Nigerian Women in Agriculture Delegation Seeks U.S. Trade Opportunities

The Nigerian Cochran team meet with USDA Foreign Agricultural Service officials while traveling through Washington, D.C. on their visit to the United States.
The Nigerian Cochran team meet with USDA Foreign Agricultural Service officials while traveling through Washington, D.C. on their visit to the United States.

Nine Cochran fellows from Nigeria visited the United States in September 2017, exploring new opportunities to increase trade with U.S. suppliers. The group of women agriculture entrepreneurs represented a diverse network of business interests ranging from horticultural producers to general importers. The Nigerian agribusiness women represent an exciting opportunity to connect U.S. exporters to nontraditional and sometimes smaller customers. Cochran Fellow Olaniyan Folusho best summed the visit up when she shared her ambition to seek new opportunities to serve her Nigerian customers with imported American goods, “U.S. exporters need to seek other markets beyond wheat.” Ms. Folusho explained, “There is a market for high value goods in Nigeria, and many missed opportunities.”