The Nation Newspaper

Category: Agriculture

  • US records $308.1m agro exports to Nigeria

    The United States (U.S) Department of Agriculture said its agro exports to Nigeria stood at $308.1 million last year.

    In a statement, the USDA said agri- export produce to Nigeria constituted 11 per cent of its share of the country market share in West Africa. Top  exports prospect for US producers, included condiments and sauces, corn, prepared foods, soybeans, wheat, wine and beer .

    To improve relationship, USDA will lead a trade mission to Accra, Ghana, October 28 through 31, seeking to unlock new export opportunities in several West African countries where strong economic growth is driving demand for imported food and farm products.

    According to the statement, the mission is to support the Administration’s Prosper Africa initiative, which seeks to strengthen the United States’ commercial ties and foster fair and reciprocal trade with countries in Africa.

    Local workers from the USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service will arrange meetings between trade mission delegates and potential customers from Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire, Nigeria, Senegal, and The Gambia, helping lay the foundation for long-lasting business relationships.

    In addition, in-depth economic and policy briefings and local site visits will help participants better understand the opportunities and challenges of exporting to West African countries.

     

  • Oxfam, stakeholders synergise on agriculture, food security

    IN its bid to advance the course for sustainable agricultural economy, value addition and revenue generation for small scale farmers, the Oxford Committee For Famine Relief, (OXFAM) has taken its core responsibility forward by engaging relevant stakeholders  from Kebbi state on how best to produce an action plan that will prioritise agriculture in the state.

    OXFAM, a non governmental organisation, funding and anchoring the Grow Project in  collaboration with PRO Act Project funded by the European Union(EU) is saddled with the implementation  of agricultural activities  supported by DEC.

    However, its core objectives include proferring mechanisms to address challenges in agriculture in terms of strengthening avenues for food security, malnutrition which over time, recorded progressive improvement in Kebbi state and others through its value intervention approach.

    At the end of a 1 day stakeholders interface workshop  in Sokoto which drew participants from various agriculture organs, CBOs, CSOs as well relevant agencies within Kebbi state a communique identifying challenges and proferring solutions to major factors militating against small holder farmers from both the government and farmers themselves was issued.

    However, the interface workshop dwelled on  budgetary allocation and priorities on agriculture for food security, production and revenue as driving force for sustainable development.

    The communique, read by the Kebbi state chairman of All Farmers Association of Nigeria(AFAN), Mr Aliyu Abbas said the aim of the workshop was to among other issues deliberate and advise farmers on the need to repay back agricultural loans and also admonished governmment rondo towards resisting elites capturing of agriculture supports targeted at small holder farmers in Kebbi state.

    “Stakeholders and representatives of Kebbi State Government, including Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Ministry of Budget and Planning, Civil Society Organizations, Farmers groups,  Women farmers as well as development partners and representatives from OXFAM met in Sokoto state, to delibrate and produce an action plan on prioritising agriculture in the State” , Abbas pointed out.

    Accordingly, the communique identified  how best government can improve agricultural governance with the aim of drastically reducing malnutrition and enhancing food security as well how best o encourage farmers on the need to desist from using agricultural loans for other purposes.

    Read Also: Kebbi govt upgrades three colleges

    In the same vein, the communique emphasised the urgent for the state government to invest small grain banks to ensure availability of food in the lean season while drawing the attention of the state legislature, Ministries of  Budget, Finance, Agriculture and ADP to ensure speedy release of allocation.

    The communique further stressed the need for training extension workers on good agronomic practices to farmers including women and young farmers for climate change adaptation.

    Explaining  ealier, the GROW Project Coordinator In Nigeria, Saratu Abiola said OXFAM in collaboration with PRO Act project funded by UN and implemented by DEC has been working in 5 local government areas of Kebbi state for about 4 years with multiple records of success stories, hence the need to engage stakeholders on how best to expand the scope to other local governments of the state.

    She said surveys and researches have identified  predominantly that over 80% of farmers were smaller holders hence the need for OXFAM to prioritise agriculture and stake attention on Kebbi state as focal area.

    ” Its all about value chain, addition and food security. We have to focus on agriculture because over 75% derive their means of livelihood from agriculture.

    ” We have to dwell on strategic objectives to drive our mission in order to ensure government is engaged and committed to the course of advancing agriculture for the overall benefit of farmers.

