Stakeholders canvas capacity building for agric decision makers

Stakeholders in the agric sector have raised concerns regarding the need for major decision-makers in the sector to acquire efficient leadership tools, develop their businesses and most importantly help structure the sector.

While speaking during a leadership training organised by Premier Agribusiness Academy in Lagos, the stakeholders, which cut across members of Poultry Association of Nigeria (PAN), Agricultural and Rural Management Training Institute (ARMTI) and Rome Business School, among others, said the leadership tools would enhance capacity building for business sustainability and profitability in the sector.

Director-General, Nigeria Agribusiness Group (NABG) Dr. Manzo Daniel Maigari, a participant at the executive education course designed for CEOs, COOs MDs, Business owners, and Managers said the agribusiness sector in the country, is not structured and developed enough.

“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.”

Director-General of the academy, Francis Toromade, said the course “Creative Thinking and Problem-solving Skills for Decision making,” is a course that is transforming agribusinesses in Nigeria.

“The purpose of the course is to help participants develop their creative thinking ability and use it as a tool to effectively make excellent business and organisational decisions.

Executive Director of Institute of Agricultural Research and Training, who commended the school, highlighted ways her institute and other research institutes can collaborate with the academy to transform the sector.

“There are so many ways our organisation 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.

Chairman, PAN, Lagos State Chapter, Mr. Egbebe Godwin, said: “I am happy about the course because it is needed to bridge the gap between agriculture and business to have a successful practice of agribusiness.

A lot of people do not know how to bring the concept of science and business together; they only know agriculture but are ignorant of the business aspect of it. I am particularly delighted to be 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 the world’s best management practices that will help them develop their businesses and agriculture in Nigeria.

Commenting also, Dr. Olufemi Oladunni of 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 economy.