The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Agric

  • Ebonyi flags off one man, one hectare agric plan

    Ebonyi flags off one man, one hectare agric plan

    Ebonyi State has launched the one man, one hectare agricultural programme aimed at making the state one of the highest food producers in the country.

    Minister of Agriculture Audu Ogbe launched the programme at the Ebonyi Demonstration Farm, Ezillo, by planting palm trees. He blamed past administrations in the country for not diversifying the economy, saying they depended wholly on oil and resorted to massive importation.

    “The country imported virtually every item from toothpicks to palm produce but the country doesn’t have money again to import,” he said.

    The minister noted that the federal government therefore decided to go into massive production with much emphasis on agriculture.

    He said, “The hunger in the land might last for a while but soon, there would be enough food in the country and for  exportation.”

    He advised the politicians to have a ‘second address’ because political offices can end abruptly and they can farm peacefully when politics ends.

    “The government would provide machines to Ebonyi for the harvesting of rice and other farm produce and those to prepare crop nursery before planting,” he said, noting that wrong application of fertilisers can destroy soil nutrients and ultimately cause poor yield of crops.

    “The federal government would inaugurate dams in all states of the country in the next two years, to ensure all year farming activities.

    He urged the youths to go into farming as a means of lifting themselves from poverty

    The state governor David Umahi noted that the state was showing agricultural revolution to make its economy self-sufficient.

    “All political office holders in the executive and legislature have farm lands in this demonstration farm as the programme would be the order of the day in the state.”

    He noted that all citizens of the state would cultivate at least one hectare because the government does not want any land to lie fallow in the state.

    “We want to excel in palm produce  sector as we have done in rice production, as we are going to plant the produce at 10 metres of verges of roads in state and federal roads.

    Launching the one man, one hectare agricultural policy of the state government and commissioning of agricultural mechinaries and equipments at the Abakaliki township Stadium, the Minister of Agriculture, Chief Audu Ogbeh assured that more federal government programmes and policies in agriculture would be implemented in the state.

    Ogbeh who was impressed with the state government policies in agriculture added that more agricultural seedlings, machineries and cottage industries would be assigned to the state to boost the present administration’s impact in the area of agriculture.

    He charged the people of the state to be part of the agricultural policies of the present administration even as he urged Nigerians not to depend mostly on imported goods but products produced and certified in the country for safety and longevity.

    In his remark, Governor David Umahi who expressed the readiness of the present administration to uplift the living standard of Ebonyi people assured the federal government of its continued partnership necessary for the wellbeing of the state.

    He said the state government will come up with a policy that will allow Civil servants to work half day on Fridays so as to allow them go and attend to their farms.

    “Members of the state Executive council have led by example as they already have started farming. Each member agreed to farm at least 2 hectare,” Umahi added.

    The state government also flagged off the distribution of N250,000 each to 3000 unemployed Ebonyi youths for human capital development in the area of agriculture and Empowerment. ENDS

    Pic-Minister of Agriculture, Audu Ogbe and Governor David Umahi on one of the tractors procured by the state government for the One man, One hectare programme.

     

  • Costs impede agric competitiveness, says group

    High transportation costs are impacting on the competitiveness of the agricultural sector, the President, Federation of Agricultural Commodity Associations, Dr. Victor Iyama, has said.

    In an interview, he said many farmers were facing difficulties in moving their produce from the farm gate to the market.

    He said the impact of the fuel price hike had been significant, including a surge in commodity prices and high transportation costs.

    According to him, fuel prices were transmitted to produce prices via transportation costs.

    Fuel prices are significant in determining the difference between market and farm gate produce prices.

    According to him, there was need for intervention to reduce the cost of transport, adding that farmers faced problems which affected their  contributions to the economy and in creating more jobs.

    He urged the government to  create local transportation and distribution corridors.

    He said the implementation of private-public partnerships (PPPs) and joint ventures were critical in the sector and that farmers needed to be supported to produce on a large scale and feed the local manufacturing and processes sectors.

