The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Agric

  • Time to rejuvenate agric

    Time to rejuvenate agric

    The falling oil prices has reawakened the clamour for the economy’s diversification. Agriculture, experts say, can create jobs and be a major revenue earner. DANIEL ESSIET writes on what farmers and other stakeholders expect from minister Audu Ogbeh.

    While the Agriculture Transformation Agenda (ATA) of  the former Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr Akinwumi Adesina, set the sector on  the path of transformation, experts have advised his successor, Chief  Audu Ogbeh,  to  lift the sector higher with  pragmatic development blueprint that will boost food  production.

    They  advocated  for restructuring to  enable the sector become  a major  revenue  earner and job creator.

    The economy, according to them, is facing heightened risk because of macro-economic pressures, including unstable exchange rates and falling oil prices.

    The government needs macro-economic policies that will not only  lead  to  budget balance,  but  promote activities that show the  financial sector is not under stress; and  enable international credit-rating agencies to increase the nation’s rating.

    Since the key driver that powered economic growth in the past was  agriculture, experts  say Ogbeh  should establish an enabling environment to help agric industries move up the value chain.

    In  his  paper, “Agriculture: A Panacea for youth unemployment in Nigeria”, presented at the 15th Prof. A.A. Adegbola Memorial Lecture, organised by Ikorodu Division, Human Resource Development Board (IDHRDB), in Lagos, the Vice-Chancellor, Federal University of Technology, Akure, Prof Adebiyi Daramola said the minister must embrace a productivity-led agenda as job creation is the best way to eradicate poverty. He said agric is an essential partner in the fight against poverty.

    According to him, increased investment in agriculture is essential for job creation, adding that the large number of unemployed youths will not only act as a brake on economic growth, but provide a breeding ground for social instability and conflict if not addressed.

    Daramola noted that population explosion  has  contributed to youth unemployment. He said: ”Nigeria has continued to experience increasingly high rate of population growth, which has produced an overwhelming increase in young population, thereby resulting in rapid growth of labour, which is outstripping the supply of jobs.This is in contrast to many other developed countries.”

    He  maintained that the need for change is very desirable and necessary for the country to forge ahead and to meet up with the global challenges.

    According to him, unless the youths are productively engaged in modern agriculture that generates higher incomes and creates employment, the future remains bleak.

    “Increased involvement of youths in agribusiness will help reduce unemployment among the teeming Nigerian youths,” he said.

    Enhanced agribusiness, according to him, will open opportunities for employment in marketing, transportation, cold storage and warehousing facilities, credit, insurance and logistics support services.

    He noted, however, that youths need skills to take advantage of new opportunities, within agriculture to improve their livelihoods. According to him, there must be programmes to ensure that youths do not seek job opportunities, but are proactively motivated to explore opportunities for creating and providing solutions through finding, adding and creating values along the agric value chain.

    He called for youth-focused policy interventions and reforms that will engage the private sector, providing conducive investment climate and making agriculture relevant from the perspective of enhancing the value-chain, income generation and creation of competitive employment.

    As long as unemployment persists, he noted, it is unlikely that Nigeria can attain the high rates of economic growth necessary to address poverty reduction. Therefore, the government should take steps towards achieving a broad-based agric-led economic growth.

    According to him, a national increase in food production will lead to food and income generation.

    This entails improving productivity and increasing incomes derived from rural livelihoods and putting in place policies and institutions aimed at empowering farmers, pastoralists and fisher folks to enable them get out of the poverty trap.

    For him, the government   can successfully   reposition agriculture, building on its many intrinsic strengths—a young labour force, abundant natural resources, to name a few, to create a second wave of growth and prosperity. There are challenges, but he believes that they can be overcome.

    The Provost, Oyo State College  of Agriculture, Prof Gbemiga Adewale,  said there is need  to adapt agricultural sector to expect climate shifts or risk a severe economic crisis in the future.

    This is because of the devastating effects climate change has had  on the nation’s entire agric system. Since Nigeria is large and diverse in a variety of ways, he noted that climatic patterns are becoming both less predictable and more severe.

    According to him, rainfall patterns have become highly variable across the country.

    The impacts of climate change, he explained, however, has pit farmers against impossible odds – particularly, geographically vulnerable areas of the country.

