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Tag: Agric

  • Transforming lives through nutrition-sensitive agric

    Transforming lives through nutrition-sensitive agric

    Efforts to enhance smallholder farmers’ involvement in profitable food production have led to a variety of nutrition-sensitive farming activities. Following this, a national campaign to promote healthy, attractive and sustainable food options in farming is gathering momentum. It’s success across Nigeria is pushing the campaign to West Africa. DANIEL ESSIET, reports.

    Executive Director, Development Dynamics, Aladimma, Owerri, Imo State, Dr. Jude Ohanele works to increase crop yields for farmers.

    He helps farmers to grow and  expand nationally. Not only is he is determined to empower farmers to   ensure food security. He believes transformation of agriculture to business is one way to get enterprising farmers practice profitable agriculture.

    He helps farmers in bankable project proposal preparation, integrated farming system, low cost production techniques, and as well provides training.

    He said there are opportunities in agriculture, such as processing, value addition, warehousing packaging and producing consumer friendly products.

    He is very happy with the service he is providing to farmers and  is bringing livelihood and improvement in the farming community.

    One area he has recorded success is in promoting bio-fortified maize and cassava.

    Bio fortification is a process by which crops are bred in a way that increase their nutritional value. With Harvest Plus’s support and continued encouragement, he is able to serve farmers in the State.

    Ohanele has been part of Harvest Plus team championing farmers’ change of mind-set to embrace nutrition focused farming.

    As a result, some of his farmers in Imo State have established farms and are producing bio fortified maize and cassava.

    Many of these farmers are growing varieties of maize and potatoes enriched with vitamin A through bio fortification.

    The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), a UN food agency, considers malnutrition—caused by a lack of essential micronutrients such as iodine, iron, zinc and vitamin A in diets—a threat to millions of African lives.

    He goes to farmers and do field demonstration, educate them about bio fortified maize and cassava. Though farmers were initially hesitant to go for new practices, educated farmers slowly started adopting it.

    For  Harvest plus Nigeria , the  idea behind bio fortification is to breed nutritious plants, a process which experts consider much cheaper than adding micronutrients to already processed foods.

    It is a smart method to fight malnutrition, say agriculturists and nutritionists. The campaign so far has been successful.

    Buoyed by this, Harvest plus Nigeria has taken the campaign  to the Sub region.

    It is partnersing Ashoka, a global organization that identifies and invests in leading social entrepreneurs — individuals with innovative and practical ideas for solving social problems to execute the campaign.

    Ohanele, is among leading social entrepreneurs, who make up Ashoka Nutrient Value Chain network.

    The focus destination  was Ashoka Workshop on Cluster Nutrition in West Africa which held in Ouaga, Burkina Faso.

    The quest for more nutritious foods for Africans was the subject of the conference.

    At that conference, Ashoka fellows   discussed ways to start a sub-regional-wide adoption of bio fortification.

    Introducing the campaign, at the event, the HarvestPlus Nigeria Country  Manager, Dr  Paul Ilona  said reaching a billion people with bio fortified crops is an ambitious target, but the success of bio fortification programmes in target countries proves that it is feasible.

    That success,  according to him, has been built with key actors locally. The partnerships, encompassing public and non-governmental organizations as well as the private sector, are driving the adoption and mainstreaming of bio fortified crops. Ilona said his organisation partnership with Ashoka network fellows across West Africa  was meant to support  social entrepreneurs working on nutrition based farming and food production.

    According to him, the potential for introducing micronutrient and bio fortified foods is immense because smallholder farmers are challenged by micronutrient deficiencies and solicited the support of social entrepreneurs,to help in promoting bio fortification to tackle challenges in food and nutrition security, saying  that the benefits of bio fortification in crops are obvious.

    He explained that  HarvestPlus  plans to develop more varieties of crops that will provide adequate vitamin A, zinc or iron.

    In Nigeria, Harvest Plus has been  able to create an online platform where consumers buy a range of cassava products from various convenient locations.

    This facilitates the efficiency benefits of larger scale for distribution and consumption of biofortified  food  products, the nutritional benefits of eating locally produced foods, and the social and economic benefits of trust-building between buyers and sellers.

    Driven by positive outcomes of the local campaign , Ilona said  extending the enlightenment campaign to the sub region is necessary to boost regional public knowledge of nutrition based farming and food production.

    A total of 10 countries were represented including Gambia, Senegal, Belgium, Benin Republic, Switzerland, France, South Africa, Kenya, Nigeria and the host country Burkina Faso.

  • Agric: Avalanche of schemes on food production

    Agric: Avalanche of schemes on food production

    Despite enormous challenges, the nation’s agriculture sector has recorded some achievements. However, stakeholders are seeking more interventions to put the sector on the path of sustainable growth, DANIEL ESSIET reports.

    The revival efforts influenced by the nation’s agricultural policy objectives and the macro economic management framework were reported across the sector.

    However, the efforts were constrained by various factors ranging from socio-economic to institutional and structural. Problems persisting  in the sector, militated against the attainment of its potential. The year, however, also brought several positive developments for the sector, including the launch of several projects across the agric sector of the economy.

    Key among these projects, was the effort to achieve self-sufficiency in rice production. This was in line with the demands for rice estimated at six million metric tonnes. The supply of rice was 3.5 million metric tonnes with a gap of 2.5 million metric tonnes.

