The Nation Newspaper

Category: Agriculture

  • Tackling youth unemployment with agriculture

    Tackling youth unemployment with agriculture

    To  experts,  agriculture will really create jobs when the youth are involved, DANIEL ESSIET reports.

    Founder of Agrihub Ronke Aderinoye is an ex-banker and agro-entrepreneur. Her expertise is in agriculture and rural services. She works with farmers in Ogun State.  She has seen the image of  poor, ragged and weather-beaten farmers which puts off many young people. She is determined to change  the picture of the business to encourage  young  people  to have  a second thought about agriculture as the source of jobs.

    For her, the sector has huge potential. She has seen the future around agriculture as the main force in social and economic transformation of the economy.

    She said there was a need for a vibrant agribusiness private sector that would work alongside the government to link farmers with consumers.

    Her solutions include boosting rural development through a chain of activities that add value to agricultural products, and empowering youths to run small businesses.

    She started Young Farmer’s Incubator Programme (YFIP), in collaboration with Eweko Concept and Epe Agribusiness Cluster, to train youths to start up a farm. The goal of the programme is to grow the next generation of agribusiness professionals. The programme is designed to train youths between the ages of 18 and 26, who aspire to start up a farm but neither have the capital nor the knowledge of farming, through a 100 per cent hands-on farm training for  four months.

    The programme, according to her,  is a 16-month intensive course on technical and non-technical aspects of agribusiness.

    The trainees will undergo full- time farm training in Epe, Lagos State. The first stream of YFIP, she  explained, will focus on vegetables  such as tomatoes, pepper, cucumber and cabbage. The curriculum will cover pre-planting and post planting operations, post-harvest management practices, business planning, farm records and book keeping, agricultural marketing, as well as legal, finance and tax matters.

    The facilitators are credible, competent and have proven track record of successes in their respective businesses and fields, and have a cumulative experience of over 35. This programme is divided into five stages and each participant is expected to successfully complete each stage before moving up to the next stage.

    At incubation stage, successful candidates will get three months’   training when they will be allotted mini-plots. Mentors will help and answers.

    The incubation stage will cover key drivers of agribusinesses namely, business planning, agricultural marketing, laws, farm management, pre- and post-harvest handling, pre-and post-planting management and opportunities across the agriculture value chain. After this, successful candidates will be move to the next stage.

    At  the accelerator, successful candidates will be provided with land for farming. Seeds and other required tools will be provided. Production at this stage will be supervised by the AgriHub Nigeria and will continue for four  planting cycles. Candidates will be better exposed to the realities of farming at this stage as they will be doing most of the farm work and also the marketing work.

    One major benefit participants will get at the end of this stage is that they will have farm records of over 12 months, which will put them in a better stead to access finance to set up their own farm. Participants in YFIP must be willing to stay in Epe throughout the programme.

    Accommodation would be provided for participants. One area, she sees huge potential is in rice production. The rice sector alone has the potential to employ many of the 17 million young people who enter the job market in sub-Saharan Africa each year.

    With Agropreneur Nigeria, her organisation is holding bi-monthly Green Table sessions to  assist middle and upper class workers, entrepreneurs, and investors to understand the rice value chain and to tap into the opportunities.

    She has support from the Chief Executive Officer, Kereksuk Rice Farm, Rotimi Williams, whose 50,000 hectares rice farm in Nasarawa State provides enough food and jobs. For him, increased focus on agriculture could enhance productivity, reduce food prices, increase incomes and create employment. To achieve this, he said young people’s involvement in this process is crucial.

    Kereksuk Rice Farm has become a successful agribusiness enterprise. Williams believes the future is bright for agribusiness in Nigeria.

     

  • 2,000 get N600 million for rice farming

    2,000 get N600 million for rice farming

    BUA Group of Companies has  paid over N600 million to over 2,000 farmers to boost rice production in Kano State.

    Its Executive Director, Alhaji Kabiru Rabiu, who spoke at the distribution of farming tools to the farmers at Imawa Village, Kura Local Government Area of the state,  said the company ventured into the project in line with President Muhammadu Buhari’s agenda to diversify into agriculture as an alternative to oil.