    According to him, the nation’s   agricultural production base is varied. Farmers, he said, need to know future climatic scenarios and how these will affect the agricultural sector.

    He urged Chief Ogbeh to prepare and present an accurate picture of the country’s level of weather vulnerability to climate change to help operators reduce risks and exposure. He said the government policy needs to focus immediately on helping farmers adapt to climate impacts by addressing both food production and marketing efficiencies.

    According to him, Nigeria needs to build on its economic progress through climate-proofing measures. The priority, he maintained, should be to help farmers adapt and assist the rural livelihood systems become more resilient.

    He   said  the government  needed to build more sustainable agriculture and food systems, that are resilient to stress and better able to cope with – and respond to – climate change impact.

    The government, he said, should strengthen extension capacity to provide technical help to farmers and ensure that federal, state and local regulations support the growth of agriculture and other food businesses. In the longer term, he  noted that  Nigeria  has a larger challenge. Since the key drivers that powered its robust growth in the past—are beginning to run out of steam. He  said the nation now needs new sources of growth to replace them, which  is agriculture.

    With majority of farmers  living in rural areas, improving their livelihoods will require the promotion of inclusive growth and making responsible investments that address their needs.

    Director of Studies, Agricultural and Rural Management Training Institute, (ARMTI), Ilorin, Dr  Olufemi Oladunni   said  the  previous  administration  has  invested heavily in projects taking a value chain approach. This  involved taking  the  market system in its totality.

    While  agriculture has  provided  an important source of income for Nigerians, he  said  productivity remains too low and based on subsistence production.

    He  stressed the need  for  development of high-yield crops and better irrigation, enabling market access for small-scale farmers.

    Oladunni stressed that higher  value  chain activities  implies an increased demand for products  such as fertilisers, seeds, pesticides and machinery. Downstream activities, according  to him, would also grow.

    He  said  promoting more  farming activities through  the agric value chains  would   accelerate economic transformation through the gains associated with enhanced productivity and the development of new activities.

    Given that agriculture creates jobs, generates income, produces food and contributes to social stability, the search for a functional national food plan is vital to the nation’s development.

    Expanding the sector, he maintained, would pave the way for a future where Nigeria can feed.

    Infrastructure, he added,  is crucial to increasing agricultural productivity and expanding  agribusiness. These include power, roads, storage and processing facilities.

    In view of the nation’s young and growing population, Chief  Executive, Natural Nutrient Limited, Mr  Sola  Adeniyi   advised Chief Ogbeh to make  agric  very  lucrative  to enable  young people  explore  jobs in the agriculture and food system. Though, there is a resurgence of interest among young farmers through  success stories  of  young entrepreneurs like him, Adeniyi   stressed that it is vital to support this growth  by  making agriculture work more appealing and change public perceptions so that agriculture is recognised as a vitally important career.

    The youth, according to him,  need to be educated and made aware of how farmers operate  while  the  government should strengthen and maintain agricultural institutions for extension, research and innovation, credit, agro-processing and marketing in order to enhance efficiency and effectiveness of farming enterprises.

    Access to affordable credit, he maintained, is another key factor in attracting the youth to farming. The young people, he  added,  have fewer chances of obtaining capital or credit. Access, he mentioned,  is often tied to availability of collateral, which is usually land that the young people do not have.

    He urged the new minister to know that it is important that appropriate affordable financial packages are put in place by the financial institutions to finance agric lending.

    He  said the government should use agric to create jobs, keep money in the local economy and promote community development.

    He urged the minister to take the value chain approach to support economic growth of the food industry. These include activities associated with food growing and harvesting, storage and transport, processing, sale, preparation and service.

  • Agric to the rescue

    President Muhammadu Buhari has not only insistently expressed his administration’s determination to diversify the economy but also stated how eager the government is to find other sources of foreign exchange earners.

    To achieve this, the two major sectors he is targeting are agriculture and solid minerals.

    The government last Tuesday took concrete steps in the agriculture sector towards food security for the country, employment creation and boosting foreign exchange.

    It began the disbursement of N220 billion Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Fund (MSMEDF) to farmers at a single digit interest rate of 9.0 per cent.

    To reduce Nigeria’s huge import bill and conserve foreign exchange reserves, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in the past months have held various engagements with stakeholders in rice, wheat, oil palm, cotton, sugar and fish value chain towards providing financing through intervention schemes.