    ” We are reaching out to improve access to inputs such that will impact in the quest for food security. All these will strengthen and galvanise the activities of especially peasant farmers in terms of capacity and yields”, She stressed.

    Also, Kebbi state Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture, Muhammad Shehu noted that the synergy with OXFAM was synonymous with the state government drive for responsive efforts towards achieving food sufficiency, diversification and improvement of the value chain as well income and livelihood of most predominantly the peasant farmers.

    ” We have domesticated a deliberate policy that would propel and salvage farmers from the vicious circle of poverty that hindered them in the past.”

    According to Shehu” our rolling plan for agriculture remain all encompassing including other areas as fisheries, poultry and livestock to be precise.”

    In the same vein, the government official disclosed that already a comprehensive approach to peaceful co-existence between farmers and herders has been mapped out for the establishment of grazing reserves with basic facilities which would confine herders to stable and suitable environmental atmosphere thus improve production.

    In her brief remarks, Permanent Secretary, Ministry for Budget and Economic Planning,  Aisha Abubakar noted that small holder farmers were key in agriculture development and which was why the state government encouraged synergy to strengthen their production capacity in line with the 12 % Malabo declaration on agriculture.

    ”  We are strictly and adequately keeping with the agreement by encouraging all relevant departments and agencies to drive it to success. I commend OXFAM for the collaboration “, She said.

  • Introduction of hermetic storage reduces food loss in Yobe

    A training carried out by the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) in Yobe State has improved methods of food storage after the harvest season.

    WFP, in collaboration with the Agricultural Development Project (ADP) and the International Institute for Tropical Agriculture (IITA), trained 300 farmers on post-harvest best practices – using hermetic storage technology.

    Hermetic storage bags are airtight and waterproof, allowing farmers to store and save grains from infestations or destruction by insects, rodents, mold and moisture, thus preserving them for long periods of time.

    A bag-opening ceremony on July 10 in Gashua, Yobe State, marked the highpoint of the training which aimed to reduce the losses suffered by farmers due to improper food storage.

    According to figures by the Nigerian Incentive-Based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL), Nigeria loses some US$9 billion every year due to poor post-harvest management.

    More than 30 percent of staple food grains (maize, sorghum, millet) are lost due to poor storage, while 60 percent of vegetables perish.

    After the training, each of the farmers received eight specially made airtight 50 kg bags to store their grains for six months until the prices of grains rose in the market.

    The farmers stored cowpeas in the new airtight bags, while others stored theirs in the traditional ways.

    “When the bags were opened in Gashua, the results were astonishing,” says Ms. Eden Guizaw, the WFP officer leading the Post-Harvest Loss Management Programme.

    “90 percent of the grains stored in the traditional way were lost, while 100 percent of those stored in the hermetic (airtight) bags were intact. It was amazing; indeed, beyond my imagination”.

    One of the farmers, Hajia Taannabi, recorded a huge profit in her sales by using the hermetic storage bags to preserve her grains.

    “I stored my grain with the hermetic bags, without losing any to infestation or rodents. I sold each mudu (measure for grains) for N400 and gained N300 on each mudu and was able to feed my family and pay my children’s school fees,” Hajia Taanabi said.

    Building on the success of the pilot project, WFP will train more farmers nationwide in the use of the hermetic storage technology in the next phase of the programme – depending on the availability of funds.

    “Investments in this type of training and technology are critical to making progress in reducing food insecurity over time” says Sarah Longford, Acting Country Director for WFP Nigeria.

    “WFP is also encouraging local businesses by supporting the production in Nigeria of the hermetic storage bags by some Nigerian private enterprises.

    By promoting hermetic storage in Nigeria, WFP aims to contribute to post-harvest loss reduction and boost food security to achieve zero hunger.

  • Budget 2020: Actionaid, others set agenda for agric sector

    A non- governmental organisation, Actionaid Nigeria, has called for the close monitoring of the implementation of agricultural projects in the upcoming budget by all relevant stakeholders, including the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Ministry of Budget and National Planning , state ministries of agriculture and agriculture committees in the National and state houses of assemblies.

