Zero Hunger Project shines at FGN-IFAD exhibition: Celebrating agricultural innovation and impact
April 8, 2024
In a remarkable display of agricultural innovation and achievement, the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN)–International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) Open House Cooperation and Exhibition held in Abuja on 12 March served as a platform for the IFAD-funded Zero Hunger project to showcase its success stories.Minister of State for Agriculture, Sen. Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi examining products at the Exhibition.
Among the event’s highlights were the presentations made by processors trained under the project’s cassava and rice value chains, who started their businesses due to the project’s support. These processors unveiled a range of value-added products that garnered praise from key figures in attendance, including the Minister of State for Agriculture, Sen. Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi, and IFAD Vice President Dr Donal Brown.
During the program, Adenike Odeseyi, Veronica Aondoawase, and Victory Ogbonnaya, representing Benue, Ebonyi, and Ogun states, respectively, were recognized for their outstanding contributions. These dedicated processors received certificates of participation, underscoring their pivotal role in advancing agricultural innovation, food security, and import substitution within their communities.
Minister of State for Agriculture, Sen. Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi and IFAD Vice President Dr Donal Brown examining products.
The event celebrated past achievements and served as a testament to the ongoing efforts to combat hunger and promote sustainable agricultural practices across Nigeria.
Olamide Deborah Nwanze is a Senior Research Associate specializing in gender mainstreaming research to inform participatory and inclusive breeding, variety development, and seed systems policies regarding root, tuber, and banana (RTB) crops in the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture Headquarters, Ibadan, Nigeria. She is a PhD candidate at the University of Ibadan and holds an MSc and B. Agric in Agricultural Extension and Rural Development. Olamide is a fellow of the African Women in Agricultural Research and Development – Gender Responsive Agricultural Systems Policy (AWARD-GRASP) and the Gender Responsive Researchers Equipped for Agricultural Transformation (GREAT). She seeks to apply her gender-mainstreaming learnings, gender-responsive research, and policy development, and review expertise to facilitate women, youth, children, and vulnerable social group’s access to and adoption of agricultural Innovations that guarantee food, nutrition, income, and livelihood security in Africa. Her current roles include mentoring research fellows, development of guides and training manuals, implementation and adaptation of gender frameworks and tools, value chain actors’ engagement as citizen science partners, policy review and redesign, data management, and analysis. Her current research explores mixed methods and participatory and interdisciplinary approaches to capture and highlight gender dynamics, needs, preferences, and challenges stakeholders face within the agricultural livelihood value chain to prioritize gender-inclusive strategies in breeding programs, policy design, and implementation.
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