By Rashidat AbdulRahman
The capacity building workshop on tracking rice paddy marketing with a renewed commitment to improving transparency, stabilizing the national rice supply chain, and boosting farmer incomes.
The training, facilitated by programme coordinator Niger Foods Engr. Bashir Khalil Tanko and supported by lead data analyst Muhammad Babakeke brought together Market Leaders, Market Actors, and Community Based Advisors from major rice producing regions to learn advanced tools for real time market monitoring.
The workshop Held under the theme “Paddy Rice Tracking for Market Clusters and Market Actors,” the workshop addressed persistent challenges of market opacity, which often deprive farmers of timely price information and undermine their earning potential.
He urged Participants to pay attention, saying the training is in three core modules: rice market fundamentals, digital tools for market data collection, and strategic marketing encompassing quality assurance and linkage building.
Engr . Bashir stated that the training is also expected to help cooperatives negotiate bulk contracts, enhance supply chain coordination, and contribute valuable data to a national commodity database to support agricultural policy planning., ensuring the initiative poised to reduce price volatility during peak harvests.
Speaking on behalf of the Agricultural Graduate Association of Nigeria (AGAN), Ndawo Muhammed commended the consortium involving Niger Foods, Onyx, and Elon Factors for what he described as a transformative impact on the agricultural sector.
He reiterated the critical role of community based advisors and encouraged farmers to adopt phased loan collection and crop insurance for more sustainable financial and production practices.
In their separate remarks Representatives of the Empowerment Initiative Persons with Disability Cooperative Society Limited Abdulkadir Isah ,Tinubu Bago Ruga Ruga group Hauwa Muhammed as well as Fati Bala from Bosso expressed appreciation to Niger State Government, AGRA, and Niger Foods for their continued support. They described the workshop as highly educational and beneficial to local farmers, urging participants to apply the knowledge gained, prioritize sustainability, and avoid rushing for short term profits.
They emphasized that consistent application of best practices and a long term focus would significantly enhance productivity and improve livelihoods across farming communities.