    This was contained in a communiqué issued at the end of 2-day stakeholders’ consultative meeting on the 2020 agriculture budget organised by ActionAid Nigeria in conjunction with Oxfam, One Campaign, CAACP Non–State Actors Coalition, CNC, Ministry of Budget and National Planning and the Department of Agriculture and Water Resources of the ECOWAS Commission.

    The communique stated that the objectives of the stakeholders’ consultative meeting on the 2020 Agriculture budget become imperative to leverage understanding on the economic recovery and growth plan and Nigerian Agriculture promotion policy, in connection with the comprehensive African Agriculture Development programme target.

    It targeted enhancing the knowledge of citizens on the National Agriculture Investment Plan 2 to strengthen participation towards making the 2020 agriculture budget responsive in ensuring food security and wealth creation, and support effective biennial reporting by Nigeria to the African Union Heads of States and government, in line with the Malabo Declaration and commitments of 2014.

    To this end the participants from FMARD, state ministries of agriculture, MDAs and relevant stakeholders, recommended that with the signing of the African Continental Free Trade by President Muhammadu Buhari, there is the urgent need for massive investment in the agricultural sector, for the sake of enhanced domestic consumption, rural infrastructural development and export promotion, and for Nigeria to avail herself of the opportunities it offers.

    “The gains made by the sector MDAs as mentioned in the commendation should be sustained and improved upon in 2020 Agriculture budget ,the GES retained and budget should be increased to address the inputs gabs experience by smallholder farmer ,especially women.

    READ ALSO: ActionAid calls on all stakeholders to end inequality in Nigeria

    “There should be political will to allocate at least 10 percent of annual budgets and actuals of revenues to the agriculture sector and to increase the realization of the Maputo and Malabo benchmark for agriculture investment.

    “Women and youths are homogenous groups, therefore their budget line should be separated, to ease implementation, monitoring and evaluation.

    “There should be a scale up of investment in types of public spending that has been shown by evidence to yield better economic outcomes. This includes smallholder farmers, especially women and youths in agriculture, promotion and development value chains, agriculture finance credit, agriculture insurance and more programmes”, it stated.

    ActionAid Nigeria in collaboration with Oxfam, One Campaign and the ECOWAS Commission commended MDAs for their commitment to collaborate with Non State Actors, “which should be sustained for more inclusive and responsive agriculture policy and budget making process in Nigeria”.

    “We also commend the allocation of a higher capital component than recurrent for developmental projects in the 2019 agriculture budget at the federal level and some states. This should be maintained and increased.”, they emphasized.

  • How to unlock agricultural potential

    Agriculture in Nigeria has a massive social and economic impact. More than 60 percent of the population is smallholder farmers. Yet, the nation’s full agricultural potential remains untapped.

    Currently, the sector is hindered by low skills, a dearth of innovation, weak infrastructure, little funding, and lack of access to land, land titles, and lender security. But, given the right tools,  these problems are solvable.

    Stakeholders said farmers needed the tools, infrastructure, and competence to unlock the tremendous agricultural potential.

    They spoke at a forum to announce the Feed Nigeria Summit (FNS) scheduled for August 27 and 28 at the Sheraton Hotel, Abuja.

    The  Director-General, Feed Nigeria Summit and the Chief Executive Officer, Agro Nigeria, Mr. Richard-Mark Mbaram, said the event would be geared towards the furtherance of the sector and the positioning of the nation on the world’s billboard.

    He said the event with the   theme: Unlocking Prosperity through Partnership, would focus on the narratives critical for unleashing the job creation potential of the sector.

    He further said that the Nigeria Agriculture Award would hold side by side with the FNS and would recognise giant strides by individuals and institutions in the sector.

    Read Also: Industrialist urges youths to embrace agriculture

    He added that the events are the contribution of the organisation to the much-needed growth in the sector.

    “This is Agro Nigeria’s effort towards giving back to the nation; making agriculture and agribusiness attractive and developed, Mbaram noted

    The Executive Secretary, Nigerian Institute of Animal Science (NIAS), Prof Eustace Iyayi said: “the Feed Nigeria Summit (FNS) is Nigeria’s flagship agricultural sector convocation and has, over the years, earned its position as a unique platform which addresses the critical issues concerning the nation’s agro-economy”.

    While Nigeria’s agricultural potential is significant, he noted that unlocking it required practical, on-the-ground effort and innovation.