    The CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele, who declared on assumption in office on the 5th of June, 2014, to make the CBN a financial catalyst in some sectors like agriculture, has expressed his commitment to transform the agricultural sector through Produce Add Value and Export (PAVE) initiative.

    Speaking in Kebbi State last Tuesday during the launching of N40 billion CBN Anchor Borrowers’ Programme (ABP) for rice farmers out of the N220 billion MSMEDF, Emefiele said that the programme will link over 600,000 smallholder farmers and reputable large-scale processors.

    According to him, beneficiaries under ABP will get loans ranging from N150,000 to N250,000.

    Under the Programme, anchor firms will serve as off-takers in recognition of their track record and experience in working with out-growers involved in production.

    The scheme involves a finance model where the anchor firms, CBN, Nigeria Incentives-Based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL) and state governments organize the out-growers.

    The state governments are also expected to ensure that the out-growers comply with contractual terms and reduce the incidences of side-selling.

    The financial institutions, under the scheme, will serve as veritable channels for delivering credit to the out-growers.

    Training of farmers, extension workers and banks under the scheme are expected to bundle Farm Business School (FBS), Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) and Cooperative Management in a coherent and seamless manner.

    To ensure success of the scheme, various strategies have been put in place to mitigate possible risks that may come up.

    There is comprehensive farmer education and technical assistance in place to check poor farming technique and low crop yield.

    The Federal Ministry of Agriculture has also put in place guaranteed minimum price for the farmers in the case of price variation.

    Agricultural insurance has also been made mandatory to mitigate any risk as a result of loss of crops due to floods, drought or other natural disasters.

    The Project Management Team is also saddled with the responsibility of selecting recognized agro dealers in order to prevent poor quality or fake inputs that could lead to low yields.

    Millers will also be banned from future CBN funding as a deterrent for any miller that plans to default by reneging on Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) agreement.

    To overcome the challenges of infrastructure under the scheme, Government is to provide infrastructural facilities like Fadama feeder roads, irrigation facilities and others.

    The linkage of farmers and processors, Emefiele said, will increase agricultural output and significantly improve capacity utilisation of integrated mills.

    As part of the problems facing the nation, he said: “Nigeria’s agricultural commodities and food import bill has averaged over N1 trillion in the past two years. Food products like wheat, sugar, milk, rice, and fish accounted for N901 billion or 93.5% and N788 billion or 88.71% of this total in 2013 and 2014, respectively.

    “These figures are exclusive of the activities of smugglers. The import bill of rice and wheat was estimated at N428 billion and N307 billion in 2013 and 2014, respectively.

    “These huge amounts were expended on items that the country has the potential to produce locally with the attendant loss of employment generation and wealth creation opportunities.

    “Furthermore, the allocation of foreign exchange to the importation of these items has continually depleted our foreign reserve, which has been on steady decline in recent times.” He noted

    To further discourage importation and boost domestic production, the CBN is said to have implemented several policies to complement the fiscal initiatives of the Federal Government towards conserving foreign reserves.

    In this direction, the CBN classified 41 items including some agriculture based commodities as ‘Not valid for forex’ in June, 2015.

    The implication of the policies was that CBN prevented importers of the items from accessing the official foreign exchange window.

    At the launch of ABP in Kebbi State, President Buhari was visibly glad last Tuesday that the programme was commencing in line with the diversification drive of his administration.

    While declaring that Nigeria couldn’t sustain spending huge sums of money to import foods that could be locally produced in Nigeria, he was optimistic that the nation in the long run will be able to produce all the food it requires to feed her people.

    To carry the farmers and the local people along, President Buhari after reading his prepared speech in English during the launching took time to summarize the speech in Hausa language to the delight of the farmers who came for the function.

    After the speech, President Buhari also took his time to go round the various stands to inspect the agro products and materials on display.

    While what has been put on paper concerning the scheme is laudable, it will not be out of place here to call for vigilance in its implementation.

    This is important because past sound agricultural policies like the ‘Operation Feed the Nation’ and the ‘Green Revolution’ did not achieve much towards removing Nigeria from a mono economy dependent on oil due to poor implementation.

    To avoid past mistakes, the nation cannot afford to lose sight of the ball in its effort to diversify the economy even if the prices of oil in the international market increases over $100 per barrel.

