For decades, Nigeria’s agriculture intermodal mix has been out of balance, leaning heavily on road transport. Seventy percent of agro produce transportation is through a crumbling road system. For stakeholders, the return of rail transport services is a good omen.They have suggested ways to make it work, DANIEL ESSIET reports.

THE railway sector has played a key role in the diversification of economies, facilitating gross domestic product (GDP) growth and providing a sustainable alternative method of ground transportation.

Worldwide, railways play a very important role in moving grains from farms to mills, food manufacturers and international markets.The net impact is profound, triggering several effects across industries.

Last year, according to global research firm, Statista Research Department, global rail freight traffic amounted to above nine trillion tonnes.

Rail freight in Africa, the report say, reached over 150 billion tonnes last year, down from over 155 billion in 2018. Indeed, Africa is one of the world’s fastest growing cargo markets. Rapid economic growth has seen volumes surging and freight traffic recording strong performance. While railroads  haul various agricultural products, the primary commodities carried are corn, wheat, soybeans, barley, and sorghum, which account  for  over  90 per cent of yearly rail farm product tonnages, according to analysts.

At present, the road network accounts for the majority of agro commodities freights, even though there are few high-quality paved roads.

For Nigeria to achieve its economic goals, experts believe the continued development and success of its agriculture sector would depend on optimising the railways.This would build a competitive, integrated, inclusive and sustainable rail transportation system.

The government, acting on the railways master plan, is modernising and upgrading the network, which has become dilapidated over the decades. For agro industry stakeholders, upgrading its infrastructure for agro commodities and livestock is a priority for the railways.

With increasing focus on the agriculture sector and special agro economic zones progressing rapidly, stakeholders see rail projects as pivotal to increasing the country’s agro logistical capacity. One of them is the Vice-President, Nigeria AgriBusiness Group, Emmanuel Ijewere, a livestock farmer.

Addressing an agribusiness forum in Lagos, Ijewere maintained that when all the linking parts of the logistics chain are in place, the volume of agro cargoes would rise considerably.

The nation’s trains, Ijewere observed, lack the facilities for ferrying livestock healthily.

His words: “We tried to use the rail system. We got Railconnect and entered a contract with them. They supplied us the first batch of 1,820 cows, but 20 died in between. And when they were being brought down at Ijokoro, 11 of them broke their legs, because there was no platform. Because of the stress of bringing them to my place, we lost another 11 cows. Tell me where the profit is in all these? These are the practical things we went through. The same thing happened to tomato. I brought tomato by rail twice. The first time the train arrived at Iddo with 800 crates, it arrived fully cooked, water was dripping all the way; Why? Because the Nigeria Railway Corporation (NRC) sealed it all up, no air-conditioning. The second consignment arrived, they put windows on them, but at Lokoja, there was a derailment, the train had to stay there for four days, and the time it arrived here again, we got only four crates out of 800. That is the situation that we are facing.”

Three decades ago, movement of cattle and farm produce from the North to the South was done by rail. NRC would deploy special carriage wagons to ferry cattle from places as far-flung as Maiduguri and Sokoto, among others. The trains arrived their destinations on time and the cattle and perishable farm produce in good conditions, still retaining their freshness and nutrients. This is not the situation now as growers move their fruits and vegetables by trucks.

For a country promoting agriculture, Ijewere observed that the transportation system has continued to struggle, meaning it needs special attention.

According to him, the government’s agriculture strategy to increase food production to respond to  surging  demand places  an enormous burden on the already-congested roads unless rail infrastructure is modernised – to  adapt quickly to market opportunities.

The Country Manager, OCP Nigeria, Mr. Caleb Usoh, agrees with this. He said the railways should play a crucial part in maintaining the supply of essential items and helping livelihoods by stepping up the transportation of food grains, milk and dairy products, by changing the traditional traffic routes, wherever required; and aggregating collections  at the various stop points.