    For Nigeria to meet the economic needs of its vast population, a viable and prosperous agricultural sector is an imperative. “It is the sector that will provide the lion share of the jobs badly needed to power the economy”, said  Managing Director of Stallion Group, Anant Badjatya,  a major sponsor of FNS 2019. In Badjatya’s opinion, “the agribusiness space in Nigeria needs to be populated by stakeholders who are willing to collaborate not only to solve existing problems, but also to take advantage of existing opportunities for increased value provision”.

    Since its inception, the summit has been consistent in providing a platform for stakeholder tracking and enhancement of efforts to develop a virile agricultural economy. Thus, in 2017, the FNS focused centrally on the Home-Grown School Feeding Programme of the Federal Government with the primary aim of galvanising private sector interest and collaboration in an aspect of the government’s social investment scheme which focused on feeding primary school children across the country.

    Following resolutions at the summit, the HGSFP was circuited to the agricultural value chain and expanded to feed some 7.7 million children in 24 states of the Federation.

    The 2018 edition, themed “Consolidating the Growth” was hinged on the need to provide a framework for a flow of concerted support to the private sector in agriculture, to enable them forge ecosystems of resilience around their businesses. If achieved, Nigeria’s ability to maximally harness her strengths in areas of comparative advantage in agriculture would be vouchsafed.

    Accordingly, FNS2019 will feature key narratives around the core theme which basically highlights the need for synergy among actors in the agribusiness ecosystem. “Any informed assessment of the Nigerian agricultural sector at this time will show that those who are really succeeding in business have embraced the culture of partnership”, Mbaram contended, while insisting that the “partnership ethos” was being leveraged for higher productivity boost in the sector.

  • Stakeholders seek support for livestock production

    Stakeholders have urged the government to support the expansion of the dairy industry.

    They said the livestock sector is facing many challenges from disease outbreaks to environmental and resource constraints.

    They spoke at the 2019 Development Icon Forum (DIF), a policy-research-practice (PoReP) platform of the Development Practice Academy (DEPRA), which held at the University of Ibadan International Conference Centre, Ibadan, Oyo State.

    It focused on the industry and its challenges.

    With the theme: The path of dairy enterprise to sustainable development, the forum  was attended by over 200 participants with expertise in research, academics, animal husbandry, dairy farming and processing, civil societies, policy makers and development practitioners, among others, across the dairy value chain.

    Participants demonstrated the industry’s commitment to sustainable beef production and sourcing, and also recognised the country’s role and responsibility in the promotion of sustainable livestock.

    According to them, the  development of the dairy industry calls for responsibility and know-how, adding that sustainable solutions are crucial for the industry to remain on a steady growth path without any setback.

    To address food safety concern and productivity, stakeholders urged  the government  to work  with major local and global dairy processors, and collaborate with authorities, universities and other actors to find  ways to produce milk in good  conditions. Focus, according to them, should be on contributing to the task of modernising milk production, increasing milk quality and yield, and developing dairy farming knowledge and competence.

    They discussed key priorities in the industry, from land and feed availability to the use of antibiotics and animal health.

    While milk demand is growing rapidly, stakeholders noted that the lack of quality feed could jeopardise the country’s ambitious milk production plans.

    They said huge investment was needed in cattle feed capacity to ensure feed availability.

    The National President, Animal Science Association of Nigeria (ASAN), Mr. Taiwo Adeoye, emphasised the need for multi-stakeholder cooperation to promote sustainability in the industry.

    Renowned animal scientist, Prof Funso Sonaiya, x-rayed the development gaps in animal husbandry industry.

    He stressed that while the industry was focusing on improving domestic production efficiency, the efforts have not been able to keep up with growing demands.

    In a communique issued at the event, the stakeholders identified the challenges of policy and advocacy, lack of data on dairy value chain, virile communications and information sharing, adequate dairy extension, shared vision and markets.

    To boost the country’s self-sufficiency in milk production, the forum urged the government to focus on continuing growth, building scales in processing capacities, and enhancing inclusive growth through the organised sector – thereby benefiting stakeholders across the value chain.

    They recommended establishment of private sector-driven National Dairy Board comprised of critical stakeholders in the dairy value chain.