     

  • Training vital to agric transformation

    Training vital to agric transformation

    The Acting  Executive  Director, Agricultural and Rural Management Training Institute, (ARMTI), Mr  Anthony  Njoku,  has said value  chain training is vital to enhancing the quality of human resources in the sector.

    At a workshop on “Training of Trainers for facilitators of value chain development” in Ilorin, Kwara State, he urged practitioners to  focus on integrating more  value  chain  into training for farmers  and increase co-operation to apply more advanced technology in the sector.

    He  said the institute would support farmers and agribusinesses to enhance capacities  that will  cater for the need in the market and production of the sector.

    Njoku  said  between 2010 and 2011 ARMTI trained two of its very senior trainers on “Pro-poor Agricultural Commodity Value Chain Development”. The training was facilitated by the renowned International Institute of Rural Reconstruction in Addis Ababa, 2010, and Kenya, 2011.

    He  said the  Agricultural Transformation Agenda (ATA) of the Federal Government  highlighted commodity value chain development as the main vehicle to drive the  process.

    In the institute’s  budget proposal for 2012,  he  said  capacity building packages were included towards addressing the focus of  the government to make agriculture a business in the country.

    In the budget, he  said  ARMTI amongst others, sought approval to implement the following capacity building projects conduct the first national baseline study on value chain development in Nigeria; and present report in a national seminar and national sensitisation seminar in the six geo-political zones on the product of the national baseline study, and training of trainers for facilitators of value chain.

    To make agriculture profitable to rural populace and as well boost food sufficiency, he  said the institute  did a  baseline study on commodity value chain development.

    The  project, he said, gives the appropriate picture and provides information on value chain development among the agricultural commodities in each geo-political zone with emphasis on the comparative advantage in the production management per zone.

    The ARMTI boss added that the value chain programme has the capacity to unlock this huge potential. Besides, through this study, ARMTI will continue to brainstorm with each geo political zone towards exposing to us how each of us fits into this grand scheme.

    In another development, a team  from the institute, led by the  Public Relations Officer, Mayowa  Gidado, donated sweet potato from its demonstration farm to the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camps in Abuja.

    At the camp in Kaaru District, the team was received by the coordinator, Mr. Sunday Wabba. It donated 12 bags of  sweet potato.

  • Stopping agric produce rejection

    Stopping agric produce rejection

     The importance of agro exports to the economy cannot be over-emphasised. Besides creating jobs and wealth, they also provide  raw materials for  seamless production. But how can  rejection of the produce be stopped? This was the focus of a forum organised by the Export Groupof the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), DANIEL ESSIET reports.

    The European Union (EU)  is one of the largest importers of agro  commodities from Nigeria. Despite the benefits of such produce, however, there is a growing awareness in the EU and the United States (U.S) on the microbial and chemical challenges of the produce. In the EU, for instance, food-borne diseases were linked to the consumption of vegetables, fruits and juices from Africa.

    This has led to the imposition of   a ban  on some agro produce while  the  number of rejections of fresh produce due to non-compliance with EU requirements has also increased in the last few years.  Countries exporting to EU now  face stringent  legislative requirements – the  major  being  that  produce  entering the EU market must comply with  food safety requirements, such as maximum limits on pesticide residues and absence of microbial pathogens.

    Beside these, compliance to hygiene requirements is to be documented and certificates of phytosanitary health issued.

    As much as this is well accepted  in the interest of food safety, exporters from Nigeria and other  developing  countries are not finding the task of meeting the requirements easy.

    The consequence of  non compliance is severe, in terms of  material and monetary losses quoted in dollars and Euro value.

    Worried by the economic losses suffered by Nigerians  due to the rejection  and ban of  food considered to be unsafe at EU borders, the Export Group, Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) and  the United States Agency for International Development (USAID),  organised a one-day  National Agro-Commodity Export Stakeholders Forum in Lagos.

    The forum was for stakeholders to strategise on how to acheive better compliance with food safety and quality standards  as required by the  EU.

    Addressing the forum, LCCI President Alhaji Remi Bello said there was the need to tackle food safety issues given the constraints in the exportation of some produce  because of the ban by the EU.

