SEFAN/SWEAN stakeholders develop empowerment strategies for women in agribusiness

Stakeholders from Federal Institute of Industrial Research (Oshodi), Nigerian Stored Product Research Institute (NSPRI), Small and Medium Enterprise Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), Standard Organization of Nigeria (SON), Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC), National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), and IITA came together in the two-day writeshop organized by the SEFAN/SWEAN project in collaboration with IITA on 27 and 28 April. They identified key messages and strategic support to pass on to women in the agrifood sector to empower them in their food production, processing, and business ventures.

The project is in partnership with Oyo and Kaduna State Government Development Programmes and is funded by the French Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs in Nigeria.

The project manager, Zainatou Sore, said, ”The project targets women entrepreneurs from often marginalized groups who are involved in different sectors of the agricultural value chain from farm to table.”

Prof. Lateef Sanni, a Professor of Food Science and Technology and Project Manager of the BASICS-II project in IITA, moderated the writeshop, interactively engaging and getting contributions from the participants. He said the training manual to be developed at the end of the writeshop would cover the specific sectors women in agribusiness had requested training on.
Presenters from the different institutions brought out developmental issues in the areas requested by the women in the agrifood sector, notably: food processing and fortification, branding and packaging, regulation and certification, standards, market and export opportunities, leadership, team building, and financial management that would help the women advance and become successful in their agribusiness ventures.