    So far, the sector is on an upswing. The government has kick-started initiatives to encourage farmers to grow more rice. These  include the Central Bank of  Nigeria anchor borrowers programme to support farmers rice  and allocation of funds to launch training programmes toincrease  the country’s overall rice production. The Federal Government spends N8.5billion on 500 harvesters, threshers to enhance rice production.

    The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbeh, who made this known in Abuja, said the machines were procured to reduce the cost and stress of rice farming.

    According to the Minister, “One of the worries of rice farmers is the labour in the harvest and that is why we are bringing these machines. If we have these machines in rice and wheat farms, the cost and stress of rice farming will reduce by 80 per cent”.

    The food security and youth employment goals of the Federal Government  received a  major support with the establishment of a rice processing mill with 120,000 metric tonnes capacity in Argungu, Kebbi State by WACOT Rice Limited, a member of the TGI Group. The rice mill is part of WACOT’s expansion plan, which targets a capacity increase with additional rice plants to overall 500,000 metric tonnes in the next years.

     

    CBN approves N75billion loan for agricultural lending

    The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) approved the disbursement of about N75billion as loan to farmers in the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) under the Nigerian Incentive-Based Risk Sharing in Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL).

    The loan guarantee scheme is a public-private sector initiative set up to transform the agricultural sector. It was initiated by the apex bank, the Bankers’ Committee and the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, to guarantee 75 per cent loans provided by Deposit Money Banks (DPB) to farmers as part of efforts to transform the country’s agricultural sector.

     

    Supply of 20m bags of fertiliser

    The Presidential Committee on Fertiliser said it has concluded arrangement to produce one million metric tonnes of fertiliser, amounting to 20 million bags to farmers. This is just as the Fertiliser Producers and Suppliers Association of Nigeria (FEPSAN) said the project has in the last six months saved Nigeria N260 billion hitherto spent on subsidy and foreign exchange to import the product. The Presidential Fertiliser Initiative said that the era of hoarding fertiliser is gone, as people who engage in such act would be losers, because 11 fertiliser blending companies were producing across the country at a rate that the market will be saturated with the products.

     

    Lagos govt to upscale Imota Rice Milling Plant

    As part of plans to ensure food self-sufficiency, especially through rice production, the Lagos State government says it is up-scaling the Imota Rice Milling Plant from 2.5 metric tonnes to 16 metric tonnes.The Commissioner for Agriculture, Toyin Suarau, who made the disclosure at a ministerial press briefing to mark Governor Akinwumi Ambode’s second year in office, said the plant would be delivered within one year. Suarau said that the plant would be the biggest in Nigeria when delivered and also drive the state’s major goal to scale up food sufficiency from 12 per cent to 25 per cent in three years. ”The ministry is mandated to facilitate sustainable food production, poverty reduction and job creation through several agriculture projects and programmes.

    ”The major goal of the ministry is to make the state food secured and scale up food self-sufficiency from the current 12 per cent to 25 per cent within the next three years. ”It is part of plans to ensure that the production of Lake Rice and to stop milling rice paddy in other states like Kebbi, Jigawa and Kano states. ”We have begun plans to up Imota rice milling plant from 2.5 metric tonnes per hour to 16 metric tonnes per hour within the next one year,” he said.

     

    Dry season farming

    The Federal Government spent more than N9.5 billion for the distribution of farm inputs to farmers during the dry season farming. Director, Farm Input Support Services Department, Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, OhiareJatto said the inputs were distributed to no fewer than 458,498 farmers across 30 states of the federation between last December and this February, dry season farming. Mr. Jatto said the input were provided under the governments’ Growth Enhancement Support (GES) scheme to guarantee improved food production and security. According to him, some of the inputs provided to the farmers include two bags of Nitrogen Potassium Phosphate, one bag of urea, one bag of organic fertiliser each, 25 kilogramme rice seeds and 20 kilogramme maize seeds depending on the crop value chain.The director said that the government under the GES usually paid 75 per cent worth of seeds and 50 per cent for fertilisers and pesticides while farmers settled the remaining percentage of the money. He said the scheme attained 92 per cent success during the planting season. ”The dry season farming was very successful. We targeted 500,000 farmers and we were able to reach 458,498 farmers in 30 states.”All the northern states and many southern states benefited.  We only reached out to farmers that our funds were able to accommodate,’’ he said.

     

    AFDB approves $280m to support youths

    The President of the African Development Bank (AFDB), Dr Akinwumi Adesina, said the $280 million approved by the bank would be used to encourage Nigerian youths to go into agro-business. He stated this in Ibadan at the African Youth Agripreneurs (AYA) Forum organised by the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Ibadan.

    Adesina, represented by Dr Chiji Ojukwu, a Director in AFDB,  said the  forum was convened to attract youths across Africa into agribusiness as well as mentor them to invest in agriculture.

    Adesina said with IITA training initiative and the financial support from AFDB, more youths would be interested to go into agribusiness. He said that AFDB was working with 33 countries to give assistance to youths in agriculture. Adesina said Zambia, Sudan, DR Congo, Cameroon and Nigeria had already been given necessary assistance in 2016.

