Sports is majorly referred to as a global language, a language that cuts across race, age, sex, class, and nationality. Although sports is literally not a language, its general acceptance globally makes it seem so. Sports lovers can draw entertainment, pleasure, a sense of competition, and fulfillment from just the thought of partaking in the activity. Agriculture and sports are very interrelated as agriculture plays a huge role in the sports industry and in the activities that go on when many sports are played. Cast your mind back to the last time you were in a stadium or saw a game on TV. From the food and drinks consumed by many in the stands during the game to the grass where the game is played, the very stadium housing the sports, and more. Ball Sports like football, volleyball, etc. owe their very ball to agriculture. Agriculture has provided and is still providing food, logistics, etc for sports even in empty stadiums.
From Food production, Animal husbandry, Crops Retailing, and Transportation, Agriculture plays a far more crucial role to the economy and nature over sports. Unlike Sports, where most fans are youths (which represents a large percentage of Africa’s vibrant and literate population) Agriculture is more secluded to the aged and illiterate, a noble profession abandoned to obscurity due to misinformation and inadequacies. The mentality that farmers and Agric enthusiasts are largely poor and unattractive to society has seen many shy away from a gold mine that can generate and sustain wealth for ages. Agriculture is very essential as every person must feed, if there are no agricultural processes in place there would be a food scarcity problem and nobody plays sports on an empty stomach, there’ll be no cheering from the stands and no energy to go on.
For Agriculture to attain the level of popularity and acceptance sports has gained amongst youths, we have identified 5 areas the agricultural sector must borrow a leaf from the sporting world below.
- Interest
- Influence
- Funding
- Education
- Publicity
Kindly note that the Identified areas above have been discussed extensively on the blog, kindly click here to read more.
Investing and scaling in any or all the above will automatically yield an influx of youth participation and patronage of the green oil of Africa. One day we will move from sports arguments and football banter to which is the right word, corn or maize? Till then let’s keep engaging, informing, and educating our youths on agricultural processes, initiators, and disruptors changing the narrative of agriculture across Africa. Join the conversation as Cellulant hosts its inaugural AgriConnect Summit themed ‘Youth Employment in Nigeria: What Agriculture Can Learn from Sports’. Click here for Event Calendar.
The Summit brings together industry experts, seasoned professionals, and policy makers together under one umbrella to discuss and proffer practical solutions to issues concerning agriculture in Nigeria and its impact, opportunities, and how youths can plug in to create value for themselves.
