A Nigerian agribusiness startup, BIC Farms Concepts, and 11 others drawn from across the world have won $230,000 in seed funding from Green Skills Innovation Challenge organised by Ashoka and HSBC Holding Plc.

In a press statement released recently on the website of Ashoka, “Ashoka and HSBC scoured the globe to find a new type of change maker organisation which will be absolutely critical in the coming decade: Green Skills Innovators.

“These are organisations connecting people with the skills needed to make the transition to a Green Economy possible. What is more, these change-makers are ensuring that the communities most in need of opportunity are the ones getting the skills needed to thrive in this new economy. They are simultaneously solving both environmental and social problems.

“We are excited to announce our 12 winners. By equipping people with “green skills” – the abilities they’ll need to step into jobs that positively impact the planet – these 12 organisations have found a way to solve interconnected social and environmental problems. Their approaches are innovative and impactful, and they vary across different sectors, geographies and livelihoods.”

The winners will be awarded up to $20,000 of grant funding from a total prize fund of $230,000. They will also have the opportunity to scale their projects to new levels with mentorship from Ashoka and HSBC.

In a similar statement made available on the website of HSBC Holdings Plc, who partners Ashoka on the seed funding, “the challenge team will decide funding amounts awarded to each winner, but broadly, there will be two categories: Most Innovative Solution and Best Early-stage Solutions.

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“Awards in the first category will be granted for solutions with proven models of scaling their impact. Winners will receive a cash prize of up to $20,000 as well as support and mentoring from HSBC and Ashoka on how to scale. Awards in the second category will be granted for solutions with highly innovative ideas which are still at an early-stage. Winners receive a cash prize of up to $15,000 cash prize as well as support and mentoring to help develop their innovation.”

To help solve food insecurity and alleviate pressures on the water in the country, BIC Farms Concepts is utilising hydroponic technology to feed people. Hydroponic technology grows food without soil but with added nutrients.

Reacting to the development, the Chief Executive of BIC Farms Concepts, Adebowale Onafowora, who could not hold his joy, in a statement, said: “I feel so overjoyed! With the fund, we are going to set up a pyrolysis factory to convert rice husk waste to a major raw material for soilless farming. Also, we are gifting a soilless garden to two public schools.”

Onafowora has trained over 20,000 Africans, mostly young people and women, on how to use hydroponic technology for their own farming.

Ashoka is an international organisation that promotes social entrepreneurship while HSBC is a UK-based investment bank.

Alan Kessler is the Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of African Agriculture, a United States-based Africa-focused company. Beginning with an initial farm development in Senegal, African Agriculture has embarked on a journey to deliver protein to the world. The company aims to achieve this mission through the enhancement of cattle feed via high nutrition content and fiber alfalfa production, the responsible environmental and employment management of Africa’s abundant coastline, and the deployment of cash flow ultimately into a global program of carbon offsets. In this interview, Kessler sheds more light on the project and the plans ahead.

Could you give a background view of African Agriculture?

African Agriculture has started at the farm in Senegal, which is our first asset. Our majority shareholder and founder, Frank Timis, has provided us with capital in a very strong asset we are using to create cash flow, and we look forward to expanding our cash flow deployment of African Agriculture in other assets and production opportunities and many other different strategies that we can deploy in direct crops or in agricultural trading businesses.

How truly African is African Agriculture?

The founder and majority investor, Frank Timis, has his background in investment success, many of them on the African continent. Over 95 percent of our employees are African. Even though we are a United States-based company, our entire focus is on the development of the African continent and our first country of operation is Senegal, our next country of operation is Niger. We look forward to expanding throughout ECOWAS and eventually into the SADIC region as well.

Our Board of Directors have all had experience on the African continent either by birth or by serving on behalf of the United Nations or US Government in roles with the US State Department in Africa, or have had direct roles in investing institutional capital in Africa. So, I can say to you with a great deal of confidence that our entire focus is in Africa.

