By Kenneth Afor
In a bid to encourage entrepreneurs in agribusiness, major stakeholders in the agriculture sector have expressed their desire to partner with Premier Agribusiness Academy on capacity building for business sustainability and profitability for startups.
The stakeholders which include Poultry Association of Nigeria (PAN), Agricultural and Rural Management Training Institute (ARMTI), Rome Business School, made this known during a leadership training organised by Premier Agribusiness Academy in Lagos, recently.
Speaking shortly after the training, Manzo Maigari, the director general of Nigeria Agribusiness Group (NABG), noted that the agribusiness sector in Nigeria was not structured and developed enough, saying this necessitates that major decision makers in the sector will need to acquire efficient leadership tools like those taught at the academy’s’s organised trainings to enable them make decisions that will develop their skills and help structure the sector.
Maigari, who applauded the quality of training and facilitators at the training, said: “I don’t think there is any other academy providing top level management training like this in the sector. Premier Agribusiness Academy has come in handy to fill a gap that no one has been able to identify, let alone meet.
“The Academy has created a niche for itself that nobody may be able to compete with both in terms of the quality of training and the trainer.”
Godwin Egbebe, chairman, Poultry Association of Nigeria (PAN), Lagos State chapter, who was a participant at the training, bared his mind on the initiative.
“I am happy that i attended this course because it is needed to bridge the gap between agriculture and business so that we can have a successful practice of agribusiness. A lot of people know how to bring the concept of science and business together; they only know agriculture but they are ignorant of the business aspect of it. I am particularly delighted to have been a part of this training because it has exposed me to better ways to manage my business and also convince other PAN members to partner with Premier Agribusiness Academy to learn world’s best management practices that will help them develop their businesses and agriculture in Nigeria,” said Egbebe.
A participant at the training, Veronica Obatolu, a professor who is the executive director, Institute of Agricultural Research and Training, commended Agribusiness school and highlighted ways the research institute can collaborate with the academy while expressing her desire to do so.
“There are so many ways our organization can collaborate with Premier Agribusiness Academy especially in the area of agricultural value chain. Our institute deals with so many agricultural crops starting from the beginning which is the soil until it gets to the consumer and I see many ways we can collaborate in terms of livestock, domestic improvement, processing and human capacity development.
Commenting on the importance of the training, Obatolu said, “the course ‘Critical thinking and problem solving skill for decision making’, is a good course that has given me a new perception regarding decision making, not just to focus on a particular method but to able to combine both critical and creative thinking in order to be able to make good decisions that will help in the upliftment of the organization that I am leading”
Commenting also, Olufemi Oladunni, a doctor, of Agricultural and Rural Management Training Institute (ARMTI), revealed that functioning efficiently as a chief executive requires a lot of creative and critical thinking to solve problems especially in the agriculture and rural development sector of the Nigerian economy.
He expressed delight to have been a participant of the training and lauded Premier Agribusiness Academy for the initiative adding that, the knowledge he has acquired will help him function better and more efficiently as a Chief Executive Officer.
He expressed his intention to collaborate with the academy by introducing agribusiness components into the agricultural value chain, through the training of young members in experiential learning adding that, this knowledge will help them in delivering their mandate to the institute and country at large.
On the part of Humphrey Akanazu, a doctor and country director, Rome Business School, the knowledge impacted in Premier Agribusiness Academy trainings are skills that can be applied in any business environment not only agriculture.
In his words: “It is key for top management staff of companies and organizations to make quality business and management decisions and Premier Agribusiness Academy delivers top notch leadership and management trainings” he said.
