Making Impact Amidst COVID-19

We have stayed true to our goal of a food secure Africa and our mission to equip the next generation of farmers that will feed the continent and turn soil into gold.

Through the Agricultural Skills Acquisition Programme 2020, an onsite practical training held in Abuja, Nigeria, the eyes of many existing and aspiring farmers have been opened to the gold mine in Agriculture. The information gap, which is the major reason for the lack of interest in agriculture among youth and also the reason for the failure of most agricultural businesses, has been dealt with for our beneficiaries.

Module 1 (Good Agricultural Practices) took participants through several of the value-chains in agriculture including cassava, rice, poultry, goat production, cattle production and the likes.

Participants were educated on industry-standard practices for more efficient use of inputs in these different aspects of agriculture. Between January and March, over 300 youths and women have been trained in module alone.

In September, rounded up Module 2 (Farmer Business School). Close to 200 existing farmers and interested youth were trained in this module alone. They were taught everything needed to turn their agribusiness ventures into high profit-generating businesses.

With the understanding that the majority of the food we eat is produced by rural farmers in villages, we also reached out to rural farmers in different communities. We learned that their major challenges are in the forms of inadequate information, lack of quality inputs, and lack of access to markets. We resolved to solve these challenges as much as we can by training these rural farmers on selected value chains and provide necessary inputs to the farmers for more efficient production.

Also, in the wake of the COVID-19 lockdown, we organized a COVID-19 sensitization program in Kaduna state, Nigeria, in which rural farmers were taught how to prevent the contraction of the virus while going about their farming activities. We also shared relief materials to better assist the farmers to navigate the period with less difficulty.

Our dialogue session, which was birthed as a response to the inability to hold physical meetings during the lockdown, trained close to 100 people on steps to take their agribusinesses digital and online. The session also unveiled to participants a vast number of the opportunities in agriculture that were created by the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic.

These are some of the ways we continue to strive for a better, food secure Africa, and we will continue to stay true to our mission.

P.S – Module 3 (Farmers Cooperatives) of the Agricultural Skills Acquisition Programme 2020 will soon commence. Participants will be trained on how to effectively collaborate with other farmers and agribusiness practitioners. They will also be shown how to take advantage of this collaboration to access funding for their businesses. As Module 1 and 2 were, Module 3 promises to be value-packed.