Prof Mbarika applauds Biya’s message to youth.

The United States-based endowed university don gave the charge while reacting to President Biya’s February 10, 2026 message to the youth.

The Head of State, in his traditional Youth Day message, had urged young Cameroonians to take advantage of the numerous opportunities in the agriculture sector.

Taking the cue, Prof Mbarika, whose ICT University is currently running a multi-billion e-agriculture project, said the agriculture sector is key to the country’s growth.

In his brief, yet, pregnant message to the youth, Prof Mbarika, who sits atop the Board of Trustees of the ICT University, described Cameroonian youth as not only the strength of the nation but the architects of its future.

Prof Mbarika quoted the Head of State as noting that “many of you are excelling in agricultural processing…where you start-up businesses and create jobs each day”.

For the US-based Cameroonian, agriculture today is no longer subsistence farming. 

“It is value addition, agro-processing, supply chain innovation, export potential, and enterprise development. It is capital formation. It is job creation. It is national transformation” he stated.

According to Prof Mbarika, agriculture is the new petroleum.

He insisted that “If our youth approach it with technology, discipline, and entrepreneurial thinking, it can: reduce unemployment, strengthen food security, increase exports, build rural economies, create generational wealth”.

“To the youth of Cameroon: Believe in your capacity. Build with courage, innovate with confidence, lead with integrity. Cameroon needs your creativity, your resilience, and your bold leadership” Prof Mbarika concluded.

The ICT University, it should be said, has been playing a key role in the promotion of e-agriculture in Cameroon.

In December last year, the Prime Minister, Head of Government, Dr Chief Joseph Dion Ngute, hailed the landmark partnership between the ICT University and its Brazilian counterpart, which seeks to transform the country’s agriculture sector.

The Prime Minister had publicly welcomed the initiative during an audience in Yaounde. He made the remarks while receiving in audience the Founder and President of the Board of Trustees of the ICT University, Prof Victor Mbarika and a Brazilian delegation.

Prof Mbarika had led the delegation to the Star Building as the Brazilians came visiting. Their visit to Cameroon marked a turning point in the strategic partnership agreement reached with the ICT University year earlier.

Meanwhile, during the Star Building audience, PM Dion Ngute was categorical that the partnership will go a long way in boosting the agricultural sector of the country as well as create jobs for many Cameroonians. 

PM Dion Ngute had used the audience to call on both the ICT University and their Brazilian counterparts to meticulously follow the guidelines of the project that is touched-lighted by President Paul Biya's vision to modernise the agricultural sector in Cameroon.

The Prime Minister also assured the delegation of the full support of government to modernise agriculture in the country.

Taking the cue during the audience held behind closed doors, the Head of the Brazilian delegation, Prof Flavio Henrique Vasconcelos De Medeiros of the Lavras Federal University, UFLA, stated that they are using the partnership to join forces with the ICT University in order to enhance agriculture in Cameroon and Africa.

Prof Flavio who led the Brazilian delegation said: " We are a long-term University when it comes to agriculture for the past...years now. Our goal is to combine forces in all the different domains we cover".

Prof Flavio added that: "With Cameroon and the popularity the ICT University already has, we can use this project to the benefit of the whole Africa in terms of training and giving power to the young entrepreneurs".

Prof Flavio has underscored that the enthusiasm he has experienced since his arrival to the country is one that can push the project through.

Enter Prof Mbarika

Speaking during the audience, Prof Victor Mbarika, who led the joint delegation to the Prime Minister’s Office, disclosed that the project seeks to go beyond the local style of agriculture.

The United States-based Professor of the ICT, said the project will delve into technical agriculture with the use of modern technology. 

The goal, he said, is to employ 10,000 young Cameroonians within five years.

Prof Mbarika explained that: "We are launching digital agriculture because many young Cameroonians think agriculture is for the old and poor people but we want to demonstrate that with Artificial Intelligence and robotics, we can do agriculture not only for local consumption but for major exportation".

The project in a nutshell

The Agri-campus-500-ICT-University project, it should be said, is an innovative initiative spearheaded by ICT University which aims at promoting digital agriculture and entrepreneurship among students in Cameroon.

The project seeks to train 10,000 students in digital agriculture in over five years that will enable them easily integrate the socio-economic landscape of not only Cameroon but Africa at large, develop practical skills in agricultural production, processing, and marketing,

The project aims to foster entrepreneurship and job creation in rural areas and enhance food security and nutrition in Cameroon.

This article was first published in The Guardian Post Edition No:3702 of Friday February 13, 2026