Beneficiaries of the 2025/2026 cohort of the Shield Africa Farmers' Academy (SAFA) have graduated after completing a six-month training programme in fish production and management practices in Benue State. The initiative, led by the Shield Africa Sustainability and Development Initiative in collaboration with Joseph Sarwuan Tarka University of Agriculture, Makurdi, targeted youths and women from Oju Local Government Area. The training covered practical aspects of fish farming, including water quality management, farm operations, and agribusiness development. Mrs. Osenaga Orokpo, President of Shield Africa, said the academy aims to equip participants with skills and entrepreneurial tools to establish viable agribusinesses across agricultural value chains. She was represented by Mr. Prince Umobuarie, Head of Operations at Shield Africa, during the ceremony.
Orokpo emphasized the role of the current generation in driving agricultural innovation and food security. She described the academy as a response to systemic barriers limiting youth participation in agriculture, citing its integration of capacity building with access to inputs, production support, and market linkages. As part of empowerment, beneficiaries received start-up capital, fingerlings, and other resources to launch fish farms immediately. The empowerment packages were distributed by Dr. Augustine Adaikwu, Head of the Students Industrial Work Experience Scheme (SIWES) at the university. Graduates Edigbo Peret and Odigiri Victor described the programme as transformative and pledged to use their training to build fish farming enterprises that contribute to national food production and economic growth. Stakeholders at the event affirmed the importance of such initiatives in tackling unemployment and boosting agricultural productivity among rural populations.
Mrs. Osenaga Orokpo promotes youth empowerment through agribusiness training while her organisation simultaneously distributes start-up resources meant to ensure immediate enterprise take-off. The model assumes that skills and seed funding alone can overcome structural gaps in rural access to markets and capital. Yet the same beneficiaries receiving fingerlings today are expected to become self-sustaining entrepreneurs tomorrow without ongoing support. If the programme's success hinges on individual grit rather than systemic intervention, its long-term impact may be limited to symbolic upliftment.
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