The Nation Newspaper

Category: Agriculture

  • NIHORT trains farmers on commodities

    The National Horticultural Research Institute (NIHORT), Ibadan has  started  the training of more than 40 selected farmers in Ebonyi State on the benefits of some horticultural commodities.

    Acting Executive Director of the institute, Dr Abayomi Olaniyan, said at the opening of the programme at  Uburu, Ohaozara Local Government Area of the state,  that  emphasis would be on planting and usage of Telfaira (pumpkin),  Irvinga (African mango) and Occimum crops (scent leaves).

    Olaniyan said horticultural commodities are viable and sustainable sources of household income, employment generation and capable of enhancing Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and revenue.

    “It is pertinent to note that Nigeria has comparative advantage in the production of telfaira, irvinga and ocimum and the trainees are expected to effectively cultivate and utilise them for maximum benefits.

    “Telfaira is an important leaf and seed vegetable of great economic importance which is in high demand and widely consumed in Nigeria.

    “The leaf is highly nutritional, medicinal, has high production prospect with retail and wholesale market structure from within and outside Nigeria.

    “The seeds are essential in amino acids, can be compared with soybeans meal with 30 per cent protein and high percentage of non-drying oil,” he said.

    He said irvinga, also known as African mango or ogbono, is high in healthy fats and contains high level of protein in its nuts.

    “Occimum leaves and stems are used internally to treat cold; especially chest-cold, fever, headache, flatulence, diarrhea, dysentery and post-partum problems among other ailments.

    “It possesses strong antiviral, antimicrobial and antioxidant properties due to the presence of compounds such as ethanol, vicenin and orienting,” he said.

    He said NIHORT has the mandate to conduct research into genetic improvement, production, processing, utilisation and marketing of fruits, vegetables, ornamental plants and spices among others.

    “We seek to create awareness among stakeholders and deliberately cultivate a widespread attitude of employing improved production techniques and adding value to horticultural commodities,” he said.

    Chief Linus Okorie, the member representing Ohaozara, Onicha, Ivo Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, said he facilitated the training programme for his constituents to empower them.

    Okorie, represented by Mr Wilson Okereke, his Senior Legislative Aide, urged the trainees to be serious in during the programme to acquire skills and solve various nutritional and health needs.

     

     

  • Farmers seek govt’s intervention on fish export ban

    Catfish and Allied Fish Farmers Association of Nigeria (CAFAN) has appealed to the Federal Government to intervene in the ban by the American government on  smoked fish export to the United States (US).

    Its National President, Rotimi Oloye, made the appeal in Ibadan while fielding questions from reporters.

    Oloye said fish farmers were facing serious problems due to the  ban. “The American government had through Food Safety and Inspection Services (FSIS) notice of March 5, 2018, banned the exportation of smoked fish from Nigeria to America.

    “The reason for this ban as detailed in the notice is failure to provide sufficient equivalence documentation within the required time frame.

    “With the issued notice, our products after the 1st of March, 2018, are banned from entering America.

    “There is no doubt that there are lots of challenges in the aquaculture industry, but this ban if allowed will take away the last surviving straw the Nigerian Fish Farmers are clinging onto for survival,” he said.

    Oloye disclosed that, in the last two seasons, fish farmers have been contending with smuggled frozen fish, which come into the country with lesser value and cost and has pushed locally produced fish out of the market.

    He added that they also contend with unfavourable season and non-availability of support logistics, causing reduction in production because a lot of investors have scaled down or fully abandoned the industry.

    According to him, investors prefer to go into fishery products import from the Asian countries, rather than engage in production.

    “It is our prayer that the government will look into this issue and get the ban lifted; otherwise, the farmers and processors will be out of jobs.

    “Apart from this, the earnings derivable from this source will not be forthcoming and any delay in taking appropriate action on our part may be taken as admission of guilt on the part of our government.

    “We earnestly seek your intervention to do all the needful to solve this problem and other challenges militating against the industry.

    “This is so that the huge investment and engagement in the industry can be saved and allowed to contribute significantly to the Nigerian economy through provision of quality food, jobs and earnings,” he said.

