Agricultural and Rural Management Training Institute (ARMTI), Ilorin, Kwara State has trained a new set of 40 selected women farmers in the state on agripreneurship development.
Speaking during the five-day training programme at the ARMTI main campus, Ilorin, the chief executive director of the training institute, Dr Olufemi Ajayi Oladunni, said that the programme, titled, Agripreneurship Development for Women in Agriculture, organised for women farmers, centred on skills that can empower them and improve their socio-economic lives.
The ARMTI boss also said that the purpose of the training was to equip women farmers with requisite agripreneurship knowledge and skills that can reduce poverty, ensure income generation and sustainable livelihood.
He further stated that the women farmers, selected across the local government areas of the state, were expected to transfer acquired knowledge and skills garnered from the training workshop to their peers in their different communities.
He also stated that numerous opportunities exist for women at every stage of the agricultural commodity value chain.
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“Thus, it has been observed that the issue of agripreneurship development across the agricultural commodity value chain is paramount to the nation’s economic growth and development. In view of this, the Federal Government of Nigeria approved a five-day capacity development workshop on the course, titled, Agripreneurship Development for Women in Agriculture through the ARMTI,” he said.
Dr Oladunni, who assured women farmers of equitable distribution of agricultural interventions, said that the institute would leave no stone unturned at ensuring that women farmers have access to necessary support for them to compete favourably with their male counterparts in the state.
He also enjoined the women farmers to endeavour to seek information on agricultural policies and programmes at both the state and federal levels from the institute in order to keep them abreast of issues in the agricultural sector.
The representative of the participants at the programme, Mrs Odebunmi Funmi, applauded the efforts of the institute over the years, especially, the support and hospitality accorded the women farmers.
The participants, however, pleaded with the management of the ARMTI to continuously empower the women farmers with gender-friendly intervention to improve their productivity.
ARMTI trains Kwara women farmers