training Archives - IITA News

Young Africa Works-IITA Project trains over a thousand youth in three centers across Nigeria

The Young Africa Works-IITA Project has concluded the first cohort of its training program, which commenced on 1 February in Lagos, Kaduna, and Kano states. The six-week training program targeted young people between 18 and 35 years. It introduced the participants to agribusiness through classroom training, practical sessions, excursions to successful agribusiness firms, mentorship, sharing…

Women and youth trained on farm mechanization in northeast Nigeria

As part of efforts to empower women and youth, the USAID-funded Feed-the-Future Nigeria Integrated Agriculture Activity organized training sessions for 252 beneficiaries in four Local Government Areas in the northeastern states of Adamawa and Borno. The three-week training, which took place in February, focused on farm machinery operations, mechanics, and fabrication. These capacity-building and skill-acquisition…

Integrated Agriculture Activity conducts peace-enabling training for crop and livestock farmers in North-East Nigeria

The USAID-funded Feed-the-Future Nigeria Integrated Agriculture Activity conducted a series of training on crop residue utilization and feed formulation for farmer and herder groups’ representatives, large-scale farmers, local livestock feed processors, livestock feed sellers, nutrition liaison officers, and extension agents in Yola (Adamawa State) between 18 and 20 February and in Biu (Borno State) between…

Young Africa Works-IITA commences multilocation training for 40,000 youth

The Young Africa Works-IITA project commenced the first cohort of its training program in Lagos, Kaduna, and Kano states in Nigeria. This capacity–building activity began on 1 February and focuses on training 40,000 young Nigerian women and men between 18 and 35 years to become self-employed or gain employment in agri-food systems. The training is running concurrently in the three states for six weeks and participants will gain practical…

IITA trains women on homestead gardening

Achieving food security also involves addressing nutrient deficiency. Using the space around a house, families can often raise a homestead garden to supplement the nutritional quality of home meals. Through the USAID-funded Feed-the-future Nigeria Integrated Agriculture Activity, IITA trained 300 women in homestead gardening between 7 and 10 December in northeastern Nigeria. The training covered…

IITA trains extension agents and agro-input dealers on Integrated Pests Management for cowpea production

Through the Feed the Future Nigeria Integrated Agriculture Activity, IITA recently trained extension agents and agro-input dealers in Adamawa and Borno States on Integrated Pest Management (IPM) techniques for cowpea production. The training exposed participants to a pest control system that does not depend on the automatic application of pesticides; instead, the IPM regulates pests using various control measures, including mechanical, cultural, and biological. The IPM focuses on pest management that…

IITA trains northeast women in beekeeping and goat rearing

Through the USAID-funded Feed-the-Future Nigeria Integrated Agriculture Activity, IITA recently built the capacity of 28 women in beekeeping to enhance household nutrition and income. The three-day training took place in Marama community in Hawul Local Government Area (LGA) of Borno State between 20 and 22 October. It featured beehives set-up, colony management, and other skills…

Biofortified cassava processed into gari.

Biofortified cassava: Researchers call for gender-responsive strategies to improve food and nutrition security and reduce poverty in Nigeria

Market demand is a key driver of the production of biofortified cassava for male adopters and farmers. However, for women, consumer acceptance, preference, and market coupled with the health benefits of biofortified cassava—mainly targeting children and pregnant women—are the motivation for adopting and processing. A study to identify gender-based constraints affecting the production, processing, and marketing activities of biofortified cassava in Oyo and Benue states has established this fact. The study carried out by researchers from IITA, Association of Uganda Professional Women in Agriculture and Environment (AUPWAE) Gender and Development…

IITA trains partners on ODK tools for surveillance of new banana disease threat, Fusarium wilt (Foc TR4)

IITA recently conducted a two-day training for national partners from the agriculture plant health services and plant protection departments in Tanzania and Vietnam. The workshop focused on using the Open Data Kit (ODK) tool to facilitate real-time surveillance of invasive pests and diseases in the banana cropping system, including the recent soil-borne fungal disease threat,…

The business plan: The compass of the agripreneur

Starting in May 2020, expert trainers from the ENABLE Youth Cameroon (EYC) program had received and analyzed the business plans of aspiring ‘agripreneurs’ participating in the program. They are currently assisting the agripreneurs in finalizing their business plans, which could be financed by a yet-to-be-determined investor. As part of the business analysis phase of the…