The Foundation for Partnership Initiatives in the Niger Delta (PIND) has trained 70 agro-service providers across the nine Niger Delta States to equip service providers with new business skills, practices and processes to improve their service delivery to Niger Delta farmers and enterprises.
The two workshops which held in Warri, Delta State, and Uyo, Akwa-Ibom State under PIND’s Market System Development (MSD) project provided the service providers the opportunities to network and share peer-to-peer knowledge.
PIND’s Programme Director, Dr. Effiong Essien said the end goal of the workshops is to “Improve the lives and livelihood of the small-holder farmers (SHFs), micro-small-and-medium-enterprises (MSMEs), and service providers through skill-building and skill-sharing.”
The workshops provided training on business development and management, business sustainability, capacity building, customer relationships, marketing/sales support services, and strategy development, among other skills.
A participant, Gabriel Udo, expressed delight for PIND for the opportunity to be part of the training and shared the impact it has had on him.
He said: “I have attended other workshops and training, but this is more exceptional. It is more impactful, and I’ve learned a lot. Due to this training, I am already making calls informing my workers on my farms of what to change.”
In her remarks, an oil palm farmer from Rivers State, Miller Felicia, said: “I’m highly favoured to be among the participants. This training has given me an edge. My blood is hot to deliver. In every business, you will succeed if you have a vision. You must also have value. I am not the only service provider, but people cherished me because I know how to reward them. PIND has given me the innovation to go and practice,” she said.
