Category: Agriculture

About 3,000 rice farmers in the South West of Nigeria will be benefitting from a programme organized by Feg-Agro Farms Nigeria Limited in partnership with the Federal Government.

According to the chairman of Feg-Agro Farms, Otunba Gabriel Emiola Ogunsanya, Feg-Agro farms is partnering the federal government to not only assist farmers in the South West but also to fill the gap of food scarcity that is likely to be experienced next year.

He explained that the flood which was experienced in certain parts of the country affected many farmers  and this might cause low harvest or scarcity of next year.

Ogunsanya said land had been acquired in some parts of the South West of the country for this purpose. “We have started the process of empowering about 3,000 farmers in Osun, Ekiti and Oyo. In each of the state, we will pick 1,000 farmers and each of them will be given 5 hectares of land to plant rice and at the end of the programme, about 15,000 hectares would have been cultivated by these farmers.”

The traditional ruler of Araromi Oke-Ekiti, Ekiti State in a letter to Feg-Agro said  a portion of land had been reserved for the purpose.

Ogunsanya also told The Nation that Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has also expressed willingness to partner Feg-Agro on capacity building on aquaculture for one thousand youths in Osun and Ekiti states, under farmers empowerment for enhanced productivity and quality assurance: A private sector intervention on fish industrial estate under in-grower system of operation.

With the Federal Government seeking ways to boost food production and increase output, focus seems to have shifted to horticulture, which has the potential to deliver big returns to the industry. Hibiscus is one horticulture produce, which export can earn foreign exchange. DANIEL ESSIET reports.

Internationally, the dry hibiscus flower, locally known as Zobo, can be processed into hot and cold herbal beverages, jellies and confectioneries, among others. This has made it one of the key raw materials in the global confectioneries industry. Hibiscus flower export holds great promise as an  economy booster, especially  in the era of diversification from oil.

However, adequate attention is not being given to it and others in the It has been marked as a viable agriculture. Hibiscus business is a profitable venture with the potential to create employment and wealth. Last year, Nigeria exported 1,983 containers of hibiscus to Mexico alone, earning $35 million within nine months.

Hibiscus grows nearly throughout the year and can be sourced in states such as Jigawa, Kano, Katsina, Gombe, Bauchi and Borno.

The Federation of Agricultural Commodities Association of Nigeria (FACAN) President, Dr. Victor Iyama, described hibiscus as one of the most important crops to the economy. While the market holds great potential, Iyama  believes that the sector is just at its nascent stage. He  noted that there are hurdles to be crossed before it becomes a money spinner.

For instance, he said, although its production is increasing, the country has, however, failed to meet the quality standard set by importing countries in terms of use of chemical fertiliser and other issues.

Mexico is the most prominent destination for Nigerian hibiscus, but in 2015, it improved checks  on  Nigerian hibiscus exports, alleging adulteration.

According to Iyama, one thing Nigeria can do to address this is to set up standard sanitary and phyto-sanitary labs, as well as increase processing to earn more foreign exchange through value adding.

He said Nigeria should adopt Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) to make its produce acceptable to Europe and other countries. This, according to him, will allow farmers to guarantee the quality of their produce, enter new markets and increase their income. Key components should include judicious pesticide use, record keeping, and adoption of integrated pest management (IPM) and GAP for safe food production.

The deplorable state of Apapa Port access road, he said, is contributing to exports rejection. Highlighting the problem, Iyama said trucks conveying hibiscus and other produce meant for shipping abroad often spend up to 30 days on the road before they are allowed into the export terminal, and  by time they are due for discharge, the produce would have lost its quality.

He added that businesses are grinding to a halt as a result of the difficulties in accessing the Lagos ports due to the near total collapse of roads leading to the port complex in Apapa.

He said export produce such as hibiscus are perishable and, if not shipped on time, would get bad and lose its quality.

The Oshodi-Apapa Expressway to Sunrise, Iyama said, needs urgent attention, adding that emergency fixing of the road should be done to allow for easy access to the port.

According to him, Nigeria has the capacity to export a huge volume of hibiscus if the country is able to meet the requirements of importing nations.