    He said the bank was targeting 37,000 youths in Nigeria who would be given $50,000 each as support in agriculture business. ”The $280m that we have approved for Nigeria cannot be enough; we need $1.8 billion to accommodate the 37,000 youth.

     

    NYSC set to post corps members to farms

    The National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) Director-General, Brig-Gen. Suleiman Kazaure, said the scheme would soon commence the posting of corps members to farms.

    Kazaure, who made this known during an interactive session with reporters at the NYSC Permanent Orientation Camp in Sagamu, Ogun State, expressed that the initiative was in line with the scheme’s agricultural development programme.

    “It should interest you to know that the NYSC will soon begin its agricultural development scheme where corps members will be posted to farms for their primary assignments. Already the NYSC has acquired active farmlands across the nation’s geo-political zones with four already fully operational in Kwali, Bauchi, Oyo and Kebbi”, he said.

    He also said the NYSC has concluded preparations to begin the posting at the conclusion of the three-week orientation exercise.

    “After this orientation programme for the Batch ‘A’ corps members, we will begin posting some of them to these farms as a pilot phase. Though we are starting with four states for now, we will integrate the other states as time goes on, the project is ongoing,” Kazaure said.

    He urged the corps members to maximise the benefits of the scheme’s Skills Acquisition and Entrepreneurship Development (SAED) Programme, as they begin their journey towards financial independence, adding that they could be employers of labour rather than being job seekers if they were innovative and creative.

    “The NYSC has provided all the tools and support you need to develop your capacity to the fullest, it now depends on you, and there is no short cut to success but by hard work. Of all the programmes outlined for you during the orientation, there is none more important that you must fully participate in than the SAED programme.

    “I want you to create your own jobs by being creative and innovative, you must strive to be labour employers rather than labour seekers. Please don’t look for white-collar jobs, your skills and potentials can serve you better in the way of realising your dreams,” he said.

    Speaking at the event, the Ogun State Co-ordinator of the NYSC, Mrs. Gladys Mbachi, thanked the director general for the visit and praised his emphasis on the skill acquisition programme.

    She also encouraged the corps members to harness the benefits of the SAED programme as it would expose their talents to where they fit in, so that they can build on whatever foundation the programme has created for them.

     

    Staple crop processing zones

    In a bid  to curb post-harvest losses, the Federal Government has devised plans to set up staple crop processing zones across states of the federation.

    The Minister of State for Agriculture, Sen. Heineken Lokpobiri, who made this known during a stakeholders conference organised by Akassa Development Foundation zones (ADF), expressed that the plan was one of the multiple approaches outlined under the nine billion dollars fund, set aside to tackle issues of productivity in the agric sector.

    The minister added that the staple crops processing zones would be set up in areas of high food production, and the government will utilise fiscal and infrastructure incentives to attract private food manufacturing companies to add value to agricultural produce.

    Lokpobiri challenged the people of the Niger Delta region to engage in agriculture as the region has the largest wetlands with arable land for agriculture.

     

    Stakeholders’ reactions

    Despite this,participants of the Stakeholders Consultative Meeting on 2018 Agriculture Budget have urged the Federal Government to allocate 10 per cent of the nation’s annual budgets to finance the agricultural sector. They made the call in a communique issued at the end of their meeting in Kaduna.

     

    MAN

    The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) charged the government at all levels to increase investment in agriculture to scale up food production and sufficiency in the country.

    MAN Director-General, Mr. Segun Kadiri, made the call while reviewing the performance of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration in Lagos.

    Kadiri noted that the government should focus on aggressive food production through mechanised farming to enable food availability for human consumption as well as raw materials for industrial use.

    According to him, “It is important that people get food to eat; it is also important that industries get raw materials to use for production. Both are priorities. We, as a nation of more than 180 million people, should plan big and operate big such that there will be no shortage anywhere.

    “Nigeria is too big and blessed to complain about scarcity of food. We have 36 states in the country and you can grow virtually anything in the states. The onus lies with our leaders to ensure that we utilise our natural resources well.”

    The MAN boss said the rising of cost of foods could not be blamed on manufacturers using some of the produce as raw materials, noting that local consumption and industrial uses were both crucial.

    He called on the government to design realistic food production schemes that would subsidise financing, inputs and machinery for farmers, while increasing access to foods by the citizens.

    Kadiri added that promoting food production would avert crisis, end food scarcity, advance industrial capacity utilisation, and create employment and inclusive growth for citizens.

  • NB boosts agric with backward integration

    The commitment of Nigerian Breweries Plc to the Federal Government’s Backward Integration Policy (BIP) has significantly impacted the agric sector, particularly operators in the cassava and sorghum value chains.

    According to the company’s Managing Director, Mr. Nicolaas Vervelde, the brewery giant’s BIP, which substitutes imported raw and packaging materials with local alternatives, has so far engaged about 60,000 farmers in the cultivation of sorghum alone.

    Vervelde, who spoke at a briefing in Lagos, ahead of its Annual General Meeting (AGM), said 48 per cent of the company’s raw materials are sourced locally, but it targets to achieve 60 per cent local raw material sourcing by 2020.

    “All our labels and crowns are sourced locally,” Vervelde said, adding that the company’s aggressive investments in the cassava and sorghum value chain will help it achieve the 60 per cent target by 2020.

    He said apart from strategic interventions in the agric sector by making quality, high-yielding seeds available to farmers, the company has stepped up its investment in Research and Development (R&D) in sorghum and cassava value chains.

    Vervelde said the company’s involvement in cassava has created several jobs for farmers engaged in extracting cassava starch, which is processed into maltose syrup.

    Vervelde further said Nigerian Breweries, last year, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD) to develop and commercialise hybrid sorghum.

    It also signed a tripartite partnership agreement with International Fertiliser Development Centre (IFDC) and Psaltry International Limited, a Nigerian cassava processing company, on value extraction of maltose syrup derived from cassava for the company’s production.

    Vervelde said the partnerships were aimed at improving agribusiness for Nigerian smallholder farmers and optimising the cassava value chain.

    According to him, local sourcing of raw materials creates shared value for the company and its stakeholders. Apart from guaranteeing sustainable supply of materials for the business, reducing dependence on imports, it encourages costs and improves the company’s environmental performance.

    The MD reaffirmed the company’s commitment to the Federal Government’s BIP and to the growth and development of the nation’s economy, despite the challenging operating environment.

    He said, for instance, that the macro-economic environment in 2016 was challenging, as scarcity of Foreign Exchange (forex), rising input prices due to the devaluation of the naira and rising inflation put consumer purchasing power under severe pressure.

    He, however, said that the company was able to weather the storm and end the year with a positive result and deliver good return on investment to its shareholders. Vervelde attributed the feat to the company’s twin agenda of Cost Leadership and Market Leadership supported by innovation.

  • Kalu champions Buhari’s agric policy

    Kalu champions Buhari’s agric policy

    President Muhammadu Buhari has found a worthy ally and voice in former governor of Abia State Orji Uzor Kalu. On his 57th birthday, Chief Kalu stepped away from his Abuja mansion, even shunned his comfortable country home, choosing his two hectares farm to eat his birthday cake. At the farm, his aides and well-heeled friends were nowhere in sight, only his farm workers.

    It was just the way the former governor liked it. It was probably also the way Mr President liked it.

    Taking office as president two years ago, the commander-in-chief stressed the need for Nigerians to return to the farm, arguing that for the country to overcome its dependence on crude oil the clear path to follow is agriculture.

    While many Nigerians were still dragging their feet, the former governor and successful businessmen and stalwart of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has heeded the President’s call.

    Kalu did not only drive the farm tractor to till the land, he equally joined his farm workers to cut and plant cassava stems in the ridges. He inspected other activities on the farm.

    Spending the day on the farm with their boss was not enough for the farm workers, who also pleaded with him to join them in cutting a beautiful cake they made for him.

    Kalu, who for over 20 years have refused to celebrate his birthday in any form, was filled with emotion seeing the love shown to him by people on his payroll. He obliged them to cut the birthday cake.

    The former governor was later joined on the farm by some of his associates who had gone to his Camp Neya house and on learning that he was at the farm, came over to identify with him.

    Speaking to newsmen after inspecting ongoing work at the farm, Kalu said that he decided to mark his birthday in the farm with his workers as a way of heeding the call by President Buhari for Nigerians to go back to the farm not to only produce enough food for the people, but also to boost the nation’s economy.

    According to Kalu, over the years he had never celebrated his birthday openly but decided to do that this year in the farm to encourage Nigerians to go back to the land.

    He said that time had passed when farming was left only in the hands of peasant farmers who he said lacked both the financial capability and the technical knowhow to produce enough to feed the nation, not to talk of exporting.

    “Time has passed when farming was left in the hands of those with little or no knowledge about farming. I live in Abuja and also have so many businesses across the globe. But because of the seriousness I attach to farming, I decided to come home to farm. The rich and those that have the professional training should join in the campaign in ensuring that there is abundance of food in the country.”

    He disclosed that he would be planting cassava only at his over two hectares farmland at Okafia Igbere while another two hectares of land at Ugwueke would be used to plant palm seedlings.

    Kalu, who has keen interest in taking the youths off the streets through gainful employment, said that he was optimistic that the two farms would also create jobs for many youths in Bende Local Government Area and the state.

    He urged the well-to-do and those with the technical knowhow in the country to heed the call of the President.

     

  • ‘How logistics firms can boost agric’

    ‘How logistics firms can boost agric’

    There are vast business opportunities for players in the logistics industry in the agricultural sector, the Technical Adviser to the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Mrs. Cynthia Umoru, has said.

    She stated this at the Strategic Management Retreat of Red Star Express Plc in Ogun State.

    The retreat entitled: “Living the big dream,” was attended by top management staff of the company.

    In her presentation titled: Agriculture as a catalyst for economic recovery, she noted that the ministry was aware of the important role of the logistics industry in the agricultural sector, adding that it has opened up the landscape for major players to participate in.

    “Our role’in this government is to push for what the government should be, to create an enabling environment for the private sector to play a major role, to create access to land, maintain fertility of the soil and make sure farm produce are easily accessible,” she said, noting that  this could only be done by encouraging major logistic players to be involved.

    She identified investment in food  chain logistics as a vital component in making agriculture and the food supply more sustainable.

    She said the sector needs logistics operators to support the government’s target of increasing food production and improving farmers’ income. This, according to her, would  help break geographical boundaries and would allow farmers to  access markets.

