The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Agric

  • Ogun to increase agric investment

    Ogun to increase agric investment

    Ogun State government will invest heavily in crop farming this season, Commissioner  for Agriculture Mrs Peju Adebajo has said.

    At a meeting with agriculture stakeholders, she said emphasis would be on massive cultivation of rice, cassava and maize which have short gestation period.

    As a first step to realising this goal, Governor Ibikunle Amosun will kickstart the clearing of 5,000 hectares of farmland in various parts of the state.

    The commissioner said: “This is first phase of the clearing exercise as more farmland will still be opened for planting of other crops.”

    Mrs Adebajo also said the state would invest in cotton production, fish and poultry farming as well as vegetables cultivation. She, therefore, charged the stakeholders to be alive to their responsibilities as the state was ready to increase food production as well as security.

  • Group urges Fed Govt to pay agric support debt

    The Federal Government and the Ministry of Agriculture have been urged to pay the outstanding debts owed previous participants of the Growth Enhancement Support Scheme (GES)  programme to encourage everyone’s participation in actualising of government’s high food production and agricultural diversification.

    The GES programme  is an offshoot of the Agricultural Transformation Agenda encouraging firms to supply fertilsers and seeds to 2500 agro dealers for delivery to farmers.

    Nigeria Renascent Group, a proactive pressure group, in a statement in Lagos, stated  that with the prevailing situation in the country, vis-à-vis government action to agriculture, famine is imminent in the country, if the government does not  act fast by ensuring that important agricultural stakeholders are brought into the project of creating food for all.

    It, therefore, urged the government to pay the debts owed previous participants of the GES programme for this to materialise.

    In the statement signed by Mr. Abdulrasaq Lawal, the group stated: “The zest at which participants engaged in the GES programme, which saw many farmers smile and employment figure rising, has diminished.

    “The reason is not far-fetched. Many of those who participated actively and whole heartedly have since stopped because they cannot continue, owing to the huge debt of over N47 billion naira owed them by the Federal Government. While the few others who are participating now are doing so with measured involvement to avoid inactivity”.

    The group urged the government to “get all stakeholders on board by first settling the outstanding debts owed to them”.

    “This will serve as an impetus and will make them enthusiastic and give them the zeal to go all the way in seeing to the success of government diversification to agriculture policy,” the statement said.

  • Group urges FG to pay agric support programme debt arrears

    Group urges FG to pay agric support programme debt arrears

    The federal government and the ministry of agriculture have been urged to pay all the outstanding debts owed previous participants of the Growth Enhancement Support Scheme (GES)  program in order to have all hands on deck for the full participation and actualization of government policy on high food production and agricultural diversification.

    The GES programme  is an off-shot of the Agricultural Transformation Agenda that encourages firms to supply fertilizers and seeds to about 2500 agro dealers for onward delivery to the farmers, while government pays  after ascertaining the quantities  supplied and the number of farmers that redeemed their input.

    Nigeria Renascent Group, a proactive pressure group, in a release in Lagos stated  that with the prevailing situation in the country, vis-à-vis government action to agriculture, famine is imminent in the country  if the government does not  act fast by ensuring that all important agricultural stake-holder are brought into the project of creating food for all.

    It therefore urged the government to pay all the debts owed previous participants of the GES program for this to materialize.

    In the release signed by Mr.Abdulrasaq Lawal, the group stated that  ‘’the zest at which participants engaged in the GES program, which saw many farmers smile and employment figure rising has diminished.”

    “The reason is not far-fetched. Many of who participated actively and whole heartedly have since stopped because they cannot continue, owing to the huge debt of over N47 billion naira owed them by the federal government. While the few others who are participating now are doing so with measured involvement to avoid inactivity”

    The group wants the government to “get all stakeholders on board by first settling the outstanding debts owed to them, this will serve as an impetus and will make them enthusiastic and give them the zeal to go all the way in seeing to the success of government diversification to agriculture policy.

  • Varsities to support ECOWAS to implement agric policy

    Enhancing Capacities on International Agriculture Agreements for Development of Regional Agriculture and Food Markets (ECIATA), a regional project collaboration between agriculture universities in the subregion,  has pledged to support Economic Community Of West African States (ECOWAS) member-nations to promote policies  that will boost food security.

