The Nation Newspaper

Category: Agriculture

  • Still a long way to go

    Still a long way to go

    How did the agriculture sector fare in the first six months of the year? Some argue that it did well; others say things could have been better. The government pursued its cassava bread policy relentlessly; introduced the phone-for-rural farmers scheme in order to make fertliser available to them at a subsidised price. Good initiatives but the impact has yet to be felt, reports, DANIEL ESSIET.

    Performance of the various value chain of the agriculture sector differed during the first six months of the year.

    This was partly due to improved rains and market trends compared with a year ago. Agriculture performance, however, was not immune to developments in the global economy. During the period under review, the Federal Government continued with its Growth Enhancement Support Scheme (GES) to drive the growth of the sector, boost food security and sustain projections made in the sector.

    To industry watchers, agriculture and agribusinesses are underperforming. Export is falling while import of food products is rising. Post-harvest losses were high especially for perishable products due to poor storage infrastructure. For instance, Lagos State Government disclosed that 40 per cent of farm produce, especially vegetable harvested within the state are lost to post-harvest activities.

    Commissioner for Agriculture and Cooperatives, Mr. Gbolahan Lawal, who disclosed this at the inauguration of Eko Farmers Mart, Ajah and Surulere, said: “This has contributed to the huge gap between the farm gate price and market price of agricultural produce without guarantee for quality products in the state.”

    He said that a lot of people are involved in bringing the produce from the local producers in the hinterland to markets in the urban centres with each adding their profit margin to the products. He added that transportation difficulty also contributed negatively to the landing price of agricultural products.

    Risks

    Notwithstanding the robust growth in areas such as cashew production, significant downside risks still remained in the sector within the period under review. Meteorologists had predicted that the first half of the year, would be more vulnerable to climate change.

    Other risks include rise in sea-level and devastation to coastal areas. Some farm settlements are clinging to river banks and cluster in low-lying areas with poor drainage, few public services, and absence of protection from storm surges, sea-level rise, and flooding. The meteorologists said that Nigerians face a future where climate change threatens food supplies, while extreme weather puts their homes and lives at risk.

    The challenges are enormous, from the poor state of roads to the lack of agricultural markets, rural credit, warehouses, irrigation and cold storage. The agricultural processing industries that once existed in cotton, fruit pulping and groundnut oil no longer operate. This is because of neglect by successive administrations, both civilians and military administration in the country.

    Food prices

    Because of the large share of household spending on food, the poor were particularly vulnerable to food price increases. Prices of staples such as soya bean, maize and cassava went up. Maize prices rose significantly in February and are well above their levels a year ago. Flooding and other weather factors kept soya bean and maize prices high in the early part of the year.

    Programme Coordinator, Farmers Development Union (FADU), Mr. Victor Olowe said he expected the weather variations to become more frequent as the climate changes, making it important for the government and the private sector to invest in weather tolerant crops, systems and standards for increased food.

    Despite the efforts of the government through GES, farmers still had limited access to agricultural inputs such as fertilisers and higher-yielding seeds and extension services.

    The Director, African Region, Cassava Adding Value to Africa (CAVA), Dr Kola Adebayo, said improvement of infrastructure for food transportation is necessary to reduce logistics costs.

    He said Nigerian farmers and agribusi-nesses could ensure reliable food market if they have access to more capital, electricity, better technology and irrigated land to grow high-value nutritious foods.

    According to him, poor transport and storage infrastructure are among the factors holding back growth in the sector.

    Chief Operating Officer, Centre for Cocoa Development Initiative, Inc., Robo Adhuze urged the government to invest in the agricultural sector to confront the challenges of climatic unpredictability.

    Training

    The Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, during the period under review, promised that 80,000 farmers would be trained as part of its 2013 Growth Enhancement Support (GES) scheme. It is, however, not clear the number of farmers that benefited from the initiative

    The programme, which is part of the government’s Agricultural Transformation Agenda, aims to reduce agricultural input costs, such as fertilizers and hybrid seeds, and enable growers to increase their yields.

