The Nation Newspaper

Category: Agriculture

  • FADAMA distributes N30m input for dry season farming

    To boost rice production, Niger State FADAMA 111 Coordination Office has distributed farm input worth N30 million to farmers for the dry season farming.

    The farm input were given to 160 farmers during the flag-off of the dry season farming in Lavun Local Government Area of the state.

    These include 960 bags of assorted fertiliser, 160 bags of improved Faro 44 rice seed, 160 irrigation pumps and 640 agro-chemicals.

    The State Coordinator, Niger State FADAMA 111 Coordination Office, Usman Aliyu Kutigi, said  160 hectares of rice will be cultivated for the dry season, adding that an additional 1000 hectares of rice is being processed by FADAMA.

    Kutigi stated that with the free inputs provided for them and enlightenment on good agricultural practices, the farmers would be able to realise good yield. “The farmers would be able to yield seven tonnes per hectares as against the two or three tonnes they usually realise.”

    He, however, cautioned against diversion of the farm inputs and agro-chemicals, adding that under- utilising the inputs would result to less yield.

  • Mitros rice gets more praises

    Mitros rice gets more praises

    BUYERS  of Mitros rice have commended the state government for making the product available at reasonable prices. An opinion poll indicated that residents who besieged the various sales points in the state expressed satisfaction with the availability of the rice and the courteous way they were attended to.

    Mr Taiwo Saula, who resides in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, said with the availability of the product, the government has disappointed sceptics who thought the rice would disappear after its launch late last year, adding that the uninterrupted sale was an indication that the government meant business and was ready to stop rice import.

    Mrs. Olasunbo Sotayo from Sawonjo, Yewa North Local Government Area, said the traceability of the Ofada rice made it attractive to her as she could easily identify the source, adding that with proper milling, the  government has taken the once local Ofada rice to another level, saying that she was proud to witness the transformation.

    Another  resident of Abeokuta, Mrs Beatrice Olayomi expressed delight with the proper measurement of various bags of the rice.

    ‘’I bought two 25 kilogrammes (kg) Mitros Ofada rice during the festive period and to my surprise, they are really 25kg instead of those in the open market that are labelled 25kg but are less than 20kg,’’ she said.

    Meanwhile, the Commissioner for Agriculture, Mrs Adepeju Adebajo said Mitros rice would soon be made available in major markets across the state in standardised bags of 1kg, 5kg, 10kg, 25kg and 50kg for both the parboiled and Ofada.

  • US Initiative trains youths in agric

    YOUNG farmers in Ikorodu, Lagos State have received training from the Carrington Youth Fellowship Initiative (CYFI), a dynamic youth-based initiative launched by the United States’Consulate-General, Lagos.

    The Economic Empowerment team for the project’s 2017 fellowship cohort consists of Abimbola Ajayi, Adeola Agbonyin, Omoefe Eromosele and Olalekan Sipasi.

    Sipasi said the group tagged the project ‘Farming for Empowerment and Entrepreneurship Development (F.E.E.D).

    He said the youth were provided hands-on training on vegetable and poultry farming. Participants were taught how to care for day old chicks. The classes, which took place weekly involved vaccination, pen laying, perosis, mitigation methods, temperature regulation as well as technical training on sustainable vegetable farming. The poultry classes, which started with 100 birds, recorded only five mortalities.

    Alongside the poultry classes, participants learnt sustainable agricultural practices focused on vegetable farming. They  were taught how to make 50 per cent water saving irrigation kit system manually from scratch.

    According to him, the project kicked off with 20 youths, who participated in an orientation at the Protectozone Sustainable Livelihood Initiative Demonstration Farm in the Apeka community.

    A participant Adedehinbo has set up a vegetable farm with 22 beds and another farm where he is using waste products to produce clean food.

  • Govt’s plan to repair fertiliser plants excites farmers

    Govt’s plan to repair fertiliser plants excites farmers

    THE Federal Government’s plan to  repair more abandoned fertiliser blending plants in various parts of the country is making farmers happy.

