By Isaac Ukpoju
Sasakawa Africa Association (SAA) has concluded its 2025 Annual Farmer Organisation exchange visit in Assakio, Lafia Local Government Area of Nasarawa State, with a call for stronger market-oriented practices among smallholder groups.
This is contained in a statement by Mr Moses Nongoatse, SAA Communication Officer, and made available to newsmen on Sunday in Lafia.
According to the statement, the two-day event, held at the Assakio Rice Value Chain Development Centre (RVCDC), brought together 55 farmer organisation leaders and 17 field officers from Gombe, Jigawa, Kano, Nasarawa, Kwara and Benue States.
The programme, fully supported by The Nippon Foundation, is one of SAA’s long-standing extension approaches aimed at strengthening the capacity of farmers through peer learning and exposure to successful cooperative models.
Declaring the event open, Dr Godwin Atser, SAA Nigeria Country Director, represented by Mr Jonathan Taknan- Yassah, Programme Officer, Market-Oriented Agriculture (MOA), said the exchange visit was designed to deepen participants’ understanding of the opportunities embedded in the MOA approach.
He said the Assakio RVCDC had become one of SAA’s most successful intervention sites on the continent, employing more than 64 people and generating over N12 million within a year.
Atser urged participants to take note of the governance structures, enterprise models and systems that had contributed to the rapid growth of the host cooperative, Apashi Woza Multipurpose Cooperative Society Ltd.
He said that the centre, established with support from the Ministry of Food and Agriculture, serves as a complete rice value-chain hub offering production, aggregation, storage, processing, packaging and marketing services.
Participants reviewed farmer organisation activities across the six intervention states and shared success stories before embarking on a guided tour of the RVCDC. They also visited the Assakio produce market, where they interacted with market leaders, off-takers and input dealers.
SAA Nasarawa State Coordinator, Mrs Salome Sabo, said the progress recorded by farmer organisations in the state reflected the benefits of collaboration and consistent capacity building.
“We are delighted to welcome farmer leaders from across the country. What you see here is the result of commitment and teamwork. We hope the lessons learned will be replicated in your various communities,” she said.
Some participants described the exchange as highly impactful.
Alice Dahiru, leader of the Mirmu Women Farmers MPCS from Gombe, said the visit boosted her confidence in the potential of her cooperative.
“I learned practical strategies on collective marketing and enterprise management that I will take back to my members,” she said.
From Jigawa, Umar Dilyari, leader of Dilyari Rice Farmers, said the visit had reshaped his understanding of agricultural enterprise management, while Mza Tyom of Agayo Youth MPCS, Benue, commended the centre’s integrated value-chain model.
The programme ended with participants expressing renewed commitment to applying lessons learned to strengthen their organisations and improve enterprise performance. (NAN).