    World Bank’s assistance

    The World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors during the period, approved two International Development Association (IDA) credits totaling $300 million to boost government’s efforts to expand the agriculture sector while also providing food security and improved nutrition to the rural poor.

    The first is the IDA credit of $100 million meant to fund the Agriculture Sector Development Policy Operation, the first of two projects that would support the government’s Agricultural Transformation Agenda. The operation include efforts to strengthen policies and capacity to raise yields, promote market access among farmers, and improve overall management of the country’s rapidly expanding agriculture industry.

    The World Bank Country Director for Nigeria, Marie- Francoise Marie-Nelly, said: “Nigeria has an enormous opportunity to promote a vibrant, competitive and technology-propelled agricultural sector, which today employs 70 per cent of the population.

    “This new project focuses on providing opportunity to Nigeria’s growing ranks of agribusiness entrepreneurs in a way that will generate higher incomes for farmers while also enhancing expansion in the industrial sector, ensuring food security and enhancing foreign exchange earnings.”

    The second IDA credit of $200 million will be used to fund the Third National Fadama Development Project (Fadama III). These funds will support smallholder farmers, organised in clusters in six states, activities designed to increase their production of food staples including cassava, rice, sorghum, and processing them for delivery. The funds will also link the farmers to better-organised markets and to small and large-scale food processors.

    “The Fadama Development Project is an innovative approach to leverage private sector investments and to establish business linkages between large investors and smallholder farmers,” said Jamal Saghir, World Bank Director of Sustainable Development for the Africa Region. “It will assist the Nigerian Government in its efforts to expand employment, raise household incomes and enhance skills and capacity,” he added.

    AfDB’s $150m

    The African Development Bank (AfDB) said it has earmarked $150 million to support rice value chain under the Agricultural Transformation Agenda (ATA) of the Federal Government.

    Chief Operations Officer of the Bank, Dr. Patrick Agboma, disclosed this at the opening of a two-day stakeholder’s workshop on AfDB Pre-Appraisal Mission on the Bank’s Rice Value Chain Development Programme (RVCDP) in Abuja.

    He explained that AfDB in 2012 pledged $500 million to support Rice, Cassava, Aquaculture and Sorghum of the ATA.

    $250m fertiliser plant

    Consul- General of the United States to Nigeria, Mr. Jeffry Hawkins disclosed plans by the United States government to establish a $250 million fertiliser plant in Edo State. The Consul-General said the fertiliser plant is being planned by the Overseas Private Investment Corporation of the United States Government.

    Benue, India partnership

    Benue State government said it would partner India in agriculture, poverty alleviation and other areas of economic interest. This was made known during a dinner hosted by the Indian High Commissioner to Nigeria, Mahesh Sachdev, for Governor Gabriel Suswam at the Indian High Commission in Abuja.

    Speaking at the event, the High Commissioner said India’s choice of Benue State for the partnership was informed by the abundant human and natural resources the state is blessed with. He said: “Benue State has the potential of becoming the ‘bread basket’ of Nigeria.

    “Being a tropical country with fertile land and plenty of unregulated irrigation that can be managed, I think Benue shares a lot of these conditions with India which can be turned into fruitful use for the benefit of both.”

    Ogun’s N.5b agric equipment

    Ogun State government signed a N500 million contract with three agriculture firms for procurement of modern land clearing equipment. The contract signed at the office of the Commissioner for Agriculture, Ayo Olubori in Abeokuta was between the Ministry of Agriculture, Dizengoff West Africa Nigeria Limited, Olude Gamu Limited and Mantrac Nigeria Limited.

