United Young Farmers Forum is a movement of Nigerian Youths for Nigerian Youths. We are focused on mobilizing Nigerian Youths into various Agricultural Value Chains. Our Mission is to create a new generation of vibrant prosperous farmers who will ensure food security for Nigeria, create massive jobs to tackle unemployment and consequently create wealth for development of the National Economy.

Youths are the foundation of a society. Their energy, inventiveness, character and orientation define the pace of development and the security of a nation. Through their creative talents and labour power, a nation makes giant strides in economic development and socio-political attainments. In their dreams and hopes, a nation founds her motivation; on their energies, she builds her vitality and purpose. And because of their dreams and aspirations, the future of a nation is assured.

Agriculture is the second most important sector after the petroleum sector in the Nigerian economy with respect to foreign exchange earnings, but the most important in terms of contribution to employment and livelihood sustenance.  Currently, the contribution to GDP is estimated at about 21%.  The sector provides the bulk (over 60%) of food consumed in Nigeria, especially in the rural areas, and employs about 70% of the work force.  The sector in addition to feeding the people provides food to livestock as feeds, pasture, offal, fodder, haulms and grains.

Presently we have 250,000 registered members across Nigeria and we intend to mobilize 20 million young farmers in 10 years.

Our Core Strategies are to:

     Mobilize and sensitize youth for participation in agriculture; Improve the quality of youth and women in agriculture through training, seminars and exhibitions; Promote gender mainstreaming in agriculture;  Identify and document youth cooperatives and groups in agribusiness; Encourage the participation of youth hand women in exhibitions nationally and internationally; Provide relevant information in best modern agricultural practices through -extension services;  Identify and Advocate for support from development partners, the private sector and states;  Collaborate with Ministries Department and Agencies especially the Ministry of Youth & Ministry of Agriculture & Rural Development;  Help Establish credit windows at single digit interest rates which will be available to youth.

Achievements So far

We have signed Memorandum of Understanding with Major Agricultural Institutions in Nigeria, New Zealand, India, Israel and Thailand to build capacity of aspiring young farmers in Rice Value Chain, Irrigation, Dairy Farming, Aquaculture and Conflict resolution to address issues of Farmer-Herdsmen conflicts. We have successfully established state chapters of UYFF with registered members across 36 states of the Federation and FCT

Conclusion

We humbly request for the support of the Federal Government, Development Partners, Civil Society Groups, the Press and private individuals to support our initiatives. We know agriculture holds the future for Nigeria. UYFF is ready to work with all stakeholders and we look forward to meaningful partnerships with key players in the Agricultural sector and the nation at large. Thank you for listening, God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria.