The Nation Newspaper

Category: Agriculture

  • Govt won’t acquire land for ranch use, says Ogbeh

    he National Agricultural Seeds Council (NASC) has warned distributors of fake seeds of severe penalties. The council said it was taking steps to  protect farmers against such seeds which cause crop losses.

    Its Director-General, Dr. Olusegun Ojo, said violators of the Nigerian Seed Act No. 72 of 1992, now being amended by the National Assembly, would not go free. Ojo, who spoke during  enlightenment programmes in Kano, Jigawa and Kebbi states, described adulteration of seeds as an act of sabotage.

    He said adulteration of seeds would not be tolerated, as agriculture is becoming the economic base of Nigeria. Seed, Ojo said, is the backbone of the sector.

    He said the council would regulate the quality of seeds  such that  black-marketing of seeds would be checked, as this is having a negative impact on farmers.

    To ensure that only quality seeds of proven cultivars get to farmers during the  wet season, NASC embarked on nationwide  enlightenment campaigns in Kano, Jigawa and Kebbi states.

    The campaigns were meant to educate the public on the activities of the unscrupulous seed merchants in the Northwest and to discourage such inappropriate trade tactics. The exercise, which lasted for four days, was spearheaded by Director-General, NASC in company of his senior officials, a team of plant breeders from the Institute for Agricultural Research & Training (IAR&T) Ibadan, Institute for Agricultural Research (IAR/ABU), Zaria and National Cereals Research Institute (NCRI), Badeggi.

    Through the training, the trainee agrodealers were educated and taught on criteria to consider before buying improved seeds from the seed companies. They were also taken through awareness creation on how to differentiate quality seeds from adulterated and fake seeds.

    Places visited were Hadejia in Jigawa State, Dan Hassan in Kano State and Jega in Kebbi State at pre-control plots sites established to authenticate, assess, evaluate and monitor quality attributes of all notified and traded crop seed varieties produced by National Agricultural Research Institutions (NARIS) seed companies, and Community Based Organisations (CBOs) for marketing.

  • ADP raises alarm on maize pests

    • Govt, others to combat disease

    The Federal Government and the research community have  stepped up efforts to contain a maize disease threatening food security.

    Ogun State Agricultural Development Programme (ADP) had reported cases of pests ravaging maize farms to the Institute of Agricultural Research and Training (I.A.R&T), Ibadan, Oyo State.

    I.A.R&T is the zonal coordinating research institute saddled with maize development in the Southwest.

    Speaking on the initiative, I.A.R&T Executive Director Prof James Alabi Adediran said maize farms in the Southwest have been   attacked by an insect known as “army worm.”

    Containing its spread and impact, he noted, has become critical since maize is an important food crop. The national requirement for maize is estimated at about 16 million tonnes with production around 10.3 million, leaving a deficit or shortfall of about 5.7 million tonnes.

    Out of this, the livestock industry consumes more than half of the total annual maize production.

    He said it was important that the industry benefits from effective interventions as it affects the livelihood of about 80 per cent of the population depending on agriculture.

    Consequently, he said the institute constituted a team to ascertain the type of pest, estimate the extent of damage and proffer a practical solution.

    The team consisted experts such as entomologist, extensionist, economist, plant breeder, seed scientist, pathologist among others.

    Findings revealed that the pest was not restricted to the Southwest ecology alone but had caused damage as far as Niger and Rivers states.

    The solutions proffered at the stakeholders forum included affordable  products that can destroy the  disease and good agronomic practices  that farmers  have to follow  to prevent occurence.

    The forum attracted the management team of the institute, scientists, representative of the regional director of Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, extension officers from various ADPs, agro-input dealers, Zonal Coordinator of Southwest Agricultural Extension Research and Liaison Services, maize farmers and processors, among others. The measures, so far, have prevented the looming maize scarcity and returned farmers back to the farm.

