FUND-YES Cooperative introduces a food initiative with the aim of eliminating hunger.

The Food4All Initiative, launched by FUND-YES Cooperative, aims to combat hunger and enhance access to affordable, high-quality food in Nigeria. FUND-YES is a national grassroots movement, uniting youth and women entrepreneurs with a mission to alleviate unemployment, establish sustainable livelihoods, and eradicate extreme poverty through entrepreneurial endeavors.

The initiative was inaugurated in Lagos with notable figures such as Professor Pat Utomi, Kennedy Iyere, Patience Ozokwo (Mama G), Paul Obazele, Capt Evarest Nnaji (Odegene), Dr Orji Kanu Emmanuel, and Dr Emmanuel Mgbekwute as speakers. Fund-Yes Cooperative is overseen by a management committee co-chaired by Professor Utomi and Ambassador Josephine Ojiambo, a Rotary International Representative to UNICEF and former Deputy Secretary-General of the Commonwealth of Nations.

Kennedy Iyere, the CEO, highlighted that Fund-Yes is a subsidiary of the Youth Off The Street Initiative (YOTSI), a registered NGO in Nigeria dedicated to transforming unemployed youths into entrepreneurs, fostering resilience, and enabling successful business ownership.

Professor Utomi emphasized the critical link between food security and national security, stating that an adequately fed population is essential for realizing developmental goals. He stressed the significance of addressing hunger as a prerequisite for achieving broader societal objectives.

Iyere, an activist and philanthropist, warned of an alarming increase in hunger levels in Nigeria, describing it as a potential catalyst for social unrest. He expressed concerns about the government’s inadequate response to the hunger crisis, attributing it to rising food prices exacerbated by fuel subsidy removal.

The Food4All Initiative seeks to reverse this trend by engaging youths, women, families, and communities in agricultural entrepreneurship. The objective is to achieve sufficient food production, create employment, reduce unemployment, generate wealth, and eradicate household poverty.

Iyere outlined the initiative’s ambitious goals, including recruiting three million small-scale farmers and food entrepreneurs, predominantly comprising youths and women, within the first two years. The project aims to address the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals of eradicating extreme poverty and achieving zero hunger. Funding will be sourced from donors, development partners, private sector investors, and governments.

Highlighting the importance of agriculture, Iyere emphasized that it is the key to Nigeria’s economic recovery, growth, and development. With vast arable land and a large youth population, he envisions Nigeria becoming a major food producer, reducing unemployment, and positioning itself as a global economic powerhouse. Iyere called upon stakeholders worldwide to join this agricultural revolution.