Youths Enterprise Development and Innovation Society (YEDIS) is a nonprofit organization in Nigeria that promotes entrepreneurship education, youth employment and community development. YEDIS organized the capacity building workshop and empowerment of over 300 women and girls in palm oil and palm kernel seeds production on May 26th 2023, in Obaagun community, Osun State, Nigeria and Mrs Alaje Grace Oluwatosin delivered a speech on “Advancing Water Management in Agriculture to Promote Food Security and Youth Employment in Marginalized Communities.”
Accordingly, YEDIS donated ten (10) iron drums and 200 plastics funnel and palm oil sievers to agrifood women practitioners in the Obaagun community, Osun State, Nigeria. Osun State is one of Nigeria’s agricultural and agrifood business hubs, having significant numbers of farmers in rural areas. YEDIS chose the Obaagun community based on its large palm oil production, which women and girls specifically dominate.
YEDIS empowered the women and girls in the Obaagun community to support global food system transformation, advance agrifood production in marginalized communities, promote gender equality and youth employment, and economic development. Climate change and natural disasters affect farming in both underserved communities and globally. YEDIS aimed to encourage and network the young food farmers to pay attention to agrifood challenges and proactively manage any climate situation. The United Nations’ interest in the agrifood transformation system is incredible; therefore, it emphasizes the promotion of agriculture in every community for food security.
YEDIS’s effort to promote youth employment and community development is sacrosanct. Thus, YEDIS will continue to support the agrifood industry, young people’s businesses, and the outgrowth of apprentices’ services.
An adequate supply chain management system facilitates food production, decent employment, and economic development. Maintenance of an efficient agrifood supply chain, including crop plantation, harvesting, processing, transformation, packaging and storage, marketing, and distribution, adds value to food security and ensures viable employment opportunities. We encourage a feasible agriculture supply chain to promote exportation, decent jobs for youth, and community development.
Moreover, formal education is mandatory for girls and young women to advance their skills, better networking, and exposure to global business practices. To promote gender balance, women must have a voice in decision-making and leadership positions.
Girls’ education goes beyond getting girls into school. It is also about ensuring that girls learn and feel safe while in school; have the opportunity to complete all levels of education, acquire the knowledge and skills to compete in the labour market; gain socio-emotional and life skills necessary to navigate and adapt to a changing world; make decisions about their own lives; and contribute to their communities and the world (World Bank).
Mr Rafiu Akinpelu Olaore, the Executive Director of YEDIS, appreciated all the YEDIS Team present, including Mr Ola Timothy, Mr Ranti Ogunrinade, Mr Taiwo Oladele, Miss Nafisat Bankole and Mrs Grace Oluwatosin Alaje and workshop beneficiaries for their cooperation and understanding. He asked the participants to apply the empowerment training skills and use the donated items efficiently for their palm oil and palm kernel seeds business. Rafiu Olaore stated they wanted to perform better, but funding limits YEDIS’s effort to provide more materials to empower the youth and support the agrifood industries. Olaore opined that YEDIS would significantly impact more as soon as it raises funds.
About YEDIS
Youths Enterprise Development & Innovation Society (YEDIS) is a nonprofit organization that promotes entrepreneurship education, youth employment, and community development. YEDIS primarily operates in underserved communities where there is a lack of quality education and decent jobs due to poor awareness, inadequate educational facilities, and primitive agricultural sources of livelihood, chiefly among girls and young women.
YEDIS advocates for the UN SDGs in poverty reduction, quality education, gender equality, decent work, and community development. As of April 2023, YEDIS has empowered more than 7000 underserved young people with entrepreneurship education, including girls and young women in agribusiness and creative industries, through capacity building, business plan proposal writing, digital literacy skills, material donations, and other business support service.
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