You mentioned Senegal as your first country of operation and Niger as the next. Have you opened communication with governments of those countries?

Yes, we have already got the assets, the assets are already operating and they are already fairly far advanced. That’s why we have a very strong legacy of investment with those countries. We look forward to expanding throughout the ECOWAS. We are very focused on developing the economies everywhere we go. We anticipate to expand throughout the continent and we believe that what we are doing will create a lot of jobs, transform water access, food production, and sustainable development. We know we have a very good, strong, sustainable company and we think the impact is going to be felt throughout the continent.

African Agriculture says it was born out of a global necessity for food and protein security for the coming century. To what extent would you say the company is on course towards solving this necessity?

Protein is a necessary component of every diet. It is necessary for children to develop their brain power and bone development. So, we want to make sure there is a balance of protein in every aspect of service to the world’s what would be close to 10 billion people by the middle part of the century. So, we will be producing alfalfa as our first crop in African Agriculture. Alfalfa provides protein to livestock and cattle necessarily for beef production, dairy product production, which will feed into the making of other products. Additionally, it can be used as a biofuel. So, we think we can really drive protein access both domestically and also potentially for export of what we produce. That’s number one.

Our next strategy also involves the production of fish. That will help serve protein directly to the local communities and also potentially for export. So, in terms of serving the global access to protein, we are very comfortable to make that comment.

A lot of our exports would be done through the consumption markets within Europe and the Middle East. I think these would be our first two areas of focus.

You have spoken of alfalfa production as well as fish. Apart from these, what other areas do you see potential for African Agriculture in Africa?

We certainly are looking at expanding our access to other forms of livestock management not just in terms of helping feed cattle. Even in ECOWAS itself, there is so much undernourished cattle that we think we could help. Beyond this, we are also very interested in environmental or urban management space because we think we are going to be able to help. No doubt, it has a huge part in terms of our sustainable approach to managing the food supply and we think we are going to be able to take advantage of a lot of the soil, water and sun resources in Africa which are unique in terms of the land and overall exploration of the continent.

For the benefit of prospective investors, what is your projection in terms of Return on Investment?

We believe we have ROI in excess of 50 percent.

Investors like to weigh the risks as well. What’s your view of the risks vis-a-vis the projected ROI?

Any investment is buying into a company with risks. So, are they risks manageable or are the risks too far to outweigh the returns? What are the true risks and what is the compensatory return? I have mentioned an ROI of over 50 percent. An ROI of 50 percent is certainly going to bring risks, but I do feel a lot of the risks embedded in what we are doing are completely overblown relative to what the outlook is. For example, a lot of the US investors are confident buying into projects and opportunities in, say, California, and in California, their access to water is a systemic risk compared to what we have available to us in Senegal as an example. We have access to tremendous water potential in what we are doing. Unfortunately, with a lot of the US institutions and also European institutions, we do feel the need to disclose that there are many things going on in Africa that they may not see in the context of their daily lives.

Agricultural experts have long been sounding the gong that Africa can feed itself – and the world. Even the World Bank agrees. For instance, the World Bank in 2012 released a report titled “Africa Can Help Feed Africa”. But Africa’s agriculture potential seems to have remained just that – a potential. Why, in your view, is this so, and how can Africa fully unlock its agriculture potential?

I think there are a few ways to answer that question. Number one, unfortunately, a lot of the techniques in management, in the educational aspects of application to agriculture have not quite developed quickly in the African continent. Take the agricultural universities, the agricultural machinery, the agricultural technological development and innovation which, for instance, are fully developed in the United States. So, quickly, we think we are in a position to actually help to bring a lot of that to the African continent and so, in conjunction with the creation of the company, we have started a very exciting deal with Louisiana State University. The strategic partnership will provide African Agriculture with over 2,000 research and educational staff from LSU who will lead training and development programs for Africa, including cutting-edge technology, the most up-to-date crop optimization, and a full teaching curriculum and all necessary instruction. The collaboration will extend to the marine biology institute of the University, as well as environmental, which will govern the reforestation program. This is part of our global approach to development. I think it is important to continue to do technology transfer and skills transfer, and the US government is currently committed to this. Our majority shareholder investor, Frank Timis, is very committed to the development of the African continent. So, I think we still need education and tertiary education is part of what we can do to solve the problem.

