27/02/2026
Emeraid Capital Management and Consults Ltd, as part of the RISE Consortium led by MEDA (Mennonite Economic Development Associates) and funded by Global Affairs Canada | Affaires mondiales Canada, successfully conducted community entry and institutional engagement activities across Bauchi, Kaduna, and Kano States from 9th–12th February 2026 under the Resilient and Inclusive Agri-Food Systems – Empowering Women and Youth (RISE) Project (2025–2030).
RISE is a five-year initiative implemented in partnership with Sahel Consulting, Development Exchange Center (DEC), Extension Africa, Federation of Muslim Women’s Association in Nigeria, and Women in Business Forum Bauchi. The project is focused on strengthening resilient, inclusive, and market-driven agri-food systems across the rice, maize, groundnut, and soybean value chains, with a strong emphasis on women and youth economic empowerment.
Across the three states, the consortium engaged:
• State Ministries and Agricultural Agencies
• Agricultural Development Authorities
• Traditional institutions and district leadership
• Local Government Councils
• Women- and youth-led cooperatives and MSMEs
Key outcomes from the engagements include:
âś” Institutional endorsement and formal permission for community entry
âś” Strong alignment with state agricultural priorities
âś” Identification of women-led cooperatives across key value chains
âś” Emphasis on transparent beneficiary selection and inclusive participation
âś” Integration of extension systems to strengthen sustainability
✔ Reinforcement of a full market systems approach — linking production, value addition, and structured market access.
The engagements also surfaced important implementation considerations, including cooperative formalization, access to finance, market price dynamics, and sociocultural barriers affecting women’s participation.
With strong government collaboration and community readiness across all three states, the foundation has been firmly established for advancing resilient, inclusive, and market-driven agri-food systems in Northern Nigeria.
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