The Nation Newspaper

Category: Agriculture

  • NDDC rice mill will end rice importation – Minister

    NDDC rice mill will end rice importation – Minister

    The Federal Government has commended the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) over the completion of rice mill in Elele-Alimini, Emuoha Local Government Area of Rivers.

    The Minister of State for Agriculture, Mr Heineken Lokpobiri, made the commendation during a meeting with NDDC and the Elephant Group in Port Harcourt on Monday.

    He expressed optimism that the mill would ensure food sufficiency in the country in addition to creating thousands of jobs for youths in the Niger Delta region.

    According to him, the rice mill project is part of the Federal Government’s  drive to ensure food security and end rice importation within the shortest possible time.

    “Before the Buhari-led administration took office; the Federal Government spent five million dollars daily on rice importation to the country.

    “NDDC has over the years started building a rice mill which has not been put to use,’’ he said.’

    He explained that the government embarked on the project  is because the region had potential to grow rice in commercial quantity even without fertiliser.

    “The Federal Government believes that the time has come for the country to use the rice mill NDDC has built to create employment and guarantee food security for the masses.

    “The Federal Government wants to make the nation to be self- sufficient in rice production at least by the year 2018,” he said.

    Lokpobiri said that Elephant Group, an indigenous company, would manage the rice mill and employ thousands of workers at the facility.

    He called on state governments and stakeholders to key into the Federal Government’s drive to ensure rice sufficiency in the country.

    The Managing Director of NDDC, Mr Nsima Ekere, said that the commission spent N1.5 billion on the rice mills in Rivers and Akwa Ibom states.

    He said that facilities, completed 10 years ago, were left to rot by previous governing boards and management of the commission.

    “When we came on board; we couldn’t come to terms that despite spending huge sums of money building large mills in Akwa Ibom, Lagos and Rivers the projects were not put to use.

    “In-line with the present administration’s zero tolerance to wastages, inefficiency and corruption we decided to work with the Minister of State for Agriculture to revive the facilities.

    “The rice mill would benefit the people of Niger Delta and country at large and add to the new Niger Delta initiative without oil,” he said.

    Ekere said the facility which would soon commence operation would make rice cheap and available to the masses.

    Also, Mr Olatunji Owoeya, the Managing Director of Elephant Group, promised that the facility would be put to judicious use for the benefit of the people of Niger Delta.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) learnt that the facility has capacity to process 180 tonnes of rice daily; an equivalent of 3,600 bags of 50g.

  • ‘Cross River eyes top position in cocoa production’

    ‘Cross River eyes top position in cocoa production’

    The Deputy Governor of Cross River, Prof. Ivara Esu, says the state government targeting to be first in cocoa production and, therefore, is taking the necessary measures boost the production of the cash crop.

    Esu said this on Monday at Ikom during the Tree Crops Development Cocoa Value Chain Capacity Building workshop for cocoa estate managers, farmers and agricultural officers.

    The workshop, Esu said, is expected to impact on management and extension delivery system for high quality and increased yield in cocoa production in the state.

    He said it was time the state returned to agriculture as an alternative source of income in view of the dwindling federal allocation.

    He, therefore, enjoined all participants to take the workshop serious for the benefit of farmers and the state.

    He said that the workshop, organised by the State Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources, is aimed at improving the knowledge and skills of the participants for effective and safe usage of agro-chemicals in cocoa production.

    Earlier in a remark, Prof. Anthony Eneji, the Commissioner for Agriculture and Natural Resources, noted that cocoa production required professional skills for increased production.

    Eneji described as apt the theme of the workshop which is “Professionalism and Service Delivery: Effective Management Systems for Increased Yield and High Quality Cocoa Production’’.

    He underscored the importance of regular capacity training on the new techniques for improved yield for cocoa managers and farmers

    According to him, the ministry, in partnership with relevant stakeholders, is poised to revolutionalise cocoa production in the state to meet the required international standard.

    He identified the sustenance of effective management system for increased yield as the challenge of cocoa production.

    Also speaking, Mr Ogban Ekpe, the Head of Administration, Ikom Local Government Council, explained that cocoa plays an important role in revenue generation and its attendant capacity for job creation.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports cocoa estate managers, cocoa farmers and agricultural officers from the 18 local government areas of the state are attending the two-day workshop.

    Currently, Cross River occupies the second position after Ondo on this list of major cocoa producers in Nigeria.

    The other states are Ogun, Akwa Ibom, Edo, Ekiti, Delta, Osun and Oyo.