    The main objective of the project is to strengthen the academic capacities of partner institutions on international trade agreements, which would enable them to enhance the institutional capacities of government ministries, agencies, regional bodies, farmers organisations, civil society and other relevant bodies on trade-related agriculture negotiations, agreements and policy implementation in support of regional agriculture and development of food markets.

    The universities include the College of Agriculture Education of the University of Education, Winneba, Ghana; University of Liberia, Monrovia, Liberia; Njala University, Sierra Leone, the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, Nigeria, and University of Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.

    According to ECIATA,  West Africa region has major potential in terms of agriculture, livestock and fisheries, but  was facing  food security problems because of  challenges occasioned by  differing climate conditions, sub-regional disparities and local production deficits, a lack of market fluidity and little competition within production sectors.

    The group noted  that the  link between food security and the availability of foodstuffs requires that different sectorial policies have to work together to enhance the competitiveness of the agriculture sector and develop the regional food markets. Stepping up food security requires improving the competitiveness of the sector to improve production.

  • Agric: Ebonyi to partner 50,000 farmers

    The Ebonyi State government has said it will partner over 50,000 farmers this year to boost agriculture and improve its Internally Generated Revenue (IGR).

    Governor David Umahi announced this last Friday in Abakaliki, the state capital, when he hosted a team from an international group, Zero Hunger Forum.

    The governor also said 8,000 civil servants would benefit from FADAMA III programme.

    Umahi expressed gratitude to the leader of Zero Hunger Forum and former President Olusegun Obasanjo for being part of the global efforts to end hunger in 2030.

    The governor promised that his administration would support the team.

    Giving a rundown of some efforts made by his administration to  eradicate hunger in the state, Umahi said: “International Fund for Agricultural Development  (IFAD) injected over N4 billion into the society by reason of empowering over 6,000 farmers. Of course, we supported the farmers by standing in for them in their 50 per cent equity contribution.

    “Through direct funding, over 15,000 farmers were funded directly by the state government. That is, to me, stomach infrastructure.

    “So, this year, we are targeting over 50,000 farmers to partner with and to see how we can begin to eradicate hunger in Ebonyi State.”

  • Fed Govt mulls fertiliser price slash to boost agric production

    The Federal Government plans to slash the price of Nitrogen, Phosphorus and Potassium (NPK) fertiliser to N5, 000 per bag to encourage farmers to boost agricultural production in the country.

    The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbeh, who made this known to newsmen in Abuja, said the plan is to make food production easier and enhance profit for farmers in the country.

    The minister said the government would take delivery of the first shipment of 800, 000 tonnes of NPK fertiliser from Morocco by January 27.

    According to him, government wants the blending to take place everywhere in the country so that farmers can have access to fertiliser at the lowest possible cost.

    A bag of NPK  costs between N7, 500 and N9, 000 in the open market. But with the first shipment of phosphate from Morocco expected to arrive today in Lagos and then the blending done here, Ogbe said: “We are bringing the price of fertiliser to N5, 000 per bag.”

    He explained that the government wants to ensure that every blender in the country who has the capacity will blend.  “If we can bring the prices of fertiliser to N5, 000 per bag, food production will become easier and farmers will enhance their profit,” the Minister said.

    He said this was why the King of Morocco (Mohammed VI) came to Nigeria and the reason  why President Muhammadu Buhari visited Morocco. “The target we have is about 800,000 tonnes of fertiliser per annum from Morocco, but the problem we have is that we do not only satisfy Nigerians, our neighbours always come in and take a bit,” Ogbe said.

    While noting that Nigeria cannot deny her neighbours entirely, he said “we have to satisfy ourselves first.’’

    It would be recalled that indigenous conglomerate Dangote Group and the OCP Group of Morocco had in December 2016 signed an agreement to import more than two million tonnes of customised fertiliser into Nigeria.

    The agreement was meant to boost fertiliser production and businesses in the country within the next three years.

    The OCP Group is said to be a global leader in the phosphate and phosphate derivatives market.