    The Commissioner said the Dizengoff’s contract was worth about N189.8 million for the procurement of 30 MF 275 tractors, 50 Baldan AF-3 Baldan ploughs, 15 Baldan SPA-20 harrows, two Baldan 4-Row planters with fertiliser applicators. The firm, he said, would also supply two Jacto Boom Sprayers 400l and two Bladan RPU-1500 slashers.

    $250m nitrogen fertiliser loan

    Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) said it would give $250 million loan to a nitrogen fertiliser plant to boost agriculture, infrastructure, energy and financial services in the country. The venture, which is backed by the United States OPIC, is part of the President Barack Obama administration’s efforts to enhance Africa’s private sector. The Edo State’s Greenpark nitrogen fertiliser project is a re-engineered ammonia/urea plant from Kenai, Alaska, that has been out of operation since 2007.

    US State Department spokesperson, Victoria Nuland, said: “It is going to use gas captured from a gas field nearby, thereby helping with greenhouse gas emissions. And it’s going to provide a reliable and secure source of low-cost fertiliser and nearly a 1,000 construction jobs and projects around the area, 500 of them direct and the rest around the country.”

    Natural gas is the primary feedstock for nitrogen fertiliser and can account for up to 95 per cent of total production costs. With 36 million British Thermal Unit (MMBTU) of natural gas needed for each metric tonne of ammonia, commercially sustainable long-term access to low-cost natural gas feedstock is one of the biggest obstacles to expanding nitrogen fertiliser production.

    Greater access to low priced natural gas and lower labour costs means most nitrogen-based fertiliser production is currently centred in the Middle East and Asia. China’s Nitrogen Fertiliser Industry Association, for example, reports year-on-year growth of nearly 14 per cent.

    “Despite the country’s immense agricultural potential, there is a consistent lack of physical, social, and economic access to sufficient and nutritious food,” stated the OPIC assessment of the Greenpark project. “Poor agricultural output and widespread poverty have resulted in extensive and persistent food insecurity, with as many as 70 per cent of Nigerians estimated as food insecure.” The Greenpark Petrochemical Company plant is Nigeria’s second synthetic nitrogen project.

    Dry season farmers to get N1b loan

    Dry season farmers in Sokoto State are to get various loans totaling N1 billion to boost food production, Commissioner for Agriculture, Alhaji Arzika Tureta said.

    Disclosing this during the 2nd Meeting of the Technical Advisory Committee of the Sokoto Rima River Basin Development Authority (SRRBDA) in Sokoto, he said that the money would be sourced from the account of Federal Government Agricultural Credit Scheme.

    “The disbursement of the low interest credit facilities, which were guaranteed by the State Government will soon commence,” he added.

  • Fed Govt saves N25b under growth scheme

    Fed Govt saves N25b under growth scheme

    About 10 million farmers are to benefit from the Federal Government Growth Enhancement Support (GES) scheme, in this session, it was learnt.

    The Nation learnt that the farmers will be those who participated in the just concluded nationwide farmers’ registration exercise undertaken by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

    A document obtained by The Nation showed that genuine farmers will be separated from those described as political farmers.

    It reads : “We registered about 10 million farmers for the 2013 GES programme which took place across the country.

    “With the GES scheme government has ended four decades of corruption in the seed and fertiliser sectors within 90 days.”

    It said the Federal Government saved N25 billion last year through the scheme.

    “About N15 billion worth of fertiliser was sold directly to farmers via e-wallet system. N1.5 billion worth of seeds was sold directly to farmers via the e-wallet while commercial banks lent N3.7 billion to seed companies and agro-dealers,” the document said.

    Under the scheme farmers get fertiliser, improved seeds, farm mechanisation service as well as free weather information to promote good farm yields.

    Participating farmers pay 50 percent cost of input after receiving an alert through their mobile phones and Cellulant, while the Federal and state governments provide the remaining 50 per cent. But, with the security situation in Yobe, Adamawa and Borno states, there are indications that the scheme may not achieve expected results.

    Residents of the states are predominantly farmers made up largely of women and children.

