By Tina George, Minna
Sixty rice and cassava farmers and processors in Edati, Mokwa and Borgu local government areas of Niger state have been trained on business management, leadership and team building.
The training, which was organized by the Federal government IFAD Value Chain Development Program, taught the farmers how to improve on their farming activities and take it as a business.
Speaking to AsheNews after the program in Edati local government area, the Business and Marketing Development Officer of the programme, Mrs Elizabeth Yisa said that many farmers and processors have experienced losses because they do not know how to effectively manage their farms.
According to her, the leadership aspect of the training is to enable them to know their responsibilities when they form cooperatives.
“We noticed a gap in the style of leadership in the cooperatives operated by farmers and process. As a leader, there is need for them to carry others and work as a team. That is why they require this kind of training to open their eyes to see their responsibilities and make them move forward,” she said.
She added that the 60 farmers were drawn from rice and cassava farmers, processors, producers and marketers.
The Facilitator, Julius Garma said that the training is necessary especially because there is conflict in every aspect of our lives, adding that leadership and management are needed.
He stated that in cooperatives, there are certain skills a leader needs to know to enable them pilot the affairs of the cooperatives.
“Leadership is necessary for associations. The farmers need to know how to solve leadership problems without disorganising the association. This training will go a long way to help them understand the importance of leadership and team building,” Garma said.
Most of the participants who spoke to AsheNews said that the timing for the training is apt, especially as most cooperatives and farmers associations in the rural areas, have died because of poor leadership and mismanagement.
