{"id":14576,"date":"2025-06-02T12:36:40","date_gmt":"2025-06-02T12:36:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thenewsnow.org\/?p=14576"},"modified":"2025-06-02T12:38:15","modified_gmt":"2025-06-02T12:38:15","slug":"agric","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thenewsnow.org\/index.php\/2025\/06\/02\/agric\/","title":{"rendered":"LAGOS STATE LAUNCHES \u20a6150 MILLION AGRITHON 2025 TO BOOST YOUTH-LED INNOVATION IN AGRICULTURE"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Lagos State Government, through the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Systems, has officially launched the <\/span>Lagos Agrithon 2025<\/span>, a youth-focused innovation challenge aimed at tackling food insecurity and transforming the state\u2019s agrifood sector.<\/span><\/p>\n

Speaking at a press briefing on Monday, June 2, the Honourable Commissioner for Agriculture and Food Systems, <\/span>Ms. Abisola Olusanya<\/span>, 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

\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

According to the Commissioner, the 2025 edition of Lagos Agrithon features an expanded <\/span>\u20a6150 million grant pool<\/span>, which will be awarded to <\/span>at least 35 promising agrifood startups and innovators<\/span> operating across key value chains within the state.<\/span><\/p>\n

Key Features of Lagos Agrithon 2025:<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2022 <\/span>Open to youth aged 18\u201340<\/span> with startups between 0\u20135 years old.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2022 Must be <\/span>Lagos-based<\/span> or have measurable impact within Lagos.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2022 Must be <\/span>registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC)<\/span> and enrolled with <\/span>LASSRA<\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2022 Target sectors include <\/span>climate-smart agriculture, food processing, precision farming, Agri-fintech, logistics, market access, and food traceability<\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n

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

\u2022 <\/span>Virtual and physical pitch sessions<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2022 <\/span>Mentorship support to strengthen business models<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2022 A <\/span>Grand Finale<\/span> during the <\/span>Lagos Agrinnovation Summit 2.0<\/span>, where winners will be announced and connected with investors, industry leaders, and policymakers.<\/span><\/p>\n

Application Process:<\/span><\/p>\n

Interested applicants must fill out an <\/span>online registration form<\/span> and submit a <\/span>pitch deck<\/span> that outlines the problem they\u2019re solving, their proposed solution, and expected impact. Full application details are available on the <\/span>Lagos Agrinnovation<\/span> and <\/span>Ministry of Agriculture<\/span> websites.<\/span><\/p>\n

Entries will be judged based on:<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2022 Innovation and originality<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2022 Feasibility and relevance<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2022 Market viability and impact<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2022 Sustainability<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2022 Clarity and strength of the team<\/span><\/p>\n

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

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

\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":"

The Lagos State Government, through the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Systems, has officially launched the Lagos Agrithon 2025, a<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":14574,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14576","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-from-the-grassroots"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thenewsnow.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14576","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thenewsnow.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thenewsnow.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thenewsnow.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thenewsnow.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14576"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/thenewsnow.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14576\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14580,"href":"https:\/\/thenewsnow.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14576\/revisions\/14580"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thenewsnow.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14574"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thenewsnow.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14576"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thenewsnow.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14576"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thenewsnow.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14576"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}