By Francis Ogwo
A total of 70 Ekiti women have been trained on capacity building by the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN)in various agricultural value chains.
The Assistant Director for Agriculture Business Development and Extension in Nigeria, SMEDAN Mr. Tunde Oloyede, revealed this during the commencement of the second batch of Women in Self Employment Programme (WISE-P).
Oloyede while speaking on the program said “What we are doing is a deliberate shift from oil to agriculture, which is more sustainable.
“There is an issue of food insecurity that is already threatening the nation. This is a direct intervention in this direction through SMEDAN.”
According to reports,, the program aims at boosting food security in the country in line with the Federal Government’s plan towards fighting rural poverty.
The participants were equipped with basic skills needful for a profitable exploit in the agricultural sector especially with its wide range of value chains.
Speaking further Oloyede said the specific trainees were picked based on their involvement in agro-allied businesses.
Recall that the objective of the WISE- P formation was to enhance the productivity of rural women in agriculture while SMEDAN consolidated on the government’s move through training and capacity building.
Part of the benefits of the scheme is access to finance and vital inputs. The participating farmers according to reports were randomly selected from across different agribusiness groups band markets in Ekiti State.
