Agriculture Will Produce Next Generation Billionaires In Africa –AfDB President, Adesina

The President of Africa Development Bank (AfDB) Adewumi Adesina, while delivering the 14th convocation of Bowen University lecture in Iwo, Osun State said the agricultural sector would be producing the next generation billionaires in Nigeria and the rest of Africa if properly nurtured.

Adding that that one of the important areas ripe for entrepreneurship is the agricultural sector,  stressing that the size of Agribusiness in the continent would be worth $1 trillion by 2030.

Adesina paper was titled; “Africa’s Future: Positioning University to Nurture Develop Entrepreneurial Initiative”.

He stated millionaires and billionaires of Africa will not come from oil and gas but from agriculture.   Adesina added measure of the growth  of countries of the world should not be limited to the Gross Domestic product, saying that it should begin to be measured based on the contributions of the youths of a country to it GDP.

He added that this would make many countries to support small and medium sized enterprises of the youth.   He also said Nigeria needs to set up a National science and Innovation Fund and set aside 20 percent of its earnings on oil to drive innovation for faster tech enabled growth. He said with this being in place, it would help power the Nigeria of the future.

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The ADB president also advocated for a structured institutional arrangements for supporting the development and commercialisation of innovations.

He said,  “one of the important areas ripe for entrepreneurship is the agriculture sector.  The size of food and agribusiness in Africa by 2030 will be worth $1 trillion.

The universities should move beyond agricultural science to agriculture as a business because future millionaires and billionaires of Africa will not come from Oil and gas but from agriculture.

 

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