    Nigeria’s huge agricultural potential, he noted, holds the promise of covering much of the nutrition needs, but that the country is hampered by lack of infrastructure.

  • ‘Govt’s support to agric industrialisation vital’

    The Director-General, African Centre for Supply Chain (ACSC), Dr. Obiora Madu, has said the government is taking steps to improve trade finance avalability to address the gaps in  agro industrialisation, growth and job creation.

    Speaking with The Nation, Madu said the pool of funds established by the government was to serve players in the sector, hitherto underserved by financial institutions.

    The situation, according to him,  requires the government to promote and support bank-intermediated trade finance activities, vital for Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs) access to capital and credit insurance against global trade risks.

    The absence of export credit guarantees, he noted, was hindering  the  involvement of banks and agri entrepreneurs in export business.

    He said the economy needed trade and credit risk insurance products that encouraged foreign direct investment and trade.

    Madu noted that agribusiness held the key to meeting the demand for food, particularly processed food. The availability of credit for producers, he said, would smoothen the shift from primary production to modern integrated agribusiness, and provide opportunities to many farmers.

    According to him,  funds provided by the Bank of Industry (BoI)  and other  financial service players, can boost agro production and exports, help entrepreneurs hire more hands, and highlight the critical importance of trade credit to economic growth.

    Such facilities would  help to support the expansion of agro business operations as well as provide for critical inputs, such as chemicals, pesticides, farm machinery, spares and equipment, which the country is in dire need of to revive its agricultural sector, he said.

    He said the demand for trade finance could help Nigerians  explore new opportunities.

    Madu expressed satisfaction that the government had introduced reforms to develop the economic and financial system, including trade finance for SMEs.

    Meanwhile, President, African Development Bank (AfDB), Dr Akinwumi Adesina, has urged countries to institutionalise systems to support agric trade.

    Adesina, who spoke at the Sasakawa Symposium on “Contributing to social security and jobs through agriculture: 30 years of Sasakawa in Africa”, at the Sixth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD VI) in Nairobi, Kenya, maintained that creating markets, developing infrastructure and providing finance for farmers were key to transforming agriculture in Africa.

    Adesina noted that these factors were necessary to transform agriculture into a wealth-creating sector which generates income for farmers.

    “Governments can do this by developing agro-allied industrial zones and staple crop processing zones in rural areas. The zones, supported with consolidated infrastructure – roads, water, electricity – would drive down the cost of doing business for private food and agribusiness firms,” he said.

    Such zones will create markets for farmers, boost economic opportunities in rural areas, stimulate jobs and attract more domestic and foreign investments into rural areas, Adesina said.

    “They will turn the rural areas into zones of economic prosperity,” Adesina said.

    Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Chief Audu Ogbeh reiterated the significance of extension services, regretting the low number of extension workers in the country, which stand at a ratio of one extension worker to 8,000 farmers.

    “Farmers need support and education on new technology that will help them to reap maximum benefits from their farms,” Ogbeh said.

  • Agric institute launches technology to boost production

    The Institute of Agricultural Research and Training (IAR&T) has launched the Integrated Soil Fertility Management (ISFM) technologies to boost crop production and improve farmers’ livelihood.

    The Executive Director, IAR&T, Prof Jams Adediran while launching the project in Ibadan for the Southwest, Southsouth Soil Health Consortium, said the decline in sol fertility in the Southwest and in Nigeria as a whole has resulted to poverty.

    According to him, the present methods have limitation that  cannot support sustainable crop production.

    “There is need for a paradigm shift from conventional methods to adopted proven technologies using integrated approach. ISFM is a set of soil fertility management practices that necessarily include the use of fertiliser, organic imputs and improved germplasm combined with the knowledge on how to adapt these practices to local conditions, aiming at optimising agronomic use efficiency of the applied nutrients and improving crop productivity.

