In a bid to achieve food and nutrition security, HortiNigeria has trained 59,000 smallholder farmers and 2,000 agro-entrepreneurs on improved agricultural practices in the country. The program’s Director, Mr. Mohammed Salasi Idris, disclosed this last week during a two-day learning workshop held in Abeokuta, Ogun State capital.
Idris, represented by Abdullahi Umar, explained that the program is funded by the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Nigeria. The initiative aims to increase the productivity and income of 60,000 smallholder farmers in Kaduna and Kano, and pilot innovations with 2,000 entrepreneurial farmers in Ogun and Oyo States, targeting 40 percent women and 50 percent youth by the end of 2025.
Idris noted that the training on good agronomic practices provided to smallholder farmers and agro-entrepreneurs has resulted in a 92 percent increase in the production of various vegetable crops. HortiNigeria has also focused on improving access to finance for MSMEs, enhancing sector coordination, and fostering business linkages since the program’s inception.
Since November 2021, HortiNigeria has launched several initiatives across 10 value chains within the horticulture sector, including cabbage, cucumber, okra, onions, pepper, sweetcorn, tomatoes, and watermelon. As the program moves into its final year of implementation in 2025, it aims to expand its reach and continue enhancing the capabilities of smallholder farmers, agro-entrepreneurs, financial institutions, and other actors within the horticulture sector.
Idris attributed the program’s progress to the commitment of consortium partners and various commodity value chain players. As part of its efforts to pilot innovations, HortiNigeria is collaborating with business champions like Soilless Farm Lab on biogas, which promotes waste-to-wealth initiatives and has launched a cold storage facility at the Soilless Farm Lab.
During the learning workshop, farmers and other value chain actors were exposed to different sections of the Soilless Farm Lab at Awowo farm settlement to encourage innovative farming. HortiNigeria also showcased the solar irrigation pump and eco-efficient solutions during its visit to the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta farm hubs.
The program, funded by the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Nigeria, is implemented by a consortium that includes the International Fertiliser Development Center (IFDC), East-West Seed Knowledge Transfer (EWS-KT), Wageningen University & Research (WUR), and KIT Institute (KIT), and has made significant advancements in the Nigerian horticulture sector.