    Oloye, however, said the association was partnering various local and international partners, including federal and state departments of Fisheries, Auburn University, Alabama, US, and the World Bank, among others.

    “The association has been involved in training of its members both locally and internationally. Members have been exposed to best management practices in aquaculture,” he said.

  • Empowering shea butter farmers

    Shea butter and its derivatives are growing with their attendant health benefits. Its extensive use in cosmetics, health products, confectionery and chocolate industry is assuming a new dimension with increasing demand in Europe and the United States. Its sustainable production is, however, challenged by aging trees and processing capabilities, prompting the Global Shea Alliance and the Federal Government to collaborate to step up its cultivation and processing, DANIEL ESSIET reports.

    The shea butter sector has seen remarkable growth in the past 10 years. Shea trees, according to experts, are a source of vegetable oil used in many food products.

    In 2012, for instance,  about 350,000 metric tonnes (MT) of kernels were exported from Africa, with a market value of $120 million, while demand for West African shea butter rose by 1,200 per cent over the last decade.

    The Global Shea Alliance (GSA), established in 2011 to help build a more competitive, sustainable, and profitable shea industry, said the demand for product made in West Africa has  doubled in the past 10 years. This is because it is an important ingredient in food and cosmetic products worldwide.

    Both its kernels and the butter are used in health products and in the confectionery and chocolate industry globally.

    Experts said West Africa can process at least, half of its exported crop into butter. Of the total shea butter exports from Africa,  about 90 per cent goes into food products and the rest is used in the cosmetic sector.

    Nigeria is one of the biggest producers in Africa. It is also an exporter of shea nut in West Africa.

    While 80 per cent of traded shea was exported as a raw commodity; the sad part was that the balance is processed in Africa and exported as shea butter.

    Experts believed that Nigeria has a large untapped shea butter market worth $2 billion yearly.

    Niger State Commodity and Export Promotion Agency Director-General, Mohammed Kontagora, for instance, said Nigeria, which accounts for 57 per cent of the global shea with a value of $3.8 billion, could address its challenge of poverty through shea butter export. Mohammed Kontagora is a GSA member.

    By developing large-scale production of shea butter in Nigeria, Kontagora said the country would be on the right path to diversifying the economy through strategic focus on the commodity’s export business.

    “Nigeria stands a better chance of improving its economy through the processing and sale of shea butter. The current global shea value stands at more than $3.8 billion and Nigeria is said to contribute about 57 per cent of the global shea value, that is about $2 billion additional revenue,”he said.

    To Kontagora, one way to improve rural economies of communities is to take comparative advantage in Shea butter production by promoting shea butter as food and cosmetic product.

    While Kontagora said more than 50,000 tonnes of the product could be exported from the country yearly, he lamented that the lack of adequate statistics on shea butter production is one of the factors militating against its development in Nigeria.

    He said the country loses most of the financial benefits that should come to the country as a result of the smuggling of the produce, adding that about $2.166 billion, (N335.73 billion) revenue in excise duties is lost yearly by the Federal Government to illegal export of shea butter.

    To address this, a shea conference was organised by the GSA, National Shea Products Association of Nigeria (NASPAN) in conjunction with the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment and the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, last month in Abuja.

    The aim was to bring together all stakeholders in production and export of Shea butter, to discuss issues related to its sustainability.

    The Minister of State for Industry, Trade and Investment, Hajia Aisha Abubakar, called on stakeholders to ensure greater diversification of shea products, so that producing countries can draw maximally from its benefits, which include increased job creation and foreign exchange earnings which will translate to enhanced well-being of the citizenry.

    Hajia Aisha pointed out that the industry has  served as means of livelihood to about 400 million people, especially women and youths, across producing and processing countries.  Shea export volume from producing countries, especially Africa, she said, has grown from over 350,000 metric tonnes (MT) per year, which amounts to about 600 per cent increase compared to what it was 20 years ago. This, she said, has resulted in the annual income of over $200million  for the Shea producing countries.

