The Technologies for African Agricultural Transformation (TAAT), in partnership with the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security and other development and research institutions, has commenced a five-day national training workshop aimed at strengthening agricultural extension services and accelerating the adoption of improved technologies among Nigerian farmers.
The workshop, holding from September 7 to 11, 2026, in Dutse, Jigawa State, has brought together 100 extension master-trainers and subject-matter specialists from Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Sokoto and Zamfara states.
Organised under the theme, “Empowering Extension to Scale Agricultural Innovations,” the programme is supported by the CGIAR Scaling for Impact Programme, Jigawa Agricultural Transformation Agency (JATA), National Agricultural Growth Scheme–Agro-Pocket (NAGS-AP) Secretariat and research institutions.
The initiative is designed around a cascade training model, through which the 100 master-trainers will train frontline extension personnel and farmer organisations, with the ultimate target of reaching at least 500,000 farmers.
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Speaking at the opening ceremony, JATA Director-General, Dr Saifullahi Umar, said Nigeria had numerous agricultural technologies but faced a major challenge in effectively transferring them from research institutions to farmers.
He said the country’s extension-to-farmer ratio was commonly estimated at between one extension worker to 5,000 and 10,000 farmers, adding that inadequate funding, logistics, technical capacity and digital platforms had further weakened service delivery.
According to him, the gaps contribute to late planting, inappropriate input use, crop losses, low productivity and reduced farmer incomes.
Umar said the training must go beyond classroom learning, stressing that its success would ultimately be measured by changes in farming practices, productivity, resilience and livelihoods.
He disclosed that Jigawa State had recruited and trained 1,700 extension personnel and equipped them with motorcycles to improve their mobility and reach farming communities.
The state, he added, was also establishing Agricultural Development and Farm Service Centres, while its farm mechanisation company had a fleet of 400 tractors, alongside harvesters, sprayers and other equipment.
He further said Jigawa was rehabilitating dams and deploying 6,000 solar-powered irrigation systems to expand dry-season farming.
Representing the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Abubakar Kyari, the National Coordinator of NAGS-AP, Mr Ishaku Buba, said Nigeria received a $134 million loan under the African Emergency Food Production Facility (AEFPF), implemented through NAGS-AP.
He said NAGS-AP uses ICT to distribute subsidised agricultural inputs to registered smallholder farmers cultivating crops including wheat, rice, maize, sorghum, millet, soybean and cassava.
Buba disclosed that 647,500 farmers had been registered on the NAGS-AP platform across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory since the 2023/2024 dry season, while 622,818 farmers had received subsidised input packages.
He added that 1,269 redemption centres and 641 agro-dealers had been engaged nationwide.
The workshop will cover climate-smart agriculture, soil health, improved seed systems, pest and disease management, digital agriculture, market linkages, agricultural finance and farmer-centred extension approaches.
TAAT Head of the Clearinghouse, Dr Solomon Gizaw, said investing in extension professionals was essential to translating agricultural research and technologies into practical benefits for farming communities.
He described the Dutse training as the first step in a broader capacity-building process designed to create a multiplier effect across Nigeria’s extension system.
The organisers said the programme would culminate in action plans, institutional commitments and mechanisms for monitoring the impact of the training on farmers.
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