The second thing, I think, is the Central Bank lending rates all over Africa. Zambia is an example, where the lending rate is in the 27 percent range. I know the banks in Nigeria charge 20 percent plus or minus. You know, it’s very difficult to go and buy huge pieces of machinery that are necessary to create that efficiency which is such a big component of the farming asset when your capital resources are so difficult and the credit access is so much more complicated. That has been part of the problem thus far and we think we are going to be able to help in that regard.

Another factor is just the inability to access a lot of the foreign consumption markets and optimise crop management, and I think this is where the field of agronomy comes in in terms of what is the optimal crop for the optimal environment in the optimal time of year using the optimal amount of scarce resources. It is done so scientifically given recent advances. Africa has one of the lowest yields in the world even though you have got the best resources – the best soil, the best water and the arable land available globally.

The fertiliser market is set to rise. However, there have been concerns about the inability of the transportation logistics system to provide timely handling of the product to enable it reach farmers on time, DANIEL ESSIET reports.

Nigeria’s ability to achieve economic transformation, poverty reduction and secure food supply future of the food is hinged on its agriculture sector.

True, there is high demand for cash  and food crops following rapid population growth. However, the government’s efforts at improving agriculture have been hampered by significant land degradation that has resulted in low productivity. This is as a result of the loss of millions of soil nutrients over decades. This required increased the use of fertiliser.

Analysts said fertiliser use rate in Nigeria averages 13 kg per ha compared to a global average of 130 kilogramme per hectare (kg per ha).

According to the analysts, the nation’s ability to reduce the $6 billion spent yearly on food imports largely depends on the availability of local fertiliser.

The 2006 Abuja Declaration on Fertiliser for an African Green Revolution called for an increase to the average fertiliser use rate to 50 kg per ha by 2015.The fertiliser sector is described as one of the largest in Africa, estimated at 1.75 metric tonnes (mn t/yr). It comprises the consumption of urea domestically produced and nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium (NPKs).

The Federal Government is paying attention to developing and modernising agriculture.To this end, it is engaging various fertiliser manufacturers to reduce fertiliser prices. The fertiliser industry possesses a blending capacity of four million tonnes of NPK fertiliser yearly and two million tonnes of production for urea. However, many companies have adopted an industrial strategy to upgrade production and enhance the quality of produced fertiliser.

As a result, more plants are coming on stream to support increased fertiliser consumption. The major players in the market are OCP Fertilisers Nigeria, Dangote Group, Indorama and Notore, which are producing more nitrogen, urea and phosphoric fertiliser.

Efforts by OCP Fertilisers Nigeria and others to build new plants is expected to ramp up the fertiliser supply chain. An abundant supply of natural gas and minerals has enabled fertiliser producers to play a major role in the supply of nitrogen-based and phosphate-based fertiliser such as urea, ammonia and di-ammonium phosphate (DAP).

The Akwa Ibom State government has signed an agreement with OCP Africa, and the Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority for the construction of an $1.4 billion fertiliser production plant.The plant will lead to a multipurpose industrial platform, which will use Nigerian gas and Moroccan phosphate to produce 750,000 tonnes of ammonia and one million tonnes of phosphate fertiliser yearly by 2025.

Work is ongoing at the Dangote Group 500,000 tonnes/year (t/yr)’s NPK blending facility at its fertiliser complex in the Lekki Free Trade Zone in Lagos State.