    Acceptance of shea products in the United States  (US) and Europe as very important ingredients and raw materials for food, pharmaceuticals and cosmetics, according to her, underlined the huge  economic potential of the industry.

    She, therefore, urged stakeholders to consider measures that will ensure that their shea products meet safety and quality requirements of the international market. Hajia Aisha advised them to seize the opportunity provided by the conference to form a common ground on the best approach to ensuring the development of the sector.

    NASPAN President, Mr. Jibril Bokani,  said Nigeria produces 57 per cent of the world output of shea, adding that this will, in turn, create jobs, wealth and opportunities.

    He said the challenges facing the sub-sector were enormous, calling on the Federal Government to assist the association to compete favourably at the international world.

    “Some of the challenges are inconsistency in the quality, there is no uniformity and Nigeria is vast. Niger State is doing its best in shea. We need other collaborations from shea producing states. Without uniformity in quality across board, there will be serious challenges. We want all shea producing states to be involved. We have only three to four states in the country that are serious with shea production.

    ”We are pushing on the other states to come on board. With the percentage of shea produced in the country, this means, we can equally determine the price if we are really serious. There has been support from the Federal Government, but there is need for more,” he said.

    Bokani said in the next few years, he expects to see a refined shea butter in the country, adding that some companies have indicated interest. ”We  should not be exporting the nuts, but the butter and other potential from the nuts. This will help us grow faster and generate income to our economy.”

    Earlier, Nigeria Incentive-Based Risk System for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL) Managing Director, Mr Aliyu Abdulh-Ammed, said Nigeria was losing about 70 per cent value of shea nuts through the collection process, and called for training on that.

    “The quality of shea nut itself is collected by women that is why we lose 60 to 70 per cent of the value. These women do not know how to collect it well, store it well, how to create grade one, two and three stages,”he said.

    To him, if the primary processing is not done well, it will affect the quality of oil or butter produced downstream. ”Our primary intervention here is on how we can organise these women to train them down and create a business module whereby they will collect and earn more from the beginning.

    “It is left for the association, value chain actors to collaborate with NIRSAL. We are going to invite them and sit with them. We will do value chain analysis by breaking down the value chain of Shea into its component parts and create business module around each component and that will allow finances into it, “he said.

    Abdulhammed said the government had put policies in place, noting that it was now left for the actors in the sub-sector to take advantage of the policies on ground.

    The  Niger State Governor, Alhaji AbubakarSanni Bello who was represented by the deputy Governor of the State, Alhaji Ahmed Mohammed Ketso,said his government is collaborating with development partners to empower its people in line with Federal Government’s policy to encourage business linkages between Nigeria Shea industry stakeholders and international buyers of the products.

     

     

     

  • IITA, firm sign agreement to fight aflatoxin attack

    Nigeria has taken a giant stride in the fight against Aflatoxins in food. Aflatoxins are toxins produced by certain fungi that are found on agric crops, such as maize (corn), peanuts, cotton seed, and tree nuts.

    Partnership for Aflatoxin Control in Africa said aflatoxin is the most highly probable cause of the massive economic loss.

    A Technology Transfer and Licensing Agreement (TTLA) has been  signed between the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) and Harvestfield Industries Limited, Nigeria for local  production of the product  to protect maize and groundnuts from deadly aflatoxin fungi.

    IITA is the  developer of Aflasafe.

    Following the agreement, Harvestfield Industries Limited is IITA’s partner of choice for the manufacture and distribution of Aflasafe. Environmentally friendly Aflasafe is mostly sorghum (99.7 per cent), the 0.3 per cent being maize starch and friendly aflatoxin-fighting fungi. The maize starch glues these friendly fungi to the sorghum carrier. The product is then dyed with blue food colour to distinguish it from sorghum to eat.

    IITA Deputy Director-General, Partnerships for Delivery, Dr Kenton Dashiell said:”In the fight against aflatoxin in food, the private sector is extremely crucial in ensuring our market-ready product is available and accessible, thus reaching the farmers and markets we need it to reach.”