    The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina said “the exercise would be jointly supervised by him and the Minister of State for Agriculture and Rural Development, Alhaji Bukar Tijani.”

    No fewer than 4.5 million farmers were registered under the scheme last year.

    The government plans to register 20 million farmers by 2015. While these farmers are to benefit from various farm inputs, the Ministry is expected to add additional 20 million metric tons of food to local food production.

    During a briefing on Fertilizer Delivery to Small Holders Farmers last year in Abuja, Adesina said the support was aimed at achieving food sufficiency and national security.

    “This scheme is designed as a vital component of the Agricultural Transformation Agenda (ATA) and it seeks to achieve at the micro level, food security for the farmer and national security at the micro level,” he said.

  • Invest in rural agribusiness, govt told

    Is investment in rural agro businesses vital to the country’s economic rebirth?Yes it is ,says the Programme Co-ordinator, Farmers Development Union (FADU), Oyo State, Victor Olowe.

    He said if the government stepped up investment and support for the rural areas, it would have impact on the economy.

    Government,he said, should intensify efforts to improve outputs from the land to ensure a more sustainable and diverse rural market.

    He called policies to support business developments in rural areas and empower commercial farmers interested in expanding production.

    Olowe, who is Oyo State FADU Co-ordinator, said these should involve numerous innovative programmes that bring investment into sustainable agriculture systems throughout the country.

    Through public investments, he said, the government would ensure that rural farmers gained access to important seed capital, enterprise financing and technical assistance. The rural areas,he said, had job potentials which could be tapped through investment

    The unpredictable weather,he said, was capable of denting farmers’ bottom line.

    Olowe called for adequate preparation for emergencies as farming was not immuned from the vagaries of weather.

    He warned that inclement weather would continue to affect farmers’ finances.

  • ‘Review land tenure for farmers’ benefit’

    Formalisation of land rights will have major impact on investment and boost food production, an expert, Hosaena Ghebru, has said.

    Ghebru,of the Division of Development Strategy and Governance, International Food Policy Research Institute, Washington, United States, who was addressing a research seminar of the Nigeria Strategy Support programme (NSSP) in Abuja, said formalisation would secure land tenure and stimulate growth in agriculture.

    To help farmers,he urged government to solve the problems of land tenure security.

    Ghebru urged the government to respond to farmers’ demands for more secure land tenure certificates of occupancy, land use rights certificates, iso as to promote agricultural and economic development.

    According to him, tenure security reforms should clarify rights of land users, recognise and expand their rights to use and transfer property, manage potentially conflicting claims of property users and create more effective dispute resolution processes.

  • Dutse Abattoir begins milk production

    The Dutse Abattoir in Jigawa State wil soon start the producing milk for sale,the management has said.

    The Manager of the abattoir , Malam Muhammad Ibrahim, said in an interview in Dutse that the company would start with various brands of yoghourts.

    He said the company had commenced test production and market analyses on the acceptability of the product to consumers.

    “What we are doing now is just a test production; we are now waiting for take off grant from the state government to start mass production,” he said.

    According to him, the diversification from meat sale to milk production would boost the company’s revenue and enhance its sustainability.

    Ibrahim also said that the abattoir would engage in the production of hides and skins as well as minced and dry meat, as part of its business expansion programme.

  • Farmers decry high fertiliser cost

    Despite the introduction of the Growth Enhancement Support (GES), farmers are still complaining of lack of cash to buy fertiliser.

    They are expected to get the commodity at a subsidised rate under the scheme,but it appears it is not so.

    The Akwa Ibom State Chairman of All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN), Mr Dennis Etong, said fertiliser was available in the state, but farmers cannot afford it.

    According to him, a bag of fertiliser is sold for N3,150 but farmers cannot afford the price.

    Etong said the government had subsidised the price of fertiliser, adding that in previous years a bag was sold for N6,000, and farmers were buying it for N1,800 per bag because of the subsidy.

