JR Farms a Nigerian agribusiness firm in collaboration with the French government has signed a strategic partnership agreement that will offer African farmers training on business growth and expansion in line with global practices.
The agreement signed in Paris was facilitated by the French Embassy, the Nigeria Agriculture Counsellor’s Office and the French Ministry of Agriculture.
The first cohort of the training will commence in February 2024 and will be hosted across three training institutes in France running for a period of eight weeks after which the participants will be issued certificates.
It will cover areas of agribusiness, including livestock, value chain optimisation, winery, crop production, food production, food safety, farm waste management, product packaging and marketing among others.
Sonia Darracq, the senior agriculture counsellor of the French Embassy Nigeria/West Africa, said France is committed towards the improvement of technical colleges of agriculture and the modernisation of curricula in Nigeria, with a dedicated grant from the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, or via the French Development Agency (AFD).
“This executive training programme aims to bridge the knowledge gap, foster innovation and facilitate valuable networking opportunities for participants. Moreover, it serves as a testament to the strengthening economic and diplomatic ties between France and Nigeria,” Darracq said.
“We look forward to the inaugural cohort in February 2024 and are confident that it will contribute to the growth and success of agribusiness in Nigeria and beyond,” Darracq added.
Olawale Rotimi Opeyemi, chief executive officer, of JR Farms Global operations, said the company considers this development a very important initiative between France and Africa.
He noted that while Africa has huge agribusiness potential, the knowledge gap has kept agribusiness development in the continent low.
“In a fast-changing world with a myriad of challenges confronting our food systems, investment in knowledge is very crucial in tackling challenges confronting agribusiness in Africa; this programme offers the opportunity for agribusiness stakeholders in Africa to gain exposure to thematic areas of agribusiness, get access to key industry leaders and partners, including market access for their products.
“We are very optimistic about this development, and we believe it will foster an exchange of knowledge, technology, market opportunities etc between France and Africa,” Olawale said.
