3,000 widows supported through RIU Nigeria capacity building of ADA
1 March 2011
One of the ways we have addressed social exclusion is through working with Abanbeke Development Association (ADA) - a membership association for rural widows in Obudu, Cross Rivers State. The association seeks to break the social and economic barriers that hinder the development of widows, orphans and other people in need by empowering women to take action to attain economic self-reliance and overcome barriers such as lack of access to land and discrimination from local economic opportunities and participation in local economic and social decision making.
One of the ways we have addressed social exclusion is through working with Abanbeke Development Association (ADA) - a membership association for rural widows in Obudu, Cross Rivers State. The association seeks to break the social and economic barriers that hinder the development of widows, orphans and other people in need by empowering women to take action to attain economic self-reliance and overcome barriers such as lack of access to land and discrimination from local economic opportunities and participation in local economic and social decision making.
RIU Nigeria, through its Cassava Flour Innovation Value Chain Platform, introduced ADA to the International Institute for Tropical Agriculture (IITA) and Nigerian Root Crop Research Institutes (NRCRI), thereby enabling 3000 members of the ADA to attend training on commercial cultivation of cassava conducted by the Abia Field Station of IITA. The association also participated in the RIU Nigeria-assisted Cassava Platform entrepreneurial skill acquisition training on value addition to cassava held at NRCRI. Cassava is a major staple crop that thrives in marginal soil and one of the sources of carbohydrate in the diet of the poor. The ADA members gained skills on the production of odourless fufu, a local food, and industrial starch, a product they can sale to generate income.
Under the RIU-assisted Cowpea/Soybean Value Chain Innovation Platform, the widows association acquired seed for a high-yielding variety of rust-resistant soybean and a dual purpose variety of cowpea for planting in the 2010 cropping season. The group members were highly delighted to try these varieties (these crops are not traditionally grown in that agro-ecological zone) because these commodities are high quality protein sources that will ensure adequate protein intake in their households and address the food scarcity which many socially excluded group experience. In order to enhance the utilisation of these products, RIU Nigeria, in collaboration with ADA, is organising training to demonstrate possible post-harvest value addition in these crop value chains. During this workshop the women will be trained on various products that can be made for consumption at household level. The capacity development grant for this purpose had been released to ADA and is expected to cover the cost of itinerant agricultural advisory services to monitor the performance of the cowpea and soybeans planted in 2010. The monitoring exercise will cover 18 communities, where about 3000 widows and single mothers live.
The leader of ADA, Agnes Ingwu, participated in the RIU Nigeria Learning Event where stakeholders in RIU Nigeria Innovation Platforms (cowpea/soybean, cassava and aquaculture) shared their experiences. She talked about the impact of being involved in the cowpea/soybean and cassava programmes, and how the programme has helped to improve the social and economic status, income-generating skills and self-confidence of the widows. Ms Ingwu was also sponsored by RIU to attend the recent Gender and Market-oriented agriculture workshop at Addis Ababa Ethiopia and has this to say:
Under the RIU-assisted Cowpea/Soybean Value Chain Innovation Platform, the widows association acquired seed for a high-yielding variety of rust-resistant soybean and a dual purpose variety of cowpea for planting in the 2010 cropping season. The group members were highly delighted to try these varieties (these crops are not traditionally grown in that agro-ecological zone) because these commodities are high quality protein sources that will ensure adequate protein intake in their households and address the food scarcity which many socially excluded group experience. In order to enhance the utilisation of these products, RIU Nigeria, in collaboration with ADA, is organising training to demonstrate possible post-harvest value addition in these crop value chains. During this workshop the women will be trained on various products that can be made for consumption at household level. The capacity development grant for this purpose had been released to ADA and is expected to cover the cost of itinerant agricultural advisory services to monitor the performance of the cowpea and soybeans planted in 2010. The monitoring exercise will cover 18 communities, where about 3000 widows and single mothers live.
The leader of ADA, Agnes Ingwu, participated in the RIU Nigeria Learning Event where stakeholders in RIU Nigeria Innovation Platforms (cowpea/soybean, cassava and aquaculture) shared their experiences. She talked about the impact of being involved in the cowpea/soybean and cassava programmes, and how the programme has helped to improve the social and economic status, income-generating skills and self-confidence of the widows. Ms Ingwu was also sponsored by RIU to attend the recent Gender and Market-oriented agriculture workshop at Addis Ababa Ethiopia and has this to say:
"I took home the phrase 'what you get depends on the volume of your wallet'. I find this very useful and timely because this has provided me with the right language for ADA's training on budgeting. Budgeting is a key component of the functional education activities ADA does with her members. Training women with very low literacy level, without appropriate and simple language, usually yields no results or impact. Flexible methodology is important in putting research outputs into practice. RIU has enabled ADA members to demand for improved seed varieties from sources that we previously could not have access to."It is gratifying that RIU Nigeria programme has contributed to the development of the agency of ADA and the benefits that have accrued to its members who are rural widows and single mothers and their respective families. Their demand for, and successful acquisition of, recently released seeds of improved varieties of soybean and cowpea in 2010, added to an increase in the aggregate demand for agricultural research outputs in Nigeria. No doubt, a better harvest would increase the consumable food in the households of the beneficiaries, and give them a higher disposable income. The RIU programme would then have performed its role of stimulating rural demand for agricultural research outputs, addressing poverty among a socially excluded group, and supported the capacity and agency of a resource-constrained rural-based membership association.
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Posted by: Timberland UK | 11/23/2011 at 12:17 PM