IITA trains Northeast Nigerian women in grains and cereals micro-processing
Through the Feed-the-Future Nigeria Integrated Agriculture Activity, IITA trained 1,274 women on micro-processing of grains and cereals across Adamawa and Borno states in Northeast Nigeria. The capacity building exercise focused on the production of nutritious complementary foods for infants and young children.
The training, which took place in November 2020, selected participants from registered households on the Integrated Agriculture Activity’s database, who either belong to a Savings and Internal Lending Community (SILC) or producer group. The exercise used the local language and featured questions and answers, demonstrations, role plays, among many approaches, to reinforce learning.
Participating women displaying micro-processed cereal (tofu) and soymilk in Guyuk LGA, Adamawa.
After the training, the Activity’s Nutrition Team also visited the participants for monitoring and mentoring sessions to ensure they were correctly implementing cereals and grains micro-processing, Infant and Young Child Feeding (IYCF) practices, and homestead farming.
The visits showed that women groups are using the acquired knowledge and skills to ensure that their households have improved and varied diets. The training recipients can now produce nutritious complementary foods using these grains and legumes. They are also able to generate additional income from the sale of the foods.
