The Embassy of Netherlands in Nigeria has trained over 59,000 smallholder farmers as well as 2,000 agro-entrepreneurs in Nigeria on innovative ways of farming. This areas include the production, distribution and marketing of vegetables in Ogun, among other states.
The training programme was implemented by a consortium, including the International Fertilizer Development Center (IFDC), East-West Seed Knowledge Transfer (EWS-KT), Wageningen University & Research (WUR), and KIT Institute (KIT).
Mohammed Idris, HortiNigeria Programme’s Director, stated that the Dutch-funded programme is aimed at increasing productivity and income of 60,000 smallholder farmers in Kaduna and Kano as well as pilot innovation with 2,000 entrepreneurial farmers in Ogun and Oyo States.
According to him, the programme targets 40% women and 50% youth population up to the end of 2025. Idris added that the training on good agronomic practices provided to farmers had yielded an increase in production by 92% in various vegetable crops, which the programme works on.
He said, “Since November 2021, HortiNigeria has launched several initiatives across ten value chains within the horticulture sector: cabbage, cucumber, okra, onions, pepper, sweetcorn, tomatoes, and watermelon”.
But the handlers are also resting on their oars, as he said, “As HortiNigeria moves into its last year of implementation in 2025, the program is set to expand its reach and continue its vital work in enhancing the capabilities of smallholder farmers, agro-entrepreneurs, financial institutions and other actors within the horticulture sector”. Idris also maintained that the progress recorded over the past years shows the commitment of the consortium partners and the resilience of various commodity value chain players.