With the coming on stream of Dangote Fertiliser Limited, global urea capacity is poised to see considerable growth over the upcoming years, potentially increasing from 222.96 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) in 2020 to 305.92 mtpa in 2030, registering a total growth of 37 per cent, according to a GlobalData report.

However, the success of the fertiliser industry depends on an efficient supply chain network.

Globally, the fertiliser market constitutes one of the largest demand drivers for the logistics sector as the cargo that moves through land and ports requires a huge amount of supporting infrastructure.

For the various fertiliser projects carried out by OCP, Dangote, among others, to yield their full potential, land transport into and out of the production sites to delivery destinations must be improved.

This has brought the logistics industry to the forefront of transportation of sulfur, urea and other agrochemicals.

According to Gro Intelligence, one of the United States’ leading research firms, various factors keep application rates low, particularly logistics costs.

That is why efforts to reduce the logistics costs of transporting fertiliser in Nigeria and the rest of Africa, are welcome.

So far, fertiliser producers experience in the logistics sector has not been very encouraging, as they have had colossal losses during transportation, distribution and storage of their finished goods.

Manager, Logistics Services, OCP Africa, Peter Amahwe said the fertiliser supply chain is relatively inefficient due to various reasons. This includes poor port and road infrastructure, inefficient trucking systems, resulting in higher costs per bag of fertiliser.

As Nigeria emerges as an economic powerhouse in the fertiliser industry, Amahwe noted that a lot had to be done in fostering the development of supporting infrastructure to make possible smooth movement of fertiliser raw materials and products to markets and enhance international competitiveness.

Services such as rail, road and sea, he emphasised, form the primary activities in fertiliser-related logistics.

Amahwe noted that there was the need to ensure that fertiliser does not take long time at the port to reach the farmers.

He added that  port infrastructure deficits  have  resulted  in slow offloading of fertiliser cargo, long delays and high cost of operations passed on to consumers.

On the need to rethink port operations, he said the procedures were constraining fertiliser movement.

According to him, poor road infrastructure has contributed to transportation costs, adding that trucks face numerous challenges as they move on to deliver fertiliser cargo.

Amahwe noted that the movement of fertiliser by road also plays an important role in supply chain management. According to him, smooth fertiliser trucking has become an issue in view of degradation of the road system, public safety and the economic radius of how far from the farm a trucker can afford to haul.

In Nigeria, movement of fertiliser by road also plays important role in supply chain management. On  the average, 80 per cent movement of finished fertiliser is carried out through roads. But globally, the railways is deployed in  big  time agro businesses in transportation of hazardous materials in producing  fertiliser.

For instance, the railways in Europe  carry millions of tonnes of raw materials used to produce fertiliser each year, including phosphate rock, crude potash, and sulfur.

Experts believe a multi-modal transportation of fertiliser would help in significant reduction in cost of transportation, time and is environment-friendly. One of them is the  Vice President, West African Fertiliser Association (WAFA), Dr. Innocent Okuku, who noted that  train service is one of the most efficient ways to get the maximum volume of fertiliser to critical agricultural destinations.

He added that if railroads serving fertiliser-producing areas dedicate services to transporting such products, it would support adequate shipments to farmers.

Moreover, Okuku noted that fertiliser is an ideal cargo through the inland waterways, as such the government should improve the intermodal transportation system.

Internationally, inland waterways benefit fertiliser plants located near the coasts. They aid redistribution of imported fertiliser arriving at the major ports.

In a report, the International Fertiliser Development Centre (IFDC) stated that transport corridors in sub-Saharan Africa are a key element in the transit of fertiliser to regional hubs, and, ultimately, consumers.

IFDC, in conjunction with Argus Consulting, published the fifth Argus Fertilisers in Sub-Saharan Africa: Resources, Markets and Logistics report. It stated that Nigeria and the rest of West Africa’s ability to reach sustained economic transformation, poverty reduction and secure the future of food and nutrition hinges on transforming its agriculture sector.

