The Nation Newspaper

Category: Agriculture

  • Faseru is VP African Cashew Alliance

    National President, National Cashew Association of Nigeria (NCAN), Tola Faseru, has been elected Vice –President, African  Cashew Alliance (ACA).

    He is the first Nigerian to occupy the position on the Executive Committee (EC) of ACA, the association’s governing body.

    The EC is elected every two years by a General Assembly of registered and paid-up ACA members, usually during the ACA Annual Conference.

    He was elected during the Ninth ACA World Cashew Festival & Expo which held between September 21 and 24 at Maputo, Mozambique. Mozambique is the second largest producer of cashew nuts in East Africa.

    The Chairman, Colossus Investments Limited, said  his election would open doors for  more Nigerians to make in-roads into the continental cashew market.

    According to him, international cashew kernel demand is active, there is need to sustain the campaign for improved farming and processing techniques to ensure the country presents higher cashew grades.

    He said Nigeria can produce about 500,000 tonnes/year of raw cashew, adding that  this can only be  achieved  if  cashew cultivation is increased from the national output of about 200,000. Further sector development has however, he noted, has continued been hampered by low production levels, low cashew quality and the lack of quality standards.

    This has weakened international consumer confidence which has in turn left the nation’s cashew value chain at a disadvantage. Besides, he deplored the limited access to financing and high credit interests, hindering investments in local cashew processing.

    The industry, he added, may not reach its full potential to deliver sustainable and inclusive growth without strong, coordinated action around export strategies that take full account of the different policy frameworks governing cashew export.

  • Protect farmers, govt told

    As farmers grapple with safety, President, Federated FADAMA Community Association, Lagos State, Alhaji Abiodun Oyenekan, has urged the government to protect farmers under occupational health and safety regulations.

    He said farmers are prone to injuries, as workers are exposed to pesticides and other chemicals, intense physical strain, and use of dangerous machinery. Notwithstanding the heightened risk of injuries or even permanent impairment on the job, farmworkers are  ineligible for workers’compensation.

    He said farmers could face health challenge because of risks, such as water quality and animal contact.

    He said agri-workers should be protected as they are more likely to be injured be at risk on the farm.

    According to him, farm workers are the backbone of the agricultural industry. They harvest crops and tend livestock and carry out operations that are grueling work and dangerous.

    The Nation learnt that farmers pay is low with some taking below minimum wage, with no overtime pay.

    Most farmers are not entitled to a day of rest weekly, nor are they eligible for workers’compensation when injured on the job. Farm workers are excluded from the labour laws.

    At least 300,000 farmworkers labour on farms nationwide. They  are denied their basic rights – the right to fair pay, a humane work schedule and safe-working conditions.

    Many farmworkers are paid “piece rate,” based upon the units of produce picked or handled. This arrangement creates an incentive for farm workers to push themselves beyond their physical limits, for pay that is paltry considering the risk to their health.

    He called on the government to  protect the environment while ensuring the long-term health and economic strength of the agriculture industry. This would help reduce the risk of spreading diseases between farms, he added.

    Fertiliser firms dominate talks on climate change and agriculture, a report said.

    Fertiliser companies are among the world’s top climate villains, a new report from GRAIN asserts. Their products could be responsible for up to 10 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions, not to mention the damage wreaked on waterways, soils and the ozone layer. But policies to transition agriculture out of its current dependence on chemical fertilisers are being undermined by the fertiliser industry’s lobby efforts.

    GRAIN’s report: “The Exxons of agriculture”, shows how fertiliser companies have infiltrated the main policy processes on agriculture and climate to position chemical fertilisers as a solution to climate change and to weaken support for non-chemical farming. Under the banner of “climate smart agriculture”, fertiliser companies work in alliance with other food and agribusiness corporations to lobby for voluntary, company-led programmes that promote the use of fertilisers, such as Wal-Mart’s climate smart agriculture programme or the World Economic Forum’s New Vision for Agriculture.

    Fertiliser companies even hold sway within the only intergovernmental initiative to so far have emerged on climate change and agriculture. The founding membership and steering committee of the Global Alliance for Climate Smart Agriculture, launched last year at the United Nations Summit on Climate Change, are stacked with fertiliser companies, their front groups and organisations that partner with them. GRAIN is a small international non-profit organisation that works to support small farmers and social movements in their struggles for community-controlled and biodiversity-based food systems

  • ‘Improved shrimp production vital to growth’

    Increased shrimp production is vital to the economy, Prof Martins Antekhai, has said.

    Antekhai of the Department of Fisheries, Lagos State University (LASU), said investors could explore investment opportunities in small, medium scale shrimp aquaculture to meet an anticipated shortfall in seafood supply.

    He said there’s a huge business opportunity in shrimp production to fill the growing supply-demand gap in the face of rapidly expanding demand.

    The shrimp production supply chain provides opportunities for small farmers, cultivating companies, input and feed providers, processors, transporters and marketers.

    Investors, according to him, can explore intensified farming methods with industrialised processes to seek profits.

    Antekhai said there was  the need for Nigerians to get involved in shrimp production to benefit from the global shrimp exports market being explored by leading producers,  such as Colombia, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Mexico and Nicaragua.

    With $5 million, he said investors could made good returns. The international price of a freshwater prawn stands at $380 while a large fresh tiger shrimp sells for $975 per kilogramme.

    The model farm costs $4.7 million to build, including the hatchery and a processing facility.

    Initial investments involve building ponds, irrigation system, processing plant, cold storage, feed mills, hatchery, pumping station, farm stores, warehouse and waste water treatment.

    He said the produce would be processed and exported abroad.

    He noted, however, there were challenges for producers, following increasing demands from international consumer for better food safety standards and traceability.

    Poor infrastructure, he noted, also has made it difficult for Nigeria to improve domestic and global shrimp production volume.

    According to experts, shrimp is the most valuable fisheries commodity in the world, accounting for about 15 per cent of the total value of internationally traded fisheries products.

  • Remove administrative bottlenecks for farmers, govt urged

    The President, Association of Small Business Owners of Nigeria (ASBON), Dr Femi Egbesola, has urged the governments to remove any bureaucratic  bootleneck for farmers if the nation is to grow its agriculture.

    He said this would help farmers to boost productivity, create more jobs and keep the  economy afloat.

    He stressed that barriers thwart growth.

    According to him, delayed actions on farmers’requests presented to government agencies are affecting businesses.

    Egbesola called for a review of red tapism and issues retarding progress in the sector to help make Nigeria the best place for people to start and grow farming businesses.

    He wants a robust plan put in place to reverse long-term declines in farming productivity and the nation’s self-sufficiency, increase the productive potential of farming, to stimulate investment, help farmers manage market volatility and ensure that the drive to increase food production is at the heart of each government department.

    He indicated that rising credit and interest rates are hurting farming businesses.

    He said higher rates were already in place and likely to rise and the broader economy and the farm sector have struggled in the past years.

    Egbesola implored that measures be taken to improve the industry.

  • Late rains cripple farming

    Farmers  in the Southewest  are battling water shortage during the planting season – no thanks to late rains.

    The Programme Coordinator, Farmers Development Union (FADU), Mr Victor Olowe, cited small yams that have been harvested by farmers as evidence of the water problem.

    Farmers had complained of lack of rains, which affected  their early planting.

    The problems of farmers with climate change was visible in most part of the North and South where farmers are reviving their agricultural heritage.

    According to reports, farmers can only cultivate paddy, millet, beans and other commodities in the few areas of land due to late rains. Crops are limp,while livestock are struggling to find feeds as farmers anxiously await rains.

    Despite a reasonable start in the season, many crops are drying off from a lack of substantial follow-up rain.

    While it is not happening everywhere, farmers in the Southwest  are concerned with the problem.

    Observers believe productivity this year will be reduced drastically.

    The Provost, Oyo State College of Agriculture, Igbo Ora, Oyo State, Prof. Gbemiga Adewale, said bad weather could cripple harvests, adding that this could  affect food prices.

    He urged farmers to focus on tackling climate change, saying it is crucial to tackling miserable harvests.

    The resulting tight supplies of many feed grains could drive up the prices of agricultural commodities.

    Besides, livestock and poultry producers are lamenting the effects of smaller supply and climbing cost of feed.

    Vice President, Association of Small Business Owners of Nigeria(ASBON),Mr  Stephen Oladipupo said this expense has become unmanageable as consequences is worsening on a daily basis. He  said the dramatic increase in the prices of animal feeds is giving poultry farmers problems.

    He warned that, without government action on the feed shortage, consumers and producers will experience devastating effects, from the farm to the meat aisle.

    He said that the costs of animal feed is getting higher by the day.

    However, the farmers cannot adjust the prices for poultry or cattle according to the rising input costs due to competing with imported products and the demand from domestic customers.

    Across the fisheries sector, fishmeal has become a “high-price” strategic marine protein. This follows increasing  local  demand for fishmeal, driven by the growth of the aquaculture industry — while supply is declining, prices are “naturally expected to rise.

    Operators say fishmeal is in short supply due shortage in key feed components. Clearly, with a volatile, but long-term declining supply and rising prices, local fish business operators are  rationing  the use of fishmeal and fish oil.

     

  • Lagos Permanent Secretary assures farmers of govt’s support

    Lagos Permanent Secretary assures farmers of govt’s support

    Lagos State government has reiterated its commitment to support farmers to boost food production and create opportunities for small farmers.

    he Permanent Secretary, Lagos State Ministry of Agriculture, Dr. Olajide Basorun, stated this while delivering his keynote address at the award of certificates to 55 women and youths who were trained by the Commercial Agriculture Development Project (CADP) in the three value chains – rice, poultry and aquaculture.

    He said the state is ready to work with small farmers to assist them in solving food problems.

    The trainees were exposed to modern techniques and commercialisation.

    The new partnership aims at optimising food production in various areas of the state. Basorun said the state would work with them to improve food production, food security and rural incomes.

    Basorun congratulated the participants, surging them to make good use the training.

    ”We have engaged you; we have taken you from whatever you are doing to come and do farming and you have agreed because you have passion for it. We have equipped you with necessary information about the latest technology you need to use to succeed in farming,” he said.

    Basorun said the obejective of empowering the women and youth is to diversify the economy from over reliance on crude oil.

    He continued: “Before, it used to be about crude oil, now agriculture is a business. In other climes, the richest people are farmers, and that is why we need to focus on the benefit we can derive from agriculture produce. CADP was from to commercialise agriculture and shift from the hole and cutlass farming.’’

    Earlier, the state Project Coordinator of the Commercial Agriculture Development Project, Mr Kehinde Ogunyinka, said the space for the first batch of the trainees was keenly contested among over 100 candidates.

    He said they were chosen on merit and were certified to have passion for agriculture.

    The highpoint of the occasion was the presentation of certificates to the trainees by the permanent secretary.

    Speakinging on behalf of his colleagues, Jimoh Nurudeen thanked  Governor Akinwumi Ambode for his efforts to revitalise the agricultural sector of the state. He also thanked the state Ministry of Agriculture, the World Bank, CADP and other stakeholders for supporting  the scheme.

    He, however, promised that they would make good use of what they have learnt as well as any assistance they got from the scheme.

  • Rekindling interest in agribusiness

    Rekindling interest in agribusiness

    In spite of its massive job creation potential, the agric sector is hardly attracting the requisite attention. But things may get better as the alumni of the Federal College of Agriculture, Akure, Ondo State, is making moves to re-awaken interest in agric entrepreneurship, DANIEL ESSIET reports.

    The  reunion of the alumni of the Federal College of Agriculture (FECA), Akure, the Ondo State capital, has opened a new vista of opportunity for the agricultural sector.

    The forum brought together agri-business representatives and  academics. The Country Representative, Harvest Plus, Dr Paul Ilona, gave the alumni and students insights on business opportunities in cassava production.

    The school  has  produced  men,  such  as the late Chief Moshood Abiola and  the Chairman of Elizade Group, Chief  Michael Ade Ojo,  who  have   worked extremely hard to become Africa’s most successful entrepreneurs.

    While many have chosen to pursue their own businesses, others have held on to government positions  and contributed to  changing   the way agric business is done.

    Some  alumni said if  the college is supported to  improve  on entrepreneurial education, the nation will  benefit tremendously. One  of  those who expresssed this view is  the Chief Executive Officer, X-Ray Farms Consulting and AF Marketing, Afioluwa Mogaji.

    Better known as African Farmer, Mogaji, who  obtained a National Diploma (ND) in General Agriculture from the college, created his own business  after  graduation.