    He  added that Aflasafe is a 100 per cent  natural local product that can address aflatoxinfungi impact on farms.

    The Managing Director, Harvestfield, Mr Martins Aderemi Awofisayo, said the company undertook a nationwide aflatoxin-awareness campaign, targeting all six geopolitical zones.

    He said the company reached 54 communities across 28 states.

    He  said Harvestfield will sensitise farmers, millers, farm-produce aggregators, exporters and food processors on the dangers of aflatoxin, the solution Aflasafe offers and how it works, and – most importantly – demonstrate effective and responsible ways on using it.

    This  year alone, he said, Harvestfield will produce and sell 1,500 metric tonnes of Aflasafe, enough to cover 150,000 hectares of maize and groundnuts.

    While Harvestfield is constructing its own Aflasafe factory at its manufacturing complex at Km 40, Lagos–Ibadan Expressway, Asese, Ogun State, he said the company will sign toll-manufacturing contract with IITA’s Business Incubation Platform for Aflasafe production.

    The effects of aflatoxin on Africa’s health and wealth are immense. Aflatoxin causes an estimated five to 30  per cent  of liver cancer worldwide, the highest incidence being in Africa (30per cent). Internally, approximately 40 per cent of the produce in African markets exceeds the aflatoxin maxima allowed. Externally, Africa potentially loses up to $670 million annually in export opportunities.

  • Boost for farmers as NSIA prepares to take over Nigeria Commodity Exchange

    Farmers are in for a good time as National Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) moves to revitalise the Nigeria Commodity Exchange (NCX) in Abuja.

    NCX, formerly known as the Abuja Commodities and Securities Exchange, was originally incorporated as a Stock Exchange on June 17, 1998. It commenced electronic trading in securities in May 2001 and was converted to a commodity exchange on August 8, 2001.

    The conversion was premised on the need for an alternative institutional arrangement that would manage the effects of price fluctuations in the marketing of agricultural produce, which adversely affect farmers’ earnings since the abolishment of Commodity Boards in 1986. But the exchange had challenges living to expectations.

    Speaking in Lagos, its Managing Director/CEO, Mr Uche Orji disclosed that his organisation was holding discussions with the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), Ministry of Finance and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on its plan to  takeover the Abuja Commodity Exchange.

    He also disclosed that the on-going transaction towards taking over the Commodities Exchange in Abuja would position it to create an agriculture sector that would guarantee optimum earnings for farmers. “We have conveyed our proposal. I’m hoping that we will receive necessary approval,”he said.

    According to him, the authority will  invest in   NCX to  enable it develop the infrastructure to carry out its business effectively in facilitating trade and developing settlement instruments and platforms in agricultural produce and basic minerals.

    He expressed hope that the commodity exchange will be able to improve farmers’ access to markets and   improve their  earnings.

    According to him, without the exchange, middlemen, who visit villages to buy farm produce  would continue to be the main beneficiaries of the effort of the farmers, adding that the organisation was determined to promote sectors that would ensure the industrialisation of the nation’s economy by helping to establish middle industries that can easily fill the gap of specific imports in areas where the nation has comparative advantages.

    Meanwhile, the National Council of Privatisation (NCP) has given the nod to NSIA to strategically invest in the Nigeria Commodity Exchange (NCX) equity  to help revitalise its operations within a period of five years.

    Analysts noted that the success of a commodity exchange is dependent on the availability of both physical and complementary infrastructure as NCX ‘s privatisation would provide the opportunity for investors to utilise both existing and additional resources to close the existent infrastructural gap and improve trading volumes.

  • UN expert seeks review of land tenure

    The United Nation (UN) Women’s Representative to Nigeria and Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), Ms. Comfort Lamptey said review of the land tenure system will encourage more  women to participate in agriculture.

    Speaking at the just concluded Global Shea Alliance Conference in Abuja,Ms.Comfort Lamptey, observed that rural women face serious obstacles  accessing farm land because of the land tenure system , which denies them such opportunities , despite their growing importance in food production and food security.