These will include increasing farm sizes and improve yields that could see the country better placed to carve out a larger niche in the market.

Another stakeholder, who believed hibiscus could become one of nation’s sources of export revenue and employment, is the Coordinating Director, Nigeria Agricultural Quarantine Service (NAQS), Vincent Isegbe. According to him, if hibiscus production increases, it will continue to meaningfully contribute to the country’s gross domestic product (GDP), employment and balance of trade.

At a recent forum, Isegbe, said the core mandate of the service was to facilitate trade and help farmers excel in the international market.

He warned exporters, who breached the process of exporting agriculture produce to western countries.

Isegbe, who spoke against the backdrop of vegetables and edibles that were returned from the United Kingdom over lack of phyto-sanitary certificates, said the affected exporters  would be suspended from exporting.

He said Nigerian agricultural produce are being exported everyday without complaints and rejections and urged exporters to always visit their website for information and guidelines on exportation of perishable items.

Meanwhile, Nigeria is set to resume hibiscus export to Mexico after the first export, which worth $35 million in nine months.

Isegbe added that NAQS had initially suspended its export, following the detection of storage pest in some consignments from Nigeria. “The issue has now been taken care of. That is why we are resuming the export of the plant again,” he said.

He noted that the issue was resolved in collaboration with stakeholders across the value chain, adding that Mexico is the largest importer of Nigerian hibiscus.

“Nigeria is ready to resume export of the plant to Mexico. In a couple of weeks, we will resume shipments.

“Our farmers are eager and the fields are near ready. The harvest season of hibiscus will start any moment from now. And the good news is that Nigeria has a vast growing belt, with harvest available all year round.

“We need to take advantage of this opportunity to earn foreign exchange for the country and support the present administration’s diversification of the economy,” he said.

Isegbe, however, called on farmers to show more commitment to growing the plant in order to increase their income.

At a World Trade Organisation forum, Nigeria and Mexico reported that they have resolved frictions over plant health certificates.

Some trade concerns previously raised at the meeting were reported to have been resolved. Nigeria informed members it had resolved trade frictions with Mexico about delays in exports for hibiscus flowers. Mexico previously required verification of plant health certificates for consignments of hibiscus flowers from Nigeria, resulting in delays of up to six weeks.

At the previous meeting, Nigeria indicated its intention to start a mediation process to resolve the trade concern. Both countries reported they have resolved the issue bilaterally.

Earlier, Nigerian-German Business Association (NGBA) Director-General and Chief Executive, Mr Gbenga Adebija, said the association intended to sell the Nigerian hibiscus exportation to the private sector in Germany.

Adebija said other products included charcoal, rubber, cocoa and cashew nuts.

The aim, according to Adebija, was to shore up the country’s export to  Germany and close the  trade deficit between the two countries. The volume of trade between the two countries deteriorated from 5.4 billion Euros in 2014 to 2.9 billion Euros in 2015. It further fell to 650 million Euros in 2016.

He said the trade volume dropped due to Nigeria’s recent economic recession, foreign exchange fluctuations, and poor perception about Nigerian products, among others. He said although the trade volume in 2017, being computed, would be higher than that of 2016, adding that there was need to urgently shore up the volume through non-oil export.

Mexico and other countries use hibiscus as organic colouring agents and wines. Dried hibiscus also serves as a delicacy while the Roselle is consumed as vegetable.

Country Manager, Cassava: Adding Value for Africa Phase 2 (C: AVA 2) Nigeria, Prof Lateef Sanni, said the project has helped in alleviating food insecurity, unemployment and improving the incomes of the rural poor in the country.

Speaking at the C: AVA 2 Nigeria Special Session during the Nigerian Institute of Food Science and Technology (NIFST) 42nd Conference and Annual General Meeting, to mark World Food Day, in Abeokuta,Ogun State, Sanni attested to the success of the project, saying it was evident in cassava products such as Fufu powder and high quality cassava flour (HQCF) in the market.