    Rabiu said the company had given N288,000 interest-free loan to each of the 2,000 farmers in the first phase of the scheme, which is  is targeting 50,000 rice farmers within four years.

    BUA, he said, is diversifying into dry season farming, as well as irrigational infrastructure  by embarking on massive rice production in which Kano has more infrastructure, coupled with 19 dams than any other state in the country, aimed at enhancing rice production, targeting one million metric tonnes.

    Also, Rabiu said the state has one of the largest arable lands in the country, which is ideal for massive rice production, adding that the state has prospects of rice production.

    ‘’Kano is by far one of the potential areas to grow rice. We are happy and excited and very positive. We believe and we are sure that it will lead to a very successful venture partnership for BUA and the farmers. Our target, however, is for Kano to have over 500,000 rice farmers just as about 42,000 of them have already registered, with Rice Farmers Association of Nigeria (RIFAN).

    ‘’So, what we are doing now is just a pilot project, with only 2,000 farmers and see where it goes. We want to double it to at least 50,000 farmers and if we are able to support and produce at least five tonnes per hectare and if we are able to do it twice, in Kano alone, you can get up to 1 million metric tonnes of rice.

    ‘’So, that is our target, as it may not be easy but it may not happen immediately, maybe, it will take between three and four years. But we are very committed, as you can see from the farmers, they are really committed and excited and we are also happy, so the sky is our limit.

    ‘’For each of the farmers at the moment, we are providing them with an interest-free loan of about  N288, 000 per farmer, which covers the pumping machine, the fertiliser, pesticides and the  chemicals, which are needed, as well as seedlings for increased rice production.’’

    He pointed out that BUA was not using the anchor-borrower scheme but rather its capital to take this pilot off the ground because there is a lot of issues, as agriculture is time bound.

    ‘’Whatever you are doing, you have to do it on time, you have to provide them with the necessary tools and at the right time. If you miss days, then the fertiliser looks as if it is not there.’’

    ‘’For us to able to take this off the ground, we are using our money and that is why it is interest-free for now, But going forward, and if the project eventually succeeds, we will then go back to the anchor-borrower scheme to expand the rice grower project in Kano and Jigawa,’’ Rabiu added.

  • Ogun to increase agric investment

    Ogun to increase agric investment

    Ogun State government will invest heavily in crop farming this season, Commissioner  for Agriculture Mrs Peju Adebajo has said.

    At a meeting with agriculture stakeholders, she said emphasis would be on massive cultivation of rice, cassava and maize which have short gestation period.

    As a first step to realising this goal, Governor Ibikunle Amosun will kickstart the clearing of 5,000 hectares of farmland in various parts of the state.

    The commissioner said: “This is first phase of the clearing exercise as more farmland will still be opened for planting of other crops.”

    Mrs Adebajo also said the state would invest in cotton production, fish and poultry farming as well as vegetables cultivation. She, therefore, charged the stakeholders to be alive to their responsibilities as the state was ready to increase food production as well as security.

  • Nigeria to export processed cashew nuts by 2019 – Ogbeh

    Nigeria to export processed cashew nuts by 2019 – Ogbeh

    The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Mr. Audu Ogbeh, on Tuesday said that the country would start processing its raw cashew nuts for export by 2019.

    Ogbeh made this known at the maiden edition of the 2017 First Bank Agric Expo in Lagos.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the expo is tagged: Reinventing Agriculture for Sustainable National Development.

    According to him, the current worth of a tonne of roasted or processed cashew nut for export is $10,000 while the raw cashew nut is sold for $1,200.

    He said it would be better to process the nuts for export instead of exporting raw cashew nuts in order to benefit from the high cost of cashew nuts.

    “So in the next two years we will no longer export raw cashew nuts, but roast the cashew nuts for export.

    “If we produce a tonne of roasted cashew it will be sold at the international price of $10,000, whereas a tone of raw cashew nuts sells for $1,200,” he said.

    Ogbeh also said that Nigeria shipped a total of $600,000 worth of raw cashew nuts to Vietnam alone in 2016.