The report noted that fertiliser logistics entails delivering quality fertiliser products in sufficient quantity at the right time, in adequate packaging, and at an affordable price to farmers.  It noted that fertiliser imports transit mainly through the ports of Lomé, Tema, Abidjan, Lagos, Port Harcourt, and Dakar, while Takoradi and San Pedro are increasingly playing a bigger role.

Abidjan (Côte d’Ivoire) handles the largest fertiliser volume with an average of 525,000 metric tonne (MT) of fertiliser imported over the last five years (2015-2019), representing 32 per cent of the region’s total imports, followed by Tema (Ghana) with about 450,000 MT/year and 27.3 per cent of total imports, Dakar (Senegal) with an estimated 325,000 MT/year and Lomé (Togo) with an estimated 175,000 MT/year. The remaining 25,000 MT/year are imported via San Pedro and Takoradi.

Other import ports are Cotonou, Benin, and Lagos, Nigeria.

The study said fertiliser moves from manufacturers/traders to importers/blenders, distributors, wholesalers, retailers, and finally to farmers.

Last year, the study noted that fertiliser was delivered at between $330-$360/MT in most countries in West Africa and domestic costs add between 50-85 per cent to the Free on Board (FoB) price.

The average FoB price represents nearly 60 per cent of the final cost of urea delivered to wholesale warehouses in the fertiliser consumption areas.

According to the study, land transport in West Africa bears the highest cost in the fertiliser supply chain at an average of $ 0.07/MT/km, compared to Europe which averages $ 0.03/MT/km.

The high cost was attributed to the competitiveness of the corridor and the distance between the port and the production area.

IFDC also noted that domestic production of both fertiliser compounds and blends are very limited, most of these nutrient input need to be transported across great distances.

According to IFDC, two major transportation costs are involved in getting fertiliser to sub-Saharan African countries: ocean shipping costs and inland trucking and rail costs.”Both are higher than in other regions of the world,” it said.

As Nigeria is driving green revolution, stakeholders, maintained that fertiliser costs, among other factors, needs to come down substantially.

Analysts noted that the desired improvement in access to input can be achieved by enabling transportation and logistics to be flexible and reliable for transporting goods within various parts of the country.

In a study focused on Nigeria, the World Bank found that reducing transportation costs by 50 per cent would increase the number of plots with profitable fertiliser use by 40 per cent.

It noted: “If costs fell by 75 per cent, then the number of plots could increase by 60 percent.” In Nigeria, transporting fertiliser from the Lagos port to Abuja adds $50 to each ton of fertiliser.

In the future, the facilities for fertiliser will handle more containers in the ports.

Hence, stakeholders expect seaports to have plans for modern, specialised bulk terminals, among others.That offers opportunities for shipping firms, carriers, receivers and other parties in the logistic chain to share in fertiliser production growth.

Role of ECOWAS

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) plans to support the private fertiliser sector in the West African sub-region, through its Investment and Development Bank, the EBID.

Talks were held between the EBID and the West African Fertiliser Association (WAFA), with a focus on providing the region a $520 million credit line.

Part of the funds, according to the sub-regional body, would help finance projects to import fertiliser, buy trucks, and other logistics and transport equipment.

Another part will be used for building storage facilities in the ECOWAS states.

Competition for scarce water resources is evident in the North. Climate change is expected to worsen the situation. Experts have met in Sokoto to discuss how to increase food production through irrigated agriculture, Adamu Suleiman of Sokoto Bureau, reports.

Worried by the security challenges of bandits’ attacks that have threatened farming communities in the Northwest, especially Zamfara, Kebbi and Sokoto states, stakeholders have held a consultative session to strategise an enhanced approach to better productivity.

Over time, the axis has been under threat of banditry, forcing farming communities to vacate their lands for the fear of being killed or kidnapped.

