Minister Applauds WOFAN, BUK Centre For Agric Skills Training

The minister of education, Tunji Maruf Alausa, has commended the Women Farmers Advancement Network (WOFAN) and the Centre for Dryland Agriculture (CDA), Bayero University, Kano, for investing in practical agricultural training to equip students with employable skills and promote entrepreneurship.

Alausa gave the commendation during an inspection visit to the WOFAN–CDA SIBLING Project site at Bayero University, Kano.

WOFAN founder and Group Executive Board Chair, Dr Salamatu Garba, described the project as a practical response to the proposed National Agricultural Extension Bill currently before the national assembly.

She said the bill had passed its first and second readings and had received the support of stakeholders in agricultural institutions, development organisations and farmers sponsored by WOFAN.

Garba said the minister’s visit demonstrated the symbiotic relationship between the ministries of agriculture and education in advancing agriculture as a course of study and strengthening practical training.

She said WOFAN and its partners had decided to begin implementing the vision of the proposed legislation while awaiting its final passage, adding that the initiative showed how collaboration among the private sector, public institutions and universities could strengthen Nigeria’s agricultural extension system.

“We are giving students hands-on experience across integrated farming systems, including crop production, poultry, fisheries, waste-to-wealth initiatives, fabrication and value addition.

Our goal is to produce agricultural graduates who will become job creators and agripreneurs, rather than job seekers. Moreso she further stated that it will also provide skilled agricultural extension service providers that will heavily reduce the huge challenges of shortage of extension workers facing the agricultural sector”, she said.

Garba said the project was designed to bridge the gap between classroom learning and practical experience by exposing students to modern agricultural technologies, mechanisation and agribusiness value chains.

She added that WOFAN had invested in agricultural equipment, processing centres, poultry and fishery sections, climate-smart integrated farming systems, logistics and market linkages to improve productivity and train students in sustainable responses to climate change.

Former Dean of the Faculty of Agriculture at Bayero University and chairman of the elders forum for the SIBLING programme, Professor Muhammad Auwalu Hussaini, said the partnership had helped address longstanding funding constraints affecting practical agricultural training in universities.

“The partnership has significantly improved the practical learning environment for our students by providing facilities that enhance their knowledge and technical competence,” he said.

Chairman of WOFAN’s technical board , Professor Sani Miko, described the collaboration as a model for integrating academic knowledge with practical industry experience.

“This partnership is bringing life into the training system. It provides students with opportunities to learn by doing, while also supporting efforts to ensure the Agricultural Extension Bill becomes law,” he said.

Professor Mahmoud Ibrahim Daneji of Bayero University’s Department of Agricultural Extension urged students to embrace climate-smart agriculture, saying changing weather patterns had made environmentally sustainable farming practices essential for future farmers and extension workers.

The WOFAN–CDA SIBLING Project, flagged off on February 17, 2026, provided input support for 50 hectares of wet-season farming by agriculture students of Bayero University.

The initiative seeks to promote agripreneurship, practical agricultural training and careers in modern agriculture through hands-on learning and access to mechanised farming technologies.I can also produce a sharper newspaper-style version with a more authoritative lead and tighter 500-word structure if you want it tailored for print publication.