  • Agric policy journal launched in Abuja

    An agricultural policy research journal has been launched in Abuja. It was launched by Agricultural Policy Research Network (APRNet), with support from the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).

    The launch of Nigerian Agricultural Policy Research Journal (NAPReJ) coincided with this year’s APRNet National Stakeholder’s Forum with the theme: “Making Agricultural Research Work for End Users.”

    The forum brought together members of the agricultural research community.

    APRNet President Dr. Anthony Onoja said: “There could be no better time to do this than now when the Federal Government is shifting emphasis to growing an agrarian-led economy to diversify the economy and shift it from heavy dependence on crude oil.”

    Onoja also noted that although there were national mechanisms and frameworks for linking agricultural research and various end users, research communication and user uptake of research was short of its potential. He highlighted the need for a reassessment of the current system to “identify missing elements and gap-filling interventions” that would ensure that agricultural research make more impact on decision-making process and enterprises.

    This year’s APRNet Forum Chairman, Prof. Yusuf Abubakar, and the Executive Secretary of the Agricultural Research Council of Nigeria (ARCN), pointed out that in Nigeria, the government and donor partners featured as the most dominant players and end users of agricultural research.

  • Ogbeh’s ‘low energy’ agric policy

    For want of a kinder description, one has elected to find solace in Trump-speak here. Of course we all know Donald Trump don’t we? The brash, swashbuckling presidential candidate of the Republican Party, his reputation and the sheer prospect that he might just end up in the White House continues to confound the world.

    But because even the devil has his day, let us borrow something from Trump to illustrate our point today. In the early days of his party’s primary election campaign, Trump had literally ‘slayed’ one of the prospective candidates, Jeb Bush, damaging his campaign mortally.

    He of the Bush dynasty that had produced two American presidents already, Trump had described Jeb as “a ‘low energy’ candidate who does not have the will to win the presidency.” Poor Jeb, a much younger man, lived under the rubbles of that verbal shelling until it became futile for him to continue in the race.

    Now, for want of a more polite description, one would take some liberty here to describe Agriculture Minister Audu Ogbeh’s recently released Agriculture Promotion Policy (2016 – 2020) as a ‘low energy’ document. The strategy document is nearly at variance with the realities of today.

    Though Chief Audu Ogbeh, a renowned farmer heads the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD), the job of producing this document was obviously farmed out to consultants who simply made a ‘job’ of it as they are wont.

    And it’s difficult to love consultants. You know what they say about them: about borrowing your watch, telling you the time with much flourish handing you a fat bill? It must be the same scenario at the Presidency where ‘professional economic consultants’ have just concluded that the best way forward for the ailing economy is to grant the president emergency powers.

    By omission or commission, they seek to return Nigeria to dictatorship through the back door. How presidential emergency powers would translate to Nigeria earning more foreign exchange or drastically reduce her staple food imports has not been explained. But this is story for another day.

    APP 2016 – 2020 is frustratingly long on wooly prognosis and tragically short on solutions. For a PhD dissertation on Nigeria’s agriculture, it would probably earn an ‘A’ but for strategy a document take Nigeria from her current morass of food crisis and acute foreign currency shortage to sustainability, it is an ‘F’.

    What is wrong with APP 2016 – 2020?

    First, there is no urgency about it at all and Nigeria is in an emergency of sort: we need to stop food importation immediately; we need to earn foreign exchange. Last month before the Senate, Central Bank of Nigeria’s Governor, Godwin Emefiele, had lamented that forex demands for the importation of rice alone stood at $14 billion.

    Today in Nigeria, our basic salary cannot buy a bag of rice and finally, if rice import is banned outright today, an implosion may ensue in the polity almost immediately. All of this suggests a situation that is urgent and critical. It is the same situation for chicken and poultry products, milk and dairy products among others.

    In the light of this, one would expect an agric policy that is in line with these realities and that can galvanise the expedited production of these commodities.

    What must be done now While this document may be beneficial in the medium to long terms, there are a few things that must be done immediately:

    One: need for task forces on rice production value chain, poultry production value chain, dairy production value chain and fish production value chain, for a start.

