Nigeria Agricultural Policy Project efforts towards strengthening national capacity in June and July 2019

The International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), on behalf of the Feed the Future Nigeria Agricultural Policy Project, delivered seven trainings on range of courses including Issues in Agricultural and Development, Econometric Data Analysis Using STATA, Monitoring and Evaluation, Group Dynamics, and Policy Communications in Abakaliki, Asaba, Biase, Calabar, Ibadan, Ika South, New Bussa and Zaria in the months of June and July 2019 (See the details in the table below). These trainings were delivered to 261 persons (184 males and 77 females) and the participants included researchers in academia and state ministries of Agriculture, agrodealers and farmer groups.

Training	Date	Location
Issues in Agriculture and Development Training for Academia	10-11 June 2019	Ibadan, Oyo State
STATA Training for Academia	10-14 June 2019	Asaba, Delta State
Issues in Agriculture and Development Training for Government Institutions	13-14 June 2019	Ibadan, Oyo State
STATA Training for Academia	18-21 June 2019	Zaria, Kaduna State
Policy Communication Training for Private Sector	24-25 June 2019	Biase, Cross River State
Policy Communication Training for Farmer Groups	26-27 June 2019	Biase, Cross River State
Monitoring and Evaluation Training to Government Institutions	26-28 June 2019	Abakaliki, Ebonyi State
Monitoring and Evaluation Training to Staff of National Institute for Freshwater Fisheries Research (NIFFR) & Federal Colleague of Fresh Water Fisheries Technology (FCFFT)	3-5 July 2019	New Bussa, Niger State
Monitoring and Evaluation Training to staff of University of Calabar	15-17 July 2019	Calabar, Cross river State
Group Dynamics Training for Farmer Groups	8-10 July 2019	Asaba, Delta State
Group Dynamics Training for Farmer Groups	11-13 July 2019	Ika South, Delta State

These trainings are part of capacity-building activities within the framework of the Feed the Future Nigeria Agricultural Policy Project and each one of them is aimed at achieving strengthened capacities of participants trained. The M&E trainings help actors in the private sector, civil society organizations and researchers measure results and keep track of organizational goals and objectives. The trainings on Policy Communications are designed to equip various stakeholders with the knowledge and skills to be able to engage and respond effectively in public discussions around various agricultural issues. Meanwhile the trainings on Issues in Agriculture and Development are meant to provide basic understanding on land governance, climate change, food & nutrition security, and project evaluation in Nigeria’s agricultural sector for policy analysts and programme officers.

Participants expressed gratitude for the trainings, citing that the skills and knowledge were directly relevant to their needs. For instance, Victor Adewale Atilola, the Permanent Secretary of the Oyo State’s Ministry of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Rural Development and also a participant in the training on Issues in Agriculture and Development held in Ibadan on 13 and 14 June said at the end of the training “We were very elated to benefit from you and your team’s wealth of experience on Issues in Agric Development. It gave room for our crop of practitioners to expand their horizons in their areas of competence. No doubt it has been an eye opener for us and we hope for more of such collaboration in future with IFPRI.”

Also, we have Musa Yusuf, an Agricultural Extension Specialist, with the National Agricultural Extension Research and Liaison Service (NAERLS) in Zaria, who said “You guys have been wonderful facilitators throughout the workshop, you ensured that each module was well-explained with practical examples, and all followed up questions were answered to a logical understanding. The training workshop has really improved my knowledge of STATA particularly in area of data cleaning. As such, I am having a re-think of using primary data for my PhD thesis, I would employ the knowledge I gained during the training to exclusively utilize a secondary data for my PhD thesis.”

The Feed the Future Nigeria Agricultural Policy Project is funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID-Nigeria) and jointly implemented by Michigan State University and IFPRI’s Nigeria Strategy Support Program (IFPRI-NSSP)