2024 ABUAD provides financial assistance and training to local start-ups

In 2024, ABUAD continued to provide incubation and community support programs by offering seed funding and free training to local entrepreneurs, with a particular focus on agriculture and improving access to food.

Over the past eight years (from 2015 to 2024), ABUAD has organized the Annual Agriculture Festival in Ado-Ekiti, known as ABAEX (Afe Babalola Agric Expo). The festival awards the best overall farmer in the state a prize of N2,500,000 (approximately USD $2,000), while the best farmers from each of the 16 local government areas of Ekiti State will get a sum of N250,000 each. As a key player in Nigeria’s agricultural sector, Babalola has received multiple awards in recognition of his contributions, including positions such as President of the Forestry Association of Nigeria, Africa Man of the Year in Food Security, Patron of the Agbekoya Farmers Association of Nigeria, Patron of the Fadama Association of Nigeria, and a member of AfricaRice, among others.

During the Afe Babalola Agric Expo 2023, ABUAD invested N11.2 million in farmers selected from the 16 Local Government Areas of Ekiti State. This aligns with the 2022 edition, which took place on October 8, 2023, when the overall best farmer was awarded N2,000,000. Notably, in the ABAEX2024 edition, ABUAD expended N34 million, which is over 200% more than the N13.2 million spent in 2022 on the farmers selected from the same 16 local government areas.

This financial assistance includes comprehensive training for farmers on new production technologies and the use of modern tools to enhance agricultural development. ABUAD’s aim is to support sustainable agriculture and agribusiness that not only ensures zero hunger but also contributes to job creation and wealth generation, ultimately working towards reducing poverty in the country. Click here for more information on Agric Expo 2023/24.

Afe Babalola Day, first celebrated on October 18, 2024, is an annual event in Ekiti State, Nigeria, to honor the legacy of Aare Afe Babalola, a prominent lawyer, philanthropist, and founder of Afe Babalola University. The day commemorates his significant contributions to law, education, agriculture, and community development. 

During the inaugural 2024 celebration, Afe Babalola demonstrated his strong support for economic empowerment in the society/community by donating N200 million to establish two cooperative societies (one for men and one for women).

• Philanthropy: Afe Babalola used the occasion of the first “Afe Babalola Day” to fund the creation of the cooperative societies.
• Economic Empowerment: The cooperative societies were specifically designed to provide members (artisans, farmers, and traders) with access to soft loans at a low 5% interest rate, a stark contrast to the high rates charged by commercial banks.
• Poverty Alleviation: Babalola’s initiative aims to lift people out of poverty and unemployment by enabling them to start or expand small-scale businesses.
• Advocacy: He has consistently urged farmers to form cooperative societies to access institutional support and loans from banks like the Bank of Agriculture to acquire modern farming equipment. 

In essence, the 2024 Afe Babalola Day served as the launchpad for a major cooperative society initiative, highlighting his belief in the cooperative model as a tool for inclusive economic growth and sustainable development in Nigeria

https://www.sunnewsonline.com/farming-key-to-nigerias-greatness-says-afe-babalola

https://guardian.ng/news/afe-babalola-blames-hunger-poverty-on-neglect-of-agriculture/

https://sdg.abuad.edu.ng/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/ABAEX-Report-for-2023.pdf

Similarly, ABUAD has (from 2019 through 2024) been running the Youth Empowerment in Agri-business & Sustainable Agriculture (YEASA) Scheme, which aims to provide free education and training on agribusiness to 1,000 youths from low-income backgrounds in modern agricultural techniques. The program has already graduated 3 cohorts of young, technically smart, and well-trained agri-entrepreneurs who have received significant financial donations from Babalola, which has enabled them to start their own agricultural ventures. The Youth Empowerment in Agribusiness and Sustainable Agriculture’s Report from 2019 to 2024 is contained below:

In like manner, so many youths were empowered in 2024 through the ABUAD/UNESCO chair in Entrepreneurship Education for Sustainable Development. Below is the report for 2024

Related posts:

Afe Babalola splashes N13.2m on farmers, wants agric bank

https://punchng.com/afe-babalola-splashes-n13-2m-on-farmers-wants-agric-bank/

·     IITA and Afe Babalola University sign MoU to help Africa

https://reliefweb.int/report/world/iita-and-afe-babalola-university-sign-mou-help-africa

·       UNESCO, Leading Nigerian Private University awards ADG Africa, http://www.unesco.org/new/en/member-states/single-view/news/leading_nigerian_private_university_awards_adg_africa-1/

·           Afe Babalola urges FG to assist private universities https://punchng.com/afe-babalola-urges-fg-to-assist-private-universities/

 ·       ABUAD, UNESCO train Ekiti youths on agripreneurship

https://guardian.ng/news/abuad-unesco-train-ekiti-youths-on-agripreneurship/

·            Afe Babalola varsity empowers unemployed graduates