Support Women Entrepreneurship in the Agrifood sector in Nigeria (SWEAN) has concluded the training of 293 women in Ibadan, Oyo State and Zaria, Kaduna State, to help address the gender imbalance in the agro-food processing sector in Nigeria. The training aimed to develop the skills of women agripreneurs and increase their access to local and international markets. The expertise of
The Voice of Women in the Development of Agriculture (VOWDA), in collaboration with IITA, organized a two-day virtual symposium on 14 and 15 October to commemorate World Food Day and the International Day of Rural Women. The event brought stakeholders together to discuss challenges facing women in rural areas, agriculture, and value chains; and proffered possible sustainable policy solutions to policymakers.
To provide agribusiness support to youth, ENABLE-TAAT has established agribusiness demonstration farms at 12 orientation camps of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) in Nigeria. This initiative was in response to a clamor from the youth who were inspired after benefiting from the compact’s agribusiness sensitization sessions in March, May, August, and September. The agribusiness sensitization effort has reached more
On 22 October, C. Woermann Nigeria and STIHL Company in Germany partnered with IITA’s Business Incubation Platform (BIP) and Agribusiness Mechanization Unit to launch a showroom of their agricultural tools at IITA. The event showcased agricultural tools such as the mist blower, earth auger, tiller, pole pruner, chainsaw, etc., to improve agricultural management practices and productivity of the smallholder farmers. Training Manager Bolanle
Up to 16 African countries have now experienced the banana bunchy top disease (BBTD), caused by the banana bunchy top virus (BBTV), which threatens the livelihoods of 70 million vulnerable banana farmers. The virus is also endangering the diversity of banana varieties grown by these farmers. The CGIAR Research Program on Roots, Tubers and Bananas (RTB) is combating the virus through the Alliance
Budding youth-led enterprises often find it challenging to raise capital. In many cases, such enterprises begin with personal savings or financial support from families and acquaintances, which may not sufficiently cater to the business plan. In other cases, the youth may form a cluster and combine their financial strengths to build the enterprise. To bridge this gap, the youth compact
The Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) has announced that IITA is among the Growth Grand finalists to be awarded $100,000 for its project on integrating Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi (AMF) as bio-inoculants to boost banana production in the East African Highlands. This was announced in a press release issued on the IFT website. The award is part of the Seeding The Future Global Food System Challenge–an
Youth migration from rural to urban areas is often attributed to a lack of employment in the rural areas. Statistically, more youth crowd up the cities searching for better opportunities, and those who stay back may find opportunities for income and livelihood in excess. In Kyotera District, Uganda, just like in many other countries, this is the case. In 2020,