  • Obaseki targets 80,000 agric jobs

    Obaseki targets 80,000 agric jobs

    Edo State Governor Godwin Obaseki has inaugurated a nine-man committee headed by Chief Osaro Idah, to start agricultural empowerment programme.

    He hoped it would generate between 50,000 and 80,000 jobs.

    Obaseki said the committee was constituted to ensure his administration began some of its agricultural activities before the cropping season.

    He listed four areas the programme would focus on to include 5,000 hectares of maize, 10,000 hectares of green house for vegetables and tomatoes, 4,000 hectares of piggery, saying his administration would provide support for 3,000 cocoa farmers to improve their yields.

    The governor said: “This is an advocacy committee which we expect to start the agriculture mandate as contained in my manifesto. We will soon constitute a full committee to look at our agricultural initiative.

    “We cannot wait given that we are in a race against time. We want to ensure we begin some of our agricultural activities before the next cropping season. We want this committee to help the government think and identify the project we must implement. We have three months of dry season to prepare before the rains.”

    Idah said the committee will not fail.

  • Transforming agric via local technology

    Transforming agric via local technology

    For many farmers, affordable machines is a major problem. At the moment, some Nigerians are producing these machines in large scale to help small and large scale farmers meet the challenge of food production. DANIEL ESSIET reports.

    One of the Muhammadu Buhari administration’s policies is to  boost agricultural productivity. While production rose  sharply in recent months, coverage in terms of acreage and speed of processing, is still significantly lower than global standards.

    Population growth, rising incomes, and dietary changes are exerting an immense demand pressure on agriculture.Though blessed with large arable land and incredible biodiversity, Nigeria’s agriculture is facing challenges in the resources it requires to deliver interms of growth in supply.

    Experts believe farming can made more profitable, if agricultural technology is increased.

    One of them is the Group Managing Director,  Niji Group, Kolawole  Adeniji. The dream of stakeholders, such as Adeniyi, is an agriculture ecosystem, encompassing, agri-chemicals,agri-technology, agricultural equipment, biotechnology and organic foods.

    He  emphasised the need for farmers to move towards mechanisation, adding that future adoption of agricultural technology and innovations is capable of revolutionising the sector.

    However, a series of agricultural innovations, including use of advanced machinery, chemical fertilisers and hybrid seeds is helping to increase Nigeria’s agricultural productivity.

    Adeniji is a farm mechanisation and automation entrepreneur  trying to fundamentally improve agriculture. He is a trained mechanical engineering technologist with over 27 years’experience working on diverse agro-allied projects across Nigeria and Africa. He designs and manufactures innovative agricultural machines for farmers. Within the industry, he is regarded as a maverick who likes to try everything that challenges his skills and wits.

    He is determined to not only mechanise agriculture, but also take his skills and know-how to the global arena. The Niji Group he  founded in 1991 has  grown into a successful and award-winning supplier of metal fabricating machines and services.

    These include packaging machine, hydraulic-presser, hammer mill, grater,automatic gari fryer, hydro-cyclone, automated-seive, bone crusher, cooling-bowl,cooling tablefor plantain,flash dryer,filter-press,fish-smoker,horizontal peeler centrifuge, shellers, water pumps, welding machines, ox-carts, produce driers, grain cleaners, cassava chipping machines and any other post-harvest handling equipment.

    His list of food and agro processing plants that he can fabricate for  food entrepreneurs include cassava starch, gari processing,plantain chips,yam flour and fufu processing.

    Kolawole attributes his success to the delligence and commitment of his staff, adding that they have helped to maximise fabricating technology to meet customers’ demands.

    He ploughed back his initial profit from the business into acquiring  key equipment to support production of newer and more complex fabrications.

    Having made a mark in machine fabrication, Kolawole established Niji Farms and Allied Services Limited,  which is spearheading green revolution with large farm land located at Ilero in Kajola Local Government of Oyo State.

    IITA and the Niji Lukas Group (Nigeria) have been collaborating on cassava processing machine design, fabrication testing and commercialisation. Niji Lukas serves as a planting material grower and supplier to HarvestPlus, a part of the CGIAR Research Programme on Agriculture for Nutrition and Health (A4NH) aimed at developing and promoting biofortified food crops.

