VIDEO: 85 Ijesa youth agribusiness graduates @ graduation ceremony
11: How the First Asiwaju of Ijesaland, Asiwaju Yinka Fasuyi, Initiated the Leventis Partnership That Trained 85 Ijesa Youths in Agribusiness
A successful community development project does not begin with mobilisation. It begins with an idea—an idea born from the ability to identify a problem, examine its underlying causes, conceive an appropriate solution and develop a feasible strategy for achieving the desired result.
This first phase, the Project Idea, Initiative and Conceptualisation Phase, is fundamental to the success of any intervention. Without someone identifying the problem and originating a workable solution, there would be no clear objective around which to mobilise stakeholders, no structured plan to execute and ultimately no project to implement.
This principle is central to understanding the intervention by Asiwaju Olayinka Fasuyi, Asiwaju of Ijesaland, in opening up agricultural training opportunities for young people across Ijesaland through a partnership between the Ijesa Community Development Assembly (ICDA) and the Leventis Foundation Agricultural Training School in Ilesa, Osun State.
For 32 years, the Leventis Foundation School of Agriculture had operated in Ilesa, yet, according to the account provided for this milestone, fewer than three students from Ijesaland had been admitted before Fasuyi's intervention in 2024. The situation presented a clear community-development question: how could an agricultural training institution located within Ijesaland continue to operate without its young people adequately benefiting from the opportunities it offered?
The problem was not the absence of a training institution. The school was already there. The missing link was an effective initiative to secure meaningful access for Ijesa youths and connect the institution's training capacity to the community's pressing needs, particularly youth unemployment, poverty and the need for sustainable livelihoods.
Moreso, for three consecutive years, Leventis Foundation School of Agriculture remained closed following the failure of the Osun State Government, which had been providing financial support for its operations, to remit any funds to the institution. By the fourth year, the school was on the verge of permanent closure. At this critical point, Asiwaju Olayinka Fasuyi intervened, engaging the school’s management in Ilesa and subsequently meeting with the Board of Directors in Abuja. Through sustained advocacy, negotiation and strategic engagement, he persuaded the Board to abandon the closure plan and reopen the institution for an intensive one-year Agripreneurship Training Programme. In a remarkable demonstration of his negotiating skills, Fasuyi further secured an exceptional arrangement in 2024 under which all 100 admission slots were reserved exclusively for indigenes of Ijesaland, departing from the Foundation’s longstanding policy of admitting students from across Nigeria’s 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory—a policy that would ordinarily have allocated Osun State only three slots. Consequently, the 100 students admitted that year were drawn entirely from the six local government areas of Ijesaland, with 85 successfully completing the one-year programme and graduating as trained agripreneurs.
Fasuyi's response began with identifying these gaps and developing a strategy to address it. In 2024, he engaged the school's management in Ilesa and subsequently its Board of Directors in Abuja, pursuing an arrangement that would enable qualified Ijesa youths to gain access to the training programme. The outcome, according to the information supplied for this report, was an arrangement that secured admission opportunities for Ijesa candidates in 2024.
This was the originating intervention. The subsequent partnership, community participation, training programme, graduation and financial empowerment of selected beneficiaries must be understood as successive stages of an initiative that began with identifying an overlooked opportunity and developing a practical solution.
The distinction matters. Mobilisation is essential, but it cannot replace the initial thinking that gives mobilisation a purpose. Recognising the people who participate in implementing a project should not mean overlooking the person who identifies the problem and initiates
The partnership created a structured platform through which the identified problem could be addressed and the proposed solution translated into a programme with measurable outcomes.
85 Ijesa Youths Graduate in December 2024
The first major outcome became evident on Thursday, December 12, 2024, when 85 Ijesa youths from the six local government areas of Ijesaland graduated as part of a total of 96 students at the school's 30th graduation ceremony.
The beneficiaries completed training in several areas of agriculture and agribusiness, including crop production, animal husbandry, fisheries, poultry, piggery, vegetable and fruit production, cash crops, agricultural engineering and beekeeping.
The programme combined classroom instruction with practical field experience, preparing the trainees to apply improved agricultural techniques and develop productive ventures. The school's training approach placed considerable emphasis on practical learning, equipping participants with skills relevant to real agricultural operations.
The graduation was more than a ceremonial event. It provided tangible evidence that the initiative had moved from identifying a community problem to securing access, establishing a partnership and producing trained beneficiaries.
At the ceremony, representatives of traditional institutions, community organisations, government and the Leventis Foundation joined the graduates to celebrate the milestone.
Dr Felix Obhiye Obinyan, representing Dr Hope Usieta, Executive Director of Leventis Foundation Nigeria, described the occasion as the first of its kind in Nigeria. He encouraged the graduates to apply their knowledge diligently, remain committed to hard work and use their acquired skills to build productive agricultural ventures.
He also expressed the Foundation's willingness to continue engaging with the community and state government to support the trainees' transition into productive agriculture.
