Research institutes across Nigeria have partnered with the Small-Scale Women Farmers Organisation of Nigeria (SWFON) to promote good farming practices and enhance agricultural productivity nationwide.
The initiative aims to strengthen the fight against pests and diseases affecting various agricultural value chains, while empowering women farmers with the tools and knowledge needed for sustainable farming.
Speaking at a national workshop in Abuja themed “Together We Grow Sustainable Food Systems for a Resilient Future”, Lead Director of the Centre for Social Justice (CSJ), Eze Onyekpere, emphasised the importance of bridging the gap between research, extension services, and actual farm practices.
He noted that although research institutes are active, their work often fails to reach farmers through the right agricultural channels.
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“It is only when these innovations reach the grassroots that good farming practices can be adopted broadly,” Onyekpere said.
He added that the collaboration with SWFON is a strategic move to ensure that research outputs translate into practical improvements on farms across Nigeria.
He said, “We mapped out ten of these groups as well as the critical research institutes. This is to bridge the gap between what the research institutes are doing and what the farmers are doing in the practical field. This is the reason for bringing in different farmers organisations, the Ministry of Agriculture from three key states, Niger, Abua and Oyo state, accompanied by research Institutes from these states.
“Cassava alone can generate more revenue than oil in the country. Nigeria produces about 20% of the world’s cassava. I gave you an example of the value chain we all eat as gari; this is just one crop, we are not talking about other agricultural products yet. I want to emphasise that research Institutes are well funded, though the government can still do better”.
Speaking, Honourable Kelechi Nworgu of the House Committee on Agriculture said this is a call to action, noting that it is a time when farmers are struggling with low productivity and core financial systems, so there is a need for stakeholders to look into the activities of farmers so it can be upgraded.