    The farm has planted 225 acres of Vitamin A cassava including foundation seeds. Varieties include the TME Series 419, 581 and 30572. Other crops planted are 30,000 stands of yam and 3000 suckers of plantain.

    Emmanuel  Ntiti, based in Calabar, the Cross River State capital,  has been involved in a range of interventions— efficient farm and water management, to address the problem of farm productivity, farm machinery workshop. He is a prominent stakeholder in the agro-allied machinery and equipment fabrication in state. His concern is that lack of technology-based intervention in food and agribusiness has lead to low productivity and severe post-harvest losses.

    As Head of Department, Government Technical School, Calabar, Ntiti  has  fabricated a machine for extraction of kernel oil,  small-scale palm oil mill,processing of  cassava and garri and recovery of oil s from oilseeds  and machinery for bulk production of food items.

    He has developed a lot of equipment and machinery leading to productivity enhancement in the agricultural and the post-harvest processing sectors. He runs a small scale workshop and has developed some user-friendly farm operation tools. His machines can be operated with diesel and petrol. They are designed for simple, quick and safe installation, ensuring great value and quick turnaround.

    For now, the food processing sector, is  a high priority area for him, as  the sector is also gaining importance. Since the market of food processing industries comprises small and marginal players, Ntiti  is working on machines for cassava and grain processors.

    He gets his jobs through recommendations of users. He aims to improve mechanisation at farms with the use of high quality farm equipment.

    For outstanding work, Ntiti has been recognised by  the Cross River State Government.

    While efforts, such as introduction of high-yielding varieties and expansion of irrigated area have played a crucial role in achieving the goal of food self-sufficiency in the past, Ntiti believes demand for food, requires building efficiencies in agriculture through efficient mechanised cultivation to facilitate timely, precise and scientific farm operations, increasing farm input and labour use efficiency.

    A lot of local fabricators  are working  on food processing machinery comes to meet the demands of companies that produce beverages, bakery items, frozen food, fruit, meat, poultry, snack food, vegetables and other edibles across the country.

    Such machines include dryers, feeders, fryers, grinders, mixers, roasters, separators, slicers and ovens.

    Local institutions have recorded technological advancements in cutting, slicing and grinding.

    They are creating  standard design products that meet customers’  needs.

    The Federal Institute of Industrial Research, Oshodi (FIIRO) has been key to a robust transformation in the food system, expanded local agro-industry and value addition as well as improved management of resources for sustainable agricultural production.

  • Agric financing: Heritage Bank leads way

    Agric financing: Heritage Bank leads way

    The news of the slight rise in the price of crude oil in the international market and the seemingly relative calm in the Niger Delta (as reflected in the reduction in the breaching of pipelines and other oil production or lifting facilities in the zone), will ultimately translate to more foreign currency in the coffers of the Federal Government.

    This is especially given that the 2017 budget is largely predicated on earnings from oil – pegged at projected production and export levels of 2.2 million barrels per day. Nevertheless, it is doubtful if the country, at least in the short term, can earn enough foreign exchange (forex), particularly dollars, to meet the between $3 billion and $5 billion needed for the sustenance of projected expenses on the importation of food item this year. Experts agree that even if the requisite volume of forex ever becomes available, the Muhammadu Buhari administration would be cautious given the dangers the continuous reliance on imported food items pose to its efforts to create jobs as well as develop and diversify the economy.

    Indeed, the essence of the administration’s Agriculture Promotion Policy (APP) launched some months ago is to encourage massive local investments in the critical agricultural sector with the aim of achieving key goals of food security, import substitution, job creation, and economic diversification.  The Minister of Agriculture, Chief AuduOgbeh, captured this during the policy’s launch. He said  government expects the private sector to lead in the implementation of APP through promotion of agricultural investment and financing programmes or initiatives.

    The provision of a N2 billion facility by Heritage Bank in collaboration with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) under the Commercial Agriculture Credit Scheme, to Triton Aqua Africa Limited (TAAL), for setting up of fishery production chain, has been widely acclaimed as a worthy example of what the government is aiming at.

