FG hails WOFAN, BUK partnership on practical agricultural training

The Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Maruf Alausa, has commended the Women Farmers Advancement Network (WOFAN) and the Centre for Dryland Agriculture (CDA), Bayero University, Kano, for investing in practical agricultural education aimed at equipping students with employable skills and promoting agripreneurship.

Alausa gave the commendation during an inspection visit to the WOFAN–CDA SIBLING (Skills Improvement to Boost Livelihood and Nurture Growth) Project at Bayero University, Kano recently.

The minister, accompanied by the Minister of State for Education, Prof. Suwaiba Sa’id Ahmad, toured the Centre’s screen house and practical training facilities after receiving a briefing from the Director of the Centre for Dryland Agriculture, Prof. Sanusi Gaya Mohammed, on the objectives and progress of the initiative.

The Vice-Chancellor of Bayero University, Prof. Haruna Musa, and other principal officers of the institution also joined the inspection.

Speaking with journalists after the visit, WOFAN Founder and Group Executive Board Chair, Dr. Salamatu Garba, described the SIBLING Project as a practical demonstration of the vision contained in the proposed National Agricultural Extension Bill currently before the National Assembly.

She said the initiative reflects the growing collaboration between the Ministries of Education and Agriculture in strengthening agricultural education and extension services in Nigeria.

According to Garba, WOFAN and its partners decided to begin implementing the objectives of the proposed legislation while awaiting its final passage, noting that the project demonstrates how collaboration among the private sector, universities and public institutions can transform agricultural training.

She explained that the project bridges the gap between classroom learning and field practice by exposing students to modern agricultural technologies, mechanisation and agribusiness value chains.

“We are giving students hands-on experience across integrated farming systems, including crop production, poultry, fisheries, waste-to-wealth initiatives, fabrication and value addition. Our goal is to produce agricultural graduates who will become job creators and agripreneurs rather than job seekers,” she said.

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Garba added that the initiative would also help address the shortage of agricultural extension workers by producing skilled extension service providers for the sector.

She disclosed that WOFAN has invested in agricultural equipment, processing centres, poultry and fishery units, climate-smart integrated farming systems, logistics and market linkages to improve productivity while exposing students to sustainable farming practices.

She expressed optimism that the ministers’ visit would further boost support for the Agricultural Extension Bill, which she described as critical to improving food production and agricultural advisory services nationwide.

Former Dean of the Faculty of Agriculture at Bayero University and Chairman of the Elders Forum for the SIBLING Programme, Prof. Muhammad Auwalu Hussaini, said the partnership had helped overcome longstanding funding challenges affecting practical agricultural training in universities.

According to him, WOFAN’s intervention has enabled students to use modern equipment, including solar-powered sprayers and other farm implements that universities would have struggled to procure through conventional funding.

Chairman of WOFAN’s Technical Board, Prof. Sani Miko, described the collaboration as a model for integrating academic learning with industry experience.

He said demonstration farms and commercial production units established under the project would expose students to real-life farming operations while addressing the skills gap among agricultural graduates.

Similarly, Bayero University’s Climate Change Desk Officer for the WOFAN ICON2 Project, Prof. Mahmoud Ibrahim Daneji, urged students participating in the programme to embrace climate-smart agriculture in response to changing weather patterns.

He also called for the speedy passage of the Agricultural Extension Bill, saying it would clearly define the roles of government, educational institutions and the private sector in strengthening agricultural extension services.

The WOFAN-CDA SIBLING Project, inaugurated on February 17, 2026, began with support for 50 hectares of wet-season farming undertaken by agriculture students of Bayero University. 

The initiative seeks to provide practical agricultural training, promote agripreneurship and prepare students for careers in modern agriculture through hands-on learning and access to mechanised farming technologies.