Thread by @Agro_Centre

“Many young and beginning farmers start out in local markets. Some stay there, and some scale up.” - Tom Vilsack

On our #TheAfricanFarmersStories edition today, our guest is another young agropreneur making his mark in the industry. Join us at 2pm WAT.

Good afternoon, everyone. In a short while, we'll commence our interview session with our guest on today's edition of #TheAfricanFarmersStories

My name is Edobong Akpabio, your host on this Series. Let's get to know a little about this amazing agropreneur, John Agboola.

John Agboola is an agriculturist/farmer with a passion for agricultural research for development. He is a value chain catalyst with a degree in Agricultural Economics and Extension from the Federal University of Technology, Akure, Ondo State, Nigeria.
#TheAfricanFarmersStories

He is currently running a 2-year AGCO Qualification Programme (AAQ) at the Strathmore Business School, Nairobi, Kenya, as the only non-Kenyan in the programme.
#TheAfricanFarmersStories
@akin_adesina
@CorpFarmersTV
@Nig_Farmer
@FmardNg
@FUTAkure
@sarnchos

John is committed to developing an agricultural sector that works for smallholder farmers, youth & women through his involvement in several projects and programmes such as with;
@BATNFoundation
@gatesfoundation
@Chevron
@aksgovt
#TheAfricanFarmersStories
@YouthAgvocateNg

John is a youth motivator, agricultural, youth and smallholder farmers’ advocate. Over the years, he has leveraged on the use of the social media to communicate, promote and re-brand the face of agriculture in Nigeria, Africa and at a global level.
#TheAfricanFarmersStories

He contributes to policy issues in agriculture. John also offers free services in various business areas such as consulting, research, policy development, training/facilitation, linkages, advocacy, etc,for young, women and smallholder farmers.
#TheAfricanFarmersStories

John is the team lead of AgrindusNetwork, an initiative to create a sense of belonging for smallholder farmers; and the co-founder of Go-green Africa Initiative, an agricultural incubation programme aimed at empowering youths to invest in agriculture.
#TheAfricanFarmersStories

John is the online editor of Agric-Farmer Daily on Papeli and the current Communication Focal Person for @ypardnigeria with published articles on agriculture, smallholder farmers, etc, and upgrading knowledge for youth interest in agriculture.
#TheAfricanFarmersStories

Currently, an intern at the Strathmore Business School, Nairobi, Kenya, John is working, with others, to build the next generation of investors using holistic agribusiness value chain approaches and social media.

Please join me to welcome John Agboola
#TheAfricanFarmersStories

Q1. Thank you, John, for being a part of #TheAfricanFarmersStories

Please tell us about your farming journey. How did you get into all of these 'locations'?

Q2. You seem to have carved out your focus area - "to develop an agricultural sector that works for smallholder farmers, youth and women."

How did that become such a strong mission for you to pursue? #TheAfricanFarmersStories

Q3. You've participated in various projects and programmes in pursuit of your mission. I'd like you to share your experiences with us in each of them.

a) The @BATNFoundation market study for vegetables enterprise in Lagos State
#TheAfricanFarmersStories

Q4. Your experience at;

b) The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) @gatesfoundation multi-crop value chain studies for six commodities (maize, groundnut, cowpea, millet, sorghum and plantain) in Nigeria
#TheAfricanFarmersStories

Q5. Your experience at;

The project on the socio-economic assessment of Titito community in Agbara area of Ogun State.
#TheAfricanFarmersStories
@OGSG_Official
@GatewayTraffic
@dabiodunMFR
@linkOGUN
@one_plot

Q6. Your experience at;

The monitoring and evaluation exercise of community projects by @Chevron Nigeria Limited.
#TheAfricanFarmersStories

Q7. Your experience during the development of agricultural policies in Akwa Ibom State @aksgovt; the BATNF agricultural policies and the Nigeria sustainable agriculture policy – a review of the Nigeria agricultural promotion policy.
#TheAfricanFarmersStories

Q8. You have, over the years, used the social media to communicate, promote & re-brand agriculture in Nigeria, in Africa and at a global level, contributing to policy issues in agriculture.

What has been your experience & the outcome of these efforts?
#TheAfricanFarmersStories

Q9. You offer quite a lot of free services to young, women and smallholder farmers. This is good because many of them can't afford to pay for those services. Tell us about your experience working to improve the lot of these farmers.
#TheAfricanFarmersStories

Q10. As the team lead of AgrindusNetwork, tell us more about how you are creating a sense of belonging for smallholder farmers.
#TheAfricanFarmersStories

Q11. You are also the co-founder of Go-green Africa Initiative, an agricultural incubation initiative aimed at empowering youths to take on agriculture. Tell us about your encounter with young people as you engage them in agribusiness.
#TheAfricanFarmersStories

Q12. Your media activities also include publishing (Agric-Farmer Daily on Papeli) and as @ypardnigeria Communication Focal Person. What's your readership like? Have you been able to achieve your goal with your target readers?
#TheAfricanFarmersStories

Q13. #Africa has been noted as the youth continent because of its large population of young people compared to other continents. #Africa also has enormous potential for agriculture. Why do we need to cajole our youths to engage in agriculture?
#TheAfricanFarmersStories

Q14. With all the efforts, over the years, by governments, other institutions and organizations on youth participation, why are we not seeing a commensurate response by youths in agriculture? Where are the gaps? How can we bridge those gaps?
#TheAfricanFarmersStories

Q15. As a young agropreneur, you have done well and been through a lot of trials too. How can the youth in #Africa, the governments, other institutions & organizations contribute to making #agriculture a major contributor to continent's #GDPGrowth
#TheAfricanFarmersStories

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