By Barbara Nwaiwu
The Technologies for African Agricultural Transformation (TAAT), in partnership with Nigeria’s Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security and other agricultural institutions, has commenced a five-day national training workshop for 100 extension master trainers to strengthen agricultural extension services and accelerate the adoption of productivity-enhancing technologies by Nigerian farmers.
The workshop is holding from September 7th to 11th, in Dutse, Jigawa State, under the theme, “Empowering Extension to Scale Agricultural Innovations”.
It brings together extension master trainers and subject-matter specialists from Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Sokoto and Zamfara states, representing public and private-sector agricultural organisations.
The initiative is being implemented in collaboration with the CGIAR Scaling for Impact Programme, Jigawa Agricultural Transformation Agency (JATA), the National Agricultural Growth Scheme–Agro-Pocket (NAGS-AP) Secretariat and research institutions.
The training seeks to address challenges affecting Nigeria’s agricultural extension system, including a low extension agent-to-farmer ratio of between 1:5,000 and 1:10,000, limited funding, inadequate technical capacity and logistics, and insufficient digital platforms for delivering timely advisory services.
The workshop forms part of efforts associated with the African Development Bank’s $1.5 billion African Emergency Food Production Facility (AEFPF) and Nigeria’s implementation of the NAGS-AP programme.
The initiative aims to expand farmers’ access to improved agricultural technologies, inputs and quality extension services to raise productivity, improve farmers’ incomes and strengthen food security and resilience.
TAAT’s commodity and enabling compacts draw on scientific and technological resources covering wheat, rice, maize, soybeans, cassava, vegetables, livestock and aquaculture, alongside areas including capacity development, youth entrepreneurship, policy, and water and soil fertility.
Participants will receive practical training in climate-smart agriculture, soil health and integrated nutrient management, pest and disease management, improved seed systems, digital agriculture, market linkages and farmer-centred extension approaches.
They will also learn how to use mobile-based advisory platforms, Geographic Information Systems (GIS), remote sensing, data collection and decision-support systems to strengthen data-driven extension services and improve the delivery of agricultural and climate information to farmers.
The programme is structured around a cascade training model through which the 100 master trainers will subsequently train frontline extension personnel and farmer organisations, with the initiative targeting at least 500,000 farmers.
Under the model, knowledge will be transferred progressively from master trainers to frontline extension workers and ultimately to farmers and farmer groups, followed by studies to assess the results.
The five-day programme combines classroom sessions, practical demonstrations, peer learning and digital tools.
Its modules cover wheat, rice and maize technologies, climate-smart agriculture and weather advisory services, improved seed systems, integrated pest management, digital agriculture, participatory extension, gender and youth-responsive approaches, agricultural finance, agribusiness partnerships and value chain development.
The final day will focus on market linkages, agricultural finance, agribusiness partnerships, cascading training programmes, monitoring and impact tracking, as well as action plans and commitments.
Head of the TAAT Clearinghouse, Dr Solomon Gizaw, said strengthening the capacity of extension professionals was essential to moving agricultural innovations from research and technology platforms to farming communities.
“By investing in the people who translate agricultural innovations from research and technology platforms into farming communities, TAAT and its partners are strengthening the foundations of Nigeria’s food systems transformation.”
Gizaw said the workshop represented the beginning of a broader capacity-building process intended to extend its impact beyond the participants.
“The Dutse workshop is therefore not simply a five-day training exercise, it is the first step in a wider capacity-building process designed to create a multiplier effect across Nigeria’s extension system.”
