The Founder of Star Farmers Hub, Mr. Michael Shenge, has said that young agripreneurs, innovators, and changemakers represent the hope for building profitable agricultural value chains in Benue State.
Shenge made the statement on Friday in Makurdi during the opening of the Agro Start-ups Conference, organised to promote innovation, collaboration, and youth participation in agribusiness.
He said the future of agriculture would not be built by government alone but through the efforts of creative start-ups, strategic partnerships, and bold ideas.
The conference convener described agripreneurs and innovators as the “missing link between farm and market, between policy and practice, and between potential and prosperity.”
According to him, young people possess the fresh ideas needed to improve traditional farming and marketing practices, making agriculture more attractive and profitable.
“There is a need for stakeholders to cross-fertilise ideas and work in synergy to achieve our shared goals,” Shenge said.
He highlighted the power of collaboration in driving transformation across the agricultural value chain.
“At Star Farmers Hub, we have seen what collaboration can do. When young people come together to solve problems in the agricultural value chain, transformation begins,” he said.
“The honey producer meets the package designer. The cassava processor meets the logistics start-up. The farmer meets the investor. That is the kind of connection we want this conference to spark.”
Shenge said the platform aims to create pathways for certification, access to finance, government engagement, and value addition, noting that “the future of our food system depends on how we nurture today’s agro start-ups.”
“To the government, we are not here to complain; we are here to collaborate. We are building solutions on the ground — we simply need support, structure, and synergy,” he added.
He encouraged young agripreneurs to begin with what they have, stressing that progress starts with small, determined steps.
“You don’t need to have it all to start. Just start with what you have, where you are, and grow from there,” he advised.
BARP Calls for Innovation, Collaboration in Agriculture
In his remarks, the Benue Agricultural Revolution Programme (BARP) Secretariat Lead, Mr. Samuel Agwa, emphasised the urgent need to innovate and positively influence the food system with a sense of responsibility and sustainability.
Agwa said new businesses and technologies must fill existing gaps in the agricultural value chain — from production to consumption — to ensure optimal use of resources and improved productivity.
“BARP, as an elite think tank of Governor Hyacinth Alia, strongly believes that start-ups, if properly mentored and networked, can shape a prosperous future for Benue, Nigeria, and beyond,” he said.
He described start-ups as the real front-runners of food security, provided challenges such as policy inconsistency, financing gaps, and weak ecosystems are addressed in a holistic manner.
“With the conversations expected at this conference, BARP hopes to see a common ground that sustains mentorship, innovation hubs, off-taking, ideation, and funding,” he stated.
Agwa said the programme expects the conference to produce a practical framework for supporting start-ups, including a special funding pool with mechanisms for scaling up successful ventures.
He commended Star Farmers Hub for organising the conference, describing it as both “impactful and transformative.”
Stakeholders Develop Communiqué for Agricultural Synergy
It was reported that Dr. Teryima Iorlamen of Joseph Sarwuan Tarka University, Makurdi, facilitated the training session during the conference.
Dr. Iorlamen guided participants in developing a communiqué in which stakeholders resolved to promote synergy and strengthen collaboration across all segments of the agricultural value chain.
