-Rural communities hold the key to Nigeria's development


Experts at the Maiden Edition of the Young Rural Developers Summit (YORDS 2020), organised by the Rural Nurture Initiative (RNI) have identified the development of agriculture and rural areas as the key to Nigeria's sustainable development.

The 2 days summit, which was held at the Centre for Sustainable Development, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, on November 13 and 14, 2020, was themed “Accelerated, Inclusive and Sustainable Rural Development in the Post COVID-19 Era".

In attendance were renowned academics, political leaders, rural developer enthusiasts, agriculturists, students and individuals from all walks of life.

The speakers and panelists at the summit identified that if Nigerian government would focus on the development of the rural areas, which hold the keys to the country's development, Nigeria would be regarded as the food basket of the world and compete favourably with developed nations. They also said that the capacities of the agragrian people must be enhanced through bottom-up and problem-driven approaches in order to ensure that the development of these areas are sustainable.

The opening speech on Day 1 was delivered by the Oyo State Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development, Ojekunle Ojemuyiwa, who was ably represented by Mrs I. A. Iroko, the Director of Extension Services, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

The Commissioner applauded the giant strides being made by the Rural Nurture Initiative team and other well-meaning youths who are contributing their quota to support the Government‘s efforts towards developing rural communities in the Oyo State.

He also noted that the Ministry was working assiduously notable to promote agricultural development in Oyo State.

While delivering her keynote address, a Rural Development Consultant, Prof. Janice Olawoye said that Nigeria had all the potentials and resources needed to achieve sustainable development but the management of these resources had not been put in proper perspective.

The Retired Professor of Rural Sociology at the University of Ibadan submitted that if the money spent on oil in the country had been spent on developing agriculture and the rural areas, Nigeria would be regarded as "the land of food".

She opined that the country is blessed with human, natural and material resources but these had not been exploited for sustainable development.

According to the American descendant, the people in the rural areas must be adequately empowered and must be engaged in providing solutions to their problems in order for interventions in these areas to be sustainable.

She also added that a one-size fits all approach must not be adopted in order to proffer solutions to the problems of the rural areas, saying each of them has its peculiarities.

The Rural Development Consultant however identified that the government, corporate world and the academia must work together in order to bring development to the rural communities through problem-driven approach.


In her address, the Executive Director of Rural Nurture Initiative, a non-governmental organisation domiciled in Oyo state, Damilola Iyiola noted that developing the rural areas involves a multidimensional approach to ensure that every aspect of the agragrian communities are developed, especially agriculture.

Miss Iyiola said that the income of these people should be diversified in order to enhance their livelihood, and that health care facilities, education, welfare and social amenities must be provided.

She suggested that in every rural area targeted for development, situation analysis must first be conducted before solutions are provided to solve identified problems, adding that the solutions provided must be people-focused through bottom-up approach in order to ensure sustainability.

She implored government, non-governmental organisations and other interventionists that rural dwellers must not be regarded as unknowledgeable, adding that the rural communities are an embodiment of indigenous knowledge and resources needed to develop their own communities. Hence, they must be included in all stages of developmental interventions, to facilitate ownership and sustainability.

The Project Coordinator of Oyo State Rural Access and Agricultural Marketing Project (RAAMP), Dr. M. A. Ayanlowo spoke extensively on rural poverty eradication strategies, revealing that majority of rural dwellers are trapped in extreme poverty.

He stated that the government has a crucial role to play in developing the agricultural sector, non-farm and off farm activities by creating enabling environment for investors.

To cap up his session, Dr Ayanlowo provided a recommendation to the government, highlighting the “Resolution Approach to Poverty Alleviation (SPR-A)”, which he regarded as the application of simple technology that calls for the involvement of multivariate attributes in a pixel called operational platform. This model highlights the roles of various government parastatals in poverty eradication.

