The agricultural partnership between the Ekiti State Government and YSJ Farms Limited has yielded a historic N1 billion profit for over 4,000 young farmers in the state.
The development was celebrated on Wednesday in Ado-Ekiti during the official distribution of dividends from the 2025 farming season under the “Bring Youth Back to Agriculture” initiative.
The Managing Director of YSJ Farms, Mrs. Yemisi Joluwe, described the achievement as a testament to Governor Biodun Oyebanji’s commitment to transforming farming into a profitable venture. She expressed joy that the program has successfully provided sustainable income, reduced unemployment, changed negative perceptions about agriculture, and helped stabilize food prices in Ekiti.
Joluwe boasted that with sustained partnership, Ekiti is on track to become the nation’s food basket and revealed ambitions to expand the initiative across all 36 states, having already established it throughout the Southwest region.
Meanwhile, Governor Biodun Oyebanji, represented by his Chief of Staff, Mr. Niyi Adebayo, presented the cheques at the event held at the Osuntokun Pavilion. He highlighted the program’s dramatic growth, from 911 participants in its first year to 5,000 this year, generating a 700% increase in profit from N145 million in 2024 to N1 billion in 2025.
The Governor reiterated his administration’s commitment to creating an enabling environment for youth to thrive through access to land, improved inputs, mechanization, and market linkages, urging beneficiaries to reinvest their earnings to expand their operations.
Also, The Commissioner for Agriculture and Food Security, Mr. Ebenezer Boluwade, stated the government’s target is to empower 50,000 youth by 2030, with an annual profit target of N50 billion. He projected that the program would generate N5 billion for participants next year. Also speaking, the Commissioner for Youth Development, Hon. Adesola Gold Adedayo, praised the initiative for leveraging Ekiti’s comparative advantage in agriculture and thanked the private sector partners for their investment in the state’s youth, encouraging more young people to key into the program for sustainable empowerment and economic growth.