     

  • Manufacturer decries high cost of cocoa

    Manufacturer decries high cost of cocoa

    Mr Duro Kuteyi, the Managing Director of Spectra Foods Ltd., on Friday decried the high cost of cocoa, saying it had been affecting the manufacturing of cocoa beverages.

    Kuteyi, whose company manufacture foods and beverages told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos that the high cost of the commodity was due to the economic recession.

    According to him, the exchange rate has made the naira to be of less value thereby increasing the prices being charged by the cocoa processing factories.

    “Before the recession, a tonne of cocoa from the farm was N30, 000.

    “Now, you need more than N1 million to buy the same tonne of the commodity from the farm.

    “Imagine how much the processing factories will sell to us the manufacturers,” he said.

    Kuteyi said that the food and beverage industry needed the support of the Federal Government to survive the recession.

    He said that cost of energy was not helping their situation as the manufacturers were placed on fixed charge rate.

    “This means that whether you are given light or not, you must pay the fix charge at the end of the month.

    “This has been a running issue with the Electric Distribution Companies (DISCOS) that most of us manufacturers are not connected to the national grid,” he said.

    Kuteyi said that another issue confronting the manufacturers now was the high cost of diesel.

    He said that for the beverage industry to survive the recession, the consumers would bear the bulk of the cost of production  in the market.

     

  • Rise of e-agric portals

    Rise of e-agric portals

    Since the  Federal Government unveiled www.eagriculture.org.ng, an agricultural web portal last year, to help Nigeria attain self-sufficiency in food production, more actors have come into the sector. For stakeholders, this portends a great opportunity for the industry, DANIEL ESSIET reports.

    When the portal, www. eagriculture.com.ng developed by the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) was launched last year, the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbeh, said it would help increase patronage of Nigeria’s agricultural products locally and internationally.

    This is because the portal provided features, including community information, access point for farmers and other industry stakeholders, link to bulk purchase buyers, logistical resources and other opportunities for farmers and other industry stakeholders.

    Ogbeh  said:  “Our produce will also enjoy quality control and provide necessary information to importers of our farm product.”

    According to the Minister, “We will collaborate with your agency (NITDA) on this laudable initiative and we are starting right now by constituting a working team that will work further on the contents of the portal because it is very key for the effectiveness of the project.” Since  then,  so many  players have come on the scene.

    One of them is the Managing Director, Netway Online Services,Victor Etudor  who  has developed an application to promote an online farmers market.

    According to him, lack of information is one of the biggest challenges farmers and consumers face as they have no means of getting relevant information about products, their efficacy, and costs. To tackle this problem, he created an online marketplace  to  serves as a vehicle to bring together  farmers and consumers to increase the efficiency of the agri-input supply chain.

    He said an online platform would be set up wherein farmers will be able to sell and buy fruits, vegetables and other produce from across the country. It aims to provide excellent business opportunities to buyers and sellers from agriculture and food industry.

    Buyers can utilise the portal to access a large variety of products and place orders based on their requirements in a streamlined manner at the click of a button.

    His expected revenue sources are online advertising, sponsored content, enhanced listings of products, charges for listings, and more. Harvest  Plus Nigeria, an international  agency owed the seeds for a farming revolution, with the launch of an online portal for trading in cassava  produce, which promises to liberate farmers from the clutches of middle-men and realise fair market value for their yields.

    Harvest Plus Nigeria Country Manager, Dr Paul Ilona, said the idea behind the online market is to provide transparency  and  help farmers identify buyers.

    The online market also liberates farmers from dependence on commission agents, who are the traditional link between them and consumers.

    Ilona said the portal is  an online platform where people looking for  cassava  produce.  Essentially, it aims at bringing people together to buy and sell cassava products from all over the  country.

    He said farmers could list the items they want to sell on the portal. The platform is aiming to encourage as many farmers as possible to register, as the power of a network lies in its members.

    This is based on the principle that the larger the network, the greater the resource for buyers.

    In recognisation of its effort, HarvestPlus international has been named a semi-finalist in the MacArthur Foundation competition for $100 million grant.