    He founded his own farm production group that grows and sells vegetables. He is proud that the institution contributed to his greatness. It was with great enthusiasm that Mogaji began his endeavour, from the cultivation and processing stages, and all the way through to packaging and marketing.

    With his farms spread across the country, he earns money every day. The skills he has learned through the school’s programmes have been vital to his success as an entrepreneur.

    Named by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) as a ‘Champion for Change,’ Mogaji said one of the challenges facing agriculture today is the shortage of people who view it as a business. He said younger farmers are  beginning to usher in a revolution in thinking agriculture  as an endeavour that needs a business and management perspective.

    To sustain agriculture as an industry, he said the government and the private sector need to empower more people to go into agriculture with a business management perspective where they take on risks and seek out returns.

    According to him, the government has to provide an environment that rewards the efforts of agribusiness-persons that are working to change agriculture into an integrated industry with best management practices, people and technologies.

    Earlier, Project Director, Cassava Adding to Africa (CAVA), Prof Kola Adebayo, a former student of FECA, said the agriculture sector represents great opportunity for young people.

    He said many Nigerians have found agro entrepreneurship to be a way out of poverty. And more are likely to take that path in the future.

    For young people to take to agriculture, he said farming must be made to be  intellectually satisfying and economically rewarding.

    To achieve this, he said young people should be given functional education to manage the entire crop cycle, starting with sowing and extending up to value addition and marketing.

    The Provost, FECA, Dr Samson Adeola Odedina, said Agribusinesses are facing a severe shortage of highly skilled workers. This, he attributed to disconnect between the content of education and the operations of agribusiness.

    He said institutions have not been able to  transition their research results into products and services, which enterprises need. To address this, institutions have to change the curricula to  train graduates on how to efficiently operate agribusinesses. creation to new heights.

    He said such programmes should  equip students with sound business concepts and commercial  understanding of the  agrifood industry.

    Odedina said graduates will have career opportunities in many areas, including food marketing, product development, packaging, sales, promotion, advertising, business development, retail management, brand management, food security and transport logistics.

    For him, a qualified agribusiness person must have business skills including agricultural expertise, finance, accounting, marketing skills, and human resource management.

    He said the college is determined  to establish a higher profile brand and reputation through quality graduates.

    As its graduates are successful, he said they will be able to give back to the school in some form.  By giving back to the school, they would have established a higher reputation for their alma mater, which further enhances the prestige of the  college certificates.

    He said the institution has raised many alumni, one of whom is Chief Ojo,  a business mogul. He said the college has produced experts that have  helped the government  and the private sector  to improve  food  production nationwide.

    In addition, Odedina  said  a lot  of  farmers  have  benefited from the college’s technical assistance, thus helping to ensure food security and improve livelihoods.

    Besides providing high-yielding seeds and equipment, he said the  college has supported farmers  with equipment  and techniques to  improve harvesting and preservation to ensure an all-year round farming. While food production  has increased, he said revenue to farmers and farmer households has also grown positively, with modern agriculture machinery also being introduced and training for local farmers.

    Due to the successes recorded in by alumni, the sector has been revolutionised.

    He, therefore, expressed the hope that the reunion  would deepen the successes made so far.

    He praised the West Africa Agriculture Productivity Programme (WAAPP) that gave the school the funds to work with schools and farming communities around it. Through adopted villages, he said the college has demonstrated the profitable of agriculture in poultry production, cassava production and value chains, and aquaculture production and processing to schools and communities in Ondo State and people are making a living from it.

    Meanwhile, the Chief Executive Officer and Programme Director of Multimix Academy, Mr. Obiora Madu  has said that  agribusinesses need  skills to compete in international markets.

    He said the nation has an agricultural potential to enable Nigerians capture large amounts of foreign currency and develop agriculture into an industry that benefits all.

    He said Nigerians need skills in  production, processing and distribution.

    The challenge to him and others is that the agriculture  sector  lacks  people with capabilities that will   provide needed the stimuli to help the agribusiness become a new industry. With the trends in the international food industry evolving, he said agro entrepreneurs have to develop a pragmatic export business plan,create a standard  product that will not be rejected by foreign buyers.

    Madu said his organisation is ready to work with the government to establish agriculture as a new business and find business persons that they can work together with.

    According to him, opportunities exist for business matching and that would-be entrepreneurs would find what’s important through firsthand experience in export agriculture.

