Agric Experts Develop Curriculum To Boost Food Security

Experts in Nigeria’s agricultural sector have commenced the development of a specialised curriculum aimed at strengthening the Business Development Services (BDS) ecosystem and boosting food security in the country.

The initiative, under the AGRA Ecosystem Development Programme, brought together stakeholders from the six geopolitical zones to design a sector-specific curriculum for Business Development Service Providers (BDSPs) to support agricultural small and medium enterprises (ag-SMEs).

Speaking at the National Workshop on Agri-BDSP Curriculum Development in Kaduna, the rector of Kaduna Business School, Dr. Dahiru Sani, said the exercise was not a conventional training but a structured curriculum development process using global standards.

According to him, the objective is to identify the competencies required to produce experts who can translate agricultural production into viable business ventures.

Sani further explained that participants included practitioners from major value chains such as rice, ginger, sorghum and cocoa, as well as experts in climate science, entrepreneurship, soil management, livestock production and academia.

He noted that while agriculture has received various forms of intervention in the past, little attention has been given to building a strong middle layer of business support professionals.

“Agriculture without a business outlook will go nowhere. If we give agriculture a business face, young people will begin to see opportunities in it. What we are doing is creating that middle layer of experts who can guide farmers and agribusinesses through market access, export processes, foreign exchange management and financial systems”.

He disclosed that the programme targets between 20,000 and 30,000 BDSP professionals who will be deployed across agricultural value chains nationwide.

Sani added that the initiative aims to facilitate the creation of about 100,000 agricultural businesses by strengthening enterprise capacity and leveraging opportunities under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

“If we do not act strategically, Nigeria risks becoming a dumping ground, even within Africa. We must move from consumption to production and competitiveness”.

The AGRA Programme Officer, Godswill Aguiyi said the curriculum was conceived to address critical gaps in existing BDSP training, which he described as too general and not tailored to the peculiar dynamics of agriculture.

“The agricultural sector has its own realities price volatility, climate change, policy shifts and limited access to finance. A generic curriculum cannot adequately prepare BDSPs to respond to these challenges”.

According to him, equipping BDSPs with sector-specific knowledge will enable them to guide farmers towards better organization, improved productivity, reduced post-harvest losses and stronger market positioning.

He expressed optimism that improving efficiency and effectiveness within agricultural enterprises would have a broad impact on the economy, given the large percentage of Nigerians engaged in farming and related activities.