However, at the session tagged “Special Stakeholders Consultative Meeting” held in Sokoto, experts cavassed a replication of the Sokoto Rima River Basin Development Authority (SRRBDA) irrigation project initiative of Transforming Irrigation Management in Nigeria (TRIMING).

The initiative is a tripartite approach muted in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Water Resources and the World Bank. It is to rehabilitate the upstream; that is, the water reservoir structures, and the down stream, which consist of irrigation and other structures like access roads. In addition, it is intended to strengthen the capacity of Water Users Association (WUAs).

It is channelled on the three pioneer River Basins Authority comprising the Hadejia – Jama’are River Basin Development Authority(HJRBDA), Sokoto Rima River Basin Development Authority(SRRBDA) and Upper Benue River Basin Development Authority (UBRBDA).

The line of action has focused on SRRBDA to domesticate the project being executed in two schemes at the Bakolori irrigation scheme in Talatar Mafara of Zamfara State and the River Little valley in Goronyo, Sokoto State.

The drive on the project has started for the past six years, which provides opportunities for the training of water users on capacity building on how to operate and ensure maintenance of irrigation schemes for modern day agricultural best practices.

However, participants who attended the meeting, were drawn from the Federal Government and state ministries of agriculture, related organisations, farmers’ association to harmonise ideas for workable guidelines to make smooth the process of handing over of basic responsibilities of operation and maintenance of irrigation and drainage  systems as well financial and administrative accountability to the farming communities.

The Minister of Water Resources, Suleiman Adamu, said the meeting was organised to acquaint stakeholders with the modalities of the new regime of irrigation service fee collection and administration.

Adamu explained that the essence was to ensure strict compliance with the directives of the Accountant-General of the Federation in  operating the TRIMING, Water Users Association (WUA), River Basin Development Authority (RBDA),Operation and Maintenance of irrigation system, including the TSA system domiciled at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

Adamu, represented by the Acting Director, Department of Irrigation and Drainage of the ministry, Mrs. Easter Oyuronke Oluniyi, explained that the drive was part of the immediate outcome of the transformational efforts of the TRIMING Project.

“The expectation of government from the beneficiary schemes is that farmers from TRIMING Project schemes can on their own, identify works needed for routine maintenance, repairs and minor rehabilitation requirements. The irrigation and drainage systems is now under their care,” she added.

The minister reminded that the RBDA should ensure that farmers and their associations have taken their new responsibilities with steady grip, keeping the canals, drains, roads, culverts, and all other structures to be handed over to them shortly in top working condition at all times. This is to justify the expenditure of time and the enormous resources been spent on the project.

He noted, if strictly adhered to and practised, no doubt, that operation and maintenance costs would be kept at their lowest levels, thus, freeing such resources to be expended for operation and maintenance, which could be utilised for other development.

He maintained this meant more money  for the farming community, and less hassles for the RBDAs for cash for operation and maintenance.

Noting that it would further relieve the government of having to provide resources for those activities, the minister said it could channel its resources to other competing needs for national development.

“I urge you as players in this transformation drive to exert maximum efforts by supporting the process to guarantee its success.

Read Also: Borno to connect communities with power for irrigation farming

“Also note that the entire TRIMING project is an experimental exercise by the ministry, which is planned to be rolled out to other River Basin Development Authorities across the federation, on successful completion and reporting on the performance of the project at the first instance,” he said.

According to Adamu, the RBDAs’contribution would guide future decisions of government on the involvement of other River Basin Development Authorities in transfering management of irrigation systems from government-owned and control, to farmer-managed systems.

The minister added that based on this, the government was not likely to provide any support, intervention for any schemes.

Also, the National Coordinator of the project, Mr. Yakubu Manchuk, who emphasised the government’s and farmers’ collaboration in securing the farms, pointed out that it is the responsibility of the government to do so.

”It is also expected that the government will give helping hands where farmers are unable.”