    He stressed that agro businesses must appreciate the essential elements and overcome barriers in progressing to the next phase.

  • Agribusiness to get priority attention under Buhari

    National Programme Coordinator (NPC) Value Chain Development Programme (VCDP), Dr Aimen Onojah, has said agricultural produce in the President Muham-madu Buhari administration will receive great patronage.

    He added that the administration would make agribusiness the thrust of its agricultural policy.

    Onojah spoke at the opening of the Marketing and Processing Demonstration Training at National Centre for Agricultural Mechanisation (NCAM) in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital.

    Represented by an officer of the VCDP, Esinulo Kennedy, Onojah said: “This is a Federal Government project that involved six states. They are Anambra, Benue, Ebonyi, Niger, Ogun and Taraba. It was packaged to reduce poverty among Nigerians and to stimulate the much needed economic growth of Nigeria.

    “It is a pity that most projects in Nigeria are not sustained but this will be held on a sustainable basis. It was packaged to favour the nation’s agric policy under a value change system with zeal for marketability. What is the value of produce without a market for it?”

    Earlier, the Acting Executive Director, NCAM, Dr Yomi Kasali described the available human and material resources at the institute as “the best” for the proposed policy of the government on prompt marketing of agric products in the country.

    He said: “NCAM is not new to organising this type of training programmes for donor-assisted projects. For five years, the centre organised training/workshops and provided technical back stopping for the processing and market expansion component of Root and Tuber Expansion Programme (RTEP).

    “The strength of NCAM derives from its mandate, which is to transform the Nigerian agriculture through the development of indigenous technologies that can reduce drudgery, thus leading to an increase in the quality and quantity of agricultural produce. This mandate is being achieved through innovative and adaptive research activities.”

  • Combating challenges of poor data-driven agriculture

    Combating challenges of poor data-driven agriculture

    New information and communication technologies (ICTs) are driving change in agriculture by providing farm related data and information to help producers and farmers increase yields and improve income. But the absence of infrastructure and low level of literacy is hampering the deployment of such technologies across the agric sector chain, DANIEL ESSIET reports. 

    Information and communication technologies (ICTs), such as mobile phones, satellite data and the like – are transforming agriculture. With gadgets, such as mobile phone, computers and others, farmers receive data on crop prices and market information.

    They also enjoy stable year-round prices, while eliminating middlemen and lowering transaction costs.

    One farmer who is benefitting from accessing data online  is the Chief Executive, Hastom Global Services Limited, Mr Debo Thomas.

    He is into cashew and plantain farming in Ogbomosho,  Oyo State. Thomas accesses data on commodity prices, and other agricultural services through his smartphone and tablet. For him, information and communication matter in agriculture. Whether for those growing crops, raising livestock, or fish farming. This is because farmers seek information from one another and from other stakeholders across the value chain.

    Apart from personal contacts, Thomas has used his phone to seek information on the most effective planting strategy, where he can get improved seedlings and feeds, and how he can acquire farmland. With data gleaned from his phone or laptop, he is on top of the situation as up dated agric information helps him to cope with market changes.

    He has witnessed the power of the mobile phone and how people are using it to improve communication in agriculture and rural development. New mobile applications are also being used to provide timely information to farmers. Thomas said the use of information and communication technologies (ICT) can improve smallholder farmers’ income and increase agricultural productivity. This is because increasingly affordable connectivity and tools, especially mobile phones, as well as advances in data storage and open access, have made ICT relevant to agriculture. Providing such knowledge though challenging, he noted helps  farmers to be in business.

    With massive agric data coming electronically to farmers, young  people ,Thomas  said,  are attracted to agriculture and are establishing  ventures that could revitalise rural neighbourhoods. Thomas has been able to sell large acres of farmlands and help major investors to  establish agribusinesses across Oyo State. With ICT technologies, Thomas interacts profitably with farmers and other stakeholders and leverage a whole range of technologies to improve farming practices and effectiveness.

    He believes that provision of agricultural services through ICTs could be a game changer that will attract young people to farming. He explained that having better market information would help young farmers to decide what to plant and where best to sell it is important. While the government may not be able to attract everybody to farming, he noted that youths who decide to go into farming can serve as good ambassadors for farming, aided by the increased use of ICT that creates a more favourable image of farming activities.