A lot of expanding agric opportunities, he  noted,  exist  which should  encourage the railways to create a new business model to account for a major share in transportation of bulk commodities  such as food grains which are drivers of the economy.

He explained that this would benefit large farming corporations, food companies and processing facilities,  as the rail has the potential to transform agricultural freight, especially for fresh produce farmers.

Usoh noted that revamping the rail would assist horticulture growers in reducing transport costs and lead to fewer heavy vehicle trips yearly.

For him, the success of the value-added food sector is premised on a reliable cold rail chain for transport and distribution.

One area he wants the railways to focus on is acquiring cold storage facilities to enable farmers pick produce at their peak of freshness and transport them in a state that prolongs shelf life.

With big production facilities established across the country, he maintained that the railways could play a significant role in delivering the fertiliser needed by farmers on time, considering congestion on the roads.

He explained that the railways helping customers was in the best interest of the economy and everything must be done to support businesses in terms of investing in infrastructure and facilities, especially from an intermodal perspective.

A dairy expert and Managing Director of Chanan Elo’a Integrated Farms Limited, Mr. Udeme Etuk, said cattle face the longest journey, on average close to 1,000 kilometres before they get to the abattoirs.

He described such journeys as an expensive exercise which affects the cattle health and weight

He  said there was strong demand for cattle train services provided  the railways authorities could guarantees a healthy condition for them to  travel on trains; and it is favoured over road networks, with more stringent heavy vehicle regulations.

With a lot of cattle coming from the North emaciated after long trips by road, Etuk reasoned that it’s probably best if they came by rail rather than clogging the roads. His concern is how to improve livestock cartage to give them road to move when they are being transported by train.

Railways’ share in agro trade

Though not complementary, a study by the African Development Bank (AfDB) has shown that the condition of railways’ infrastructure and rolling stock in many African countries is poor.

The shortfall, it noted, has undermined the potential of the rails to play a strong role in economic development. In fact, the report say rail transport market share in most countries on the continent is below 20 per cent of the total volume of freight transport.

Although there are no variable data for it, one would not expect the Nigeria’s share of railway-related agro exports to be 30 percent.

For the Chief Executive Officer, Multimix Group, Dr. Obiora Madu, the seriousness of the government about addressing the challenge of food security would be demonstrated when it pays greater attention to the role of transportation and logistics.

While it stands as one of the largest agricultural commodity producers in the world, Madu said the nation’s transport infrastructure still lagged behind other countries. According to him, logistics is a key element in achieving competitiveness and economic development. He added that development of agro-logistics would help address food security challenge holistically from “farm to fork”.

To enable the country ensure a balanced structure in foreign trade, he said the government must, as a matter of urgency, increase the share of rail transport in the logistics sector.

Other stakeholders shared his opinion that the railway is a critical piece that dovetails with inland transportation to create an economical and sustainable intermodal chain They highlighted the need to increase the effectiveness of logistic services to contribute positively to foreign trade.

A World Bank consultant, Prof Abel Ogunwale, said the agric sector has a strong appetite for logistics services.  As agro business expanded, he said a wide range of logistics services would be in great demand.

Currently, analysts said the proportion of agricultural products and food exported from Nigeria through a cold chain was low, which indicated that the market has a great deal of room for growth.

Ogunwale concurs. He urges for infrastructure enhancements, including additional terminal facilities to attract more agricultural traffic onto rail.

He said introducing special trains to carry perishable products, such as fruits, vegetables and fish from identified production clusters to consumer centres would help maintain quality and freshness.

Considering how tortuous agricultural road trips are, Ogunwale said trains were better in moving meat, rice and dairy products. He praised the government for revitalising the railway system.

His words: “Originally, railway lines were designed to encourage agricultural production and farm produce export growth and development in Nigeria. So, there were problems when railway system as means of transportation in Nigeria was truncated.”