    Task force on rice production value chain (call it a presidential task force if you like, I don’t think we need any emergency powers to do this). This team will monitor, support and coordinate all rice production, processing and marketing activities all around the country regardless of the ownership. It will ensure that critical presidential and institutional support and intervention reach the fields and the mills and even the silos and warehouses real time.

    They will work on the entire ramification of the rice value chain. Quarterly report is presented to a presidential committee headed by the president or his deputy. The task force itself is reviewed each year for a maximum period of three years. This way, we can achieve self sufficiency in rice production in two years flat.

    The task forces on poultry production, dairy production and fish production will work in nearly the same fashion. In two to three years, Nigeria can achieve self-sufficiency in rice, poultry, dairy and even fish production. The ultimate objective is to conserve ample foreign exchange by ending importation of these products.

    Other task forces on areas, such as agro-cooperatives and on reduction of harvest wastages may be looked into. Again because of the versatility and wide acceptance of such crops as cassava, maize, yam and millet, there may be a need to pay a special attention to their planting, harvest, processing and preservation.

    FMARD would continue to implement the APP in the medium and long term and to develop a system that would eventually meet and take over from the task forces at a juncture. Of course export cash crops would be among its major prerogative. Is it not criminal that some factories in Nigeria still import palm oil and raw rubber sap is taken out of Nigeria to Ghana to produce vehicle tyres that are shipped back here at exorbitant rates?

    What are the urgent actions required for post-harvest wastages in such fruits and crops like water melon, mangoes, oranges, tomatoes, yam and potatoes? The situation is urgent!

    In other words, APP 2016 – 2020 lacks the requisite adrenalin to attend to our immediate problems; it’s a ‘low energy’ policy.

     

    Zamfara 8: Low presidential umbrage

    Again and again, it happens and all we hear is tepid presidential assurances and nothing is ever done. When 74-year-old Madam Bridget Abahime was butchered in Kano on June 3, the president told us the action was “utterly condemnable” and that justice would be done if we maintained the peace.

    When Deaconess Eunice Olawale was slaughtered on July 9, it was the same refrain. Not one person have we seen detained or in the box.

    This time eight innocent Nigerians murdered with seven of them roasted right in their home and our president tells us again that ”it is barbaric and the law will take its course.”

    Not good enough at all. Where is presidential umbrage which requires that the IGP is summoned and given express orders to pick up all the suspects, put them in handcuffs and parade them the following day? Presidential umbrage would cause the police to expedite prosecution of cases like this to make one or two example of these murderers.

    But increasingly, government has shown that it has no interest in deterring some people from cold-blooded killings in the name of Islam. The polity will become a jungle when  government pushes the citizenry into having to defend themselves… that is where we are now. Zamfara is one case too many.

     

  • Ajimobi to restore Oyo’s agric glory

    Ajimobi to restore Oyo’s agric glory

    Governor Abiola Ajimobi has promised to restore Oyo State’s glory as the leader in agricultural production.

    Ajimobi spoke at the first convocation of the Oyo State College of Agriculture and Technology, Igboora, and the presentation of fellowship awards to him, former President  Olusegun Obasanjo and Chief Executive of Bovas Petroleum Mrs. Victoria Samson and others.

    According to him, the government will  re-engineer agriculture to restore the state’s glory in the sector.

    Represented by Education,  Science and Technology Commissioner Prof. Adeniyi Olowofela, the governor said: “You would recall that in the 60s, Oyo State under the old Western Region was known for its leading role in agriculture which was then the mainstay of the nation’s economy.

    ”And in the view of the economic challenges facing the country, occasioned by the fall in the oil prices of crude oil in the world market, and several years of neglect of agriculture, the current reality as of today is that the economy could be revived through agriculture and technological advancement.”

