Nigeria remains one of the major producers of Parkia biglobosa (African locust bean), a vital indigenous food crop with significant nutritional, medicinal, and economic benefits. Locust beans are a source of protein and essential nutrients widely consumed across West Africa. Despite their importance, local processing practices remain crude and unhygienic, leading to poor-quality products, high post-harvest losses, and limited market competitiveness. In the context of vocational and teacher education, particularly in Colleges of Education, students in Home Economics and Agricultural Education programmes often lack exposure to modern, practical, and entrepreneurial aspects of food processing. Consequently, opportunities for innovation, self-employment, and value addition in the locust bean value chain remain underexploited. The absence of modern processing and packaging technologies, coupled with limited entrepreneurship training in Nigerian Colleges of Education, has hindered students’ capacity to transform local agricultural resources into viable economic ventures. Traditional locust bean processing methods are characterized by unhygienic practices, low productivity, and lack of preservation and branding skills, which restrict their market potential. This has contributed to youth unemployment and underutilization of indigenous food resources. Therefore. This study examined the effect of locust bean (Parkia biglobosa) processing, packaging, preservation, and sales training on students’ innovative and entrepreneurial skills in Umaru Sanda Ahmadu College of Education, Minna, Niger State. A mixed-methods approach was adopted using a quasi-experimental pre-test, post-test control group design complemented with qualitative data. The sample comprised 65 students, with 30 in the experimental group and 35 in the control group. Data were collected using the Innovative Skills Assessment Scale (ISAS), Entrepreneurial Skills Assessment Scale (ESAS), and semi-structured interviews. Descriptive statistics (Mean, Std.Dev) and non-parametric tests (Mann–Whitney U and Wilcoxon Signed Rank tests) were used for analysis, while qualitative data were analyzed thematically. Findings revealed no significant difference between the groups at pre-test, indicating baseline similarity. However, post-test results showed that the experimental group recorded significantly higher mean scores in innovative (Mean = 3.78) and entrepreneurial skills (Mean = 3.65) compared to the control group (Mean = 2.34 and 2.28 respectively). The mean gain scores (+1.57 and +1.47) further confirmed the effectiveness of the training intervention. Qualitative findings supported these results, showing improved practical competencies, creativity, and increased confidence among participants. Despite the significant findings, the study was limited to one institution, which may affect generalization of the findings. The study concluded that structured agro-processing training significantly enhances students’ innovative and entrepreneurial skills. It recommended Colleges of Education should strengthen the implementation of practical, skill-based agro-processing training within existing entrepreneurship courses in Home Economics and related programmes.
Publication Date: 2026-06-24