“We are aware that farmers on their own at community levels, through vigilante groups, are doing their best but when it comes to serious bandits issues, the government has to assist to enable them engage in their yearly farming without harassment from insurgents.

“Therefore, we expect an arrangement between the government and farmers to efficiently and effectively secure the place to allow farmers contribute to national development,” he said.

Accordingly, Manchuk said: “Anything that is threatening your business, you will do whatever humanly possible to protect it. Something that will uplift your means of livelihood, enhance your economic standing, you must strive to safeguard  it.

“I, therefore, expect the meeting to usher us into a level of accomplishment of the TRIMING training projects where by farmers will at the driving seats in the daily running of the irrigation schemes as far the concern of operations and maintenance.”

While he expected farmers to be committed and take over the responsibilities from the government by owning the project life,   Manchuk described irrigation farming as a serious business, and that irrigated agriculture was the way to go,  if we are going to guarantee food sufficiency and security to  our nation, generate more employment, thus the youth will be engaged profitably.

“Let me make a mark here, is not as if the government will hands off completely, but farmers will be responsible for a certain level  of management from the distributor canals, distributor drainages down ward to the field canal and field drainages and the fields track.”

Also, the Managing Director, Inter-Tropical Consultants Limited, Rabiu Abubakar Babura, traced the history of participatory irrigation management in Nigeria to 1985 in Kano River Project, which was muted between in1983 and got expanded in 1994 to 1997 hence got to Sokoto State under the European Community programme in Wurno River Project.

According to Babura, “the government accepted  the programme, as such resulted in the emergence of TRIMING project with the commencement of Bakolori Irrigation Scheme in  August 2015 and by September 2020 ,the project trained over 68,000  farmers and River Basin Development Authorities  staff.

“That means that approximately, the  trained farmers and staff of the authority who are scheduled to cover  over 11 sectors with 7,702 irrigation  units in Bakolori  Schemes.

“Down to Goronyo, the project trained over 17,000 farmers in four sectors with only 199 irrigation units.

“In Bakolori, there are over 4800 officers selected to represent various farmers association and staff of the authority who are to organise themselves to maintain the services.

“In Bakolori, the project proposed to provide a grant of over N43 billion while the Goronyo scheme will provide a grant of  N200million to maintain irrigation services,” Babur added.

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has leased 500 acres of farmland at his farm in Iseyin, Oyo State to Oke Ogun Youths through the OkeOgun Green Revolution initiative.

Obasanjo, who was special guest of honor and keynote speaker at the just concluded Oke Ogun Youth Agric Summit in Iseyin, said he leased the land to the youths free of charge because he wants them to engage in profitable and commercial agriculture.

The former President said for Nigeria to have a sufficient food and food security there is need for increased participation of youths in agribusiness.

The ex- Head of State, who is also a farmer, said peace, security, quality leadership and favourable government policies on agric sector will not only enhance their participation in the sector but also create more jobs, reduce poverty and boost development.

”We cannot be talking of food security when we don’t have security, quality local leadership, accessibility to the farmlands and other basic needs to help agriculture all this put together will encourage farmers to work not only for the ones to eat but to export as well,” he stressed.

Obasanjo, who disclosed he initiated Ogun Osun River Basin, Badagry – Sokoto road, Ikere Gorge dam and others projects to open up Oke Ogun and other parts of Nigeria to boost agriculture, lamented “unfortunately there was no follow up.”

Although he said Governor Seyi Makinde has assured him he would fix infrastructure and road to ensure maximum potential of Ikere gorge dam, the former President said the projects will not only boost agriculture but also generate electricity and water supply to other part of the western region.

Coroborating Obasanjo’s , Mr Adeniji Kolawole of Niji Farms, said government policies on agriculture should be designed in such a way that it would enhance more participation in the sector.

He said proper education on agric business, mechanized farming and provision of basic infrastructures and amenities will enhance food security.