    Ajimobi maintained that emphasis had shifted from white collar jobs  to self employment, adding that students must note that the quest for education was no longer geared towards white collar jobs but the current reality that education should make its recipients self reliant, productive, and gainfully employed after graduation.

    The Provost, Prof. Gbemiga Adewale, said the graduands had been found worthy in learning and character, saying the products were not trained to be job seekers but to be self-reliant to contribute to the nation’s economic development.

  • ‘No alternative to agric revolution’

    Nigeria will attain sustainable food supply and reduce imports by  70 per cent in the next 12 months with the agricultural sector roadmap, Chief Executive Officer of Vegefresh Company Limited, Mr. Samuel Samuel has said.

    The roadmap titled: The green alternative: Agriculture Promotion Policy 2016 to 2020 was launched by the Federal Government last week.

    He described the policy as one of the best in the history of the nation and that it could boost local production and cut food imports if well-implemented.

    Hailing the administration for coming up with the policy, Samuel said it will radically usher the nation to an era of agricultural revolution and national prosperity.

    “It (roadmap) has captured almost all the challenges and proffered solutions with clear time line for each deliverables. I see Nigeria attaining sustainable food supply in the next six to 12 month; I see Nigeria reducing food imports by as much as 70 per cent in the next one year.”

    He said the regime of food importation that costs the nation a staggering N1.4trillion yearly is unsustainable and untenable.

    Such development, he said, is unhealthy for the nation’s productive capacity and trade balance.

    He pointed out most imported food items are subsidised by the originating countries to encourage the unhealthy consumption pattern of Nigerians.

    Samuel said: “We cannot continue this regime of food imports completely. No developed nation depends on food imports. Why should Nigeria continue to be the highest importer of sugar, rice, wheat, tomatoes and others?

    “The world has been subsidising supply of foods to us because they want to remain largest producers of rice, tomatoes and all likes.

    “They produce these items but do not consume them. They import to us because they want to have their people engaged and attract our resources.”

    Harping on the need for sustainable local food production, he said the economic recession leaves Nigeria with no choice than to embrace the new policy thrust of the government.

    “Nigeria does not have any alternative for now. We have been pushed to the wall and we have to just do this.

    “Nigeria does not have the money to import foods anymore and we have to feed ourselves,” he stressed.

    He explained that attaining local food sufficiency will create a bunch of well-fed, highly motivated and productive Nigerians who can boost national productivity in no time.

    He called on Nigerians to bear with the upsurge in food prices caused by tightening of borders to food imports.

    The policy, he said, has temporary pains that will deliver lasting gains for the nation.

    “Nigeria must stop consumption pattern and become more productive. This our “quick-quick” type of economy must stop.

    “Everybody thinks short term and no one wants to make any sacrifices to build.

    “It gets to a time in the life of a man when he is forced to make such sacrifices. Nigeria is at such a time

    “This is a time of sacrifices for Nigerians. We should find a sustainable, resilient financing approach to every level of production,” Samuel explained.

    He however called on the government to rduce the effects of rising food prices by providing temporary social intervention programmes for the masses.

    He also canvassed supports for local, patriotic businesses to scale through the biting costs of production and recession.

    On how the policy can work, Samuel advised the Federal Government to embark on aggressive mobilisation drive.

    This, he said, would require soliciting for the support of the business and investing communities as well as educational institutions to foster understanding and collaborative efforts.

  • Boroh: Fed Govt to train 500 ex-militants in agric

    Boroh: Fed Govt to train 500 ex-militants in agric

    The Special Adviser to the President on Niger Delta, Brig.-Gen. Paul Boro (retd) has said the Federal Government will train 500 former militants in agriculture and aquaculture under its Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP).

    Boro spoke with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) after his visit to Bio-Resources Development Centre (BIODEC) at Odi in Bayelsa State.

    He said the would-be trainees were selected from Akwa Ibom, Abia, Bayelsa, Cross River, Delta, Edo, Imo, Ondo and Rivers states. The special adviser said the training would create jobs and wealth for the youths, especially now that the nation is planning to diversify its economy.