For several reasons, the Chief Executive, X-Ray Farms Consulting, Afioluwa Mogaji, believes railways remains well-positioned to serve the agricultural market.

He explains that its network is strategically positioned through the heart of major farming regions across the country. According to him, rail is fundamental to agricultural prosperity as it provides a safe and cost-effective transportation system.

He said freight railways keeps economies rolling and help nations to stay competitive in the global economy

An agro entrepreneur, Rotimi Williams, said the challenges facing the agricultural industry required that the government and the private sector work to rebuild logistics infrastructure to boost competitiveness.

Meanwhile, the much-celebrated scheme to move cattle and grains from the North to markets, industrial zones and ports in the South has been suspended.

In January 2016, the Nigeria Incentive-Based Risk Sharing System for Agriculture (NIRSAL) launched its National Farm-to-Market Scheme to enable a low-cost and efficient transport link between producers and consumers across the country, particularly the North-to-South movement of cattle by rail.

The event witnessed the movement of the first 15 wagons of 500 cattle which left Gusau, Zamfara State to Lagos. The historic journey lasted for about two days with the final stop at Oko-Oba.

The initiative was in collaboration with the Nigeria Railway Corporation (NRC) and Connect Rail Services.

A similar initiative followed in February 2017, when NIRSAL also, in partnership with NRC, inaugurated the first stage of the initiative, where a consignment of 800 tonnes of soybeans left Funtua, Katsina State for Apapa Port, Lagos for export.

The scheme was in line with the objective of the Federal Government of making agriculture a key anchor of economic diversification

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has banned maize importation, raising prospects of potential shortages in the market. There is concern that local farmers may not meet market demand as poultry farmers and other food producers bemoan high cost of the produce, DANIEL ESSIET reports.

THE food industry is bracing for major adjustments as concerns over the impact of Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) ban on maize import grow. While the extent of the ban’s impact remains uncertain, production disruption is a major area of focus. Some stakeholders fear that the CBN’s ban of maize import when local farmers have not produced enough to power the food industry will lead to high cost of the crop, which is a major raw material in livestock and pharmaceutical industries. Higher projected orders from the food processing industry have sent maize prices soaring with supplies plummeting.

With the ban on maize importation, analysts say food industries are paying more for maize.

Impact on poultry sector

The poultry sector is one of the major consumers of maize as it is a key ingredient in poultry feed and accounts for 70 per cent of production cost.

The Nation learnt that producers have not been able to pass on the high costs to consumers, as such, they have continued to reel under the impact of higher production feed costs.

The Southwest Chairman, Poultry Association of Nigeria (PAN), Dr. Adetoyi Olabode, expressed mixed feelings on the issue.

According to him, while the COVID-19 impact has been mitigated, the poultry sector still face challenges. Olabode, who appreciated the government’s steps to boost food security and curtail irresponsible use of foreign exchange, noted, however, that the ban was ill timed because poultry farmers were still counting their losses from the near-closure of businesses due to restrictions imposed by federal and state governments to stem the spread COVID-19.

The pandemic, according to him, has reduced the grain outlook. He said the government should have given poultry farmers at least three months to import enough maize while plans would be intensified to increase maize production to reverse the high cost of poultry feeds. The volume and quality of maize available locally, he said, might not be sufficient for industrial producers in the long run. So, the CBN should relax the policy to allow the import of white maize for animal feed between now and the end of October, he said.

Because of the ban, he said a ton of maize, which sold for N80,000 had climbed to N180,000. Maize prices have soared to an all-time high in the market because of weak supply, he added.

More woes

Generally, 75 percent of the cost of raising a chicken goes to feed and this is hampering the competitiveness of producers. A poultry farmer in Uyo, the Akwa Ibom State capital, Solomon Ekong, who spoke with The Nation, decried the high cost of maize.

Ekong, a senior official of PAN, said the business of eggs and chicken, once considered a profitable venture, was no more rewarding as operators have continued to suffer losses, with some winding up their poultry farms.