According to him, the CAVA project, which started in 2008 with the view of improving the profitability of cassava sales in various products, focused on three key intervention points in the value chain. It included ensuring a consistent supply of raw materials; developing viable intermediaries that act as secondary processors or bulking agents in value chains and driving market demand and building market share for bakery industry, components of traditional foods or plywood/paperboard applications.

Sanni, however, noted that the project encountered some bottlenecks due to inconsistency in government policy, adding that it affected majority of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) as they did not have ready market for their HQCF, hence they were forced to shut down.

This, he said, encouraged the project to work with the private sector to begin diversifying and not looking at the use of HQCF for bread or confectionary alone.

Other market opportunities developed for cassava were the production of chin-chin, doughnut and puff-puff from HQCF, starch, ethanol, and the livestock (including aquaculture) feed sector.

The Country Manager congratulated the SMEs, who had invested and taken advantage of the market, describing them as the engine of industrialisation in Africa.

Recounting the journey so far, Project Manager, Prof Kola Adebayo said: “We have journeyed far in the last 10 years, there have been pains and joy but we are proud of what we have been able to achieve as a project and as a university on the continent of Africa and we know that the knowledge base that has been built over the last 10 years still remains on our continent and we will continue to guide the sector in the future”.

He disclosed that the purpose of C:AVA is to facilitate systems where small holder farmers in the second phase would have sold up to two million metric tonnes of fresh roots into new value chain, soliciting for continuity of the vision of the project even after it rounds up in March next year.

The Vice-Chancellor, Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta (FUNAAB) Prof Felix Kolawole Salako, who disclosed this said the university has been collaborating and supporting the development of the cassava industry, CAVA and NIFST for over a decade. He appreciated the contributions of all intellectuals to the cassava business and noted that there is more to be done in that sector.

“We are hoping that the Nigerian government would start investing and focusing more on research.  It is not just about providing money, provide money and let the money bring results. Questions should be asked, there should be monitoring and evaluation,” he said.

Salako, who challenged research institutes in the country to make their impact felt, said, “We have many research institutes, about 20 of them in agriculture, particularly in the areas of crop, what are we doing that we need Bill Gates to come and fund us for cassava.  Are we saying we don’t have the people? They are there and how we know this is that whenever these people go abroad, they perform.”

In his goodwill message, Prof Malachy Akoroda of Global Cassava Partnership for the 21 Century reiterated the importance of cassava as a strategic crop for Africa and called for increased support for the crop.

According to him, the use of the crop goes beyond the need for food to its industrial importance as ethanol to power renewal engines and vehicles, adding that cassava is the most effective crop among 400,000 species of plants because it can capture solar power for 12 months non-stop while most other cereals can do so for half of that time.

SMEs that were on ground to share their success stories from C: AVA II included Lakatabu Food Specialties Ltd., Al Fawaz Farms and Agro Allied Ltd, WAHAN Foods Nigeria Limited and Open Door System International Limited.

The Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) has stated that its Product Registration Certificate (PRC) is no longer required for clearing cargoes at the nation’s point of entry.

Its Director-General,  Osita Aboloma, explained that the new development was in line with the present administration’s ease of doing business mandate.

Aboloma spoke during a nationwide awareness programme to sensitise members of the Auto Spare Parts and Machinery Dealers Association (ASPMDA) in Lagos on dangers of using substandard products. He said PRC is still part of its minimum requirements that has to be met by both importers and manufacturers of goods, stressing that the removal from cargo clearance was to fast track cargo processes.

SON, he said, has also reduced all its fees to encourage local producers and attract Foreign Direct Investments (FDIs) into the country.

He appealed to importers and local manufacturers to comply with the minimum requirement of the Nigeria Industrial Standard (NIS), restating the agency’s commitment to protect investments.

“The government is diversifying from a single product economy into other products, so we must encourage other sectors to grow, we must open up our doors to genuine foreign businesses and protect their investments. We are also calling on the public to report to SON whenever they see anything unwholesome. It is a win-win situation if people comply to standards because it will go a long way to boost consumer confidence and also increase the revenues of importers and manufacturers,” he said.

He said acknowledging the vital role technology plays in global trade and ensuring seamless business transactions, SON has automated its processes to facilitate trade in the nation’s maritime sector.