  • RIFAN seeks collaboration with African countries on rice production

    RIFAN seeks collaboration with African countries on rice production

    The Rice Farmers Association of Nigeria (RIFAN) says it is seeking collaboration with Competitive African Rice Initiative (CARI) and other African countries to increase rice production and export within the continent.

    CARI is to significantly improve the livelihoods of rice farmers in selected countries in the sub-region by increasing the competitiveness of domestic rice supply.

    CARI is implemented in Burkina Faso, Ghana, Nigeria, and Tanzania with the aim of reaching 120,000 African rice producers.

    The direct beneficiaries of this project are male and female smallholder rice farmers with a daily income below 2 US$.

    Secondary beneficiaries are rural service providers and rice millers improving their sourcing capacity of quality supply.

    Malam Sadiq Daware, National Treasurer, RIFAN, said in an interview with News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Sunday, that the association had also finalised talk with Ghana, Burkina Faso and Tanzania.

    RIFAN official said that it had become imperative to forge a crucial partnership with the countries to drive the rice value chain.

    He said the CARI officials had met with RIFAN to form Nigerian Rice Advocacy platform, where all the actors in the rice value chain would collaborate to increase rice production and export.

    “The platform has been established in the 36 states and FCT and the entire representative have elected their leadership.

    “The platform recognises the important role rice plays as a major staple food in the region, and the potential for widespread and positive socioeconomic impact through the development of a strong regional rice value chain,’’ he said.

    Daware also said the primary objectives of CARI was to promote cooperation among regional and national rice bodies, ease cross border trade and strengthen existing national rice value chain platforms.

    According to him, it is also to support the creation of such platforms, where they do not yet exist.

    He said under the CARI agreement, stakeholders would also promote research and analysis and exchange best practices and creating adequate awareness of its activities among farmers.

    Daware disclosed that by August, several rice stakeholders across Africa would converge in Abuja to further discuss rice research, development, production and policy.

    He said the meeting would consolidate on production of enough rice to cover the needs of consumers.

    Daware also said it deliberate on how to add value and allow rice export to other West African countries to enable it compete favourably with rice from Thailand and India.

    He said consolidation in CARI remained a major focus because rice consumption in Africa had reached over 11.8 million tonnes yearly and not less than 3.3 million tonnes imported within the same period.

    The RIFAN national treasurer, however, said 21 of the 39 rice producing countries in Africa imported between 50 and 99 per cent of their rice requirements.

    Daware said that various challenges confronting rice importation include inadequate development and availability of improved post-harvest processing technologies and value addition and lack of access to credit by farmers, traders and processors.

    These challenges, he said had led to low yields in rice production and limiting the rice sector development in the country.

    He, however, assured that at the end of the meeting, the initiative would impact over 2 million rice farmers and solve all the perennial rice production, processing and marketing problems.

    Daware commended the Buhari-led administration for its various initiatives leading to significant boost in rice production.

    “Annual rice production in Nigeria has increased from 5.5 million tonnes in 2015 to 5.8 million tonnes in 2017.

    “The consumption rate now is 7.9 million tonnes and the production rate has increased to 5.8 tonnes per annum,’’ he said.

    “Spending had drastically reduced, consumption and increased because of increased local production of the commodity.

    He said that the increase was as a result of the CBN’s Anchor Borrowers Programme (ABP) with a total of 12 million rice producers and 4 million hectares of FADAMA rice land.

    Daware also commended the Nigeria Customs Service for signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with RIFAN to fight rice smuggling of rice through, land border, into the country.

  • Kogi targets massive production of rice by December

    Kogi targets massive production of rice by December

    The Kogi Government says it expects a massive rice production from the 3,000 hectares of rice farms across the state by December.

    The Commissioner for Agriculture, Mr Kehinde Oloruntoba, said this on Friday, while inspecting one of the rice farms at Ujoh, Bassa Local Government Area.

    Oloruntoba said that consumer products of the rice production, executed under the FADAMA III Additional Financing (AF) project, would be available in the market as from December.

    News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the 80-hectare Ujoh rice farm is part of a cluster farm, which includes Ogbah rice farm (120 hectares) and Biroko rice farm (100 hectares).

    NAN also reports that the commissioner’s visit to the Ujoh farm marks that onset of his tour of all the rice farms in the state.

    Oloruntoba said that the massive rice production in Kogi was aimed at repositioning the state to become one of the major rice-producing states of the country.

    He said that a rice mill, which was capable of processing 50 tonnes of rice daily, was under construction at Omi in Yagba West Local Government Area.