    Earlier, Group Managing Director of Red Star Express Plc, Sola Obabori, said if both the government and the private sector could give half of the attention they give to the oil sector to agriculture and other sectors, there would be significant improvements in the economy and stability of the fluctuating of the naira can be achieved.

    He continued: “Just like we treat our oil with seriousness, we need to treat the agricultural sector that same way. The opportunity and potential are really huge. We should be able to over produce our agricultural produce and still have ready market for them even outside the shores of this country. And we have to be on hand to facilitate the export in such a way that perishable goods can be in Europe within 14 hours after harvest, while the non-perishables can get there within three to four days,” he said.

    He said Red Star Express Group is a premium logistics solution provider in the country with unrivalled local network coverage and a large market share in the domestic and international market.

  • Fertiliser price crash reignites hope for agric

    Fertiliser price crash reignites hope for agric

    The Federal Government’s plan to end food import by 2019 is on course. Its agreement with Morocco on the production of fertliser has started yielding results. The deal may have given fillip to using agricuture to drive economic diversification. Assistant Editor CHIKODI OKEREOCHA reports.

    For long, the greatest pain in the neck of local farmers remained the non-availability of fertiliser. Where the critical input was available, its price was beyond farmers’ reach, selling sometimes as high as between N9, 000 and N10, 000, depending on the location.

    Rural farmers naturally paid more because of the added cost of transporting the product from the city centres to the rural areas.

    Expectedly, this was a major disincentive to farmers wishing to embark on small, medium and large scale agriculture. It was also, by extension, a stumbling block on Federal Government’s plan to halt the importation of food by 2019. Besides, without timely supply of quality fertiliser in adequate quantities and in a cost–effective manner to rural areas, hope of anchoring the ongoing economic diversification agenda was under threat.

    But the situation may have started changing. This was on the strength of the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Nigerian and Morocco for the supply of phosphate to rejuvenate agriculture by making fertiliser available and affordable. The deal, consummated last December, for the production of one million tons of fertliser, has started pushing possibilities into the hands of farmers and operators the local fertiliser industry.

    For instance, it has forced down the price of fertiliser from between N10, 000 and N11, 000 to as low as N5, 000. The drastic price slash was sequel to the arrival of the first consignment of fertiliser into Nigeria from Morocco early this year. The product was delivered to various blending plants across the country, even as more cargoes are expected  soon.

    Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Group Managing Director, Dr. Maikanti Kacalla Baru, who made this known recently, said that 11 blending plants across the country have started production because of the supply. This was when he received the National Coordinator of the New Partnership for African Development (NEPAD-Nigeria), Princess Gloria Akobundu, at the NNPC Towers in Abuja.

    The NEPAD National Coordinator was at the NNPC to seek for areas of collaboration with the Corporation especially in the area of promoting regional integration on the continent. “As NEPAD, we are mandated to identify and work with strategic partners to facilitate, monitor and promote the implementation of developmental projects across the continent,” Akobundu said.

    The NNPC told his visitors that apart from being a huge boost to the  agricultural sector and the economy, the Nigerian, Moroccan deal was expected to boost bilateral relationship between both countries, in line with NEPAD’s objective of championing regional economic ties and integration.

    The Nation learnt that the Nigerian, Moroccan fertiliser deal, which gladdened the hearts of farmers, including Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Chief Audu Ogbeh, was anchored by the Fertiliser Producers and Suppliers of Nigeria (FEPSAN) and OCP Group, a Moroccan company. OCP specialises in phosphate and its derivatives, and is committed to the development of agriculture in Africa.

    The MoU was signed during the visit of King Mohammed VI of Morocco to Nigeria by FEPSAN President Mr. Thomas Etuh and OCP Group Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Dr. Mostafa Terrab. Essentially, the agreement was for the promotion of innovation aimed at contributing to productivity-led agricultural growth and improving farmers’ income.

    Recall that the Federal Government had set up the National Fertiliser Technical Committee under the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. The Committee was mandated to seek ways of putting the country on the path of sustainable production of quality fertiliser for both local consumption and export.

     Why the deal was imperative

    According to experts, Nigeria’s fertiliser industry has a blending capacity of four million tons of Nitrogen, Phosphate, and Potash (NPK) annually. The country’s production capacity for Urea was put at about two million tons yearly, with capacity to employ over 250,000 people in both direct and indirect jobs.

    The snag, however, is that less than 10 per cent of these production capacities are being utilised. This was what prompted the Federal Government to intervene in the fertiliser industry hence the deal with the Moroccan Government.

    The deal covered such areas as securing a supply of quality fertiliser by bringing in raw materials required for the production of the item in line with the crops and soils adaptable to Nigeria; strengthening blending capabilities by leveraging on technical know-how and engineering capabilities.

    It also sought to strengthen the capacity to ensure a timely supply of quality fertiliser in adequate quantities and in a cost–effective manner to rural areas, as well as an efficient supply chain and improvement of logistics management, including warehousing and transportation services; and strengthening the agricultural extension services system.

    One deal, multiple agains

    Apart from forcing a drop in the cost of fertiliser and boosting farmers’ productivity and income, the deal, according to the NNPC boss, has created about 50, 000 jobs.