The Special Assistant to the Osun State Governor on Agriculture, Hon. Olaniyan Akanfe, gave assurances of continued state government support in the provision of agricultural inputs to the school and encouraged the graduates to put their training to practical use.
HRM Oba Kehinde Oyeleye, Ogboni of Ipole-Ijesa and President of the Ijesa South Council of Traditional Rulers, similarly urged the beneficiaries to make good use of the opportunity.
The graduation lecture was delivered by Dr Abiodun Olasore, while awards and prizes were presented to outstanding male and female students and top performers across several areas of agricultural training.
From Training to Enterprise: Addressing the Capital Challenge
Fasuyi's intervention did not end with the graduation of the first batch. Acknowledging that technical knowledge alone might not be sufficient to establish a viable agribusiness, ICDA subsequently pursued additional support for graduates seeking to put their skills into practice.
One of the major obstacles confronting young entrepreneurs is access to start-up capital. A trainee may acquire the necessary knowledge and practical skills but still struggle to establish a business without financial resources, equipment or working capital.
To address this challenge, ICDA initiated further measures to support graduates of the programme, including a revolving-loan arrangement and financial assistance for agribusiness ventures.
On April 7, 2025, ICDA held an interactive session with former trainees at the school in Ilesa. The engagement focused on supporting their entrepreneurial aspirations and examining how financial assistance could help them expand existing investments or establish productive ventures.
At the meeting, Fasuyi explained that patriotic Ijesa sons and daughters had contributed money towards the initiative and that the funds had been deposited with a microfinance bank for disbursement as repayable loans. He encouraged the beneficiaries to form cooperative groups and stressed that repayment was necessary to sustain the scheme and enable other young people to benefit.
The revolving-loan concept was intended to create a continuing cycle of support rather than a one-off intervention. By recovering and reusing the funds, ICDA could potentially extend the opportunity to successive groups of trained youths.
The initiative reflected an important development principle: empowerment is more effective when training is linked to a practical pathway towards applying the acquired knowledge.
38 Young Agripreneurs Receive Grants
The intervention subsequently advanced through another form of financial empowerment.
In a further effort to address the capital needs of young agricultural entrepreneurs, ICDA, in partnership with the Leventis Foundation Agricultural Training School, provided non-refundable grants to 38 young agripreneurs who participated in the 2024 training programme.
The beneficiaries were to apply the grants to ventures in different areas of agriculture, including crop production, poultry, fisheries, piggery, cassava and plantain farming, among others.
At the empowerment ceremony, representatives of ICDA urged the beneficiaries to exercise discipline, focus and accountability in managing the funds. Reverend Lowo Adebiyi, representing Fasuyi, and Chief Afolabi Igbaroola, Chairman of the ICDA-Leventis Partnership Committee, emphasised the need to use the resources for the purposes for which they were provided.
The beneficiaries were required to sign formal agreements committing themselves to responsible use of the funds. They were also warned that mismanagement or failure to demonstrate tangible progress could jeopardise access to future opportunities.
The Principal of the school commended ICDA's proactive role in youth development and encouraged the young entrepreneurs to remain focused and committed.
Some of the beneficiaries, including Olapade Vincent, Adewusi Seyi, Emmanuel John and Awogbami Faith, expressed appreciation to ICDA and the Leventis Foundation, describing the support as an important opportunity to become more self-reliant and productive.
The grants represented a further stage in the progression from identifying a problem to developing a solution, delivering training and supporting selected beneficiaries as they sought to establish or strengthen agribusiness ventures.
Evidence of Community Impact
The wider significance of the initiative was also reflected in reports of the activities of former trainees.
At the April 2025 interactive session, Dr Popoola observed that some graduates were already making progress in agriculture. He cited the impact of dry-season vegetable farming, remarking that increased production by former trainees had contributed to a reduction in vegetable prices in Ilesa between December and the time of the meeting.
He also recounted the transformation of a former student who had struggled to adapt to the school's programme. According to the Principal, the young man subsequently began a poultry enterprise with a carton of day-old chicks and had expanded his activity through successive cycles of brooding and sales.
These accounts illustrate the potential of practical training when beneficiaries receive the opportunity to apply what they have learned. They also demonstrate why youth-development interventions should be assessed not only by the number of participants trained, but by the extent to which the training helps them engage in productive economic activity.
While individual examples do not, by themselves, establish the overall economic impact of the programme, they provide encouraging indications of how agricultural skills can support livelihoods and local economic activity.
Leadership by Example: Identifying the Problem and Initiating a Solution
The ICDA-Leventis intervention reflects Fasuyi's approach to leadership by example through his identification of an overlooked community need, direct engagement with the relevant institution and pursuit of an arrangement designed to expand access for Ijesa youths.
The distinction between initiative and mobilisation is particularly important in this case. The Leventis Foundation Agricultural Training School had been located in Ilesa for decades. The community's young people needed greater access to the opportunities available there, yet that gap had persisted.
