Oriyon International Ltd., a livestock production and aggregation company, has partnered Leadway Assurance to unveil the Economic Empowerment of Women and Youth in Livestock Agriculture (EEWYLA) training programme.
In a statement issued on Thursday, Leadway Assurance said the initiative is based at Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH) in Ogbomoso, Oyo State.
The programme, which began in August, is designed to equip women and young livestock producers with skills in livestock production, cooperative development, financial and digital literacy, as well as access to formal markets and financial systems.
Leadway Assurance serves as the insurance partner, providing risk protection for participating producers to cushion the financial impact of unforeseen livestock losses.
The initiative is part of efforts to promote the formalisation and modernisation of Nigeria’s livestock sector, with emphasis on increasing the participation of women and youths.
The Federal Government’s National Livestock Growth Acceleration Strategy targets an increase in the sector’s contribution to the economy from about 32 billion dollars to at least 74 billion dollars by 2035.
Speaking at the ceremony, Oluwafumilayo Momoh-Orimoloye, Founder of Oriyon International Ltd., said the programme was designed to ensure livestock producers are not excluded from opportunities in a more formal and technology-driven livestock sector.
She said: “There is enormous productive capacity among women and young livestock farmers, but many still operate without the structures, records, market connections and institutional support that can help them grow.
“EEWYLA is about changing that. We are bringing producers together, improving their technical and business capabilities and creating a pathway that connects what happens on the farm to finance, insurance, technology and ultimately the market.
“Our partnership with Leadway also reflects our belief that sustainable growth in livestock agribusiness must be matched with the right protection.
“As we equip producers with training, traceability, financial literacy and market access, it is equally important that they are able to manage the risks that could threaten that progress.
“Bringing insurance into the programme helps create a stronger foundation for participants to build business resilience, and recover quickly from financial shocks.”
Also, Fatona Ayoola, Global Head, Agricultural Risk Solutions at Leadway Assurance, said producer education, formal organisation and reliable data would provide a stronger foundation for livestock insurance.
She said, “Insurance becomes more effective when there is better visibility around the asset being protected.
“Bringing producers into structured cooperatives, improving livestock management practices and creating verifiable records around animal health, ownership and movement can strengthen both risk assessment and claims management.
“Our engagement with EEWYLA is therefore not simply about providing an insurance product.
“It was about helping participants understand that protecting an agribusiness should be part of building it.
“As these producers improve their skills and expand their operations, we want them to be better positioned to absorb shocks, recover and continue producing.” (NAN)