    “Besides, another mill of the same capacity will be constructed by the Federal Government in Ibaji Local Government Area of the state.

    “The rice produced in the state will be tagged ‘Confluence Rice’,’’ he said.

    The commissioner expressed the determination of the state government to cultivate the vast arable lands in the state by exploiting all available intervention windows.

    He said that the Alape Crop Processing Zone alone had over 300,000 hectares of arable land, which could be used for rice production.

    On land-clearing, Oloruntoba said that non-functional government bulldozers would be resuscitated to clear lands.

    Also speaking, Mr Paul Ogunmola, the State Programme Coordinator of the FADAMA III AF programme, said: “If the farmers follow due diligence and agronomic recommendations, the state will produce up to six tonnes of rice per hectare.”

    He commended the state government for paying the counterpart funds for 2015 and 2016.

  • Address food productivity, others, expert urges

    Vice President Corporate & Government Relations, Olam Nigeria, Ade Adefeko, has urged farmers and the food industry to address the challenge of agricultural competitiveness and productivity.

    Speaking during Akindelano Legal Practitioners’ seminar on Transforming Nigeria’s Agriculture and Agro-Allied Industry  in Lagos, Adefeko stressed the need for practical support to farmers on improving quality and cutting costs to improve competitiveness.

    He explained that the private sector has an important role to play in promoting sustainable and inclusive economic growth through initiatives  that  will benefit thousands of farmers, both women and men, across the  sector.

    According to him, improving rice production will help the  agri-sector  will help the  sector to  increase profitability sustainably, and improve farmer livelihoods.

    He announced that  Olams as a way of supporting the industry has rolled out sustainable agricultural standards and practices throughout its rice-production value chain .

    Adefeko said Olam was investing $150 million to set up two state-of-the-art animal feed mills, poultry breeding farms and a hatchery to produce day-old-chicks in Nigeria.

    He said the project will be Nigeria’s largest integrated animal feed mill, breeding farm and hatchery. He said $100 million had been committed to building and operating the facilities in Kaduna State while $50 million is for a second investment in an integrated poultry and fish feed mill located in Kwara State.

    The other investment is thev ongoing development of a 10,000-hectare rice farm and mill in Nasarawa State.

    To support Nigeria’s quest for rice self-sufficiency, he  said Olam aims to scale up production to over 40,000mt of paddy rice yearly.

  • How to solve challenges in poultry sector

    Though multiple taxation, smuggling and high feed costs are affecting the poultry industry, there are opportunities for its growth, if they are overcome, say experts at a poultry industry summit in Lagos, DANIEL  ESSIET reports.

    The poultry industry is in depression.Reason: Smuggling and high feed costs are threatening its growth.

    This was the submission of experts at a summit in Lagos.

    Organised by the Poultry Association of Nigeria (PAN), it held at Mima Events Centre, Oregun, Lagos.

    The summit, which aimed at proffering solutions to the myriad of challenges confronting the sector, was attended by poultry farmers, feed millers and academia.

    It also sought to connect industry and the academia – researchers – in the quest for solutions.

    Participants agreed that the time had come to declare a state of emergency in the sector as the problems were weighing it down.

    PAN President Dr. Ayo Oduntan,  noted that operators were finding  it hard to survive as they spend about 70  per cent  of their operating capital on feeds.

    He said the high cost of feeds was a fallout of the hike in the prices of soya beans and maize. A metric tonne of maize jumped from N27,000 to N140,000 this year.

    This, he  noted, has put farmers’ margins under pressure.

    Also, Oduntan lamented the low sales of eggs and chickens which  have led to losses for farmers.

    He said the industry remains   massive, oversupplying the market because of surplus domestic volumes and record levels of smuggled imports.

    He canvassed increased research  to confront some of the challenges.

    Oduntan said: ‘’Nigeria and some parts of Africa prefer tough meat because our teeth are very strong. Imagine if scientists decided to carry out  studies on how we can bring together herbs and spices that will turn soft broiler meat into hard meat.

    ‘’They can also carry out studies on how to improve breed, feed ingredients through local herbs and local spices.

    “For instance, some professors at the University of Ibadan carried out a study on smuggled chicken. They found out that the chicken contained some ingredients that are unhealthy and they presented it to NAFDAC.  NAFDAC carried out their own study and they arrived at the same result.’’

    He called on the government to increase awareness on the danger of smuggled poultry products on our health.

    “The government can start this awareness by insisting that all chicken to be served at the state functions should be supplied by the poultry association in the state to ensure that smuggled chicken was not served. They can also encourage the public to do so through the mass media, ”Oduntan added.