    “Fertiliser is available through GES but farmers complain of lack of money to buy the commodity.“ We appeal to the government to come to our aid and subsidise the input for farmers to boost food production in the state,” he said.

    Etong said 300,000 farmers were registered with GES during the last exercise.

    He said the exercise would be rewarding if the government would use it to supply farm input to farmers on time.

    AFAN hailed the Nasarawa State government on prompt distribution of fertiliser

    AFAN Chairman, in Nasarawa State, Ahaji Mauzu Ishaq, also praised the government for prompt distribution of fertiliser to farmers.

    Ishaq said: “The subsidy on fertiliser and other farm inputs by the state government to farmers in the state would go a long way in boosting food production.

    “Timely distribution of these commodities is an indication that the CPC Umaru Al-makura-led administration is extremely committed to the wellbeing of its citizens,” he said.

    He said the association constituted a monitoring team to go round the distribution points across the state to ensure fairness and equity in the process.

    According to him, wherever it is discovered that there is no fairness in the process, the association will report back to the government for proper action to be taken.

    Ishaq advised those responsible for the distribution to ensure there is no diversion of the commodity so that the Federal Government’s Agricultural Transformation Agenda would not be sabotaged.

  • Expert warns yam growers against premature harvest

    An agriculturist, Dr Lambe Oginni, has cautioned farmers, especially yams growers, against harvesting their yields prematurely.

    Oginni said in Ilesa, Osun State, that early rainfall contributed to the rapid growth of yam this year.

    He said this might tempt farmers to believe that their yields are matured enough for harvest.

    According to the expert, who is also the Director of Oginni Farms in Ilesa, some farmers have a fixed period for harvest irrespective of the maturity of the crop.

    He said such practice may result in shortage instead of gain.

    “The rush for new yams in the market also account for premature harvest; farmers should not rush to harvest but watch out for signs that the yams have matured before digging.

    “Even when yams are mature, there is need for farmers to be careful in digging yams so that the tubers are not bruised,” he stated.

    Oginni said the high demand for yam in the country coupled with the early rainfall would make farmers to have bumper harvest and record a profitable season.

    Investigation carried out by News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) indicate that new yam is yet to be seen at Atakumosa market in Ilesa.

    But some yam sellers, who spoke with NAN said the farmers would begin to harvest the crop by the end of June.

    “ Though the prices will be on high side, some consumers have started demanding for new yams, Mrs Felicia Aluko, a seller said.Another yam seller, Mrs Bolajoko Adege, said they would not display new yams until traditional rites welcoming the arrival of new yam are performed.

    Adege advised yam consumers to be patient till the end of June before looking for new yams.

  • How to grow local dairy industry

    The local dairy industry can generate millions of naira in revenue and thousands of jobs, an expert, Dr Ademola Adeyemo has said .

    Adeyemo, of the Department of General Administration, Agricultural and Rural Management Training Institute (ARMTI) in Ilorin, Kwara State, said there was a surge in milk production and robust domestic demand for dairy products.

    He added that consumer demand has absorbed the larger milk supplies.

    Adeyemo said local producers need to provide consumers with abundant and wholesome supply of milk and nutritious dairy products daily.

    The demand, he said could be sustained by addressing heifer supplies, forage problems, and hot weather.

    He said the producers lost money on milk as a result of lack of power to refrigerate it till point of sale.

    The unreliable electricity, Adeyemo said affected production processes and other products that depend on cold chain distribution and storage such as pasteurised and fermented dairy products, meat and meat products and fish among others.

    According to him, prolonged black out accompanied with unfavourable tropical condition for microbial growth result in great loss to the processors, wholesalers, retailers, consumers or the entire supply chain system.

    He said poor storage facilities do not only lead to product spoilage, but also may present health risks to traders as well as to the consumers.

    Local producers, he said, must increase the number of cows and expand operations, adding that such a step require finding enough heifers to increase capacity.