    “Already, 11 blending plants have come into production because of the supply. This development has translated to the creation of about 50, 000 jobs and led to the production of about 1.3 million tonnes of fertiliser in the country,” Baru said.

    Some of the fertiliser plants that has come on stream following the intervention include the Ebonyi State Fertiliser Company, Golden Fertiliser Company, Lagos, Superphosphate Fertiliser and Chemicals, Kaduna, Bejafta Fertiliser Company, Plateau among others.

    The NNPC chief also said the Moroccans had given Nigeria a generous credit term of 90 days and that they were planning to bring in more cargoes that would fit the various blending plants in the country.

    The thinking of experts and operators in the agric sector is that when the next consignment of fertiliser arrives the country, more blending plants will kick-start production. This will not only create more job opportunities in the agric value chain, but also give more impetus to government’s push to end food importation by 2019.

    Already, following the arrival of the first consignment, the Kano State Government was said to have procured 50, 000 metric tons worth N5 billion to be distributed to farmers across the state. Same for Jigawa State Government, which purchased about 4, 000 bags of the farm input for its farmers.

    More states governments across the country have also indicated interest to purchase fertiliser for onward distribution to farmers. This would ultimately save Nigeria the huge foreign exchange for fertiliser import and food.

  • A push for commercial agric

    A push for commercial agric

     A team of researchers from the Agricultural Policy Research in Africa (APRA), which is funded by the United Kingdom Department of International Development (DFID), is studying how policies can make commercial agriculture work for Nigerians. DANIEL ESSIET reports.

    Chief Executive, Niji Group, Adeniji Kolawole, has proven that he is a valuable stakeholder in the agriculture sector. His is one of the success stories of an agripreneur, who specialises in the fabrication of machines.

    In the last 16 years, Niji Group, founded in 1991, has grown into a successful and award-winning supplier of metal-fabricated machines and services. Many farmers patronise his farm implements that process produce, such as cassava, maize and groundnuts.

    But his rise in his profession took a lot of hard work and years of dedication.

    He loves the land and loves seeing the rewards of what he sows.

    Around the country, governments and communities are adopting innovations that are improving the lives of millions. There are success stories across the agricultural sector involving individuals and cooperative farmers.

    These kind of stories  interest  APRA, a five-year research project,  which  run from 2016 to 2021

    The aim of the project is to produce new information and insights into different pathways to agricultural commercialisation in order to assess their impacts and outcomes on rural poverty, empowerment of women and girls, and food and nutrition security in Sub-Saharan Africa.

    APRA, which operates in Ghana, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Malawi, Zimbabwe, and Tanzania, hopes to find the best forms of commercialisation that are most effective in empowering women and girls, reducing rural poverty and improving food and nutrition security in Sub-Saharan Africa.

    It  held a workshop in Lagos with stakeholders in the agric sector to generate inputs for an upcoming research into commercialisation.

    Research Coordinator of the project for Ghana and Nigeria, Prof Joseph Yaro, said the programme would focus on four main objectives- generating high-quality evidence on pathways to agricultural commercialisation in Africa; using a rigorous mix of quantitative and qualitative methods; undertaking policy research on agricultural commercialisation to fill key evidence gaps and define policy options.

    It also include ensuring the sharing and uptake of research by a diverse range of stakeholders and strengthening the capacity of the research team, and associated partner institutions, to deliver policy-relevant research and advice.

    Yaro said the project seeks the  identify structures needed for development,which include, programmes for food security and the alleviation of poverty. The study, which will span at least five years, will seek to understand the different types of agric commercialisation pathways that can secure for the country and farmers optimal benefits.It will also look into the impact of the commercialisation methods in Nigeria on the livelihoods of farmers and also suggest to policy-makers the best methods to support.

    Country lead, APRA research team, Nigeria, Dr. Oluwafunmiso Olajide, said the APRA Consortium is focusing on five key outcomes of commercialisation including empowerment of women and girls; income and consumption poverty; inequality; employment rates and conditions; and food and nutrition security – across three complementary work streams. Work Stream 1 is examining the outcomes of different types of commercialisation and analysing people’s selection choices and their outcomes. Work Stream 2, she explained, is exploring longitudinal change over time and identifying various pathways of agricultural commercialisation and their outcomes.

    Work Stream 3, she  added,  is analysing key policy issues associated with changing patterns of agricultural commercialisation through six focused, multi-country, policy studies.

    In all, Olajide, who specialised in farming and rural systems economics, said the study  explore  pathways to agricultural commercialisation that are most effective in empowering women and girls, reducing rural poverty and improving food and nutrition security in Sub-Saharan Africa.

    A member  of the Research team, Dr  Kehinde Adesina Thomas, said  the project would focus on production of crops such as cocoa in Ogun and Osun states.

    He said the study hoped to make public its findings to ensure that all stakeholders in the agric production value chain understand the situation on the ground. The research, according to him, will use panel discussions with various agriculture stakeholders, longitudinal studies of different pathways of commercialisation and policy studies to assess outcomes such as employment rate and conditions, empowerment of women and children, among others.

    CommunityDevelopment Specialist, National Fadama Coordination Office, Abuja, Dr. Gbenga Arokoyo said  policy  should be designed  to use  commercialisation  to promote sustained growth in the agriculture sector. The policy, he added,  should  facilitate transition from subsistence production to high-value agricultural value chains that result in wealth creation.

