About AFPI

Founded on a Vision of Food Security

The Agriculture and Food Production Initiative (AFPI) has made significant strides in empowering rural communities through strategic collaboration with leading international and national institutions, including the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Africa Rice Center (AfricaRice), International Fund for Agricultural Development–Value Chain Development Programme (IFAD-VCDP), the Ogun State Government, and the Imo State Government.

These partnerships have focused on strengthening the capacity of rural youths and women in rice seed production technologies and rice value addition, creating sustainable opportunities for income generation and poverty reduction.

Through this collaboration, AFPI facilitated a series of hands-on trainings, field demonstrations, and knowledge-sharing platforms aimed at equipping participants with modern rice production techniques. Youths and women were trained in improved seed production practices such as seed selection, nursery management, proper field establishment, rouging, harvesting, and post-harvest handling. These trainings were complemented with exposure to improved rice varieties and climate-smart agronomic practices developed by AfricaRice, NCRI and IITA.

Beyond seed production, the initiative also placed strong emphasis on rice value addition. Rural women and youth groups received training in rice processing, quality improvement, packaging, branding, and small-scale enterprise development. This enabled them to move beyond primary production to participate more effectively in the rice value chain, thereby increasing the value of their products and improving household incomes.

Recently, AFPI implemented a project "Integrated approach to climate change in the rice production system in Nigeria" (InACC), jointly financed by the European Union and the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and GIZ as part of the Special Initiative ONE WORLD - No Hunger and the Global Programme Green Innovation Centre for the Agriculture and Food Sector, Nigeria (GIAE NG).

Today, the Agriculture and Food Production Initiative stands as a strong example of how partnerships between research institutions, development programs, and government can transform rural livelihoods. By empowering youths and women with knowledge, skills, and access to improved technologies, the initiative continues to contribute to poverty alleviation, food security, and inclusive agricultural development in Nigeria.