Due to the cost of chicken feed, he said their operating costs had shot up, though the price of chicken and egg remained the same.

He noted that poultry business was suffering despite that consumption was significant.  Ekong urged the Federal Government to come to their rescue, lamenting that their farms were crumbling.

The Delta State Chairman of PAN, Chief Alfred Mrakpor, appealed to the Federal Government to save the local poultry industry from collapse due to the high cost of feeds.

Mrakpor lamented the large numbers of small-scale poultry farms that have closed shop as a result of the exorbitant prices of critical ingredients in poultry feed formulation.

He said the benefits of the ban by the Federal Government on frozen chicken on the local industry would be eroded, if the exorbitant prices of maize and soya beans, major components of poultry rations, were not checked.

Mrakpor said: “It is heartbreaking to see that small farmers are falling out of business and by extension increasing the poverty level of the citizenry. This is not the expectations of our members, and we are negatively affected by the galloping price of maize by maize merchants without any remorse.

“In the last two years, the local broiler industry has boomed with a positive effect on food sufficiency for Nigeria. This has been largely aided by the ban on imports of frozen chicken. We see this great achievement being rolled back if local broiler production is threatened. “A ton of maize, which used to sell for N97,000, has climbed to N165,000 while a ton of soybeans have increased from N110,000 to N123,000 in the last few months.

“We appeal to President Muhammadu Buhari to allow the importation of maize since our local farmers cannot meet up with the demand  required by consumers.”

Fear of aflatoxin

While farmers and food processors are encouraged to use existing stocks, another concern is that poor storage of maize during the lockdown would have caused it to be infected by aflatoxin, a toxin caused by mold.

Apart from the lack of storage infrastructure, the heat and humidity ensure that corn is easily damaged by mould.

The Dean, School of Basic and Applied Sciences, Babcock University, Ilishan, Ogun State, Prof. Dele Fapohunda, told The Nation, some of the maize might have become unfit for human consumption as they have been contaminated by aflatoxin, known to cause cancer and other health problems.

The loss comes when the country is still struggling with the coronavirus pandemic, which have adversely affected its food chain as markets were closed and movement restricted.

Fapohunda urged the government to assist  struggling  producers not only in the  poultry  sector, but in the entire agriculture industry, otherwise, food security will be at risk.

According to him, poultry farmers cannot produce chickens cheaply without subsidies. So far, farmers harvest two major corn crops yearly. For this reason, the biggest worry for the poultry players is there’s unlikely to be any respite from higher feed prices over the next five months, when the new maize crop arrives into the market.

A lecturer in the Department of Agric Extension and Rural Development, Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry, University of Ibadan, Dr Kehinde Thomas, urged the government to permit maize import because the country’s farmers have insufficient grains to feed the nation. He said the industry would need corn imports during this time of short supply.

The Programme Director, Lagos Business School Agribusiness Programme, Dr. Okechukwu Kelikume, described the directive by the CBN, banning the importation of maize, as ill-timed, with potential negative consequences for the poultry sector. He stated that the policy could further compound the woes of poultry farmers given that maize, which constitutes over 50 per cent of poultry feed content is currently very scarce, and where available, is very expensive, even as the price keeps rising.

Admitting that the CBN’s earlier policies of Agric, Small and Medium Enterprise Scheme and the Anchor Borrowers Programme have been largely successful, he said the decision to discontinue the processing of Form M for maize import could reverse the gains of those interventions.

Why CBN banned maize import

The CBN has directed dealers to discontinue the processing of Forms M for maize/corn import. This directive was contained in a notice addressed to the dealers and signed by the Director of Trade and Exchange Department, Dr Ozoemena Nnaji.

The CBN gave four reasons for its action. These include: increasing local production, stimulating a rapid economic recovery, safeguarding rural livelihoods and increasing jobs. In line with this development, the dealers were told to return the Forms M they had registered for importation by July 15.