    She reiterated that women in rural areas are the ones sustaining agriculture andfood production across Africa since they constitute theb ulk of farmers, but that they are the most vulnerable group with respect to access to land.

    According to her, men are five times more likely to own land than women.

    If women had the same access to productive resources as men, she stressed that they will boost national production volume with increased output from their farms.

    She wants statesto ensure that women have equal tenure rights and access to land.

     

     

  • Abolish taxes on agro-chemicals, group urges

    Croplife Nigeria, an international organisation, championing  innovations in crop protection and plant bio-technology, has called on the Federal Government to reduce multiple taxation and streamline the number of agencies regulating its members.

    According to him, the organisation’s annual investment profile is in the region of $600 million, but the investment is being threatened by activities of government agencies.

    Its President, Mr. Mahmood Tauhid, who spoke in Lagos, said previously the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) was regulating the agrochemical subsector,  but in the last two year more agencies such as the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) and others have joined to regulate them.

    He said the development is creating bottlenecks to importation of genuine agro chemicals, thus creating scarcity and encouraging adulteration.

    Besides, he  added that the situation has resulted in high agro chemical prices, thereby reducing pesticides’ usage by farmers.

    Tauhid said the association was not against regulation, but that government should consider the impact it will have on fast-tracking the growth of agriculture with high costs of inputs.

    Croplife Nigeria, he said, has supported government’s plan to test for Aflatoxins  contamination,  moisture content and some microbiology parameters necessary for agricultural produce to be  exported out of the country as part of measures to reduce the rejection rate.

    It would be recalled that the European Union (EU) had banned the exportation of some Nigerian agricultural products due to non-compliance with standards.

  • ‘Nigeria can earn forex from mushroom’

    Mushroom cultivation can boostfarmers’ income, the Acting Executive Director National Horticultural Research Institute (NIHORT), Ibadan, Dr Abayomi Olaniyan, has said.

    He spoke during a three- day training dubbed Skill Acquisition and Capacity Buildingfor Value Chain on Mango and Mushroom, jointly organised byNIHORT and Hague Logistics Limited in Ilorin,Kwara State.

    Represented by the Institute’s Head of Research, Dr Stephen Afolayan, Olaniyan said: “it is worthy of note that Nigeria has comparative advantage in the production of mangoes and mushrooms.

    “Mango is among the important tropical fruits and is greatly relished for its succulence, exotic flavour and delicious taste in most countries of the world. Nigeria ranks ninth in world mango production. He added that mushroom enjoys both domestic and international acceptance as a food item, saying that “it is a veritable cash crop with potential to generate foreign exchange.”

    “Mushroom is particularly attractive to a broad spectrum of stakeholders because it can be produced indoors in large quantity within a short period of time at great profitability. Mushroom cultivation provides opportunities for improving the sustainability of small farming systems through recycling of organic matter, which can be used as a growing substrate and the returned to the land as fertiliser.”

    To this end, he said the Federal Government has commenced the training of over 60 persons on mango and mushroom production.

    Olaniyan described horticulture as one of the most viable and sustainable sources ofhousehold income, employment generation, enhanced gross domesticproduct and government revenue.

    Earlier, the Coordinator of the programme and Director of Research, NIHORT, Dr Lawrence Taiwo said that the institute has devised a means of converting plantain and pineapple wastes to wealth.

    Said he: “We are targeting more than 500 participants this year for mangoes and mushrooms training. We just finished training about 35in Ibadan, Oyo state. We are going to Delta state to train about 400people on plantains and pineapples production. We have developed a technology to use plantains waste for soap making. “With that we believe that a lot of people will be empowered in wealth and job creation. We want to train them to be job creators. So we are concentrating on waste to wealth in Delta state. In the next fourweeks, we will hit Ebonyi State to train some youths on scent-leaf and Ogbona.

    On the current training programme in Kwara state, he said: “We are going to empower the participants with kits that they can start up business with.

    We are talking about wealth creation here and we know that if you want to create wealth there are some things you have to start with.

