By Muhammad Amaan
The United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) has called for the productive engagement of youths in agriculture to create employment and ensure food security in Nigeria.
Head of Office/Representative, UNESCO Office Abuja, Dr Jean-Paul Abiaga, made the call during the inauguration of the National Occupational Standards (NOS) workshop under the Better Education for Africa’s Rise (BEAR III) Project in Abuja.
The workshop, organised by UNESCO from February 25 to 27, focused on the review and validation of the NOS to strengthen the education and skills development sector in Nigeria.
“This initiative has one simple goal: to make education practical, relevant, and directly connected to the real jobs here in Nigeria. We are focusing on food processing and post-harvest management.
“This is not about a training workshop only; it is about putting food on the table, reducing waste, creating jobs, and giving young people real chance to build a future with dignity.
“Technical and vocational education is essential to Nigeria’s development: Nigeria, with not less than 60 per cent of its citizens under 25 years of age, has the largest youth population globally.
“Although every year millions of young men and women step into adulthood full of energy, ideas, and hope, hope must meet opportunity. When young people do not have practical skills, frustrations grow.
“When they do have skills, they create businesses, strengthen communities, and move the country forward. Skills change lives, and when lives change, nations rise,” Dr Abiaga said.
He decried the loss of a large share of harvested food before it reached the market, saying that when young people are trained to handle, store, and process food properly, harvests can be saved and incomes increased.
He added that by such training, food security efforts will be strengthened and employment opportunities created.
Executive-Secretary of the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE), For his part, Professor Idris Bugaje, described Agriculture as one of the important sectors in Nigeria that can contribute to economic development.
He said after oil and gas, agriculture should become a priority, saying it is not something to play with or as a nation.
“We are so happy that you have chosen to support us in training our youth, so that we can give them more skills.
“Apart from the indigenous way we used to do it, there are other better ways they can do it.
“They can get it in a more formalised way, and that will make them more professional, more efficient and prepare them for the future.
“This is an opportunity to network, so let us use the opportunity. It is an opportunity to learn from one another,” Bugaje said.