    The Fertiliser Producers and Suppliers Association (FEPSAN) Executive Secretary, Alhaji Ahmed Rabiu Kwa,  told The Nation that more blending plants had begun  production, adding that of the 32  fertiliser blending plants in the country, seven have started production and distribution under the Presidential Fertiliser Initiative (PFI).

    He listed some of the blending plants, which have been supplied with raw materials, including phosphate from Morocco and are blending, as the Fertiliser and Chemicals Limited, Kaduna, which produces 300,000 metric tonnes; Al-Yuma Fertiliser Company (300,000 metric tonnes) in Madobi-Kano; Kano Agricultural Supply Company, which supplies 15 trailers daily and Golden Fertiliser based in Lagos.

    Funtua blending plant has received materials through the rail.

    He noted that fertiliser supply had increased in the last one year  compared to previous years.

    According to him, national volume increased from 500,000 to one million metric tonnes.

    Kwa noted that the PFI saved Nigeria over N200 million in foreign exchange and reduced the price of a 50kg bag from N10,000 to N5,500.

    He said with the level of production from the reactivated plants, farmers were getting the products at affordable prices.

    The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) through the National Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) provided the funds for the revival of the industry.

    Also, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC)  has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Moroccan government for the supply of phosphate, expected to lead to the production of 1.3 million tonnes of fertiliser.

    Kwa noted that the MoU between the two countries would make the product affordable.

    The Nigeria-Morocco fertiliser deal, he added, would help increase local blending capacity to 25 percent of installed capacity and create a 20 million bag market for operators.

    For years, the country has relied on imported fertiliser, despite the abundance of the raw materials for producing fertiliser – urea, phosphate, potassium and limestone – in Edo, Sokoto states and other parts of the country.

    Last year, the PFI programme started yielding results, with the production of more than 4,000 metric tonnes of local fertiliser.

    The Initiative was approved by President Muhammadu Buhari in December 2016 to achieve the local production of one million metric tonnes of blended Nitrogen, Phosphorous and Potassium (NPK) Fertiliser for last year’s wet season farming.

    Earlier, Nigeria’s stock of blended fertiliser was shipped into the country as fully-finished products, even though urea and limestone, which constitute about two-thirds of the component of each bag, are available locally.

    The PFI’s objective is to procure the four raw materials from Morocco, and Muriate of Potash (MOP) sourced from Europe – and blend these to produce NPK fertiliser at a reduced cost.

  • World bank consultant urges govt to rehabilitate dams

    World Bank Consultant, Prof. Abel Ogunwale has urged the government to rehabilitate dams across the country to boost food production and job creation.

    Speaking with The Nation, Ogunwale said dams will expand water supplies in drought-affected areas.

    According to him, farmers in the North depend on dams for water to overcome droughts.

    By investing in dams, he said, the government will ensure a safe, resilient environment for agricultural producers, especially in the rural areas.

    He urged the government to look for new ways of mitigating the impact of drought.

    To end  fish and other aquaculture produce import, stakeholders had urged  the Federal Government to lift restriction placed on all water bodies, especially underutilised dams.

    For instance, farmers in Bakori Local Government Area of Katsina State appealed to the Federal and state government to hasten the completion of Jare Dam.

    Speaking on behalf of the farmers, Alhaji Abdullahi Lawal,  leader of grain dealers in Bakori, said the dam is a Federal Government’s project, adding that it was abandoned due to non-funding.

    Lawal said the completion of the dam projects would make available water for irrigation, boost food production, and eceonomic activities in the area.

    The traditional leader noted that the farmers in the area were  experiencing losses due to the delay of the project.

    “It is important to complete the dam so that it will enable control water levels and increase the interest of farmers in the area. The enthusiasm of the farmers on the potential of the project had since waned,” he said.

    In 2016, President Muhammadu Buhari declared that his administration would construct more 400 dams to boost irrigation across the country before the expiration of his term next year.

    President Muhamadu Buhari told delegates from Africa and other continents during  the 32nd Annual Meeting of the Food Crisis Prevention Network held in Abuja that the country would  experience three harvesting seasons when more dams become operational in the next two years.