    Collectively, he said policies should  transform the agriculture sector into a high performing one to improve food security and the fortunes of farmers and the economy as a whole.

    Looking back, Arokoyo said Nigeria has done  well through fadama to  contribute to national agricultural production and trade. While there are significant differences from state  to state, he said Nigeria is a bigger player at a national level.

    He identified some key constraints to reach its full potential, most notably,  weak infrastructure. General Manager, Shonga Farms Limited, Bayo Sangobiyi said the future of any food system and economy depends on the viability and sustainability of its farm businesses and workforce.

    He said  much of the increase in the productivity and competitiveness of the farm and food sectors  in Kwara State is the result of the entrepreneurship, hard work, and resilience of farms, farm laborers, and managers and employees.   The one-day workshop brought together stakeholders from the public and private sector.

  • Promoting youth agric entrepreneurship

    Promoting youth agric entrepreneurship

    To engage youths in agriculture, the African Development Bank (AfDB), the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) and Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Co-operation (CTA) are partnering to facilitate access to  financial services, skills and jobs to grow their businesses, DANIEL ESSIET, reports.

    Unemployment among the youth is growing.  The figure increases every year with them constituting more than 50 per cent of Africa’s unemployed population.

    The African Development Bank (AfDB) estimates that  of about 10 to 12 million youths that enter the job market yearly, only three million secure employment in the formal sector.

    As unemployment continues to hurt the youth, AfDB ‘s President Dr. Akinwumi Adesina has noted  that engaging them in efforts to address unemployment challenges is more relevant and important.

    Since he assumed office at the bank’s headquarters in Abidjan some two years ago, Adesina has attempted to draw African governments’attention to the impact of implementing initiatives to enhance the agribusiness sector, while enabling the youth to gain employment and improve their livelihoods.

    According to Adesina,  the bank  is  undertaking a number of initiatives to stop the unemployment crisis, including the Jobs for Youth in Africa (JfYA) Strategy, designed to create 25 million jobs and positively impact about 50 million youth over the next decade. The bank has also embarked on Empowering Novel Agri-Business Led Employment (ENABLE), an initiative which aims at promoting youth entrepreneurship in agriculture and agri-business.

    Adesina stressed that ENABLE championed by the IITA has  received the support of the bank. This, according to him, will give room for the emergence of new agripreneurs, who will help re-brand the agricultural sector.

    At the IITA station in Abuja, Adesina said his determination to create a continental wide platform for the African youth to generate wealth and create employment, was a deliberate attempt to ensure that the continent was able to feed itself again.

    He said the level of hunger, poverty, food importation and insecurity in the continent has increased over the years because the youths, who are supposed to bring about the dynamic change needed to support Africa’s dream of feeding itself, were massively migrating to the western world illegally in search of greener pastures.

    Last year, the bank   approved ENABLE Youth Nigeria programme and provided a $250 million loan, to contribute to job creation, food security and nutrition, rural income generation and improved livelihoods for youths in urban and rural areas.

    The programme will be implemented in all the 36 states of the Federation and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

    The targeted beneficiaries are in two categories. The first are the unemployed young Nigerian graduates from any field of study, who have finished their National Youth Service Corp programme (Greenfield), while the second are graduate youths, who are already successfully engaged in agribusiness, but have no access to commercial loan to grow their businesses (Brownfields). The mainstreaming of gender and environmental issues across the various components would ensure inclusiveness. The programme  targets a 50:50 male and female participation across the country aged 18 to 35 years.

    The number of beneficiaries according to Director, Agriculture and Agro-Industries Department, AfDB, Chiji Ojukwu,  will depend, in large part, upon the outcome of the agribusiness incubation placement and successful bankable proposals. In general, it is expected that all the youths that have successfully undergone the incubation programme and satisfied the relevant criteria, will move to the next stage of accessing the loans to set up their agribusinesses or may find employment with the private sector and the rural development community.

    Most of the loans will be about $50,000 maximum per business. According to him, agripreneurs can have individual or joint businesses and these must be duly registered by Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC).

    The target is to reach 1,000 agripreneurs per state, who will establish enterprises, as individuals (about 2,000 for both green and brown fields) and as groups of 10 to  50 (creating about 5,500 businesses).

    The businesses will generate about 185,000 additional jobs. Total direct jobs created by the programme would reach as much as 222,000.

    The AfDB is not working alone on the ENABLE Youth Programme. The bank has IITA  as core-partner. Following the AfDB’s High-Level Conference on African Agricultural Transformation, which held in Dakar, Senegal, in October 2015, governments across the continent, international development partners, agri-business companies, finance institutions, youth and women’s groups expressed interest in working with the bank  in collaboration with the IITA, to develop and roll-out country-specific ENABLE youth programmes designed to sustainably tackle youth unemployment and promote food security.

    Subsequently, the AfDB and the IITA  held design workshop in Abuja last year to provide a well-grounded evidence-based understanding of the programme concept by sharing experiences and lessons learned in promoting youth entrepreneurship and employment in agriculture on the continent.

