Bite, Snack, Meal: Building Nigeria’s Ability to Effectively Engage in Policy Communications

On 26-27 September 2019, the Feed the Future Nigeria Agricultural Policy Project delivered a Policy Communications training to 26 (19 male, seven female) staff of the Agricultural Research Council of Nigeria (ARCN) in Abuja. The training introduced participants to the concepts of policy communications, the use of social media for disseminating and measuring impact, as well as how and when to use policy briefs. The training was jointly facilitated by Elisabeth Douglas, Communications Specialist for the International food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) and Dr. Edith Nnemeka, Assistant Chief Agricultural Research Officer (ACARO) at ARCN. Dr. Nnemeka had been a participant in an earlier policy communications training delivered by the project in 2017. A main objective of this training was to

Linking Agricultural Policy, Food Systems Transformation and Diet Change in Nigeria

“It is important to recognize the importance that policy has for nutritional outcomes”- Olivier Ecker, Senior Research Fellow at IFPRI On 19 September 2019, Olivier Ecker, Senior Research Fellow at the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) presented a research seminar entitled “Food System Transformation, Dietary Change, and the Role of Agricultural Policy in Nigeria” in Abuja. The audience of the seminar was made up of 36 individuals (13 male, 23 female) representing various ministries, departments and agencies; private sector organizations; and non-governmental organizations working on nutritional issues in Nigeria. A major point arising from the presentation was that while increasing the knowledge about nutrition encourages healthy food choices, this would have little impact on nutritional outcomes without an accompanying

Towards an Extension Policy for Nigeria: Developing an Implementation Plan for Niger State

Dr Babu and directors of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Development discussing the pilot of the implementation plan for the Nigeria’s Agricultural Extension Policy in Abuja (c) 2019 IFPRI/Bisola Oyediran The International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) as part of its capacity strengthening activities in Nigeria under the Feed the Future Nigeria Agricultural Policy Project has further supported Nigeria’s Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD) in its move to coordinate the development of an extension policy for the country. From 14-24 May 2019 Dr Suresh Babu, IFPRI’s Senior Research Fellow and Head of Capacity Strengthening worked closely with FMARD’s Department of Agricultural Extension (FDAE) in Abuja and Niger State Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources on the

IFPRI and NAERLS Deliver Policy Communications Training in Niger State

IFPRI and NAERLS Facilitators alongwith participants of the Policy Communications for Advocacy training held in Minna, Niger State. (C) 2018 IFPRI Bisola Oyediran On 27-28 August 2018, a team of three trainers from the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) and a staff of the National Agricultural Extension Research Liaison Service (NAERLS) held a training on policy communications in Minna, the capital of Nigeria’s Niger State. The 18 (10 males, 8 females) participants of the training entitled Policy Communications for Advocacy, included farmer groups, extension agents, the state’s Agricultural Development Programme, agrodealers and community-based organizations. The topics covered by the training included an introduction to policy communications, the use of social media, as well as sources of information on agriculture.

Improving agricultural policy in Nigeria by enhancing data analysis in Delta State

IFPRI’s Olusegun Fadare presenting one of the modules during the STATA training at Delta State University (c) 2018 IFPRI As part of efforts towards strengthening Nigeria’s capacity for greater evidence-based policy processes in agriculture by increasing the capacity of Nigerian analysts to undertake and make widely available relevant evidence-based policy analysis, on 2-4 May 2018, a team of three (3) trainers from the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI)’s Nigeria Strategy Support Program (NSSP) facilitated a training course on “Introduction to Survey Data Analysis using Stata” for 19 (12 males and 7 females) researchers and faculty of Delta State University in Asaba, Delta State. Presenters and participants at the STATA training held for researchers and academics at Delta State University
Participants of the Stata training courses organized at FUNAI (c) 2018 IFPRI Trainers and participants of the Stata training courses organized at FUNAI (c) 2018 IFPRI On January 23-25, a team of four 4 trainers from the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI)’s Nigeria Strategy Support Program (NSSP) facilitated two parallel training courses on “Econometrics for Policy Analysis using Stata” over 3 days at the Federal University, Ndufu-Alike Ikwo (Ebonyi State) which were attended by a total of 48 participants (36 males and 12 females) including faculty and the graduate student body from various departments within the University. The training courses were designed to teach participants how to manage, analyze, and report findings from various types of economic data. Participants

Seminar delivered at the University of Calabar

Dr. Hatzenbuehler delivering his seminar presentation (c) 2017 IFPRI Dr. Patrick Hatzenbuehler, Associate Research Fellow at IFPRI-NSSP Abuja, presented a seminar on “How Macroeconomic Factors May Influence Agricultural Program Sustainability: Evidence from Cross River State, Nigeria” as part of the Department of Agricultural Economics Seminar Series at the University of Calabar on November 15, 2017. Dr. Hatzenbuehler and with seminar participants (c) 2017 IFPRI The seminar was attended by twenty people (seven females, and thirteen males), including members of the Department of Agricultural Economics and Department of Economics faculty, graduate students from each department, staff from the Cross River Agricultural Development Programme (ADP), and a representative of a Calabar-based microfinance bank. The seminar was well-organized by Prof. Idiong C. Idiong,

Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Food Security Policy Research Paper 86

Patrick L. Hatzenbuehler and George Mavrotas. 2017. Macroeconomic Factor Influence on Agricultural Program Sustainability in Kaduna State, Nigeria. Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Food Security Policy Research Paper 86. East Lansing: Michigan State University.