    HarvestPlus has pioneered a simple but transformative way to increase the nutritional value of staple food crops, such as sweet potatoes, beans, maize, and cassava. These improved varieties provide higher amounts of vitamin A, iron, and zinc—the three micronutrients identified by the World Health Organisation (WHO) as most lacking in diets globally.

    HarvestPlus Chief Executive, Bev Postma,0 said: “Sadly, many children in rural Africa and other parts of the developing world still suffer from the devastating effects of ‘hidden hunger.’ They may not be visibly hungry, but their basic diets lack the essential micronutrients for good health.

  • Govt, group move to boost cocoa production

    Govt, group move to boost cocoa production

    The  Federal  Ministry  of Agriculture and  Rural Development is to join the Federation of Agriculture Commodity Association of Nigeria (FACAN) to  raise cocoa production to 1.2 metric tonnes  yearly.

    FACAN President, Dr  Victor Iyama told The Nation that the Minister, Chief Audu Ogbeh, at a meeting with the group in Abuja promised to give out free seedlings to enhance cocoa production.

    Iyama said the Minister  expressed concern that Nigeria with its size has not been able to produce more than 200,000 metric tonnes of cocoa a year.This was disappointing compared to Ghana that produce one million tonnes of cocoa.

    To reverse this, Iyama said the Federation was in support of the government resolve to increase annual output of the commodity within the next couple of years.

    He urged the government to support FACAN campaign to train farmers on best agronomic practices, assist them to rehabilitate their farms, renew farms through complete seedlings replanting or canopy substitution through grafting of aged trees.

    Added to these, Iyama, mentioned is the retaining of input – fertilizsers, herbicides, tools and irrigation system.

    He spoke of the need to ensure a more productive and sustainable cocoa sector – free from poverty and human rights issues, if the nation was to continue to supply more cocoa beans and to remain competitive in the global market.

    FACAN, he said, was  ready to provide practical guidance by teaching farming practices that will lead to higher yields, offering entrepreneurial ideas for the non-harvesting season to insure year-round earnings.

    Meanwhile, the  African Development Bank (AfDB) and the International Cocoa Organisation (ICCO) have repositioned themselves to boost business opportunities in Africa’s cocoa sector, including youth employment and empowering women participation.

    The two institutions met in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, to strategise for cooperation to foster the transformation of the cocoa industry in Africa. A statement said cocoa is one of the five Cs (cocoa, coffee, cotton, cassava and cashew) that have been selected for support under AfDB’s new Agriculture and Agri-business Draft Strategy. Africa produces 73 per cent of world cocoa, with more than 70 per cent coming from Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire, Cameroon and Nigeria.

    It is a major export earner, yet its production is still in the hands of ageing smallhold farmers with more than 70 per cent productivity losses as a result of numerous challenges.

    The statement noted that the processing and market are in the hands of foreign investors.

    While global cocoa production is valued at approximately $12 billion on the export market, with cocoa farmers receiving about $ 8 billion in revenue, the world chocolate market is valued at $110 billion.

    The statement indicated that chocolate value addition in warehousing and other logistical services, chocolate production and packing, retail networks, and all associated logistics is 10 times the value of Africa’s cocoa exports.

    AfDB’s Agriculture and Agro-Industry Director, Chiji Ojukwu,  said: “The large potential and opportunities offered by the cocoa sector have not been fully exploited by producing countries, nor have they taken advantage of existing technological progress and innovations in the way other commodities have.”

    Cocoa is still produced by impoverished smallholder farmers, and most cocoa producing countries continue to export cocoa beans as raw materials, without adding value.

    Within the global value chain, most of the money is made after the beans have reached the North. At the same time many cocoa farmers and workers in the South have to get by on less than $1.25 a day, below the threshold of absolute poverty.

    “Cocoa growers today receive about six per cent of the price that consumers in rich countries pay for chocolate.

    In the 1980s their share is almost three times as great: 16 per cent.

    “As a result, the African cocoa sector faces considerable challenges that need to be addressed in order to sustain or even increase its contribution to the economies of producing countries,” the statement said.