    The sector,Adeyemo said, offer Nigerians a lot,adding that it needs new entrants, skilled labour market, nearby supply of quality feeds, processing power and beneficial climate.

    He said producers must operate in a business climate that encourages them to be an important part of the future.

    Adeyemo said the complexities of food supply chain impose enormous challenges to the processors.

    He said the government in collaboration with the food industry need to address seriously all of the challenges impeding the sector from catching up with the fast growing competitive market.

    According to him ,the absence of technology, professionalism, capital investment, managerial skills, and physical infrastructure play a major role in hindering the growth and contribution of the food industry towards the country’s economic growth.

  • ‘Dearth of maize seeds worrisome’

    The Federal Director of Agriculture in Abia State, Mr Simeon Oziri, is worried over scarcity of improved maize seeds in the state.

    In an interview in Umuahia, the state capital,after reviewing the implementation of the Growth Enhancement Support (GES) in the year,Oziri said the shortfall in supply of improved seedlings to farmers in the state is worrisome.

    He expressed delight that 65,000 farmers had received either fertiliser or seeds as at June 14, adding that the number might have increased.

    “Unfortunately, the seeds have been in short supply and this can be attributed to the seed companies,” he said.

    Oziri said the situation had affected farmers in Abia as the quantity of seeds supplied to the state was far below what was expected.

    “We have only received 145 tonnes of maize out of the 881 tonnes earmarked for Abia farmers, but the supply of rice seeds have been completed,” he said.

    Oziri described the supply of 97 tonnes of rice seeds, to farmers in the state as not encouraging.

    “The GES is supposed to be of benefit to peasant farmers and lift them from peasantry,” he said.

    Oziri said the input arrived late and at a time farmers were harvesting their crops.

    He said the same problem occurred in last year, adding that they had expected it to be addressed in 2013.“In 2012 the farm input arrived late when farmers had already started harvesting their crops and government had made efforts to address that challenge.”

    He said the problems in the scheme could be blamed on bureaucracy and challenges faced by farmers, which are caused by telephone service providers.

    “The GES is based on e-wallet where farmers are expected to receive alerts in order to take delivery of their inputs.

    “We have observed that it takes time for the service providers to activate the farmers, otherwise we would have recorded more success,” he added.

  • Hard times hit poultry farmers

    Poultry producers must invest in capacity and standard for the industry to grow, the Director, Federal Department of Livestock, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development,Mr Joseph Nyanger, has said.

    Addressing a stakeholders’ meeting in Auta-balefi, Keffi, Nasarawa State, Nyanger said there must be standard to make poultry products competitive.

    The meeting, he said, would enable stakeholders to discuss and approve draft guidelines on how to improve the standard of operations.

    He recalled that in the last quarter of 2012 the Poultry Value Chain (PVC) team constituted an advisory panel to come up with standard of practice.

    The director said members of the panel met in Ibadan early this year and came up with a draft standard for the industry.

    He urged the stakeholders to proffer meaningful contributions that would enhance the poultry industry for the populace.

    The team leader of the Poultry Value Chain, Prof. Funsho Sonaiya, urged the stakeholders to be mindful of the kind of standards the industry needed.

    ‘’We should be keen about issues like how to improve efficiency of broilers and layers and how to improve production.

    ‘’And we should also look at ways to include 100 per cent value addition in poultry farming,’’ Sonaiya said.

    He said that there was no point creating the standards without enforcement.

    According to him, issues in the draft standards include provision of good quality breeder stock, provision of good quality day old chicks and availability of quality poultry feeds.

    Others are poultry health coverage, marketing, processing and value addition and research and innovations.

    President of the Poultry Association of Nigeria (PAN), Dr Ayo Oduntan, said the problem with the industry was how to enforce some of the laws to enhance better performance.

    He said some of the poultry farmers were going through difficult times,urging the Federal Government to assist in solving their problems.