Producing a new generation of farmers in Nigeria

Peter puts techniques into practice

Peter struggled to find a job after completing his diploma in electrical and electronics engineering so he joined the SOS Children’s Villages farming project in 2020.

“I was without hope of furthering my education or getting decent employment because my parents could not afford to educate me any further,” says Peter. “When the training started at the SOS farm, I made up my mind to focus intently on the training.”

So far 730 young women and men have benefited from the training. Omoruyi, the farm manager says the uptake was slow at first but has picked up with time.

The young people from SOS Children's Villages' programs or the local community are invited to learn about crop farming, livestock production, agricultural business value chain activities, and ways to generate cooking gas and electricity using animal waste.

“I learned to avoid some bad farm practices and adopted the good ones,” says Peter. “I learned about land measurement and its usefulness to calculate the expected yield on the farmland. In this case, the input and output can be easily determined and it is easier to know when you are running at a loss.”

Peter put into practice what he had learnt by planting cassava and maize on his family’s land. He got a good harvest – over three times what his family usually harvests. Happy with the progress, Peter enrolled to be a farm trainee in the crops and livestock unit under the mentorship of the farm manager.
 
“With the stipends from the daily work at the farm, I hired labourers to cultivate my farm,” says Peter. “I also started saving a percentage of my stipend with the intention of furthering my education to a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering. When I had saved a decent sum, I applied and secured admission to a local university.”

Peter says since he joined the farm as a trainee, he stopped depending on his parents for most of his needs.

“I learned to take responsibility for my life. I live with my parents but I take care of all my needs except for accommodation. That way my parent’s meagre resources can be used on my two younger brothers. It lightens their burden.”

Peter went on to receive a scholarship from SOS Children’s Villages to study for a certificate program in Autonomous Wind Energy Production and Supply. He attended virtual classes and studied hard to attain a Master’s Degree in Wind Energy Systems. His tenacity and success have made Peter a role model for his peers.

Peter says he has several plans. “I want to graduate with honours in my first degree, monetize my skills and help other youths, acquire a Master of Science degree before I am 30, build an autonomous or semi-autonomous renewable energy system to power electrical machines, and practice agriculture on a large scale.”