    AfDB’s Vice-President in charge of Agriculture, Water, Human Development, Governance and Natural Resources, Aly Abou-Sabaa,  said: “A transformation agenda is required, where cocoa farmers would embrace a business approach and where activities to add value to the raw material would thrive, and generate growth, employment and additional revenues for cocoa stakeholders on the African continent.”

    There is a huge potential to increase value addition in Africa, which would be a source of economic diversification, job creation, tax revenues and, indirectly, improvement of farmers’ incomes. New cocoa and chocolate products made available to African consumers would also lead to increased consumption in the continent, which represents only four per cent of global consumption.

    AfDB and ICCO agreed to seek ways to strengthen their cooperation in a series of domains, such as value addition and promotion of cocoa and chocolate consumption in Africa, access to credit, market access and commodity exchanges, adoption of profitable cocoa farming models and thriving cooperatives, logistics and transportation.

  • Agency advises Kano on pigeon pea production

    Agency advises Kano on pigeon pea production

    The Coordinating Director, Nigerian Agricultural Quarantine Service, (NAQS), Dr. Vincent Isegbe, has advised the Kano State government to look at the potential of initiating its farmers into a planned pigeon pea production programme.

    “Kano farmers can be enabled to key into the $100billion pigeon pea Indian export deal recently negotiated with the Nigeria government,” Isegbe said.

    Speaking during a visit to Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje at the Aminu Kano Lodge, Asokoro, Abuja, the director described pigeon pea as an emerging export commodity which should not be ignored by states with huge agricultural potential, such as Kano.

    He stressed the need to reposition the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport  to expedite the export of agricultural commodities, promising that his agency would do all in its powers to help farmers attain international standard in the commodity yield.

    The director suggested that the Kano state government can opt to serve as the buyer of the produce so at to have a leverage to better negotiate and coordinate its export.

    Ganduje expressed appreciation to the agency for the recognition, promising to work out the details of the discussion with the Ministry of Agriculture.

    The governor thanked the team for seeking to strengthen agro production to meet the international market standard.

    A major highlight of the meeting was the presentation of NAQS Outstanding Achievement Award to Ganduje in recognition of his contribution in agro-production for export trade, in line with Federal Government’s economic diversification agenda.

  • Tackling deepening hunger

    The crisis in the Northeast, occasioned by the Boko Haram insurgency, is taking a toll on food production in that part of the country. The adverse effects of the crisis can be seen in the high number of displaced persons, hunger, joblessness and several others. The Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) has warned that steps need to be taken urgently to prevent the hunger from spilling over to neighbouring countries, especially the Lake Chad Basin.

    As conflict and instability persist, the food security situation in Nigeria and the Lake Chad Basin is drastically deteriorating, Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) has warned.

    It called for swift and decisive action from the international community to protect the livelihoods of millions of families dependent on farming, livestock and fishing for their food and livelihoods.

    With the next planting season starting in May, and with scarcity of animal fodder and water points during the lean season, it is crucial that crop seeds, tools and livestock support reach families urgently to limit the scope of the deepening crisis that now involves four countries: Cameroon, Chad, Niger and Nigeria.

    According to FAO, some 7.1 million people are now severely food insecure across the four countries. Among them are 515 000 children who are suffering from severe acute malnutrition – a condition which, if untreated, can lead to permanent damage to a child’s development and even death.

    FAO is among the United Nations (UN) agencies and governments that attended the Oslo Humanitarian Conference, organised to mobilise international funding for the crisis-struck region, where 80 to 90 per cent of people rely on farming, fishing and herding for their livelihoods.

    Commenting on the development, Director of FAO’s Emergency and Rehabilitation Division, Dominique Burgeon, said: “In the worst-affected areas, famine continues to loom — and millions will remain trapped in cycles of severe hunger if we don’t enable farmers to start cropping now.”

    Burgeon who is represented FAO at the conference, added: “Our collective efforts cannot be limited to merely avoiding massive famine – they need to allow people to return to a dignified life; and supporting agriculture is the key to both.”

    According to Burgeon, besides reducing hunger and boosting nutrition, investing in farmers also provides the much needed job opportunities that reduce migration and limit the potential for radicalisation of unemployed youth.

