{"id":24079,"date":"2025-06-02T12:25:06","date_gmt":"2025-06-02T12:25:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/theblogonline.com\/?p=24079"},"modified":"2025-06-02T12:31:31","modified_gmt":"2025-06-02T12:31:31","slug":"lagos-unveils-%e2%82%a6150-million-agrithon-2025-to-drive-youth-innovation-in-agriculture","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theblogonline.com\/?p=24079","title":{"rendered":"Lagos Unveils \u20a6150 Million Agrithon 2025 to Drive Youth Innovation in Agriculture"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s2\">The Lagos State Government, through the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Systems, has officially launched the <\/span><span class=\"s1\">Lagos Agrithon 2025<\/span><span class=\"s2\">, a youth-focused innovation challenge aimed at tackling food insecurity and transforming the state\u2019s agrifood sector.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s2\">Speaking at a press briefing on Monday, June 2, the Honourable Commissioner for Agriculture and Food Systems, <\/span><span class=\"s1\">Ms. Abisola Olusanya<\/span><span class=\"s2\">, highlighted the urgency of reshaping Lagos\u2019 food landscape. With the state consuming more food than any other in Nigeria but producing less than 30% of its food needs, she said the time to act boldly is now.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s2\">\u201cLagos Agrithon is more than a contest. It is a movement \u2014 a platform for bold ideas, youth-led innovation, and scalable solutions to tackle both present and future food challenges,\u201d Olusanya stated.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s2\">According to the Commissioner, the 2025 edition of Lagos Agrithon features an expanded <\/span><span class=\"s1\">\u20a6150 million grant pool<\/span><span class=\"s2\">, which will be awarded to <\/span><span class=\"s1\">at least 35 promising agrifood startups and innovators<\/span><span class=\"s2\"> operating across key value chains within the state.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Key Features of Lagos Agrithon 2025:<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p5\"><span class=\"s2\"> \u2022 <\/span><span class=\"s1\">Open to youth aged 18\u201340<\/span><span class=\"s2\"> with startups between 0\u20135 years old.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p5\"><span class=\"s2\"> \u2022 Must be <\/span><span class=\"s1\">Lagos-based<\/span><span class=\"s2\"> or have measurable impact within Lagos.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p5\"><span class=\"s2\"> \u2022 Must be <\/span><span class=\"s1\">registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC)<\/span><span class=\"s2\"> and enrolled with <\/span><span class=\"s1\">LASSRA<\/span><span class=\"s2\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p5\"><span class=\"s2\"> \u2022 Target sectors include <\/span><span class=\"s1\">climate-smart agriculture, food processing, precision farming, Agri-fintech, logistics, market access, and food traceability<\/span><span class=\"s2\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p5\"><span class=\"s2\">The Commissioner noted that this year\u2019s programme builds on the success of the 2024 edition, which supported 26 youth-led agribusinesses with a total of \u20a6100 million. New additions for 2025 include:<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p5\"><span class=\"s2\"> \u2022 <\/span><span class=\"s1\">Virtual and physical pitch sessions<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p5\"><span class=\"s2\"> \u2022 <\/span><span class=\"s1\">Mentorship support to strengthen business models<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p5\"><span class=\"s2\"> \u2022 A <\/span><span class=\"s1\">Grand Finale<\/span><span class=\"s2\"> during the <\/span><span class=\"s1\">Lagos Agrinnovation Summit 2.0<\/span><span class=\"s2\">, where winners will be announced and connected with investors, industry leaders, and policymakers.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Application Process:<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s2\">Interested applicants must fill out an <\/span><span class=\"s1\">online registration form<\/span><span class=\"s2\"> and submit a <\/span><span class=\"s1\">pitch deck<\/span><span class=\"s2\"> that outlines the problem they\u2019re solving, their proposed solution, and expected impact. Full application details are available on the <\/span><span class=\"s1\">Lagos Agrinnovation<\/span><span class=\"s2\"> and <\/span><span class=\"s1\">Ministry of Agriculture<\/span><span class=\"s2\"> websites.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s2\">Entries will be judged based on:<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p5\"><span class=\"s2\"> \u2022 Innovation and originality<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p5\"><span class=\"s2\"> \u2022 Feasibility and relevance<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p5\"><span class=\"s2\"> \u2022 Market viability and impact<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p5\"><span class=\"s2\"> \u2022 Sustainability<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p5\"><span class=\"s2\"> \u2022 Clarity and strength of the team<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p5\"><span class=\"s2\">Olusanya emphasized that Lagos Agrithon is a strategic investment in the future of the state\u2019s food ecosystem, designed to foster resilience, economic growth, and food security despite challenges such as urbanization and climate change.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p5\"><span class=\"s2\">She urged young innovators, development partners, investors, educators, and the media to support the initiative, noting that collaborative efforts are key to building a sustainable food system for Lagos.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s2\">\u201cLagos Agrithon 2025 is not just a programme. It is a strategic response to a real and growing challenge. It is an investment in the minds and hands that will feed our future,\u201d she concluded.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Lagos State Government, through the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Systems, has officially launched the Lagos Agrithon 2025, a youth-focused innovation challenge aimed at tackling food insecurity and transforming the state\u2019s agrifood sector.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":24081,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[338,9061,138,9643,10810],"class_list":["post-24079","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-metro","tag-agriculture","tag-agrithon","tag-lagos","tag-olusanya","tag-youth-innovation"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/theblogonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24079"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/theblogonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/theblogonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theblogonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theblogonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=24079"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/theblogonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24079\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24083,"href":"https:\/\/theblogonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24079\/revisions\/24083"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theblogonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/24081"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/theblogonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=24079"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theblogonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=24079"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theblogonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=24079"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}