     

  • Expert urges revival of rural agriculture

    The Acting ExecutiveDirector, Agricultural and Rural Management Training Institute (ARMTI), Dr Olufemi Oladunni has canvassed increased focus on rural agriculture to boost incomes and standards of living.

    Addressing the Institute’s national seminar themed: “Harnessing the Potentials of Traditional Institutions for Integrated Agricultural and Rural Development in Nigeria”, in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital, Oladunni  said Nigeria has  a large rural  agricultural sector  with  thousands of  people working as farmers, but productivity is low because of small size of the farms.

    He said  any significant progress in rural rejuvenation would leadto a strong sector and boost  farmers’ wealth.

    He said there was need for the traditional institutions to join in promoting sustainable food systems within their domains.

    He noted, however, that revitalising the sector would not be successful without the traditional institutions’ involvement, adding that they play a key role in mass mobilisation.

    He reiterated that what they do in ARMTI is to identify problems and needs in the sector and develop solutions and interventions.

    He said:“Most times we lead the way and then invite the Federal Government to see what is possible since we have tested it, and then they come on board and provide the policies and backing needed to strengthen such initiatives/interventions. We have done this at different times and the results have been far reaching and impactful.”

    A professor of Agricultural Economics, Nasarawa State University, Keffi, Shehu Rahman said sustainable agricultural and rural development will lead to well-being of rural communities.

    According to him, the system needs to involve traditional rulers  to boost the campaign  towards achieving food security, ecological productivity, job creation, poverty reduction, value addition and sustainable industrial development.

  • Fadama office trains 3,510 farmers in FCT

    Alhaji Abdullahi Salisu, the Coordinator, FCT Fadama III Additional Financing Project Office, has trained 3,510 farmers across FCT through its capacity building component.

    Salisu said this on Wednesday in Gwagwalada at the inauguration of distribution of farm inputs to production groups in FCT for the 2018 farming season.

    He said the office had facilitated the implementation of 133 business plans out of the 333 prepared by production groups along three value chains, cassava, Rice and Sorghum.

    The Coordinator said the office had also provided funding support as well as technical backstopping and mentoring to Fogbe Production Cluster to encourage community-based rice seed production.

    According to him, under this support, two production groups were able to cultivate 20 hectares of Faro 44 Foundation Seed under the supervision of the National Seed Council.

    “I am indeed excited that the Faro 44 Rice Foundation Seed we are distributing to our farmers today is a product of the Fogbe Community-Based Rice Seed Production Project,” he said.

    He said the objective of Fadama III Additional Financing Project was to move farmers from subsistence to commercial production through ramping up of production across three selected staple crops supported by the project.

    Salisu said the attainment of commercial farming was anchored on deployment as well as adoption of modern agricultural technologies and best practices.

    He said the FCT Fadama III Additional Financing Office had facilitated the acquisition of quality inputs at the right time and at competitive prices to enable farmers make necessary preparations in good time.

    In his remark, Mr Nzekwe IfeanyiChukwu, Secretary, Agriculture and Rural Development Secretariat of the Federal Capital Territory Administration ( FCTA ) said the event was a millstone towards the development of agriculture in the FCT.

    He commended the Fadama III Additional Financing Project in the FCT for its achievements in capacity building for farmers and distribution of inputs.

    Ifeanyichukwu pledged the commitment of the FCTA to advance agriculture in the FCT, adding that the administration was committed towards the advancement of agriculture.

    “This administration is working tirelessly towards ensuring the provision of farm inputs, linkages to sources of credit and markets as well as the provision of enabling environment for farmers in the FCT,” he said.

    He commended the National Fadama Coordination Office ( NFCO ) for the Fadama Graduate Unemployed Youth and Women Agroprenuer Support (Fadama GUYS) Scheme initiative.

    He said the initiative would create employment opportunities for the teeming unemployed graduate youths in the country.

    He, therefore, called on the NFCO to expedite action in the disbursement of funds to the selected beneficiaries to ensure timely preparations for the 2018 cropping season.

    NAN