    For feed and feeding, stakeholders said  there was the need to identify available grasses and legumes across the nation for cultivation on small and large scales; usage of agro-industrial wastes, concentrates; strategic feed formulation as total mixed ration;  generate resources conservation system,

    According to the stakeholders, local breeding for dairy in Nigeria is the only sustainable approach for the enterprise. This, they added, required deliberate capacity development of stakeholders; advocacy and enlightenment; leveraging on applicable technologies such as artificial insemination and embryo transfer; researchers’ close relationship with the field for allied researches; proper coordination of breeding improvement programme by relevant agencies of government; well-articulated funding; effective characterisation of dairy breeds; classification of the sector along the dairy value chain among others.

  • Boosting rural entrepreneurship

    The Agricultural and Rural Management Training Institute (ARMTI), Ilorin, Kwara State has partnered the Federal Government to empower rural women and youth with Village Alive Development Initiative (VADI). It aims to ensure capacity development, farmers’ access to productive resources and knowledge exchange, DANIEL ESSIET writes.

    With more than 75 per cent of its people under the age of 35, Nigeria boasts of one of the world’s youngest populations.

    Giving women and youths  in the rural areas opportunities and reducing irregular migration are among the country’s most pressing priorities.

    To address these concerns, the Agricultural and Rural Management Training Institute (ARMTI) launched the Village Alive Development Initiative (VADI) project to enable economic opportunities for people in rural areas.

    ARMTI’s Executive Director Dr Olufemi Oladunni said: “What we are doing in the VADI project is simple. We are demonstrating the simple fact that our dear country has everything we need for the effective diversification of the Nigerian economy through agribusiness, by involving our rural stakeholders/actors in the different agricultural value chains where each community has comparative advantage. We believe that soon enough, every state government and other stakeholders would partner with ARMTI to make the VADI model, a nationwide success story.

    “The VADI project started with four communities in our operational area with the flag-off of Seed-Fund on September, 2013. With needed funding in our capital budget by the Federal Government and with the parental support from our Ministry – the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD), we are steadily reaching out to more communities around ARMTI and beyond. Three more communities joined VADI in December, 2014 and then two more in April, 2016, making nine participating/beneficiary communities around our operational area, within Kwara State. I am happy to announce to us here today, that a total of nine communities spread through three states: Benue, Nassarawa and Oyo are being admitted i1nto the VADI family through a seed fund disbursement flag-off like the one we are doing here today. “

    He added: “The Seed-Fund of N2 million to each of these communities today, marks the official commencement of VADI agribusiness in the two communities. ARMTI will work alongside the communities to teach our people how to put this money to use and how to grow your different enterprises and learn to make profitable businesses from it. You will learn the benefits of working in cooperatives and appreciate group dynamics.”

    He said ARMTI had completed baseline study in each of the communities and has identified the prevalent economic activities, including the commodity value chains in the communities.

    His words: “We have facilitated the mobilisation and formation of groups in the two communities. The groups are being trained on savings mobilisation and financial record keeping to enable them provide counterpart fund to build up the Seed-Fund. The group members will thereafter, access loans/credit to grow their enterprises. As we speak, the Seed-Fund has been credited into the bank accounts opened in the name of each community respectively. Apart from the Community Accounts, Group Accounts would also be opened. Every member of the hroups has a bank account opened for him/her.”

    He stressed that vibrant rural economies are an important engine that can drive improvements in food security and nutrition.

    According to him, ARMTI’s Village Alive Development Initiative (VADI) has served as a huge experimental success which is fast becoming a veritable Federal Government intervention to turn the tides of rural farmers and communities as a whole, alleviate poverty and create wealth.

    He added that with the  standard of living being improved substantially, VADI demonstrates that if given greater capacity and support, our rural people would do more to live well.”

    According to him, the project seeks to support farming, entrepreneurship and job creation at the grass-roots level and providing opportunities for growth.

    To that end,  the project developed an approach to promote rural  youth  and women entrepreneurship; skills development; access to finance; and improved competitiveness of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in the agricultural sector. This, according to him, will help rural farmers and agro entrepreneurs realise their ambitions while creating opportunities for others.

    According to Oladunni, ARMTI is strengthening its collaboration to boost rural development and reduce poverty via local initiatives focused on empowering rural women and youth.

