By JUSTINA AUTA

Heifer Nigeria, an international NGO, has unveiled the 2026 AYuTe Nigeria Challenge, offering 40,000 dollars to support youth-led agritech innovations, transform Nigeria’s food system and improve smallholder farmers’ incomes.

The disclosure was made on Thursday in Abuja during the unveiling of the 2026 annual Agriculture, Youth and Technology (AYuTe) initiative, themed “Catalysing Youth-Led Innovation to Transform Nigeria’s Food Systems”.

Dr Lekan Tobe, Country Director, Heifer Nigeria, said the 2026 edition would focus on identifying innovations that are technically feasible, climate-smart and capable of delivering tangible value to smallholder farmers who drive Nigeria’s agri-economy.

“The future of our nation’s food security lies in the innovation and energy of our youth.

“We also believe that the challenges facing our food systems, ranging from climate change to supply chain inefficiencies, require modern yet local solutions,” he said.

According to him, the organisation would provide financial and technical resources to transform youth-led, technology-driven ideas into scalable tools capable of strengthening Nigeria’s agricultural value chain.

“We are looking for solutions that address the real-world hurdles our farmers face every day, from climate resilience to supply chain efficiency and access to innovative finance and premium markets.

“Our goal this year is to find those ideas that address the real problems our farmers face every day.

“The success stories of our past winners serve as proof that the talent exists within this country to revolutionise agriculture and we want to find those groundbreaking innovations,” he added.

Also speaking, Mr Chuba Ezeigwe, Communications Manager, Heifer Nigeria, said the AYuTe Nigeria Challenge, which began in 2022, had attracted over 2,000 entries across editions.

He said the grand prize winner would receive 20,000 dollars, while the first runner-up and second runner-up would receive 12,000 dollars and 8,000 dollars, respectively.

Ezeigwe explained that the application portal for the 2026 challenge opened on Jan. 22 and would close on March 14, with more information available at www.ayute.africa/Nigeria for interested agripreneurs.

He added that successful participants would also receive post-award business advisory support to help translate their ideas into viable expansion strategies.

“By amplifying youth-led innovations, we are showing that young people are the architects of Nigeria’s agri-future. We are empowering changemakers to create jobs while solving the daily needs and challenges of smallholder farmers,” he said.

In his remarks, Mustapha Abokede, Venture Lead at Wennovation Hub, the project’s technical partner, said the partnership was designed to identify farmer-centric technologies that could withstand market realities.

“We are moving beyond basic incubation to provide rigorous venture support.

“By focusing on technical feasibility and economic suitability, we ensure these youth-led agritech solutions can scale aggressively.

“Our goal is to empower changemakers to build a more resilient food system that offers a clear path to prosperity for Nigeria’s smallholder farmers,” he said.

Meanwhile, Seyi Alabi, AYuTe 2025 winner and Founder of Crop2Cash, said the support from Heifer had enabled him to empower smallholder farmers through mobile-based access to financing while introducing new products in the sector.

“Winning the AYuTE challenge opened door for more opportunities for my business and we have been able to expand operations in Kano, Kaduna and other regions.

“Our supply chain also increased and we expanded our warehouse from five to nine within this short period, as well as designed a new product,” he said.

Similarly, Ms Deborah Oigocho, 2025 second runner-up and Co-Founder of Erido Agro, said emerging as one of the winners had boosted her pursuit of investment opportunities and expanded her reach to over 1,000 smallholder farmers.

She said, “we have also launched our platform, which gives farmers access to imputs markets and tech solutions boosting their productivities and incomes.

“We also opened a rice processing plants that provide a ready market for local rice farmers in Benue state and enhanced the rice value chain.

“We also empowered farmers to manage finances, secure and store their produce and access profits.

“We are so grateful for this platform, because this gave us the opportunity to kick-start and do big things in the agricultural market and drive sustainability for smaller farmers in business”.

The AYuTe Africa Challenge Nigeria is an enterprise development programme initiated by Heifer International to identify, nurture and support innovative, relevant and technology-driven agri-centric enterprises through national competitions.

The initiative awards up to 40,000 dollars in each participating country, including Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Tanzania and Uganda. (NAN)

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