In light of Nigeria’s preparation to scale agribusiness, the Green Innovation Centers for the Agriculture and Food Sector Program (GIAE), which is funded by the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), implemented by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) has partnered to launch 18 months project to scale-up the production of maize and cassava in four states.
The Project Manager of IITA, Godwin Atser, made this known in a statement while discussing how the project would result in massive wealth and job creations among both the youth and women in the maize and cassava value chains. He said the project would be carried out by the International Institute of Tropic Agriculture (IITA) in the four selected States, Kano, Kaduna for maize and Oyo, Ogun States for cassava value chain.
Atser further revealed that the project seeks to build subsistence farmers’ capacities on productivity and farm safety technologies. It will also create job opportunities for youths and women via the establishment of commercial seed enterprises for retailing of disease-free improved stems, marketing of aflasafe and purdue improved crop storage (PICS) bags an improved agricultural storage bag.
The Project Manager later said the grant focuses on three major activity areas, which are;
- Integrated pest management seeks to eradicate the presence of the invasive arthropod pest, Fall Army Worm (FAW).
- Aflatoxin and food safety seeks to train female maize growers, household caregivers, and other stakeholders on food safety and pre-/post-harvest management.
- Building a cassava seed system where farmers are active players in the production and the sale of quality cassava stems to earn additional income.
Aster also said, “The maize value chain’s geographic coverage is Kaduna and Kano, and for the cassava value chain is Ogun and Oyo.”
The grant will also seek to increase both the farmers and extensions officers capacities in innovative and modern cassava and maize production using digitalized solutions on Good Agricultural Practices (GAP), Six Steps to Cassava Weed Management and Best Planting Practices and other IITA digital tools like the herbicide calculator, AKILIMO, Seed Tracker and Cassava E-market.
Sanne Chipeta, the Head of Project, Green Innovation Center for the Agriculture and Food Sector (GIZ), Nigeria, said that the partnership with IITA would add value to improving productivity and food safety in the value chains will eventually contribute to food and nutrition security.
He further said, each of the activities will assist in creating new employment and livelihood opportunities, especially for young men and women. She also revealed optimism that the partnership with IITA would ultimately add value and create positive results in the cassava maize value chain.
To implement the project in the selected states, IITA, along with the previous project implemented by GIZ in the target states, will leverage the knowledge gained from ongoing and previous projects, including the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Building an Economically Sustainable Integrated Cassava Seed System, Phase 2 (BASICS-II); Ag Results Aflasafe, African Cassava Agronomy Initiative (ACAI), IFAD-Zero Hunger Project, Youth in Agribusiness Projects and TAAT Programmes and ongoing State and Federal Government-funded agricultural programmers such as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)- Anchor Borrowers Programme, which many state governments implement for various value chains.
The ONE WORD NO HUNGER (SEWOH), a unique initiative of the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) of Germany, seeks to make a huge contribution to the reduction of poverty and hunger.
The Global Programme Green Innovation Centers for Agriculture and the Food Sector (GIAE) is an integral part of the initiative, including the country module Nigeria. These are the following objectives of the country module Nigeria;
- In selected rural areas, innovations in the agriculture and food sector have contributed to sustainable rural development.
Maize, rice, cassava and Irish potato value chains (VC) have been selected for their market and innovation potential. GIAE’s concept harnesses a holistic approach and seeks to identify and foster innovations, disseminate know-how and technology solutions and skills upgrading.