    He urged soya beans and maize farmers to increase their  production to meet local demand.

    “We have opportunity of planting maize twice a year in this country, so I want to encourage maize and soya producer to increase production from present two tunes to about 10 tunes. We need to encourage more foreign investment,’’ he said.

    The World’s Poultry Science Association (WPSA), Nigeria chapter National President, Prof. Adeyinka Odunsi, said studies were ongoing to find alternative feed ingredients and on how local chicken could be optimised so that they could be as productive as the imported ones.

    Odunsi disclosed that the association  was  working with universities across the country on how best they could leverage the various research outcomes in those universities so that they would not just stay on the shelf.

    “There are some Fulani types of hen that are resistant to diseases. We are looking at how we can optimise it to produce at par with foreign hens. On policy, the government has a role to play, especially on high interest rate.

    An animal scientist at the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, Prof  Emmanuel Babafunso Sonaiya, stressed the need for small poultry farmers to be educated on how to improve  market  access, adding that most farmers find it difficult to access markets.

  • CBN promises more support for food production

    CBN promises more support for food production

    The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Godwin Emefiele, has promised better support for farmers to boost food production.

    Speaking while inspecting rice farms in Itane, Ketar Fulani and Gwadan Gwaji villages in Kebbi State, as part of the Federal Government’s efforts to make the country food sufficient, Emefiele stressed  the government‘s commitment to agricultural production, adding that the bank was ready to provide support to farmers and commercial banks as they advance agricultural development in the country.

    Emefiele, who was accompanied by  Kebbi State Governor, Senator Atiku Abubakar Bagudu and the representative of the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Chief Audu Ogbeh, Alhaji Azeez Musibau Olumuyiwa, a director in the ministry, affirmed that the Anchor Borrowers’ Programme (ABP) was yielding result due to farmers’ access to good seedlings, pesticides and fertiliser, as well as support from the state government.

    Emefiele, who expressed satisfaction with farmers who listened to the clarion call to embrace farming as a business venture, said the major objectives of ABP had been largely achieved.

    According to him, the objectives of the ABP include assisting rural small holder farmers to grow from subsistence to commercial production level, increasing capacity utilisation, creating jobs, reducing poverty, and increasing banks’ financing of the agricultural sector, among others.

    He expressed confidence that  Nigeria’s target to feed herself would be achieved.

    Observing that some farmers were yet  to register for the Bank Verification Number (BVN), Emefiele urged the farmers to do so to enable them  access  the ABP facility. He assured that the  facility would be spread to many people.

    Bagudu, who is also the chairman of the National Task Force on Rice and Wheat, said the objective of the tour was to see how farmers and processors were responding to the call by President Muhammadu Buhari to grow more food as well as the impact of ABP.

    Attributing the bumper harvest in all the 31 rice-producing states to the political motivation of the Buhari-led administration, as well as interventions of the CBN and the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, he said the goal of making Nigeria self-sufficient was on course.

    Bagudu hinted that the state government was ready to provide paddies to millers on credit, urging the Federal Government to provide more silos as many farmers were still holding paddies at their homes.

    He praised the CBN for its intervention, assuring the bank that his government would continue to collaborate with the CBN to ensure thatABP’s objectives were met.

    Also, Ogbeh assured of the ministry’s commitment to working with the CBN to ensure the success of the agricultural intervention programmes, in line with the Federal Government’s aspiration.

  • WFP, Yobe Agric agency collaborate on food security

    WFP, Yobe Agric agency collaborate on food security

    The Yobe State Agricultural Development Programme (ADP) and the World Food Programme (WFP) have expressed their commitment to ending hunger in the state.

    During a visit by a WFP team to ADP office in Yobe, the organisations expressed concern over the need to ensure that people displaced by Boko Haram insurgency received food assistance and seeds for planting through collaboration with the Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO).

    ADP’s Programme Manager Alhaji Mustapha Goggobe told the team led by WFP Head of Area Office, Maiduguri, Ms. Mutinta Chimuka, that WFP had been a worthy partner in the fight against hunger, not only in the state but also in the entire Northeast where insurgency forced many people to flee their homes.

    “We are the implementer with WFP in Yobe and government representative coordinating with the food sector working group in the state. We share ideas that help support WFP intervention against hunger in the Northeast Nigeria,” said Goggobe.

