For lead farmers and extension agents in the aquaculture and cassava value chains in Imo, Sokoto, Kwara, and Oyo States, NIRSAL Plc has concluded a midyear training session. Over 2,000 farmers participated in the program, which aimed to improve their ability to obtain and repay commercial loans.
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State government representatives were also present. For its training programs, NIRSAL primarily targets lead farmers who have the experience and expertise to impart new knowledge to members of their various cooperatives, in line with its continued promotion of the Agro Geo-Cooperative® approach to primary production. The focus of the gathering, which drew at least 500 participants to two venues in Imo State—one rural and one urban—was on effective models for fish production.
In Sokoto State, it was the same; however, the trips to Oyo and Kwara were centred around cassava. The chairman of the Imo State House Committee on Agriculture, Mr. Uche Agabige, praised NIRSAL for involving Imo in this cycle of the capacity building program, expressing the hope that it will support regional initiatives to increase the state’s agricultural output. According to Mr. Ibrahim Suleiman, Head of Value Chain Capacity Development at NIRSAL Plc, three other states covering four geopolitical zones are concurrently hosting the capacity development program, which is a component of the Technical Assistance pillar that NIRSAL provides to agricultural value chain actors.
Lead farmers and extension agents in the fields of aquaculture and cassava were similarly assembled in two urban and rural places in the states of Sokoto, Oyo, and Kwara, according to Mr. Suleiman. These individuals are anticipated to cascade the instruction to around 6,000 farmers throughout the states. In Oyo State, the Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development, the Chairman of the Akinyele Local Government, the Special Advisor to the Governor of Kwara State on Farmers’ Interventions, and other dignitaries extended cordial greetings and commendations to the NIRSAL teams.
Apart from creating efficient cooperatives with appropriate governance frameworks, the training course also included anticipating potential protocol violations and early warning systems. Speaking after the lectures, participants expressed their joy at the fresh perspectives they had learnt and promised to share them with other cooperative members. The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) launched NIRSAL Plc as an effort to reduce the risk associated with financing agriculture and agribusiness in Nigeria.
The goal is to encourage the flow of capital and investment into the Agricultural Value Chain from a variety of sources. One of the five pillars of NIRSAL—Technical Assistance—which funds the development, promotion, and study of value chain mending projects, provides the rationale for the Imo training exercise.