Fasuyi's intervention began by confronting the problem and developing a practical strategy. Engagement with the school management and its Board of Directors preceded the wider implementation of the partnership. The institutional collaboration, community participation and subsequent empowerment measures were necessary to deliver the intended benefits, but they followed the originating effort to address the access problem.
This sequence deserves to be properly documented. Giving credit to the originator of an initiative does not diminish the role of those who later contribute to it. Instead, it allows the history of the project to reflect the distinct contributions that collectively brought it to fruition.
Vision: Connecting Agriculture to Youth Employment
The initiative also demonstrates a development vision that treats agriculture as an economic opportunity rather than merely a subsistence activity.
By connecting young people to structured agricultural training and subsequently supporting selected graduates with financial resources, the programme sought to encourage a new generation of agripreneurs capable of contributing to food production, enterprise development and employment.
The training covered different areas of agriculture, giving beneficiaries opportunities to explore crop production, livestock, fisheries, poultry, piggery and other ventures. Such diversity allows trainees to consider different entry points into the agricultural value chain according to their interests, resources and circumstances.
The programme's longer-term promise lies in the possibility that trained youths will build sustainable businesses, create employment and contribute to food security and economic development in Ijesaland and beyond.
Integrity, Transparency and Accountability
The partnership-based structure of the initiative provided a framework for delivering specialised training through an established institution. It connected ICDA's community-development objectives with the school's agricultural training capacity and the wider support of the Leventis Foundation.
Accountability was further reflected in the progression from training to follow-up engagement and financial empowerment. The April 2025 interactive session provided an opportunity to engage graduates, examine their needs and consider ways to help them expand their economic activities.
The revolving-loan arrangement also placed emphasis on responsible use and repayment so that the resources could continue serving other beneficiaries. The requirement for formal agreements attached to the subsequent grants similarly reinforced the expectation that support should translate into tangible productive activity.
These measures demonstrate the importance of linking community-development spending to clearly defined objectives and a pathway towards results.
Sustaining the Initiative: The 2026 Agripreneurship Programme
The intervention has also developed beyond the first graduating cohort.
ICDA and the Leventis Foundation Agricultural Training School subsequently announced a 2026 agripreneurship training programme aimed at equipping additional Ijesa youths with agricultural and entrepreneurial skills.
The programme was advertised as a fully sponsored, one-year opportunity providing successful candidates with tuition, training materials, accommodation, daily meals and monthly stipends throughout the training period.
It was designed to reduce the financial barriers that often prevent young people from accessing specialised training and to prepare participants for careers or businesses in agriculture.
Erelu Adejumoke Olafadehan, Coordinator of the ICDA-Leventis Partnership, explained that the initiative was intended to reach eligible youths across Ijesaland. The programme called on towns and communities to nominate qualified candidates, with the aim of ensuring that the opportunity was distributed across the region.
The partnership also envisaged support for willing graduates through access to financial credits and grants to help them establish viable agribusiness ventures after completing their training.
This continuing programme is important because it demonstrates that the original intervention was not conceived solely as a one-time event. It established a framework through which further cohorts of Ijesa youths could gain access to training and, potentially, enterprise support.
Building Self-Reliant Young Ijesa Entrepreneurs
The ICDA-Leventis partnership represents more than an agricultural training programme. It is a structured response to a community challenge, connecting access to education with practical skills, institutional collaboration and opportunities for enterprise development.
The graduation of 85 Ijesa youths in December 2024 marked an important early outcome. Subsequent engagement with former trainees, the revolving-loan initiative, grants to 38 young agripreneurs and the announcement of a further training programme extended the intervention beyond the classroom.
The milestone also illustrates the importance of following the complete sequence of community development: identifying a problem, conceiving a feasible solution, initiating engagement with relevant institutions, establishing partnerships, mobilising support, delivering the programme and pursuing sustainable outcomes.
For Ijesaland, the potential benefit lies in expanding access to specialised agricultural education, strengthening youth participation in agribusiness and creating opportunities for more productive livelihoods.
For the record of Asiwaju Olayinka Fasuyi's decade of service, the intervention demonstrates why the origin of an initiative matters. The challenge of limited access to the Leventis Foundation Agricultural Training School existed before the 2024 intervention. The turning point was the decision to confront that challenge, engage the institution's management and Board of Directors, and pursue a solution that enabled Ijesa youths to benefit more meaningfully from the school's training opportunities.
The contributions of ICDA, the Leventis Foundation, the school's management, community supporters, traditional rulers and other stakeholders remain important to the outcome. Recognising those contributions should go hand in hand with documenting the initiative that set the process in motion.
Ultimately, this milestone reflects a development philosophy in which vision identifies the opportunity, initiative gives it direction, partnership provides a framework for action, mobilisation brings people and resources together, and accountability helps sustain the results.
The ICDA-Leventis agricultural training initiative therefore stands as an important milestone in Fasuyi's decade of stewardship, particularly in youth empowerment, human-capital development, agripreneurship and the pursuit of sustainable economic opportunities for Ijesaland.
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