  • Expert: Mechanisation key to increase food production

    Increased mechanisation of farms will enable Nigeria to build  a functional agriculture and food system capable of addressing  malnutrition and lifting  millions out of poverty, the Commercial Manager, Tractor & Implements, Dizengoff Nigeria, Damisa Enahoro, has said.

    At present, agricultural mechanisation in the country stands at less than 30 per cent, a position lower than that of most of the leading agricultural countries.

    Enahoro observed that there was significant disparity in relative productivity and performance across the farming sector. This, he attributed, to inconsistent levels of mechanisation.

    According to him, agricultural mechanisation can make a real difference and create opportunities for economic growth in rural areas.

    To this end, Dizengoff Nigeria is on a nationwide campaign to promote agricultural mechanisation to improve the country’s agricultural productivity.

    Accompanying this drive is intense personnel training on agricultural mechanisation.

    He said use of machines would increase agricultural productivity and enhance quality along the value chain, demanding that farmers will be trained on the use of equipment which would help modernise the agriculture sector.

    He said agribusiness companies have great potential to provide solutions through the adoption of technologies and practices and make better use of machines.

    As science and technology change the face of agriculture, he maintained that his organisation is in the vanguard of agricultural technologies, pioneering new approaches to food and farming systems.

    Enahoro said: “Dizengoff, through its Massey Ferguson brand of tractors, is committed to providing high-quality machinery and appropriate technology to suit all types of farming operations in Nigeria.”

    He  further assured farmers: ‘’Dizengoff is truly a full-line supplier of farm equipment, providing solutions to farmers no matter what their farm size or type of operation is.”

  • ‘Faking of seeds act of sabotage’

    The National Agricultural Seeds Council (NASC) has warned distributors of fake seeds of severe penalties. The council said it was taking steps to  protect farmers against such seeds which cause crop losses.

    Its Director-General, Dr. Olusegun Ojo, said violators of the Nigerian Seed Act No. 72 of 1992, now being amended by the National Assembly, would not go free. Ojo, who spoke during  enlightenment programmes in Kano, Jigawa and Kebbi states, described adulteration of seeds as an act of sabotage.

    He said adulteration of seeds would not be tolerated, as agriculture is becoming the economic base of Nigeria. Seed, Ojo said, is the backbone of the sector.

    He said the council would regulate the quality of seeds  such that  black-marketing of seeds would be checked, as this is having a negative impact on farmers.

    To ensure that only quality seeds of proven cultivars get to farmers during the  wet season, NASC embarked on nationwide  enlightenment campaigns in Kano, Jigawa and Kebbi states.

    The campaigns were meant to educate the public on the activities of the unscrupulous seed merchants in the Northwest and to discourage such inappropriate trade tactics. The exercise, which lasted for four days, was spearheaded by Director-General, NASC in company of his senior officials, a team of plant breeders from the Institute for Agricultural Research & Training (IAR&T) Ibadan, Institute for Agricultural Research (IAR/ABU), Zaria and National Cereals Research Institute (NCRI), Badeggi.

    Through the training, the trainee agrodealers were educated and taught on criteria to consider before buying improved seeds from the seed companies. They were also taken through awareness creation on how to differentiate quality seeds from adulterated and fake seeds.

    Places visited were Hadejia in Jigawa State, Dan Hassan in Kano State and Jega in Kebbi State at pre-control plots sites established to authenticate, assess, evaluate and monitor quality attributes of all notified and traded crop seed varieties produced by National Agricultural Research Institutions (NARIS) seed companies, and Community Based Organisations (CBOs) for marketing.

  • ‘Rice smuggling is affecting economy’

    Stakeholders  have decried the high rate of rice smuggling, saying it is having downside effects on the  economy.

    The Federal Government, they said, was losing revenue because of this and called for increased survelliance to address the problem.

