Sahel expands scholars programme across Nigeria

To continuously empower outstanding Nigerian students through mentorship, hands-on experience and scholarships, the Sahel Scholars’ Programme (SASP), has extended its scholarship programme to Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria and Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife.

SASP, a yearly programme, which started with the University of Nigeria Nsukka (UNN), this year, widened its opportunity and included ABU and OAU in its portfolio.

It was introduced by Sahel Consulting Agriculture and Nutrition Limited (SCANL) and Sahel Capital Agribusiness Managers Limited (SCAML) in 2017.

It recently held a one-day conference themed “Opportunities in the Agribusiness Landscape,” for students of ABU, OAU and UNN.

Professors in the Faculties of Agriculture from the three schools and key players in the agribusiness landscape participated in the conference.

The guest speakers are the Executive Director of Sunchi Integrated Farms Limited, Sunday Ezeobiora; Co-founder of Phinomar Nigeria Limited, Dr. Onyedi Ayalogu; the Managing Director of Hi-Nutrients International Limited, Prince Olabode Adetoyi, and the Managing Director of L&Z Integrated Farms Limited, Alhaji MD Abubakar.

The Sahel team made presentations on agricultural value chains and facilitated panel discussions on the career opportunities and success factors in agribusiness.

The invited agribusiness industry players shared deep insights on their experiences in agriculture and highlighted the opportunities that exist for students in the agriculture sector.

The students were also engaged in group competitions that tasked them to think through, discuss and present the challenges in key agriculture value chains like cassava, yam, palm oil, diary and poultry, including potential solutions to the challenges.