Project News

The first training session for the Agricultural Development Programme (ADP) personnel was held in Lafia, Nasarawa, between May 30 and June 1, 2012.

The training and the technical guidance of this project aim to increase distribution of high-quality domestic rice. Thus the training aims to enhance the capacity of the Department of Agro-Processing and Marketing staff, ADP staff, small-scale rice millers, parboilers and rice farmers for drastic improvement of post-harvest processing technology and marketing. Concretely, the training consists of the following modules: (1) marketing; (2) post-harvest technology; (3) business management; (4) extension; and (5) training plan/implementation/evaluation.

The first training session focused on lectures on marketing covering the following topics: (1) market needs and current situation of rice; (2) rice grading standards; (3) branding and marketing; (4) rice distribution patterns; and (5) incentives for rice quality improvement.

It was the first training that the Department of Agro-Processing and Marketing staff and the Japanese experts provided together. It was done through the careful preparation process by the two parties that involved such steps as preparation of training curriculums and materials based on field surveys under the guidance of the Japanese experts.

The ADP staff members were highly motivated and took part actively in the lectures by exchanging views. Following the lectures, group practices on profit and loss calculation, and investment and recovery were conducted. In the beginning, some trainees seemed to struggle with the unaccustomed calculation. However, as they grasped the subject matters better, some were seen engaging in heated discussion. In the quiz given on the last day, the trainees gave the correct answers to 70 to 80 percent of the questions. The trainees are to take the lead in training rice farmers and millers from now on. They are expected to commit to constant self-improvement and become lecturers with deeper understanding of the subject matters since the people that they will train are business-oriented ones who always have in mind profit and loss out of their economic activities.

Discussion

Group Photograph

Group Work for Investment and recovery

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