The Director of the University of Ibadan Center for Sustainable Development (CESDEV), Prof. O. Olaniyan, represented by Dr. Wale Olaide, pointed out vivid ways through which youths can adapt the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and 169 targets into our local context, to ensure the sustainability of our developmental efforts.

The Ag. General Manager of Oyo State Community and Social Development Agency (OYCSDA), Engr R. A. Adabanija,
spoke on partnership and collaboration, using the Community and Social Development Project (CSDP) as a case study. She pointed that accelerated and sustainable development can be achieved through more robust partnership among development practitioners at all levels.


The opening speech on Day 2 was delivered by the Oyo State Commissioner for Youth and Sports, Hon. Seun Fakorede, represented by Mrs K. O. Mustapha, the Director of Youth Development, Ministry of Youth and Sports.

The Commissioner encouraged youths to remain an active voice and positive influence towards a progressive Oyo State.

He also expressed the Ministry’s willingness to support initiatives aimed at promoting youth development and empowerment in Oyo State.

Day 2 featured a Lecturer from the Department of Agricultural Extension and Rural Development, U.I, Dr Olusola Fadairo, who submitted that generic developmental strategies would not solve the problems in the rural communities in Nigeria and the country at large.

The Rural Development Lecturer said that developmental agenda tailored towards Africa's needs, such as the African Union Agenda 2063 and the African Development Bank High 5 Priority Areas, should be adopted as guides for intervention programmes.

He also identified that the problems in the Nigerian educational sector is systemic, with outdated curricula, calling for adoption of education system that will reflect the peculiarities of current Nigerian problems in order for the country to development at its pace.

Also speaking on education, the Founder, Bramble Network, Miss Oduanayo Aliu agitated for a paradigm shift from certificate-focused education system to 'Alternative Learning' in order to make education easier and more impactful.

She revealed that each rural community has its local resources that could be explored and exploited for its development and education in such communities must be tailored towards the needs of each rural area, adding that examination as a test of knowledge is being “overrated”.

In his own contribution, the Founder, Slum and Rural Health Initiative, Dr Isaac Olufadewa said that farmers and dwellers in the rural communities must be protected and their capacities enhanced, adding that myths that stand as barriers to development in the rural areas must be deconstructed so as for the people to give room for reorientation and development.

The Co-founder CATO Foods, Atinuke Lebile, suggested that farmers in the interiors must be trained in use of modern technology to enhance their productivity, adding that agricultural extension workers should be sent to these areas to guide farmers on the use of modern farm tools and orientate them on the value embedded in any intervention brought to them.

On the shortage of food crops in Nigeria, she recommended that farmers should be educated on the need to plant more nutritious crops.

To the Chief Executive Officer of Innovate Lab, Jesudamilare Adesegun-David, interventionists should not approach the rural areas with "Messiah Orientation" and the Federal Government create enabling environment that would allow entrepreneurs to drive the development of rural communities in the country. He further reiterated that “interventions in rural communities should be contextualized in entrepreneurship”.

A university scholar, Eucharia Obar called for the use of research findings to transform the lives of people in the rural areas. She noted that many research in these areas were done just for promotions and publications, saying that policy makers and the academia should work together for the development of the agrarian areas in the country.

While deliverjng a lecture on Agribusiness opportunities for Youth, Mr Osun Idowu, the Business Development Officer, ENABLE-TAAT, from the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) said that youth must acquire the necessary modern technical skills to drive agriculture for optimum productivity and transform the agriculture sector into a highly competitive one.

To wrap up the technical/brainstorming session, Mr Ramoni Afeez, Oyo State Director of Rural Development took the stage to provide a balanced perspective based on the problems highlighted and solutions recommended during the brainstorming session by each technical group (agriculture, education, health, infrastructure and research).

He further revealed governmental efforts and systems that have been put in place to ensure that the myriad of problems facing our rural communities are effectively tackled. He assured that the recommendations have been noted and would be forwarded to the appropriate quarters.

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