From drops of oil to drums of milk: Zainab Aliyu’s exciting journey to agribusiness

In the blistering heat that greets each morning in most communities in Northern Nigeria, Zainab Aliyu, a palm oil seller, dares the suffocating heat in her Ribadu Kauta Hore community in Adamawa State to make a living for herself and contribute to her husband’s meager income.

With her baby strapped to her back every morning, she traverses the length and breadth of her community, her tired eyes desperately scanning the horizon for patronage. However, despite the laborious daily ritual, she only earned peanuts, barely enough to alter the family’s fortunes.

Meanwhile, after years of toiling, the turning point came for Zainab one evening when a neighbor introduced her to an upcoming agribusiness training organized by IITA through one of the Youth in Agribusiness projects. Determined to turn her flickering dream into reality, she said she journeyed a few kilometers to the screening venue the following day and got selected for the training. She said the training and support she received marked her transition to agribusiness and a better life.

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