    Though it is estimated that Nigerians consume about 2.7million metric tons of fish yearly, only 800,000 metric tons is produced locally. As such, just like several other food products, the country has had to rely on importation to augment the shortages with an estimated cost implication of about $700million yearly in terms of forex. The partnership between Heritage Bank and TAAL, also known as Triton, will help reverse this trend. Specifically, the firm is expected to use the  facility to expand its aquaculture businesses with the setting up of nursery/hatchery for the production of fingerlings and brood stock, and earthen ponds for catfish and tilapia in Lagos, Oyo and Osun states.

    With the support of Heritage Bank and the CBN, the firm of Triton Aqua Africa Limited is executing a strategy of backward integration of increasing local production to reduce importation of fish. The company will also help small-scale farms increase their fish production by making fingerlings available to them. In the short term, the loan is expected to help Triton double its current production capacity of 25,000 metric tonnes with a projection to scale it up to 100,000 metric tonnes in five years. Ultimately, the partnership between Heritage Bank and Triton Farms would help boost local production, conserve scarce forex and enhance food security, and ultimately result in the creation of hundreds of new jobs, thus fitting snuggly into the Buhari administration’s APP agenda.

    Industry experts insist that the long-term tenure of the facility from Heritage Bank is a vivid demonstration of the fact that Nigeria’s financial institutions are positively responding to the complaints or fears of investors and farmers about the peculiarity of funding the agricultural sector. The complaint over the year was that while agricultural projects have long-term gestation periods, the funding provided by the banks was always of short-term duration. This mismatch in expectation between the lenders and the loan beneficiaries had over the years proved to be a major hindrance especially in the funding of big tickets projects in the agricultural sector of the economy.

    Farmers and potential investors in the agric sector had consequently always accused the banks of preference for funding only projects with quick turnaround but without much value to the country in terms of job creation and contribution to the country’s development. However, living up to its philosophy of Create, Transfer and Preserve Wealth, Heritage Bank has taken agriculture as one of the prime sectors, which can be used to empower individuals and communities in terms of creating wealth from the soil and through the entire value – chain using value addition and industrialisation. Therefore, the bank, in spite of its relatively young age, has been supporting various agricultural ventures across the country.

    Key among such initiatives is Heritage Bank’s multi-billion naira partnership with the Oyo State government. Under the initiative, the lender is supporting the Oyo State Agricultural Initiative (OYSAI), a programme designed to revive agriculture, boost agro-allied businesses and massive empowerment programme for both youth and women across the state through the creation of thousands of jobs in the sector. This huge, and laudable project that is spread across 3,000 hectares of land in 28 of the 33 local government areas of Oyo State, is in three stages: food crop cultivation, cash crop/horticulture and food processing. Heritage Bank is supporting agro investors involved in this initiative with funds and advisory services and indications are that the programme has already led to more than 20 per cent increase in food production in the state.

    Outside Oyo State, Heritage Bank is also supporting thousands of small holders’ farmers in Kaduna and Zamfara states in rice and soybeans production under the Anchor Borrowers Programme.

    The management of Heritage Bank believes that such funding supports in the critical agric sector are necessary if the objectives of the Buhari’s administration to diversify the nation’s economy using, particularly the agricultural sector, are to be attained. The administration targets a gross domestic product (GDP) growth of between six and 12 per cent, allowing agricultural household income to double between six and 12 years. Undeniably, most of the ventures in the agric sector fall within the Micro, Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (MSME) sectors of the economy, which Heritage Bank in close collaboration with CBN has been championing.

    Heritage Bank’s initiatives in the agric sector can therefore be seen as extension of the strong support it has provided to MSMEs with specific targets on key sectors pivotal for national economic growth like information communication technology (ICT), creative industry and of course, agriculture. It was in recognition of the bank’s track record on this score that apparently influenced its selection by the CBN as its pilot partner for the execution of the N3billion Youth Innovative Entrepreneurship Development Programme  (YIEDP). The programme is aimed at creating sustainable wealth and employment in the country with focus on dependable job creating sectors such as agricultural value chain (fish farming, poultry, snail farming), cottage industry, mining and solid minerals, creative industry (tourism, arts and crafts), and Information and ICT. Also, the bank in partnership with the Centre for Values in Leadership (CVL) empowered 100 aspiring start-up entrepreneurs under the Young Entrepreneurship Business Training Programme (YEBTP), a six-month intensive course involving grooming, mentoring and financing.

