New Project: THRIVE Initiative in Nigeria Is Off to a Strong Start
Launched in January 2025, the Training in Horticulture, Resilience, and Income for Vegetable Entrepreneurship and Sustainability (THRIVE) project has already reached more than 3,500 smallholder farmers in northern Nigeria with agronomic and business training. THRIVE is promoting sustainable, climate-smart practices to enable farmers to produce a greater quantity and variety of vegetables for local, national, and regional markets.
This 2-year project is co-funded by East-West Seed Knowledge Transfer Foundation (EWS-KT) and a private Dutch foundation and is being implemented by EWS-KT, Wageningen University & Research, Ahmadu Bello University, and the Ministry of Agriculture in Kaduna, Kano, and Sokoto states.
“Despite the considerable challenges faced by smallholder farmers in northern Nigeria, there are immense growth opportunities to be found. THRIVE will boost vegetable farmers’ yields and income while contributing to food security and a stronger agricultural sector,” said Stuart Morris, EWS-KT Executive Director.
Building on the successful Transforming Nigeria’s Vegetable Markets project (2019–2024), which was co-funded by the Netherlands Enterprise Agency, THRIVE aims to increase the skills and knowledge of 30,000 smallholder farmers and prepare them to become agricultural entrepreneurs.
Field-based agronomic training and farm business training are at the core of the project. THRIVE’s multipronged approach also includes nurturing market connectivity, advancing farmers’ access to finance, and equipping agro-input dealers with the knowledge to accurately advise their farmer customers.
In cooperation with Wageningen University & Research, EWS-KT will also develop local-language educational modules and planting guides, to be shared at in-person training sessions, via digital platforms, at agro-input dealer shops, and through radio programing and social media.
“Our work under THRIVE will increase farmers’ productivity and income, improve resource management, and help to create a more sustainable farming environment for vegetable farmers,” said David Godfrey Alechenu, THRIVE Project Manager at EWS-KT. “We have had a very productive first quarter and are now in a position to accelerate our work with smallholder farmers.”