    In an interview with The Nation, Executive Director, Nigeria Agriculture Development Watch, Johnson Idowu, said the development has resulted in loss of revenues and jobs at the nation’s seaports  in recent times, while neighbouring countries, such as Niger, Benin Republic, and Cameroon through which the criminal activity is perpetrated are better for it.

    He said the only reason there is increased rice importation in these countries is because they have favourable tariff and policy for rice importation.

    He said the countries are not rice producers, and must be investigated to unravel the secret behind the smuggling of the produce into Nigeria.

    Coordinator of Nigeria Agribusiness Group, Emmanuel Ijewere, said the story of  smuggling of rice in Nigeria is historical because it has been going on for a very long time and has destroyed the country’s industries.

    “Because it has destroyed our local industries and the kind of story we are hearing now that the business of smuggling of rice has increased is a bad omen and to the Nigeria customs in particular. Should we destroy our industries and provide job for our neighbouring countries or provide job for our own people in Nigeria?’’ he asked.

  • Create grazing areas, says don

    To stem the attacks by herdsmen across the country, the Head of Department, Pasture and Range Management, Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta (FUNAAB), Prof Jimoh Olanite, has called on the government to create grazing areas, where animals will be restricted and promulgate laws that would punish herdsmen that go out of the grazing areas.

    He made this call while presenting the report of a research titled: “Mitigating the impact of pastoral/nomadic grazing on the natural ecosystem and rural livelihoods in Yewa Division of Ogun State”.

    According to him, herdsmen have been living all over Nigeria for several years and inter-relating with the people of their host communities without being troublesome until recently.

    ”Increase in human population has caused an increase in farm size which has eaten into the grazing areas. In order to produce enough food to meet the human needs, these two increases are coming into closer proximity,” he said.

    “This rapid increase in human population has made people to believe that the herdsmen are intruders, who are not wanted, but the people failed to realise that on the other hand, we need the animals and the animal products to complete our protein cycle,” he said.

    For this reason, he added, the only solution is to find a way of accommodating them without causing problems for both parties.

    Olanite said research had shown that most of the herdsmen that cause trouble in the country were mainly the ones, who do not have definite places of abode, but only come to a locality and leave whenever they are through with their business.

  • Govt okays Union Dicon Salt’s takeover of Kogi SCPZ

    The Federal Government has approved Union Dicon Salt Plc’s takeover of Kogi State Staple Crops Processing Zone (SCPZ) to help grow an agri-based industrial sector within the area.

    SCPZ is a vast zone where there is commercial production of food that would attract the private sector to set up food processing plant to process food into finished items and other products.

    The implementation of SCPZs is estimated to add N660 billion to N1.4 trillion to the economy and estimated to create 250,000 jobs.

    The Alape SCPZ is an agro-processing cluster located in a high-food production area that integrates production, processing, and end markets, while providing investors a competitive operating environment.

    It  focuses on the production of starch and sweeteners; it is expected to produce 62,000 tonnes of starch, 5,000 tonnes of sweeteners, 720,000 tonnes of cassava root and create income impact of about $90 million to the economy of Kogi.

    By this approval, Dicon Union Salt will act as an anchor investor for the SCPZ with several other major investors demonstrating interest.

    A statement from the Special Adviser on Media to the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr kayode Oyeleye said  the Minister, Chief Audu Ogbeh gave the approval  to the  company to pursue its plan to promote the Kogi  SCPZ and attract other investors interested in agro processing and wide range of related activities to increase  staple  crop productivity,  capacity building   of  farmers and appropriate governance of value chain actors through the special economic zone.

    The minister  reiterated  that the government is establishing SCPZs to create a competitive operating environment for agribusinesses across the country and address key investment challenges.

    Said the minister: “SCPZ was a great innovation of the last administration and  like we have said, we are not going to engagein policy somersault. So, we are carrying on with the great idea and we are adding even greater ideas. We are carrying on as we now produce what we call the green alternative. And that is the summary of our new policies. Agriculture is the alternative. Oil and gas and others are rather unstable sources of income.    In January, when Cargill decided they were pulling out, some kind of uncertainty filled the air. But we decided that we were going to find people. Now, Dicon Salt has come in to   replace Cargill. They have the capacity, both financial and managerial, to do it. We are very excited to see that they are here.