Read Also: Obasanjo inaugurates 1km flyover in A’Ibom

He offered to assist the youth through training as off takers of their produce and facilitating financial loans through banks to boost thier interest.

Former Minister of Agriculture, Otunba Bamidele Dada, advised the youths to form strong collaborations and alliances with local and internation agencies for more support.

The chairman, South West Security Network Codenamed Amotekun, Brig. Kunle Togun (Rtd), while speaking on security and agriculture in Oke Ogun, cautioned traditional rulers from selling land to the non indigenes in their domains.

Togun said: ” War is looming the Bororos, who are killing and attacking our people, are not Nigerians and their mission is to capture the Yorubaland because they see it as their inheritance from Allah which they must conquered by all means.”

The coordinator of Oke Ogun Youths Association, Bola Olalere, explained the summit was to enlighten and encourage the younger generations on the importance of agric business and the need to tap from its immense benefits.

“There is prosperity on our lands and by the Grace of God and help of the people we shall unearth these prosperity to the greater good of our community and humanity in general,” he said.

By Oyebola Owolabi

The Lagos State government has empowered about 3,000 agripreneurs with agricultural productive assets and inputs under the 2021 Agricultural Value Chains Enterprise Activation Programme.

Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, at the kick off of distribution yesterday, described the intervention as a demonstration of his administration’s commitment to the development, expansion and growth of agriculture in Lagos State.

According to him, providing tools, deploying innovation and creativity would make it easier for farmers to grow high quality crops thereby raising their inputs to feed Lagosians and Nigerians in general.

The Governor urged beneficiaries to nurture their businesses to maturity and build sustainable wealth since the government was putting in place interventions to help them.

He said: “These beneficiaries will be receiving tractors, ploughs, fishing boats and gear; harvesters, threshers, destoning machines, de-feathering machines, medication, herbicides, fish juveniles, pig growers, smoking kilns, eggs, and other implements and inputs.

“These are to be utilised in farming communities across the agricultural zones of Badagry, Epe and Ikorodu.

“The goal is simple – we want to make life easier for our farmers and agriculture workers. We want to make it easier for them to clear their land, grow high-quality crops, raise healthy animals, and process their output.

“When they are able to do this successfully, everyone benefits, from producers to consumers. There are clear benefits in terms of health, productivity, employment, and so on.

Read Also: Lagos seeks support to achieve $10b agric scheme

“I am pleased to note that the government has put in place a strategy for the proper utilisation and continuous maintenance of these assets, to ensure that we derive maximum value from them.

“We are also working with a financial institution regarding appropriate financing structures for the guaranteed sustainability of the programme.

“I must say that despite our numerous strides and good intentions, government alone cannot bring about the desired development in the agricultural sector.

” I urge the private sector to take advantage of the huge potentials in Lagos State Agricultural sector which currently boasts of an estimated annual transactional value of five trillion naira.”

Commissioner for Agriculture Ms. Abisola Olusanya said 13,976 persons have benefitted since the programme started in 2014. She explained that it was the government’s desire to help committed farmers nurture their business into viable and mature agricultural enterprises through a deliberate monitoring and control mechanism.

According to Olusanya, team accountability has been put in place to ensure the proper utilisation of assets which has resulted in the collaboration with Ecobank for the fisheries value chain, and the MSME Accountant Initiative of the Ministry of Finance for the Lagos Agripreneurship Programme (LAP) and Agricultural Youth Empowerment Scheme (Agric-YES) beneficiaries.

She said: “These strategies are in addition to the window of opportunities that will be created for youth engagement as articulated in the Lagos State Agricultural and Food Systems Roadmap in the next five years.

“In the long run, it is envisaged that these efforts, and many others in the agriculture ecosystem, will enable the state transit from being a food consumer to a major food producer, especially in fisheries, piggery, poultry production and coconut value chains where it has a strong comparative and competitive advantage.”