Institute Trains Sorghum Farmers to Boost Agric Value Chain in Rural Communities

To develop the agricultural value chain and agribusinesses in rural communities, the Agricultural and Rural Management Training Institute (ARMTI) under the Village Alive Development Initiative (VADI) has organised a four-day training programme for 200 selected sorghum farmers from Kwara and Oyo States. At the opening ceremony, the Executive Director, ARMTI, Dr Olufemi Oladunni, said the institute has taken it upon itself to empower community farmers with requisite skills to transform them from being just peasant farmers to agribusiness entrepreneurs, to ensure optimal utilisation of their individual agricultural enterprises. Also, Oladunni said VADI has been engaging rural farmers, with periodic training on a steady strategic march to help them upscale their agricultural enterprises. “Each time a new innovation or technology is advanced, ARMTI takes it upon itself to extend and step it down to our rural farmers through its VADI programme. So, for this particular training, the sorghum value chain is the major focus. “The training will allow beneficiaries to have in-depth knowledge on the harvest and post-harvest management of sorghum which includes the processing and marketing skills; a medium to unlock the huge potential in agribusiness,” Oladunni said. Furthermore, he reiterated that if well practised by adequately trained practitioners, losses that occur in crop value chains will be minimal, noting that sorghum production can create wealth for farmers as well as alleviate poverty, and foster food security in Nigeria. On his part, the Director, Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Kwara State, Dr Aliyu Isa, said the training was a bedrock, positioned to develop agriculture in the country. According to him, ARMTI over time has depicted knowledge of good agricultural practices from its research and training programmes. Aliyu encouraged the farmers to have a receptive disposition towards the training as agriculture is paying off and Nigeria has become the leading producer of sorghum in Africa. Speaking, ARMTI VADI Coordinator, Mr Peter Toki, explained that the programme was one of the channels through which ARMTI has been empowering rural communities involved in agricultural practices. He added that the training is tailored to strategically address the gaps in agricultural produce as well as to the spaces in the agribusiness value chain in the sorghum harvest and post-harvest.

Agro Nigeria