Lagos students embrace agriculture as path to wealth, innovation and food security
Agriculture is increasingly being presented to young Nigerians not as a survival job, but as one of the country’s biggest economic opportunities, offering solutions to unemployment, food insecurity, and youth empowerment through technology, processing, logistics, and innovation.
Agriculture is increasingly being presented to young Nigerians not as a survival job, but as one of the country’s biggest economic opportunities, offering solutions to unemployment, food insecurity, and youth empowerment through technology, processing, logistics, and innovation.
That message took centre stage at the grand finale of AgriQuest, a Lagos-based students’ agriculture competition organised by Paradise Dynamic Farms Limited under the theme, “NextGen Farmers: Redefining Agriculture.”
Held in Lagos recently, the event brought together students from different secondary schools across Lagos to compete, learn, and explore how agriculture can create wealth and sustainable economic growth.
The competition, which moved through three stages across education districts in Lagos, was designed to revive young people’s interest in agriculture by exposing them to the industry’s expanding opportunities beyond traditional farming.
Speaking at the event, Oluwafemi Adejare, the managing partner, Fair Consulting and keynote speaker, described agriculture as Nigeria’s largest employer of labour, noting that nearly 90 million Nigerians depend on the sector for their livelihood.
According to him, Nigeria’s agricultural industry is already valued at more than $100 billion, while Africa’s agribusiness sector could exceed $1 trillion by 2030. “With Nigeria having 84 million hectares of arable land, Nigeria should be in the forefront of leading this revolution,” he said.
Adejare explained that one of the biggest solutions agriculture offers Nigeria is its ability to absorb young talent through multiple industries linked to farming.
Rather than focusing only on crop cultivation, he encouraged students to explore high-value areas such as food processing, refrigeration, agricultural logistics, solar-powered irrigation systems, farm software development, and drone technology.
He noted that technology is helping to modernise agriculture and improve productivity.
“You can use drones to monitor your crops. You can use mobile apps to predict planting seasons from satellites and data,” he said.
He added that improving storage and refrigeration systems could help Nigeria reduce massive post-harvest losses caused by food spoilage.
For students at the event, the competition became more than an academic exercise. It also opened conversations around entrepreneurship and future careers.
KaosisoChukwu Ekwunife, one of the winning students from Fountain Heights Secondary School, said he now hopes to build a mechanized farming business in the future.
“The agriculture is important to the growth of nation and importance for the economy of nation,” he said. The competition rewarded outstanding schools in both junior and senior categories with cash prizes aimed at encouraging innovation and participation.
In the junior category, Topfield Secondary School won the top prize of N500,000, while second and third positions received N350,000 and N250,000 respectively.
In the senior category, Fountain Heights Secondary School emerged winner with N1 million, while Angus Secondary School and Mictec International High School secured N500,000 and B250,000 respectively.
Beyond the competition, organisers also introduced Paradise Hub, a digital learning platform focused on agribusiness, technology, entrepreneurship, and personal development training.
Favour Ebi Dakoru, executive assistant at Paradise Dynamic Farms, said the platform aims to make practical education more accessible and affordable for young Africans through online courses and reward-based learning.
She explained that the initiative was created to bridge the gap between knowledge and economic opportunity by helping young people develop skills relevant to today’s economy.
For many participants, the event reinforced a growing message that agriculture is no longer just about farming, but about solving problems linked to food supply, youth unemployment, technology, and economic development.
As Nigeria continues to search for sustainable industries capable of driving long-term growth, organisers said empowering young people to see agriculture as a profitable and innovation-driven sector may become one of the country’s most important investments for the future.