    He however, lamented that farmers in the rural areas are cut off because of no internet connection. For him, lack of connectivity means that they may be unable to market their products sufficiently or access market data or agricultural research provided through online and telecommunications platforms.

    He is of the opinion farming policies should be part of a wider agenda for rural development by creating an enabling social environment with services to make rural areas good places to live in. Thomas said agricultural technologies and innovations are important for rural development and food/nutrition security.

    Besides, the sector needs better policies to attract young people to stay in the rural areas, in addition to providing better infrastructure and internet. He sees data driven agriculture as vital for youth employment and food security. He believes once farmers have the information they need to improve their productivity, access to financial transactions, they will be able to make much money from farming ventures.

    Therefore, the government must promote suitable agricultural technologies that can be used by farmers and agro-entrepreneurs boost food production and development.  From mobile technologies that easily connect markets to agricultural products, to identifying agricultural value chains, stakeholders believe the agriculture sector must  of a necessity identify ways   of scaling up existing technologies to connect farmers to opportunities  and investors.

    The concerns are Nigeria as a leader in the sub region is failing in its responsibility of collecting and managing data in agriculture. Some experts believe with a supportive government, the high rate of mobile phone penetration and the growth of technology innovation spaces, the country should not lack  behind  countries in  agric data leadership.

    Experts are urging Nigeria to close the glaring gaps in data needed in various agricultural development projects if the country’s economy is to improve. They  believe investing in better economic data will act as an incentive for international investors to plough their monies into the country.

    Lack of adequate data in agriculture would hinder foreign direct investment and  the government’s   efforts to reform the sector. To them, quality data yield not only has sectoral benefits, but also real economic returns.

    Chief Executive, Skill Enhancement Centre (SENCE), Mrs Ogo Ibok is one of those who share this belief. She has keyed into it. To increase farmers’ access to fresh data, portals have emerged which farmers can use to improve agricultural practices. Her seizing this opportunity, has developed an online  platform to provide online information to boost agriculture.

    Mrs Ibok, discovered that getting information to start something  within the sector was difficult. “There is no one place you can go to and get all the information you need on agriculture. The worst part is not even having a place to go and get information.” In the course of her research, she  found out that there are a lot of institutes in Nigeria which can actually provide one with information on agriculture but people don’t know they  exist and solving that problem  became her major interest in agriculture.

    To this end, her organisation decided to  put up information on its  website so that people can have electronic access to all the vital information on agriculture. While hers is a major step accepted across the industry, experts still believe  the dearth of information is  making it difficult to translate data into useful information for producers and other players in the value chain. Experts said lack of access to information about the prices of crops in different markets, is hindering farmers from negotiating for better prices.

    They believe government agencies need to invest more in providing agricultural information to farmers, particularly using new low-cost methods with SMS and other ICT tools. This is because there are no accurate sources for farmers to collect price information at various markets and gather other content such as weather forecasts, fertiliser prices and transport costs from farms to the markets. Neither, are there portals to provide localised agric weather information and agronomical tips.

    This is not restricted to rural farmers alone, farmers in the urban areas who have mobile phones cannot access commodity prices in various markets. In rural areas, however, it is still a challenge for  agricultural extension workers (AEWs), to persuade local farmers  implement new production technologies especially so if these significantly alter the farmers’ current practice.

    On the whole, reaching more farmers is key in facilitating widespread use of the technology. It was experimented with the e-wallet programme launched by the government using mobile phones. According to a study undertaken by the Fertiliser Suppliers Association of Nigeria (FEPSAN) on the Growth Enhancement Support Scheme (GESS),participants in the e-wallet scheme faced numerous challenges.

    The e-wallet was found to be ineffective in many states, mainly because of the poor telecommunications network. Many farmers did not receive the e-wallets and had to resort to the use of scratch cards, which were insufficient for the number of farmers who required them. Among those who did receive the e-wallets, a large proportion did not know how to activate their numbers, or the numbers to dial for fertiliser and seeds.

    A high proportion of non-GESS farmers surveyed were not aware of the scheme, but were willing to register for the next cycle. The Director of Studies, Agricultural and Rural Management Training Institute (ARMTI), Dr Olufemi Ola-dunni, collaborated that the agriculture sector is suffering from lack of reliable data which is hindering growth. The scenario, according to him, has had profound effects on the economy. The sector, he noted, has not been effectively monitored and reported on progress.

