Stephanie Okpere in Sweetpotato field during the ToT Training, ARMTI, Ilorin.
The International Training of Trainers (ToT) on "Everything You Ever Wanted to Know about Sweetpotato" was held in Ilorin, Kwara State, from October 5 -16. It was a 10-day intensive program, organized by the Agricultural and Rural Management Training Institute (ARMTI), the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, and the Government of Nigeria. eHealth Africa (eHA) was represented by Stephanie Okpere, Project Coordinator from the Nigeria office. Stephanie’s training was sponsored by the International Potato Center (CIP).
ToT was organized as part of ARMTI's goal to train "extension personnel" on the latest developments in Sweetpotato production and utilization across Africa. ARMTI in the last three years has jointly organized this course with the CIP, and Helen Keller International’s and Reaching Agents of Change project. The ToT course aims at increasing investments in the Orange-Fleshed Sweetpotato (OFSP) to combat vitamin A deficiency among children and women of reproductive age.
"The Sweetpotato ToT Course was a great learning experience both in theory and practice. I did a presentation of the training to over 200 staff members of eHA, and also did a step down training on sweetpotato for 35 field personnel in Kano." Stephanie Okpere, Project Coordinator
Stephanie Okpere conducting step-down training in Kano.
ARMTI also seeks to build the capacity of public sector extension and NGO personnel to effectively implement initiatives aimed at promoting the dissemination and appropriate use of Vitamin A-rich OFSP in the value chain.
“The training on Sweetpotato to eHA staff was a great opportunity to build our programming capacity in OFSP-based Nutrition & Food Security interventions, and Agricultural Commodity Value Chain Drive in Kano and other States in Northern Nigeria.” - Dr. Sarma Mallubhotla, Program Manager, Health, Nutrition and Agriculture
Dr. Sarma Mallubhotla addressing the trainees in eHA.
Click here to read about the use of the Orange-Fleshed Sweetpotato to fight malnutrition in Africa.