Horti- Nigeria trains 59,000 smallholder farmers, 2,000 agro- entrepreneurs

TO scale up good agricultural practices, Horti- Nigeria, says it has trained over 59,000 smallholder farmers and 2,000 agro- entrepreneurs across the country on innovative ways of farming.

The firm’s Programme Director, Mr Mohammed Salasi Idris, disclosed this at a two- day learning workshop held in Abeokuta, Ogun State.

Idris disclosed that the Dutch- funded programme is aimed at increasing the productivity and income of 60,000 smallholder farmers in Kaduna and Kano, as well as pilot innovation with 2,000 entrepreneurial farmers in Ogun and Oyo states, targeting 40 per cent women and 50 per cent youth at the end of 2025.

He added that the trainings on good agronomic practices provided to farmers have yielded an increase in production by 92 per cent in the various vegetable crops the programme works on.

Idris, represented by Abdullahi Umar, further explained that since the inception of the programme, other initiatives facilitated includes access to finance for MSMES, improving sector coordination and business linkages.

In his words: “Since November 2021, Hortinigeria has launched several initiatives across 10 value chains within the horticulture sector – cabbage, cucumber, okra, onions, pepper, sweetcorn, tomatoes, and watermelon.

“As Hortinigeria moves into its last year of implementation in 2025, the programme is set to expand its reach and continue its vital work in enhancing the capabilities of smallholder farmers, agroentrepreneurs, financial institutions and other actors within the horticulture sector.”

Meanwhile, as part of the effort to pilot innovations, Hortinigeria is collaborating with various business champions, such as Soilless Farm Lab on biogas, which promotes waste to wealth and launched a cold storage facility at the soilless farm lab.

Farmers and other value chain actors during the learning workshop were also exposed to different sections of the Soilless Fam Lab at Awowo farm settlement to encourage them in innovative farming.

Hortinigeria, during its visit to Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta Farm Hubs, showcased the solar irrigation pump and best practices introduced promoting eco- efficient solutions.