    He said the nation’s agriculture statistics are generally lagging behind. He said academics, policy makers, investors and other data users are unable to find relevant, reliable and high quality data to analyse and devise agric policies. According to him, information gaps and the quality of statistical data on the sector are quite worrying for many as the bulk of data in use is outdated and no longer relevant and reliable.

    Where statistics are available, he said they generally have not been gathered in a consistent manner over a time period adding that such data become questionable and one cannot use them to make important decisions.

    He noted that there is now greater recognition among stakeholders of the need to scale up support to statistics development in the agric sector to monitor policies, implement public service reforms and to achieve development outcomes and results.

    Meanwhile, In line with its avowed determination aimed at up-scaling agricultural activities through technology adoption and dissemination in the West African sub-region, the West Africa Agricultural Productivity Programme (WAAPP) in Nigeria has embraced the Electronic Technology Transfer (ETT) Agriculture.

    WAAPP Electronic Technology Transfer (WAAPP-ETT), is a means of developing a robust, easy to use integrated and accessible system that will improve the lots of the farmers through effective and responsive participation in research. The practice he said could also lead to improvements in key implementers, and in the promotion and adoption of best practices as well as quick response to field problem. ETT Agriculture offers low cost communication to farmers, service providers and real-time access to any agricultural services no matter their location, language and level of education.

  • Govt urged to build cocoa factories

    Govt urged to build cocoa factories

    The Federal Government should build cocoa factories to address youth unemployment, the Operating Officer (COO), The Centre for Cocoa Development Initiative, Inc, Robo Adhuze, has said.

    He said establishing new cocoa processing industries and revamping others would increase economic opportunities through sustainable and competitive cocoa production, marketing and agro-enterprise development.

    He  lamented  that cocoa processing has declined substantially, appealing to the government to breathe a new life into the industry by making dedicated attempts to revitalise the processing segment through financial support to  ailing businesses.

    He called on the government to create the foundation for a modern, viable cocoa industry that will flourish and attract new investors, enhance rural livelihoods and encourage self-employment, and maximise the country’s opportunity to receive a premium price for the product on the world market.

    He urged the government to take steps to boost cocoa production by supporting farms to move from traditional crop growing agriculture to agro-processing.

    He added that the level of public sector investment was  low, reflecting that the government is not committed to boosting cocoa production.

    He urged the government to support farmers, by providing more access to extension services and training in best practices, adding that it would have an impact on the domestic cocoa industry.

    He asked the government to treat cocoa production as national commodity and to develop it to increase the national economic growth.

    Meanwhile, participants at the just-international cocoa conference  in Calabar, the Cross River State capital, agreed that if well developed cocoa can bolster the economy, or displace petroleum products as a primary foreign exchange earner.

    The event was organised by the Cocoa Association of Nigeria (CAN) and World Cocoa Producers Organisation.

    CAN President, Sayina Riman, explained that the conference was convened to help critical stakeholders in the industry discuss price risk management project, which had over the years critically impacted against smallholder farmers and other developing economies globally.

    Executive Director, Cocoa Research Institute of Nigeria (CRIN), Prof. Malachy Akoroda, said cocoa had great economic potential for the country given the high demand for it around the world.

    “Cocoa is number one non-oil export earner for Nigeria even when it is not enjoying desired state support, push and encouragement for local farmers. The product has great hope. There are great demands for cocoa bye products in Western and Eastern countries but capacity to supply is limited,” he said.

    Akoroda noted the quality of cocoa produced in Nigeria, saying it is the best globally because of the high-breed species.

    He said it had impossible for farmers to plant, nurture and have a high-yield specie in six months, adding that even in 18 months, there could be unimaginable and bounty harvest compared to what can be obtainable with old species.

    “Anyone can plan this specie and make real good profit, so that, say, in five years, it is possible for the farmer to make as much as N15 million in profit”, the expert said.

    He, however, lamented that pricing had been the major challenge because of factors, such as fertiliser, transportation and politics, in the world market.

    Riman said cocoa business could change the economic fortunes of Nigeria, adding that it is more sustainable than oil because there is possibility that oil can dry but cocoa will not.