    VADI is overseen by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development as s part of efforts by the Federal Government to encourage people to embrace agriculture.

    The scheme involves giving out one million Naira loan to each rural community to empower farmers to grow different crops and also teach them how to invest their profit judiciously.

  • Institute harps on partnerships in cropping

    THE Institute of Agricultural Research and Training (IAR&T), Ibadan, Oyo State is increasing breeding and agronomy to boost productivity  and cropping.

    It is championing research on production practices and technologies for managing cropping systems.

    It is determined to help Nigerians shift to developing viable enterprises for farm products.

    IAR&T Executive Director Prof Veronica Obatolu said these at a seminar for the institute’s workers  in Ibadan.

    The seminar had as theme “A paradigm shift in IAR$T’s agriculture for food and nutrition security.”

    With more research, she said, crops could contribute significantly to food and nutrition security, agricultural sustainability, and reduced climate change risks.

    This, however, according to her, could only be achieved in a research community with strong cooperation and partnerships across academic, government, and private sector research systems.

    She explained that interactions among geneticists, pathologists, breeders, agronomists, environmental scientists, and social scientists are essential to developing better cropping systems that better manage diseases and pests, optimise fertiliser use, and build agro biodiversity.

    Obatolu said the institute would bring together scientists, producers, food industry, policy makers with a focus on real world-knowledge needs.

    She said the institute would group experts to   work on many dimensions of crop production and consumption.

    She said the institute was determined to promote climate-smart agriculture, disseminate innovative and agricultural best practices and knowledge.

    Obatolu said the institute would promote farm enterprises across value chains as well as help Nigerians build businesses that generate employment.

    She said the institute would continue to give technical assistance and skills-building support to strengthen producers to diversify into high value farm commodities, such as commercial crops and livestock products, and fisheries.

    She regretted that a lot of Nigerians were dying yearly due to “hidden hunger and lack of micro elements in their daily diets”.

    According to her, every Nigerian has the right to adequate food, both in quality and in quantity, to satisfy his/her dietary needs.

    “Health comes from the farm and not from the pharmacy. Agriculture has its important role in fighting malnutrition; our soil and the fertiliser strategy must enhance human nutrition and food security”, she stressed.

    Reiterating the commitment of IAR&T to agric research, Obatolu promised that the institute would continue to strive to engender safe and adequate food for the growing population of Nigerians and provide the necessary technology for environmental sustainability.

    “Our focus should be on the efficiency and effectiveness of technology and also to have innovative thinking to address institutional barriers to technology change,” she said.

    Besides, IAR&T is seeking partnership  with the publishing industry for the local production of Kenaf, a multipurpose crop for producing newsprint. Operating margins of print media firms have declined due to a rise in the cost of newsprint, which accounts for 50  per cent of their total cost. Materials for producing newsprint are being imported. Experts have been  reseraching new raw materials for pulp and paper-making.

    Obatolu  told The Nation the institute conducts research into the genetic improvement of kenaf and jute production as part of its mandate.

    Domestic demand for newsprint is constrained by lack of local production and the high cost of imported paper. To save the newspapers, she said the institute is encouraging farmers to grow kenaf, but will need private sector support  for the crop to be  mass-produced the way paper trees are on big plantations .Renowned professor of animal husbandry of the Faculty of Agriculture, Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, Osun State, Prof Funsho Sonaiya, urged researchers in agricultural research institutes to collaborate in finding innovative solutions to the problem of hunger in the country instead of giving excuses. Prof Akinloye Farinde from Agricultural Extension Department in OAU also admonished Nigerian researchers to come out with ideas capable of solving problems being faced by smallholder farmers.

  • ARMTI seeks enhanced agro exports

    THE Agricultural and Rural Management Training Institute (ARMTI) has called for increased export of agri-products.

    It made the call at a workshop held at the ARMTI Regional Training Centre in Abuja. It had as theme ‘’Smallholders and rural agro producers’ inclusion in exportation’’.

    At the event were major stakeholders in the agro export sub-sector who identified challenges facing in the sector.

    A communique signed by the institute’s Executive Director, Dr Olufemi Oladunni, noted that quality and competitiveness of agricultural products, though improved, were  still low.

    This is because the sector is facing  some difficulties and challenges, including global fiercer competition and stricter quarantine regulations of plants, food safety and quality,  it said.