    Buhari, represented by the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbeh, said: “We can no longer rely on rainfall. We have to create more dams, water reservoirs and insist on harvesting food at least three times in a year.

    “I am happy to tell you that that programme is being designed and in the next two and half years, we shall add to the existing 200 dams at least another 400 dams across the country to encourage irrigation on a large scale.”

  • FACAN seeks task force on export products

    To prevent the rejection of Nigeria’s agricultural and processed food exports,  the government should up an inspectorate unit in key markets.

    This is the advice of Federation of Agricultural Commodities Association Nigeria (FACAN) President, Dr. Victor Iyama.

    The European Union (EU) ban on agric exports, such as beans, continues, even as it is mandatory for exports of perishable items to the EU to be certified under the vigilance of plant protection inspectors.

    In the last three years, export of Nigerian agro commodities has faced  maximum Sanitary & Phytosanitary (SPS) hurdles in Europe and the United States’ markets.

    Speaking with The Nation, Iyama said the association was ready to set up a compliance task force that would ensure that farmers comply with the specific concerns raised by European and United States’importers on food safety that affect health and safety, including excessive chemicals, pesticides, synthetic colour and microbes.

    If given the mandate to set up the inspectorate taskforce, Iyama stressed that quality and safety would be  top priorities and that the association would ensure that farm gate produce  meet the standards.

    The FACAN chief added that the problem of agro commodities not meeting global standards was of concern and that farmers should take the issue serious.

    He added that there the need to monitor the supply chain to avoid rejectable products infiltering the system.

    According to Iyama,  there is a plan to support agro-industries to venture into the export market. He said the association’s goal was to drive transformation through the commodity value chains and  to achieve self-sufficiency in key commodities, such as rice, cocoa, palm oil, horticulture and cashew.

    The strategy, he  explained,  was  to ensure that farmers know the markets for products, activities required along the supply chain, and the standard and volume of products.

    According to Iyama, import refusals by the US and Europe paint a grim picture of Nigerian agro and food products.

  • Yam farmers assure of increased production

    Nigeria is set for a bunper yam harvest, farmers have said.The Yam Farmers, Processors and Marketers Association of Nigeria is promising increased yam production   to support  the Federal Government’s  yam export initiative.

    Its Acting President, Prof Simon Irtwange,  in an interview in Abuja, said farmers had been mobilised to increase their production to provide for consumption and export.

    Irtwange, who chairs the Technical Committee on Nigeria Yam Export Programme, said efforts were made to build the capacity of yam aggregators to buy exportable yams in large quantities from farmers.

    He said exporters, instead of going to markets, could procure  yams from the aggregators who  knew exportable yams’ standards.

    He said the committee was partnering the Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike, for the production of  exportable yams’ seedlings to boost the production.

    “I will not agree that export has anything to do with local production because not every yam variety can be exported.

    “The ones that are exportable are the ones that meet export standards. The export requirements include 2kg. yams that are slender and smooth, while the non-export yams are for consumption.

    “We have also encouraged yam production; this year, we would have more output than what we had in the previous year because farmers are now sensitised and they have gone into massive production. So, there will be enough yams for the local market and export,” Irtwange said.

    He said the association had selected the yam varieties it wanted to promote for export but getting the their seedlings was a major challenge.

    This, he said, was why the association was partnering the Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, to produce the seedlings. He added that the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) is also involved in the project.

    “After production, we have aggregators who will off-take the yams from the farmers and will aggregate for the exporters,’’ he said.

    Irtwange, who noted that over 20 per cent of exportable yams often rot away because of poor preservation techniques, said  aggregators would have cooling systems for the produce.

    “Concerning the aggregators, what we require from them is that they will have warehouses, they will have cooling systems and they will store the yams under the correct temperature.

    “Through that way, we can also give assurance of the quality of what we are exporting.

    “The assurance is that we have done the trials, we have learnt from our mistakes and we have put in place measures to correct all the drawbacks,” Irtwange said.

    According to him, the essence of the trials was to see where there are challenges so that the assocaition  can address them.

