WOFAN partners BUK to train students, empower women in agribusiness skills
The Women Farmers Advancement Network (WOFAN), in collaboration with the Centre for Dryland Agriculture (CDA) and the Faculty of Agriculture, Bayero University, Kano (BUK), have entered into a partnership to train 300 agriculture students annually in agribusiness, value addition, processing, and production under the SIBLING Project.
The partnership was disclosed on Wednesday during a courtesy visit to the Vice-Chancellor of Bayero University, Kano, Professor Haruna Musa, by a joint delegation from WOFAN, CDA, and the Faculty of Agriculture.
The delegation was led by the Executive Director of WOFAN, Dr Salamatu Garba; the Director of CDA, Professor Sanusi Gaya Mohammed; and the Dean of the Faculty of Agriculture, Professor Muhammad Auwal Hussain.
SolaceBase reports that the initiative targets 300- and 400-level students of the Faculty of Agriculture and is designed to provide them with hands-on experience across agricultural value chains, as well as entrepreneurship training, making them professionally ready to plunge into the agribusiness world.
Speaking during the visit, Dr Salamatu Garba explained that the initiative aims to change the narrative around women and youth participation in agriculture by equipping them with practical skills, access to land, farm inputs, financial inclusion and guaranteed markets.
She revealed plans to introduce processing and packaging of agricultural produce, including a proposed “CDA/WOFAN Rice” brand to be marketed within the university community.
She further disclosed that the initiative which is tagged “ skills improvement to boost livelihood & nuture growth ( SIBLING) would prioritize women participants who would be allocated plots from the designated 25 hectares farmland, while WOFAN would support them with relevant portable equipment and tools for land preparation as well as subsidized inputs, and thereafter link them to markets for immediate purchase of harvested produce.
According to her, outstanding students would also receive start-up support, including equipment, storage facilities, and small grants and opportunities to link them to viable agriculture-related businesses.
On his part, the Chairman of the WOFAN Board, Professor Sani Miko, expressed appreciation to the Vice-Chancellor for supporting what he described as a credible and sustainable partnership.
He noted that the SIBLING Project is driven by research outputs aimed at scaling up and transforming livelihoods through community and rural-based agriculture, transforming into viable commercial agribusiness ventures.
Receiving the delegation, Professor Haruna Musa, the vice-chancellor of Bayero University, commended the initiative, describing it as a strategic intervention for youth and women empowerment that will meaningfully encourage more youths, women and even persons with disability to value agriculture as the backbone of the economic growth of any nation.
He noted and commended the fact that out of the 300 proposed trainees, 180 would be women, and stressed the need to prioritise the less privileged and host communities, adding that the project would strengthen town-and-gown relations and promote inclusive development.
In his remarks, the Director of CDA, Professor Sanusi Gaya Mohammed, highlighted the long-standing collaboration between CDA and WOFAN, noting that the partnership has recently expanded to include access to a national storage facility secured through the National Storage Productivity Institute of Nigeria.
He added that WOFAN has also committed to providing processing machinery to support practical training for students.
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He further disclosed that CDA has allocated a two-hectare demonstration plot for the project, while the Faculty of Agriculture has provided 25 hectares of land for large-scale production and training activities.
Also speaking, the Dean of the Faculty of Agriculture, Professor Muhammad Auwal Hussain, expressed optimism that the partnership would yield positive results.
He said the initiative would empower and equip many students with relevant skills and thanked WOFAN for its unwavering support.
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