    They have given us a target of two years to put their projects in place. Activities will begin now.  It’s time to plant more cassava. Some 10,000 farmers in Kogi State and neighbouring states will need to get quite active. All of these will bring the desired growth which we’ve been waiting for.”

    The SCPZ will focus on providing a conducive business environment for the production and processing of cassava and additional crops, including maize, soya, cowpea, rice and sorghum.

    The  approval   comes   as a cherry news to farmers  who are worried  that the project  has not taken off  three years  since the  state government  signed with FMARD to develop   the  SCPZ as a pilot   centre of excellence for cassava production and processing.

    Other expected SCPZs include Anambra,Enugu, Bayelsa, Benue, Borno,Cross River, Kano, Kogi, Kwara, Lagos Nasarawa, Niger, Ogun, Rivers, Taraba, Kebbi  and /Sokoto states.

    One of the co-Managing Director/CEOs of Union Dicon Salt,  Chuka Mordi, said the organisation is taking over the project to help the government in its dream to boost food production.

    According to Mordi, “we are fully indigenous. It is a remarkable opportunity to develop the agribusiness space in Nigeria from a fully indigenous perspective.

    “The Union Dicon is listed in the Nigerian Stock Exchange, so it is a wholly Nigerian company. That is very important for the things we want to achieve in Nigeria for Nigerians. There are manifold benefits. We import almost 300,000 metric tons of starch every year. So that is a significant amount of foreign exchange we are saving.

    ‘’In terms of industry capacity, employment, economic growth, the multiplier effects this is going to have on the economy are very significant.”

    So far, the state government has committed land and acquired 10,000 hectares(ha) for the SCPZ. Two hundred hectares have already been cleared and planted with cassava and clearing for another 9,000 ha is in progress. FMARD and other Federal ministries have worked to identify critical infrastructure needs in the SCPZ.

    Investors have various investment opportunities in the Alape SCPZ, including a commercial cassava farm, starch processing facility, or sweetener processing facility.

  • BATNF’s interventions boost rural farmers’revenues

    BATNF’s interventions boost rural farmers’revenues

    The British American Tobacco Nigeria Foundation (BATNF) has being commended for enhancing farming among smallholders in rural areas.

    BATNF-International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) Oke-Ogun Cassava Enterprise Value-chain Development Projects  Field Supervisor, Olatunde Ogunsanya, said the foundation’s interventions have impacted on the lives and businesses of the beneficiaries of the BATNF Cassava Enterprise in Otu Community, in Itesiwaju Local Government Area of Oyo State.

    About 46 smallholder farmers, including women, he said, own large farms, and have access to input, such as improved cassava stems, pesticides and herbicides to preserve their crops.

    “We are proud to say that BATNF’s intervention has positively impacted scores of lives, especially those of women farmers who hitherto operated at subsistence level. Due to support from BATNF, they now work on a large scale, with established market links giving an average women farmer the growth opportunity to net over N500,000 annually,” said Ogunsanya.

    He noted: “The beneficiaries, who now pay labourers to work on their farms, happily share the news of their successes, having triumphed over challenges ranging from limited farmlands, insufficient inputs, lack of resources to expand their farmlands, to encroachment on farmlands, which have drastically reduced.”

    Ogunsanya said BATNF kicked off its three cycle cassava projects in Otu in 2014 with 30 smallholder farmers. About 150 smallholders in Otu, Ogboro Igboho, and Ago-Are communities of Oyo State are benefiting from BATNF’s interventions through the technical partnership with IITA. This collaboration further underpins BATNF’s leading role as a not-for-profit organisation committed to improving the lives and businesses of smallholder farmers in rural communities across Nigeria.