    According to him, 18 other ex-militants have acquired skills in aquaculture under the programme.

    Boro, who is also the PAP Coordinator, said he toured the centre to monitor the progress of the workers and the livestock.

    He said: “The Amnesty Office is committed to training youths to become productive in the area of agriculture and aquaculture.

    “We will encourage them to plan their future, study and appreciate the value of knowledge in the modern society.”

  • Bayelsa local govt seeks revenue from agric

    The economy is on recession. Revenue from the Federal Government has dropped drastically and responsible government at all levels are wearing their thinking caps to raise money internally to run their affairs.

    Sagbama, the Local Government Area of the Bayelsa State Governor, Mr. Seriake Dickson, is not left out. The Caretaker Committee Chairman of the council, Mr. Michael Magbisa, recently reeled out its plans to improve the economy of the council.

    Magbisa said diversification is the pill for economic recovery and agriculture is the future. The chairman gathered stakeholders of the council at the Secretariat to brief them of his plans and his achievements since he was appointed to administer the council by Dickson.

    Dickson’s Deputy Chief of Staff, Mrs. Ebizi Brown, Political Adviser, Fynman Wilson and other notable leaders attended the event. Briefing them, Magbisa said all the plans to engage various sub-sectors of agriculture especially poultry and farming had been concluded in the council.

    He said: “You are all aware of the economic recession facing us globally, this has made a lot nations to diversify their economy.

    “We, at Sagbama plans to diversify into agriculture, hence we have initiated plans to venture into poultry farming and fishing. The council plans to engage about 100 youths to be trained in this areas not just for an empowerment for them, but also as a source of revenue generation for the council”.

    Reflecting on the administration of the council, he said: “Although the journey has not been so smooth but because of the support given me by most of you I have been able to overcome some of the challenges we faced.

    “Despite the downturn in the economy and all the problems facing us as a people we have a success stories to tell and achievement to show case today”.

    He, however, made a passionate appeal to his stakeholders. He said: “It is my appeal for all of us to encourage and give all our support to our own father and leader, the executive governor of our beloved state Hon. Henry Seriake Dickson who is also from this wonderful council.

    “It was through his magnanimity I am able to be here as a caretaker chairman of this council, that also include most of you that are present her today. I want to specifically use this medium to appeal to all of us, his kinsmen to rally round the Governor especially now the federal allocation to the state gas dropped drastically.

    “Though we are facing the same financial challenges at the council, but because of our zeal for quality service and delivery of political dividends to our people. We have been able to not only spend the meager allocations that come to the council judiciously and prudently, we have recorded successes”.

    On some of his achievements, the chairman said following the state government’s directive, workers’ verification was carried out and payroll frauds such as impersonation, illegal appointments, falsification of documents and over-aged declarations were discovered.

    He said electricity was restored to the council’s secretariat. He said payment of workers including primary school teachers were still ongoing. He said the council was also able to open some factories to drive local production of essential goods.

    He said: “In this very short time of our stay, we have been able to put up aa table and sachet water factory in Sagbama. We also renovated the chairman’s lodge and governor’s lodge. We have also given the council secretariat a befitting look and the paint used in painting the secretariat building was actually produced by Sagbama Local Government Council.

    “We have set up a bakery for the production of bread for our people and we intend to create employment opportunities for our teeming youths, so as to reduce crime and other vices affecting us.

    “We have also relocated all commercial vehicles operating in Sagbama Town to the council motor park. This move is to create an enabling environment for passengers and to also check the insecurity challenges we are facing before I assumed office.

    “Very soon, security cameras will be installed in strategic location to monitor the activities of unscrupulous and questionable characters. We have also refurbished speedboats for our marine police to enhance security on our water ways. The various security apparatus have also been strengthened.

    “We have also put in place boreholes to provide water for our people in Tungbabiri.

    That project is ongoing and very soon the Tungbabiri axis of Sagbama shall have clean and portable drinking water from that project”.