To advance existing partnership efforts in youth empowerment, capacity development, and food systems, the World Bank-funded Nigeria for Women Empowerment Program (NFWP) team met with IITA Director General and CGIAR Regional Director for Continental Africa Dr Simeon Ehui, IITA Senior Management Team (SMT), and some researchers at the institute’s headquarters recently.
Focusing on leveraging IITA’s outstanding work to enhance the impact of projects and improve lives through access to transformative technologies, discussions were marked by optimism about the potential for solid solutions and new opportunities for collaboration.
Speaking on innovation scaling under the program, Audrey Packs said one of the primary areas of collaboration would entail introducing new technologies to women farmer groups and youth using approaches like farmer field schools specifically for training women and extension officers. According to Packs, this will provide better support for program beneficiaries.
While the NFWP aims to empower women and youth with the knowledge and tools they need to increase productivity and improve their livelihoods, the World Bank-funded program will collaborate with IITA to strengthen the sustainability of women and youth in business across 28 states in Nigeria.
Highlighting key areas of collaboration with IITA, DG Ehui said both parties can develop strategies that will help beneficiaries adapt while focusing on providing advisory services and enhancing their skills.
IITA Youth in Agribusiness (IYA) Partnership and Stakeholder Engagement Manager Adetola Adenmosun, speaking on IITA’s youth program, said some of the essential elements for youth engagement like financial inclusion and literacy and capacity building are also critical, especially when focusing on women as key societal actors.
According to Adenmosun, using sensitization and aggregation as key strategies, the IYA program is helping small businesses to collaborate, share resources, and reduce individual investment pressures while encouraging women to scale up home-grown businesses.
Speaking on behalf of the NFWP team, Packs highlighted some of the program’s focus areas, adding that it emphasizes the importance of prioritizing gender-sensitive climate action initiatives, focusing on areas where the most significant impact can be achieved. “By partnering with IITA, the project aims to extend its reach and effectiveness across 28 states in Nigeria,” she said.
IITA Head of Capacity Development Office Sougrynoma Zaïnatou Soré, giving a background to the institute’s capacity development efforts, said with results and recommendations from other programs where assessment of women collectives working across various value chains can provide the needed technical backstopping to ensure the adoption of technologies, will address the duplication of efforts between IITA and NFWP.
With these comprehensive and targeted efforts, IITA and the World Bank aim to create a lasting impact, empowering women and youth, fostering sustainable development, and strengthening the agriculture value chain across Nigeria.
Contributed by Timilehin Osunde
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