Why Agribusiness Needs Culture: Gbenga Eyiolawi on Connecting Food Systems with Youth Aspirations

For years, discussions around agribusiness in Nigeria have been dominated by yields, logistics, subsidies, and supply gaps. While these are critical considerations, they tell only part of the story. What is often missing is the human dimension culture. Without culture, agribusiness struggles to attract young talent, foster innovation, and remain relevant beyond policy papers and boardroom meetings. Nigeria’s food future will not be secured by infrastructure alone. It will be secured by people, particularly young people who must see themselves reflected in the system.

The Cultural Disconnect in Agribusiness

Across campuses and youth spaces, agriculture is still too often viewed as a fallback career rather than a frontier of opportunity. This perception is not rooted in reality; it is rooted in storytelling. Young people live immersed in culture, music, fashion, technology, and social media but agribusiness rarely speaks in a language they understand or value. When an industry fails to engage with the cultural frameworks of its future workforce, it risks long-term irrelevance. This is not a skills gap, it is a connection gap.

Culture as an Entry Point, Not a Distraction

Culture is not a distraction from “serious” sectors like food systems, it is the entry point. Culture shapes aspiration. It influences what young people notice, what they value, and what they believe is possible.

By having conversations with youth through culturally resonant platforms, events, conversations, and shared experiences, agribusiness can shift from being seen as an outdated necessity to a modern, innovative pathway. When students encounter agriculture in spaces that feel familiar and inspiring, the industry stops being abstract and begins to feel personal.

Meeting Youth Where They Are

The lesson from years of campus engagement is clear, young people respond when institutions show up authentically, not with lectures, but with presence; not with slogans, but with consistency.

This principle guided initiatives by Titan Farms Nigeria Limited, where youth engagement was never treated as a mere corporate social responsibility exercise, but as long-term ecosystem building. The goal was not to entertain, but to create spaces where students could see food systems as arenas for creativity, leadership, entrepreneurship, and meaningful impact.

Agribusiness as a Platform for Aspiration

Modern agribusiness intersects with technology, logistics, sustainability, finance, and policy, the very domains young people are eager to influence, if they can see a clear pathway. By embedding agribusiness narratives within cultural spaces, the sector can unlock aspirational stories such as:
Farming as a data-driven enterprise
Logistics as innovation and systems design

Food distribution as scalable social impact

Framed this way, agribusiness becomes aspirational rather than remedial.
From Operators to Institution Builders
The next generation of agribusiness leaders will be those who think beyond operations and toward institutions. Institutions are built not only with assets and systems, but with shared meaning. Culture creates that meaning, t is how industries sustain themselves across generations. Engaging youth through culture is not a marketing tactic; it is succession planning for an entire sector.

A Call for a Broader Conversation

If Nigeria is serious about food security, youth employment, and economic resilience, agribusiness must expand its vocabulary. We must speak of culture alongside capital, and aspiration alongside productivity. The food systems of tomorrow will be built by young people who feel seen, invited, and inspired today. Culture is how that invitation begins.

Gbenga Eyiolawi is an agribusiness entrepreneur and youth-development advocate dedicated to building sustainable food systems through innovation, institutional thinking, and long-term human capital investment.