    According to the communique,   farmers still apply old production customs and pesticides.

    The workshop observed that farmers were   ill equipped to take advantage of the opportunities in agritrade. Also, they were unaware of the maximum residue level (MRL) regulated in various markets, resulting in violation of import regulations and causing economic losses.

    The experts recommended selecting good varieties and developing post-harvest, preserving, and processing technologies to increase the values of farm produce while enhancing connectivity among farmers, scientists, businesses and state management agencies to develop large-scale production models and ensure the quality of agri-products in the long run.

    Others were addressing weak infrastructure, lack of capacity and the inability to meet technical product specifications and stringent requirements in terms of quality, safety, health and the environment impede their integration into global markets.

    The workshop urged relevant agencies to build a set of criteria on food safety and phytosanitary in addition to enhancing negotiations with exporters to have appropriate technical standards.

    The workshop noted that agriculture could stimulate growth by providing raw materials, food, jobs and increased financial stability.

    The communique stressed the need   to support production and export of agricultural products, promote innovation and development of farms in the direction of focusing more on agricultural large-scale, high-quality goods-producing people; strengthening international integration capacity; trade promotion, market development, improve research capacity and forecasting agricultural supply and demand.

  • Empowering youths in agric

    The British American Tobacco Nigeria (BATN) Foundation and the Bank of Agriculture (BoA) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on a new project to create jobs and promote youth agriculture, DANIEL ESSIET reports.

    MOST youths do not like agriculture. They prefer white collar jobs.

    To stop them from running away from the farms, the British American Tobacco Nigeria (BATN) Foundation and the Bank of Agriculture (BoA) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in Lagos.

    The programme entitled: Wealth is Here is aimed at attracting and empowering the youth in rural areas. It will cover both the youth with some land holding and those without land.

    Speaking at the signing of the MoU in Lagos, BATNF Executive Director, Ms Abimbola  Okoya said rural transformation could not be accomplished in Nigeria  without encouraging and empowering the youth in agriculture and value chains and entrepreneurship.

    She  noted that investing in the future of the youth and encouraging them to grow their own businesses was key in dealing with the unemployment situation.

    She underscored the need for motivation through linkage to financial services that do not require collaterals the youth cannot provide, rural infrastructure and services to facilitate market linkages and enterprise development and partnerships.

    She said BATNF, since its establishment in 2002, has invested N1.5 billion and implemented 200 projects.

    “In 2018, we reiterated our commitment to support sustainable agriculture development through the unveiling our development assistance framework-the 2022 country programmes and the investment of N750 million towards the achievement of the mandate,” she said.

    She said the new project would support rural enterprise development and creation of value chains.

    BATN Foundation General Manager Ololade Johnson-Agiri said  the firm’s ‘Wealth is Here’ campaign is aimed at redeeming Nigeria’s glorious past, which was built on the pillar of a thriving agriculture.

    She noted that the BATNF would take advantage of BoA’s technical strength to develop and promote the campaign initiative.

    “The campaign is a reminder of Nigeria’s glorious past in agriculture. It is a call to Nigerians to seek out opportunities in the agricultural sector. In this initiative we have identified some solutions to bridge the gap mitigating their involvement in this sector. In the campaign, for example, we have identified the World Food Day Lagos Farm Fair to create access to market for agricultural products; the Farmers for the Future to give young people the opportunity to access grant for their enterprises. We have partnered with government’s institutions to identify programmes that the public can take advantage of, and soon we will launch a digital campaign to revive hope and optimism in Nigeria.

    ‘’We see a future where we will all thrive and survive. The Bank of Agriculture believes in this future too. In our partnership, BATN Foundation will leverage on BOA’s technical strength to fully develop and promote the Wealth is Here initiative. BoA will provide linkage to credit facilities for farmers or groups who emerge successful in our projects.”

    BoA Executive Director Mr. Olabode Abikoye described BATNF said: ‘’We are honoured to be a part of this initiative. We are humbled that you deemed us fit as a worthy partner to take this step with you. BATN Foundation is a huge partner for any corporate engagement. I am happy that BATN Foundation is identifying what the critical need is and is stepping into the gap to feel that need. I am impressed that the ‘Wealth is Health’ concept by BATN Foundation has a lot of thought-out initiative.”