    Crisis spills across borders

    Violence related to the armed group Boko Haram in northeastern Nigeria has spilled over to parts of neighboring countries in the Lake Chad Basin – specifically, Cameroon’s Far North, western Chad and southeastern Niger – with devastating effects on food security and livelihoods.

    With the Lake Chad Basin approaching a critical period in the agricultural calendar, FAO is urgently calling for $30 million in immediate emergency support to help farming families in the four countries get ready to plant in the upcoming May planting season and prevent them from slipping into long-term dependency on food aid.

    A total of $232 million will be needed to secure food production and access to food for three million people in the worst-hit areas over the next three years. The vast majority of the requested funds – some $191 million – is designated for Nigeria, which is bearing the brunt of the crisis.

    Violence, displacement drive hunger

    Violence has driven millions across the four countries from their homes and hampered access to agricultural lands and assets, creating massive humanitarian needs in an area already struggling with food insecurity, poverty and environmental degradation. Host communities, in particular, have been struggling for several years now to feed the displaced as well as their own.

    As humanitarian access improves, revealing the magnitude of impact of the conflict, time has come to support both people who remained on their land and those who decide to return to their original livelihoods.

    In Borno State alone, the population in crisis, emergency and catastrophe phases of food insecurity (Phases 3 to 5 on the five-tiered scale used by humanitarian agencies) increased from 2 million in August 2016 to 3.3 million in October-December 2016.

    The worst-affected in this group are not able to feed themselves and have exhausted all resources by selling off their belongings, including seeds, tools and animals. Without intervention, that number is expected to climb to 3.6 million at the height of the lean season in August, this year.

    The UN foresees around 120 000 people facing famine conditions in Nigeria. Of this number, the vast majority – some 96 per cent — are expected to be in Borno.

    Targeting most vulnerable

    Emergency farming assistance must go hand in hand with food assistance for it to be successful throughout the upcoming lean season. To this end, FAO is collaborating with the World Food Programme to ensure vulnerable families — mainly IDPs and host communities — receive food assistance, and at the same time agriculture-based livelihood support in the form of provision of seeds, tools and fertilizer. This way, they will able to restore and protect their livelihoods and farming assets for ongoing food production.

    FAO’s long-term strategy for the Lake Chad region puts a special emphasis on supporting refugees, internally displaced families and host communities, as these are the most vulnerable groups in this crisis. Interventions are geared to improving their food security and nutrition and building their resilience so they are better equipped to handle future shocks. In addition, restoring agriculture-based livelihoods will offer a unique opportunity to pave the way to recovery and peace in the affected areas.

    The strategy incorporates not only provision of farming and livestock inputs but also technical training, cash transfers, instruction in natural resource management, and support in setting up community-managed funds that can reduce vulnerability to shocks.

    •Culled  from Reuters

  • Feed Nigeria partners govt on food production

    The   Feed Nigeria Summit, is partnering the Federal Government  to increase  the production of  foods – which have not kept pace with demand, its Director–General, Mr. Richard Mbaram has said.

    Mbaram  said a summit had been scheduled for between April 6 and 7 , at International Hotel,Victoria Island, Lagos to discuss strategies to drive progress in agriculture.

    He said there was a need to bring together producers and leading industry representatives to agree to boost future production and open up new export opportunities.

    He said the meeting would need to set new targets to turbo-charge exports, boost inward investment and support emerging agro  companies to export overseas.

    He  said  there is a significant opportunity for  Nigeria  to develop international sales and profile through exploration of new markets and opportunities opening up all the time,championing  regional food  growing local businesses and potentially creating more jobs.

    According to him, Nigeria must embrace agricultural innovations to better compete in an evolving global bio-economy, by   technologies to address challenges related to population, poverty, food insecurity and climate change.

    He  emphasised the underdevelopment of  Nigeria ’s trade in agriculture, especially intra-regional trade, in spite of the potential for its expansion.

    He said the mission of the summit was to work with development partners and the Federal Government  to implement innovative solutions that could not only bolster agricultural performance, but also promote agri-food trade and food security.