Nigeria can compete globally through agriculture – Canadian black farmers association founder
Founder of the Canadian Black Farmers Association, Toyin Kayo-Ajayi, says Nigeria has the potential to become a global agricultural powerhouse if it harnesses its natural resources effectively.
Speaking on Thursday during Channels Television’s Youth Forum, a special programme marking President Bola Tinubu’s second year in office, Kayo-Ajayi noted that Nigeria’s agricultural products particularly vegetables and yam are in high demand internationally.
“In the next 10 years, Nigeria is going to be a very beautiful, industrial country. I will tell all the youth this. I am even planning to move back home,” he said. “With agriculture alone in Nigeria, we can control a lot of things globally.”
Kayo-Ajayi highlighted the irony of having to recreate Nigerian environmental conditions in Canada to grow the same crops that naturally thrive at home. “Here (in Canada), I had to create the weather that we have in Nigeria. I just created loamy soil in Nigeria; I am about to package it in bags and sell it across Canada.”
He revealed ongoing research showing that Nigeria’s vegetables also serve as herbs and medicinal plants, adding that his work includes cultivating yam in Canada by replicating Nigeria’s agricultural climate.
The agricultural expert also shared his early experiences in farming, challenging the negative stereotypes associated with the profession. “What discouraged me from farming in Nigeria was that when I was in school, we were told, ‘If you don’t study, you are going to be a farmer.’ It sounded like a curse,” he recalled.
“Even from the age of five, six, seven, I went to the farm with my grandparents, and I saw the benefits of farming; that is one profession that will not go out of style,” he added.
The Youth Forum, themed “Pressing Issues Affecting Nigeria’s Youth”, provides a platform for experts, youth leaders, and government officials to discuss challenges in education, health, innovation, the creative sector, and business, as part of activities commemorating two years of the Tinubu administration.
