From ₦7,000 Stipends to ₦10 Million Grants: How Ogun Is Rebranding Agriculture for Youths

Miss Lara Mafe would have been considered unemployed five years ago. A fresh graduate with no clear prospects, she was one of over 70,000 young people who applied for agricultural opportunities on the Ogun State job portal. That application revealed both the depth of youth unemployment and a surprising willingness to consider farming if the conditions were right.

Mafe's story took a different turn after being selected for the Ogun State Broiler Business Model pilot in December 2019.

This was one of Governor Dapo Abiodun's first agricultural initiatives after taking office. She spent six weeks at the Odeda Farm Institute in Eweje learning commercial poultry production. At the end of the first cycle, she realised ₦200,000 in profit, earning 566% more than Nigeria's minimum wage.

Today, at the Magboro Rice Farm developed under the Abiodun administration, 200 young farmers like Mafe are part of an operation generating ₦1 billion in revenue every three months. That's ₦4 billion annually, or roughly ₦5 million per farmer every quarter.

Agriculture in Ogun State isn't what it used to be.

                                        The 200-hectare Magboro rice farm 
The transformation didn't happen through motivational speeches. It happened when Governor Dapo Abiodun's administration changed the financial calculation at farms like Magboro Rice Farm.

The numbers tell the story: 1,400 metric tonnes of rice per harvest equals 20,000 bags of milled rice. At Magboro Rice Farm, 200 young farmers generate ₦1 billion in revenue every three months, roughly ₦5 million per farmer quarterly. For graduates weighing farming against urban employment, those earnings rival or exceed typical salaries. But that productivity doesn't come from harder work. It comes from infrastructure that most young farmers couldn't afford on their own.

That's where Governor Abiodun's administration stepped in. Mechanised equipment eliminated the backbreaking manual labour that made traditional farming unappealing. Irrigation systems enabled year-round cultivation rather than dependence on rainfall. Storage facilities prevented the post-harvest losses that used to wipe out months of work. And secured markets guaranteed buyers for produce before seeds even went into the ground.

The infrastructure worked because it came with knowledge. Training programmes taught modern techniques that boosted yields beyond what traditional methods could achieve. The scale of youth involvement today is unprecedented. Through the World Bank-sponsored Ogun State Economic Transformation Project, 8,000 youth are trained annually in greenhouse farming, hydroponics, and commercial crop production. Another 40,000 have been empowered as cassava agripreneurs, turning a traditional crop into a commercial enterprise.

Agriculture in Ogun State is no longer what parents did out of necessity. Under Governor Dapo Abiodun, it's what young people choose because the returns justify the investment.

From Collateral Requirements to ₦10 Million Grants

Before 2019, the barrier to Agriculture was not just perception; it was capital. Starting a farm required land, equipment, inputs, and working capital that most graduates didn't have. Banks viewed agriculture as high-risk and demanded collateral that young people couldn't provide. Government support existed, but operated at a scale too small to shift the landscape.

Governor Dapo Abiodun changed that immediately upon taking office. In August 2019, just months into his administration, 200 unemployed youth received ₦74.4 million in loans through the FADAMA III programme, giving an average of ₦372,000 each.

But the support package went far beyond money. The state provided free land with certificates of occupancy that meant something at banks, cleared it at no cost, supplied seedlings and fertiliser, and offered extension services. The loans carried single-digit interest rates, and buyers for produce were secured in advance.

By 2024, Governor Abiodun had expanded support exponentially. The Ogun Youth Empowerment and Entrepreneurial Programme now offers grants ranging from ₦500,000 to ₦10 million for business-oriented youth, alongside interest-free digital loans. For a young farmer wanting to start a poultry operation or cultivate cassava, the ₦10 million ceiling represents genuine startup capital, enough to build infrastructure, purchase inputs, and sustain operations through the first harvest.

Soilless Farming and the Technology Appeal

                                   The soiless farm lab in Ogun state

Traditional farming in Ogun State meant cutlasses for land clearing, hoes for planting, and manual weeding under the sun. For young people with other options, it was unappealing. Modern agricultural techniques such as greenhouse farming, hydroponics, and drip irrigation existed elsewhere in the world, but not in the training accessible to Ogun youth. That gap kept talent away.

Governor Abiodun recognised that attracting educated youth to agriculture required more than subsidies; it required modernisation. At the Soilless Farm Laboratory in Awowo, Ewekoro Local Government Area, established under his administration, that gap is closing.

Inside the greenhouse, rows of vegetables grow in white PVC pipes, their roots dangling in nutrient-rich water. No soil. No weeds. No backbreaking outdoor labour. Over 1,000 young people have graduated with training in soilless farming - greenhouse cultivation and hydroponics that eliminate traditional land preparation and reduce water usage by up to 90% compared to conventional methods.

Farmer Samson Ogbole, team lead at Soilless Farm Lab, explained the comprehensive approach: "We taught them how to build a greenhouse from scratch; they know basic bricklaying, plumbing, electrical works, farm management, financial management, budgeting, and human management."

The training also doesn't end in the classroom. Graduates receive farmlands, seedlings, and tools to immediately apply what they've learnt. The programme trains 2,000 youths every three months and is being replicated across the state.

Through the broader Youth Agricultural Programme, 8,000 youth are trained annually in greenhouse and hydroponics farming. The curriculum covers both technical and business aspects of Agriculture. Young farmers aren't just learning to grow crops; they're learning to run profitable agricultural enterprises.

What Governor Abiodun's Approach Actually Means

The shift from 60 youth receiving ₦7,000 monthly stipends in 2018 to 8,000 trained annually with access to ₦10 million grants and modern infrastructure under Governor Dapo Abiodun represents a fundamental rethinking of youth engagement in agriculture. The governor's approach has been systematic: address financial constraints through grants and low-interest loans, eliminate labour intensity through mechanisation, provide modern training that appeals to educated youth, and secure markets so production translates to income.

The results are evident. At Soilless Farm Lab alone, over 12,000 young farmers have been trained under Abiodun's watch, and 960 greenhouses are currently producing vegetables. Dr. Adeola Odedina, former Commissioner for Agriculture, noted that after the first successful cycles, "we have on our table more than 9,000 applicants, who are mostly youths and have shown interest in becoming a part of the Ogun Broiler project."

For Ogun State, Governor Abiodun's agricultural transformation extends beyond employment statistics. Agriculture contributes 30% to the state's GDP, higher than the national average of 21%, and employs 70% of the workforce. By making the sector attractive to young people, the administration isn't just reducing unemployment; it's building long-term food security and economic resilience.

The transformation is already visible. Agriculture in Ogun State has shifted from something young people avoided to something they actively pursue. Miss Lara Mafe's ₦200,000 profit in six weeks, achieved through programmes Governor Dapo Abiodun championed, tells that story clearly.

The question is no longer if young people will choose agriculture. With over 70,000 applications on the state's agricultural job portal, they've already answered.

The challenge now is scaling the infrastructure, capital, and training fast enough to match that demand. Governor Abiodun's administration is expanding capacity from 8,000 trained annually today to systems that can accommodate the thousands more waiting for their turn.

For Ogun State's youth, farming is no longer a fallback option. Under Governor Dapo Abiodun, it's becoming a first choice.

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