    Speaking on behalf of the beneficiaries, Mrs. Victoria Ojumola, who started farming about 10 years ago, praised the Foundation for assisting farmers when the community was confronted by various challenges.

    “Before BATNF’s intervention, farming, though lucrative, was not encouraging as most farmers did not have the financial muscle to combat farming challenges. With the coming of the Foundation, farmers were given fully prepared hectares of land, together with sufficient cassava inputs, fertiliser and lots of chemicals to preserve our crops. Most importantly, BATNF supported us by erecting customised signposts to mark boundaries so as to protect our farmlands from further encroachment,’’ Mrs Ojumola said.

    She added: “With the availability of hectares of land, among other support from the Foundation, about 46 of us operate on a large scale in our community. The disposition to farming is fast-changing due to successes we have recorded through the support from BATNF. Some people, who previously abandoned farming due to inherent challenges, have now made a U-turn, indicating interest to embrace their choice vocation. Now I am able to train three of my children at the university level due to the expansion of my farmland.”

  • World Bank lauds Lagos over FADAMA project

    The World Bank has given the Lagos State Government a pass mark for sustaining the FADAMA agricultural project in the state.

    The commendation came during a visit by the Federal Government/World Bank fifth technical mission to the State Coordinating Office of FADAMA project in Oko Oba.

    The Head of the mission and Task Team Leader, Dr.Adetunji Oredipe, said the state government deserved to be praised for its commitment to the success of the project in the state.

    He said the state occupies strategic place in the project in Nigeria because of several initiatives that has boosted agricultural produce and as a corridor for the movement of goods on land, sea and air.

    Lagos State Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives, Permanent Secretary Dr. Olayiwole Onasanya said: ”The FADAMA project is a poverty reduction initiative because it has empowered a lot of farmers in Lagos State and transformed them from subsistence level to commercial farmers. Fishermen in riverine areas of Ibeju Lekki, Lagos Island among others can now boast of improved standard of living through the project, hence, the state government would continue to encourage its sustenance.

    The state coordinator of the project, Mr Folu Ajijola, said: “The project has improved since the last World Bank mission to the state because our production cluster has increased by 25 per cent. Equally, the number of farmers has doubled and a lot of capacity building for farmers and stakeholders has taken place.”

  • Create cassava devt agency, govt urged

    Create cassava devt agency, govt urged

    To address agricultural revitalisation and high food import bill , the Federal  Government has been urged  to establish a National Cassava Development and Industrial Agency (NCADIA).

    An  expert,  Pastor  Agbor Ndoma Agbor, said  this has become necessary as the government  seeks ways  to improve the nation’s foreign exchange earnings.  With the agency, he  said a strong cassava-based industry would  emerge that satisfies traditional demand for cassava as well as new opportunities in food, feed, local industries and export.

    He argued that an increased use of cassava would help to reduce the nation’s food import bill. He said a large percentage of these high-cost imported products can be substituted by cassava leading to job creation, foreign exchange savings, improved diets, and the return of under-utilised land to food production.

    With the agency in place, he said the government will be able to enforce all cassava policies, including 10 per cent composite flour policy, national starch use policy, among others. The agency, he continued, should  enter into trade treaties and  memorandum of understanding (MOUs) with cassava market nations, companies and organisations, thus creating markets for local cassava products and its derivatives.

    Agbor urged the government to set up a Presidential Technical Committee on Cassava.

    The committee, he added, should   embark on  technology-transfer trade missions to major cassava exporting nations to see and adopt technology that will help the nation grow the   cassava industry. He called on the government to support the industry with improved varieties, planting and crop management methods, enabling farmers to achieve the yields necessary to make a profit at all levels of the value chain.

    He said the commitment of President Muhammadu Buhari towards the revamping of the agricultural and indeed the cassava subsector became inevitable, especially in the face of dwindling oil prices and global economic regression.