    “We acknowledge WFP’s role in fighting hunger in Yobe through food distribution and cash transfers to internally displaced people. We have been partnering with WFP for long together with FAO especially on seed distribution and protection. WFP is a strong ally and partnership is one of the best ways to ensure food security in the state,” he said.

    “In fact, we are making a lot of impact because of partnership with WFP. Partnership is good in this kind of work on food security. The last time FAO was distributing seed at Yusufari Local Government while WFP was distributing food. We like this kind of partnership. It is a success story to see WFP in Yobe,” he said.

    Responding, Chimuka said: “For us the emergency assistance and saving lives is important. Through the support of authorities, we have been able to impact lives. We thank the government of Nigeria. Also, through the support of Yobe State government and its agency ADP; and other state authorities we are continually feeding people in dire need of food assistance in the Northeast Nigeria.”

  • FADAMA decries Anambra farmers’ loan repayment default

    FADAMA decries Anambra farmers’ loan repayment default

    The FADAMA Additionlal Financing (AF) programme has bemoaned the failure of farmers in Anambra to repay their loans.

    The state FADAMA Community Development Officer, Mr Chuka Ilokwe, decried the farmers’ defaults in loan repayment at a meeting with facilitators, agricultural extension officers and other stakeholders in Awka on Thursday.

    He said that the FADAMA programme was determined to sustain the exposure of the farmers to modern farming techniques for improved productivity in spite of the development.

    Ilokwe said that the aim of the meeting was to review and evaluate the reports of the facilitators and agricultural extension officers, so as to educate them on how to expose the farmers to global best practices in farming.

    “FADAMA continues to teach all facilitators and extension agents from the 21 local government areas of the state on how to be proactive in educating farmers in order to get bumper harvests,’’ he said.

    Ilokwe, however, called on the defaulting farmers to defray their debt so as to enable them to receive farm inputs.

    “If they pay up, this will go a long way in making us to provide more services to farmers and boost their productivity,’’ he added.

  • Adulterated fertiliser, input threaten food security

    Farmers are reporting damage caused by the use of adulterated and  fake fertiliser distributed by some dealers  during the  season’s planting exercise, it was learnt yesterday.

    This is coming on the heels of Federal Government’s inability to force down the prices of fertiliser since January which it pegged at N5, 500 per bag. The government slashed the price of Nitrogen, Phosphorus and Potassium (NPK) fertiliser to N5,000 per bag to encourage farmers to boost agricultural production in the country. Despite this, a 50kg bag of NPK fertiliser is currently being sold at N9,500 in the open market, while Urea is sold at N8,000. NPK fertiliser reached an all-time high of between N9, 000 to N10, 000 last year.

    Reports from Cross River, Kaduna and Anambra states say farmers have recorded failed crops attributed to adulterated fertiliser. The farmers expressed fears that the country may face fertiliser crisis which will directly affect the farming community and indirectly hit the masses. Speaking in Lagos, the Director-General, Feed Nigeria Summit Secretariat, Mr Richard Mark Mbaram expressed concern over the proliferation of adulterated fertilizers and pesticides, saying that the government should immediately investigate the illegal practice in the industry.

    He said that such practices in the fertilizer and pesticide industry puts in peril the government’s food self-sufficiency targets. According to him, because the fertiliser and pesticides that farmers are using are adulterated, the government may not achieve the desired [self-sufficiency] target, not only in corn, but across all agricultural commodities that depend on these products.

    For corn sector alone, he   said that production may drop, while unregulated components mixed with the fertilizers can cause long-term effects to the quality of soil.According to him, fertilizer is vitamins for soil and consists of three main types, nitrogen, potash and phosphate. He urged the government to revive the  Growth Enhancement  Support(GES) to cushion losses caused by use of sub-standard fertiliser. Chairman, All Farmers Association of Nigeria(AFAN),Otunba Femi Oke  called on the government to monitor the industry and ensure that measures are taken  against unscrupulous traders.

    According to him, it was the government‘s mandate, working with  manufacturers   to assure adequate supplies of fertilizer and pesticide at reasonable costs, as well as rationalize fertilizer manufacturing and marketing, and protect consumers from the risks inherent in pesticide use. Recently in Anambra State, the    Ministry of Agriculture, Mechanization, Processing and Export  had  raised alarm over the circulation of uncertified agricultural inputs, mostly fertilisers, allegedly brought into the state by unscrupulous individuals. It listed the fake agricultural inputs to include substandard fertilizers, rice seedlings and insecticides. A statement from the ministry warned farmers, registered cooperative societies and others associated with the agricultural value chain against the purchase and usage of such fake inputs.