    In addition, the lender has also been in partnership with the Nigerian Youth Professional Forum (NYPF) to support entrepreneurship and education in the country with N500 million Young Entrepreneurs and Students (YES) grant. The bank’s focus on empowerment of the youth population stems from its belief that the nation’s youth population would ultimately produce future leaders that would help to positively reshape and reposition Nigeria, hence the imperative that they be properly groomed and provided with enabling opportunities and platforms to actualize their potentials.

    With its assortments of innovative support for the growth of the productive sector of the economy, Heritage Bank is not only actualizing its vision of partnering with individuals, organisations and governments to create, preserve and transfer wealth across generations, but is also playing a crucial role in helping to achieve the government’s ambition of diversifying the economy.

    Clearly, Heritage Bank is showing the way as financial institutions in the country are becoming resolute about financing the critical agricultural sector and by extension, aiding efforts to diversify the nation’s economy.

     

    • Dr. Awih-Williams, an Agric-Economist, wrote from Abuja
  • CBN directs banks, MfBs, DFIs to disburse N220b agric funds

    CBN directs banks, MfBs, DFIs to disburse N220b agric funds

    • Anchor Borrowers’ Programme guidelines out 

    The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) yesterday appointed Deposit Money Banks (DMBs), Microfinance Banks (MfBs) and Development Finance Institutions (DFIs) to disburse N220 billion targeted at the Anchor Borrowers’ Programme (ABP).

    The apex bank also released guidelines for the implementation of ABP which it said was established in line with its developmental function.

    According to the CBN, the ABP fund shall be provided from the N220 billion Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Fund (MSMEDF). Loan amount for each farmer shall be arrived at from the economics of production agreed with stakeholders.

    “Interest rate under the ABP shall be guided by the rate on the N220 billion MSMEDF, which is currently at nine per cent per annum (all inclusive, pre and post disbursement). The Participating Financial Institutions (PFIs) shall access at two per cent from the CBN and lend at a maximum of nine per cent per annum,” it said.

    The guidelines also said banks that fail to apply the nine per cent interest charge on the loans shall reverse the excess fees/interest charged and will be issued a warning letter to the and outright ban from participating under other CBN Interventions after two infractions.

    “The tenor of loans under the ABP shall be the gestation period of the identified commodities while repayment loans granted to the farmers shall be repaid with the harvested produce that shall be mandatorily delivered to the Anchor at designated collection center in line with the provisions of the agreement signed. The produce to be delivered must cover the loan principal and interest,” it added.

    In a circular, the CBN said the ABP, which was launched by President Muhammadu Buhari in November 2015 was intended to create a linkage between anchor companies involved in the processing and small holder farmers (SHFs) of the required key agricultural commodities.

    It said the programme thrust of tABP was the provision of farm inputs in kind and cash (for farm labour) to small holder farmers to boost production of these commodities, stabilize inputs supply to agro processors and address the country’s negative balance of payments on food.

    It said at harvest, the SHF supply his/her produce to the Agro-processor- the Anchor who pays the cash equivalent to the farmer’s account.

    The ABP, the CBN added, evolved from the consultations with stakeholders comprising Federal Ministry of Agriculture & Rural Development, state governors, millers of agricultural produce, and smallholder farmers to boost agricultural production and non-oil exports in the face of unpredictable crude oil prices and its resultant effect on the revenue profile of Nigeria.

    “The broad objective of the ABP is to create economic linkage between smallholder farmers and reputable large-scale processors with a view to increasing agricultural output and significantly improving capacity utilisation of processors.

    “Other objectives include:  Increase banks’ financing to the agricultural sector. It was also meant to reduce agricultural commodity importation and conserve external reserves  Increase capacity utilisation of agricultural firms and create new generation of farmers/entrepreneurs,” the CBN said.