    The workshop was attended by 240 participants from more than 30 countries, including over 70 young “agripreneurs”, young men and women engaged in agriculture and agribusiness. It featured keynote speakers, including eight Ministers of Agriculture and Youth Employment; IITA Director-General, Nteranya Sanginga; Chief Operating Officer, Tony Elumelu Foundation, Abimbola Adebakin and Adviser, African Union Commission, Mark Kofi Fynn.

    The young “agripreneurs” shared the inspiring stories of how they set up their agribusinesses, described some of the challenges they faced and gave clues to their success stories. This helped to fine-tune the ENABLE Youth programme designed by the incorporation of proven Africa-wide best practices.

    The workshop established a general consensus that the ENABLE Youth programme was a powerful mechanism for boosting youth employment in agribusiness. This  led to the establishment of the  African Youth Agripreneurs Forum and Agri Pitch Competition.

    According to the  bank , there is a proliferation of incubation and accelerator initiatives across Africa in recent years.

    However, there is currently no continent-wide forum/framework to connect the programmes. AYA Forum, therefore, intends to serve as platform for aggregating agripreneurs across Africa and escalating the impact of their activities.

    The AYA Forum will comprise: the AYA Forum, a two-day Conference/Workshop with thematic discussions and presentation of success stories and Agri-Pitch Entrepreneurship Competition that will lead to a selection of three finalists for presentation at the Bank’s annual meetings in India in May.

    The side events include mentoring and incubator training programmes. The AYA Forum will also showcase the strength of collaboration and partnership with key institutions such as the IITA, African Agribusiness Incubators Network (AAIN), CTA, and others.

    The AfDB and its partners, IITA, AAIN and CTA are to launch the Agri- Pitch Entrepreneurship Competition  as an agripreneurship challenge to identify innovative solutions for the sector in Africa. The expected outcome of the challenge is to select winning solutions that can lead to new products, programmes, projects and processes by young agripreneurs.

    AYA Forum is scheduled for the IITA, Ibadan, between April 25 and 26.

  • Stallion Group gets agric awards

    A company under the Stallion Group, Popular Farms and Mills Limited, has been awarded the IBCA-Outstanding Projects and Business Leader of the Year Award.

    A statement from the firm yesterday noted that the Stallion Group acknowledged “the quintessential and impeccable leadership qualities and magnanimous approach of President Muhammadu Buhari and the Minister of Agriculture, Chief Audu Ogbeh, in the agriculture sector and their pathfinder initiative of the change agenda”.

    It hailed the “IBCA for creating this platform to acknowledge the real positive change-makers in the agriculture sector and OPAL nomination committee for nominating and rewarding Stallion Group for the Business Leader of the Year and Outstanding Project awards”.

    According to the statement, “these awards are testimonials to our efforts at expanding operations in Nigeria’s fully integrated rice value chain, resulting in a boost of 430,000 metric tonnes of rice production per annum.

    “The group is targeting production of 1.5 million tonnes of rice in Nigeria through the setting up of more milling capacities and structured farming activities.

    “Stallion has established fully integrated agricultural operations, including world-class rice mills at strategic locations, with the aim of promoting milling and paddy cultivation in the captive areas, thus creating a catalyst for increased local production of paddy and, ultimately, Nigeria’s self-sufficiency in rice production.

    The firm’s Director, Mr. Harpreet Singh, while commenting on the awards, said: “Sensing the need for local self-sufficiency and government’s ambitions for food security, Stallion pioneered investments into backward integration, creating a fully integrated value chain.

    “We are working tirelessly to improve farm yields and bring in sustainable and scalable growth to farmers,” Singh said.

    To energise its backward integration value-chain, Stallion Group embarked on an initiative to include local manufacturing facilities for packaging and countrywide distribution infrastructure designed to meet the demands of the Nigerian people across the various states.

  • ‘Bank of Industry ‘ll support youths in agric’

    ‘Bank of Industry ‘ll support youths in agric’

    The Bank of Industry (BoI) has pledged more funding support for youths willing to venture into processing of agricultural commodities.

    A representative of the bank, Mr. Tolulope Toluwalase gave the commitment during the closing ceremony of Champions for Change Leadership in Agriculture short course in Abuja.

    The training was organised by Africa Lead in partnership with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

    Toluwalase said the bank is willing to release as much as possible funding to support the trainees without stringent collaterals.

    According to him, graduates among other interested youths could make use of their certificates as a guarantee to access the loans.

    “The training will increase their capacity especially to approach BoI for assistance in whatever project they might be interested in agriculture. At BoI, we have lots of products participants can make use of. There is facility for women and youths.

    “We have interest rates that are attractive, tenores that are good and security arrangements the youths can meet; so whenever they are ready to harness their potentials, access funds, BoI is open and willing to attend to them,” Toluwalase said.

    Earlier, West Africa Regional Head, Africa Lead, Mrs. Carla Denizard said the training on change management for women and youths was to equip the participants on principles of African Union Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP).

    She said it was designed to inspire, energise and mobilise innovative leaders, champions and thinkers who are committed to creative new approaches to achieve food security in Africa.

    Describing Africa Lead as primary capacity building program in sub Saharan Africa, she said the initiative remained committed to realising the Feed the Future (FTF) goals to reduce hunger and poverty by building capacity of agriculture professionals.

    She identified need to promote strategic leadership, planning and evaluation to achieve success in agriculture development programmes.