  • ‘Bush burning hurts agric production’

    An ecologist, Mr. Richard Inyamkume, says those burning bushes are retarding agricultural production.

    Inyamkume, the Senior Programme Officer, Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation Initiative (CCMAI), a non-governmental organisation (NGO), said this in an interview in Abuja.

    “Those who set bushes on fire should know that they are deeply causing serious harm to agriculture and by extension,  our national economy.

    “People should be informed that whenever bushes are set ablaze, both physical and chemical properties of the soil are destroyed, particularly if the fire is intense.

    “It is worthy to note that essential soil nutrients such as phosphorus, nitrogen, sulphur and others are destroyed as a result of the intense heat from the fire,’’ he said.

    The ecologist said the nutrients were supposed to make the soil fertile to support plant growth and enhance crop yields.

    Inyamkume underscored the need for citizens to collectively protect the environment so as to promote the overall well-being of the country.

    “When bushes are set ablaze, soil moisture is seriously affected.

    “It also further exposes the soil to erosion; so, when rains start, erosion becomes a major threat and concern to all of us.

    “This is so because the soil becomes less stable whenever it is exposed to the negative impact of bush burning,’’ he said

  • West Africa’s rice production at risk, says study

    A study has  warned  that the dry-season irrigated rice in West Africa’s Sahel region has reached the critical threshold of 37 degrees Celcius – the tipping point.

    It added that further temperature rise could devastate rice yields in the region due to decreasing photosynthesis at high temperatures.

    According to the Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the Sahel will experience higher average temperatures as well as changes in rainfall patterns over the course of the 21st century. These changes threaten food security and the livelihoods of the region’s predominantly rural population.

    “Our model shows that without adaptation, irrigated rice yields in West Africa’s Sahel region in the dry season would decrease by about 45 per cent, but with adaptation, they would decrease significantly less – by about 15 per cent,” explained the lead author Dr Pepijn van Oort, a  Crop Modeler at Africa Rice Centre (AfricaRice).

    Oort clarified that it was important to keep in mind that this is a West Africa average, and that there are big differences within West Africa. “Things are better in the cooler coastal regions and a lot worse in the hotter inland sites,” he added.

    “Also, more investigation is needed to understand clearly photosynthesis processes at extreme temperatures, as there has been almost no research conducted on rice at such high temperatures,” Dr van Oort cautioned.

    In addition, he said there is need to explore further adaptation options, such as shifting sowing dates more into the cold dry season.

    Although rice thrives well in hot and warm climates, high temperatures of more than 35 degrees Celcius can damage plant processes and lead to lower yields. Rice is also vulnerable to cold temperatures, which can slow growth.

    The study forecasts that in East Africa, rising temperatures will create new opportunities for rice. In East Africa rice is grown mostly in the highlands, which are often too cold for the crop, and this will improve with higher temperatures. Also, rice could benefit from increased CO2.

    However, improved water and nutrient management will be needed to have the maximum benefit, the study added.

  • Engage in agric, FADAMA coordinator urges youths

    The FADAMA Coordinator in Anambra State, Mr Chukwuka Egbueh, has called on the youth to engage in farming to support the government’s efforts to develop the agricultural sector.

    Egbueh made the call in an interview in Awka, the Anambra State capital.

    He stressed that the government had made a lot of investments to overhaul and develop the sector.

    “Nigeria did well in agriculture in the First Republic, but I can tell you that at no time has the sector received more financial support from the government than now.

    “However, more efforts should be made to educate and mobilise our youths to develop a positive mindset towards agriculture. The youthww should also be sensitised to fully appreciate the dignity of labour,’’ he said.

    Egbueh noted that a major challenge facing efforts to develop the agricultural sector was the growing population of ageing farmers.

    He, therefore, said that pragmatic efforts should be made to encourage the youth to take up farming as their profession.

    “Youths should be encouraged to fill the gaps being created by our ageing farmers.

    “Farming is a rewarding and lucrative profession; that is why the youth should be encouraged to engage in crop growing.

    “However, there are lots of incentives by governments, in form of grants and loans, to encourage serious youths to go into farming,’’ he added.