Aboloma pointed out that automation would also eradicate the prevalence of human interface in businesses which he said would take touts out of business while also curbing corrupt practices by officials in different agencies.

He said with this move, the agency would also be creating an enabling environment for businesses to thrive while also protecting the lives of the unsuspecting Nigerian consumers.

“We are appealing to the operators in this industry to be forth coming in their declaration of goods so that they do not take advantage of the lacuna involved in the clearing processes. We are trying to fully automate our processes to make it seamless, this would help to tackle some of the corrupt practices operators experience at the ports. When you automate, you have less human interface, there will be no more need to patronise touts for accessing our services.

“The fight against substandard goods starts from beyond the shores of Nigeria and that is why we have put SONCAP in place to verify the quality of products coming in. We still have to follow products that we suspect are substandard and even in the markets. Importers must insist on doing the right thing and imbibe the culture of standardisation and quality assurance so that people will have confidence in their products or services. Do the right thing to save cost and lives so that we can continually improve the lives of Nigerians through standards and quality assurance.”

Also speaking at the event, the president, ASPMDA, Daniel Offorkansi, said SON is vital in safeguarding the lives and property of Nigerians, saying that the association has set up a committee comprising of SON officials and ASPMDA members to combat the preponderance of fake and substandard goods in the country.

“We are ready to expose any member who indulges in the illicit trade of substandard goods to SON with the help of the committee. They are here to sensitise us about the importance of fighting against fake and substandard goods in the country and to us, we think is a welcome development because it will boost consumers’ confidence whenever they patronise us,” he said.

The Acting Director, Product Certification, SON TersooOrngudwem, said there are over 32 brand new laboratories in Nigeria available for testing and certifying products in the country, urging manufacturers and importers to feel free to bring their products for testing.

“We are appealing to manufacturers and importers to bring their products for testing. This is the only way we can boost the confidence of Nigerian consumers while also giving Nigeria a good image on the global map. Any product tested in Nigeria can be accepted anywhere in the world. We are also calling on you to protect your reputation as traders while also dealing with products that comply with international best practices,” he said.

 

 

 

 

Olam International has created a digital sourcing tool, At Source, which will trace the journey of raw materials and allow manufacturers to assess the environmental impact of their supply chains.

At Source tracks the social and environmental footprint of a product, from the far to its arrival at retailers, and displays the data through its digital dashboard.

Olam claims that the tool provides “unrivalled environmental and social insights into the journey of agricultural raw materials and food ingredients from the farm to manufacturing and retail customers.”

The Singapore-based agri-group says that the data gathered by At Source will enhance its ability to trace the environmental impact of the 4.7 million farmers in the group’s supply chain.

At Source will initially incorporate five product supply chains: Cocoa and cashews from the Ivory Coast, coffee from Brazil and Vietnam, and onions and garlic from the US.

Olam says that it aims to make its entire range of products and ingredients ‘100 per cent  At Source ready’ by 2025.

Co-founder and group CEO of Olam, Sunny Verghese said: “Leading companies in the food sector have been investing significantly in social and environmental programmes to source their raw materials more sustainably, but change is not happening fast enough.

“In the current context I would say it is impossible to state how much of the world’s food supply can be considered truly sustainable. It is the old adage that if we cannot measure it, we cannot improve it.

“AtSource will provide our customers with the most comprehensive sustainable supply solution for their raw materials. With AtSource we can now deliver the critical sustainability factors for the long-term resilience of a crop or ingredient from a particular producing country or region.

“Using this information we can drive meaningful improvements through the supply chain from farm to customer. Make no mistake, capturing this information at scale and across all our supply chains will be a huge and costly task.

“But as the company closest to the farmer, we believe AtSource is a key driver in helping us to re-imagine global agriculture, by starting to mainstream sustainability before it is too late.”

The support for PTC’s vegetable, fruit nursery, and flower units is delivering skills training to 15,000 farmers over the next two years. An additional 50,000 farmers are being trained on agrochemical compliance to international standards in good agricultural practices through a network of eight “Mini-PTCs” across the country.