A two-day round table of stakeholders in Agriculture Technical Vocational Education and Training (ATVET) within the framework of the activities of the project “Support to Women Entrepreneurship in the Agrofood Sector in Nigeria” (SWEAN) was held from 29 to 30 November at the Embassy of France in Abuja, Nigeria. The project, funded by the French Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs (Embassy of France in Nigeria), has IITA as the lead implementing partner.
The main objective of the SWEAN project is to expand the skills development of women entrepreneurs in the agri-food sector (agripreneurs) in Nigeria, aiming at greater empowerment and their dynamic inclusion in the market networks at local and international levels. The project also promotes the integration of an innovative and gender-responsive agribusiness curriculum into the technical and vocational education system in Nigeria in collaboration with French experts in the field.
The French Regional Agriculture Counselor, Dr Sonia Darracq, welcomed all participants and highlighted the expectations of the stakeholders’ roundtable.
The highlights of the two-day event included the formal unveiling of the cooperation between Nigerian and French experts through discussions, experience sharing, paper presentations, and reflections on the framework of cooperation between France and Nigeria for the improvement of ATVET curricula in the target states of Oyo and Kaduna
In her presentation, SWEAN Project Coordinator and Head of IITA Capacity Development Office, Sougrynoma Zainatou Soré, gave an overview of the project, the achievements recorded so far, which include training about 300 women in Kaduna and Oyo states relating to agri-food processing in Nigeria, based on the crops and commodities that they produce.
Addressing the media, Soré said, “We want to work with women in particular who have less access to the market so that we can strengthen what they know and how they should process their foods. We see them dry their garri on the floor, which is not proper, so we will teach them how to do that hygienically. These are the kinds of practical knowledge that we want them to know.” Soré also noted the project’s engagement with NAFDAC and SON to educate the women in coming up with products that can compete favorably both at the local and international markets.
In another presentation, the Director-General Oyo State Agribusiness Development Agency (OYSADA) and agribusiness advisor to Oyo State Governor, Adebowale Akande, highlighted the project’s benefits to women in Oyo State and beyond. He also stressed the need for things to be done differently to develop new knowledge for a new generation.
Other presenters included BASICS II Project Manager Prof. Lateef Sanni of IITA; French experts, Florent Dionizy and Yann Jagoury, from French Technical colleges in Agriculture; Director, Ebolowa Regional College of Agriculture Cameroon, Antoine Mdiba; Executive Sectary, Kaduna State Scholarship and Loans Board, Hassan Rilwan; Bilkisu S. Ahmad and Samaila Tanko of The National Board for Technical Education (NBTE); and representatives from The Agence Française de Développement (AFD), The National Agricultural Extension and Research Liaison Services (NAERLS), and The Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ).
The brainstorming event outlined the next steps as collaborating with the French network of Technical Education in Agriculture to modernize the curricula of the agricultural technical institutions in Oyo and Kaduna and spreading the modules to other states and at the country level by promoting their integration into the Agriculture Technical Vocational Education and Training (ATVET) schools and centers.
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