The Federal Government of Nigeria, through the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, in collaboration with the National Horticulture Research Institute (NIHORT), has successfully trained and empowered 200 youths and women in okra and telfairia (fluted pumpkin) production in Kwara Central Senatorial District, Kwara State.

The participants received practical training on key agricultural practices, including nursery establishment, transplanting techniques, field management, harvesting methods, and reducing postharvest losses in the okra and telfairia supply chain.

Other areas of focus included the economics of vegetable production, value addition strategies, and effective record-keeping in agribusiness to enhance productivity and profitability.

The training is aimed at building the capacity of youth and women on production and value addition of okra and telfairia for creating wealth and generating means of sustainable livelihood.

The CEO/Executive Director of NIHORT, Professor Attanda Mohammed Lawal, represented by the Director of Research/ Horti-consultancy Ventures Limited, NIHORT, Dr. Sunday Oluseyi Akinyemi said the training will boost the Federal government's efforts and focus on agriculture as a veritable means of diversifying Nigeria's economy.

According to him, telfairia and okra are commercially viable and a money-spinner for those who understand the value chain.

Executive Director further said that to maximize the potential of the commodities, capacity building and stakeholder engagement are crucial among other efforts to scale up the cultivation and processing of the crops.

“Okra and telfairia serve as industrial raw materials for the canning industry for making dry okra, okra tea, dry telfairia and telfairia tea powder. It is a low-capital agribusiness,” he stated. He then urged the beneficiaries to make best use of the knowledge and skills acquired in the training.

Alhaji Ambali Shuaib Adebayo, representing Senator Saliu Mustapha, the Senator representing Kwara Central Senatorial District, in his statement, admonished the trainees to use the opportunity to establish a good job by establishing telfairia and okra farms. This will bring quick income within three months.

Two of the participants, Mr. Abdulraham Ganiyu and Mrs. Adijat Hassan, expressed gratitude to the Federal Government and NIHORT, adding that the skills acquired during the training would help them start their own telfairia and okra production.