    Bello, who spoke through the Director-General, Mr Muda Yusuf, stressed the need to  keep participants up to date with EU laws to facilitate access for their produce into the EU market to redfuce the rejection rate.

    According to him,  the main problem is the  quality of the produce delivered by exporters.  To  address this,  he said there  was the  need to provide more credit support to exporters to acquire necessary facilities and equipment to meet international standards.

    Bello said figures from the Central Bank Economic Report for the second quarter of the year stated that: “The total non-oil export earnings by Nigerian exporters during the second quarter of 2015 stood at $631.54 million, indicating a decline of 64.9 and 75.1 per cent below the levels in the preceding quarter and the corresponding period of 2014, respectively”.

    Bello said the quest for diversification of the economy cannot be attained without  access to the international market. He urged  the government to make available special intervention funds for exporters to boost their capacity to compete with international brands and products. He also urged stakeholders in the agric sector to devote resources and efforts to pursue the standardisation of products for the international markets across the globe.

    Chairman, Export Group, LCCI, Dr Obiora Madu,  said  there  were  questions begging  for  answers . He asked rhetorically: “Is it that the relevant government agencies charged with regulating the industry have left the industry to regulate itself, thus, allowing some unscrupulous exporters to cause this mess the country has found itself? Is it because the technical personnel at these government agencies are too thin on the ground to effectively monitor the goings on both at production and inspections at exit points?”

    He  observed  that  non-oil exports from the country  have  continued to face mass rejection at entry points in Europe for failure to comply with standards specified by the countries.

    The rejected exports are mainly in the food and beverage segment. Top on the list of food items banned from entering Europe till June 2016 are: beans, sesame seeds, melon seeds, fried fish, meat, peanut chips and palm oil. Cocoa and cashew nuts were also rejected in many other countries, not only in Europe. The reasons for their rejection, according  to him, include inability of exporters to adhere to global standards, poor packaging and high level of chemicals, poor labeling, insufficient information on nutritional content, presence of high level of pesticide residue and presence of mycotoxins.

    He  said the suspension measure adopted by the body in June this year was the only action it could take because notices on the matter to the Nigeria government were ignored.  He said the ban would remain until there is substantial guarantee that adequate official control systems had been put in place to ensure compliance with food law requirements.  He  said  inspectors  must  monitor all the consignments at all entry points to make sure quality is maintained.  Exporters, Madu, said must brace  up for new measures to address the EU ban  on some the nation’s  exports.

    Experts  described as grim, the unregulated nature of the nation’s food ecosystem.

    Managing Director, RBS Consulting Limited, Aderemi Osijo who also moderated at the panel session,  stressed  the  need to  regulate the importation, distribution and use of pest control products in the country.  This is because some pesticides banned in other countries have found their way into the local market.  Following this, he said  the nation’s   food supply is polluted with agrochemicals, as a result  of the sue of  dangerous pesticides, herbicides and fungicides — including banned chemicals. These chemicals, he noted, can remain on foods long after harvesting and processing.

    Experts  put the  blame for this squarely at the door step of regulatory authorities  who they accuse of not doing their jobs by allowing sale of unregistered agro chemical products in the country.  To this end, he said the nation’s   food safety oversight system needed “urgent review and revision to root out systemic safety problems.”

    As the blame continues, it  became  clear that the production and export of produce that meets EU export requirements is not only  the responsibility of producing  and exporting companies but  logistics  firms  as well.  Farmers  told  stories  of their containers being rejected  because inspectors  abroad found a dead rat in  pesticide laden produce.

    To mitigate against this , Osijo advised the National Agency for Food, Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Plant Quarantine  and Health Inspectorate Service to  implement strategies to ensure compliance with market requirements. On the commodity  exchange,  Osijo  said it  should be  strengthened to  accommodate the concerns of stakeholders and be flexible, in order to do what is best for the trade and for the country. It is also vitally important that the commodity exchange identify and acknowledge as quickly as possible any failures in the system as soon as they occur.

    Others spoke on warehouse receipt.   For Nigeria and other African countries, the key challenges are changes in EU legislations on food safety that have made it difficult for exported produce to meet the requirements of pesticides Maximum Residue Limits (MRLs). This coupled with the fact that consumers in the EU region are becoming more and more careful about what they buy from the fresh produce outlets.

    According to the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), the Maximum Residue Levels (MRLs) are the upper legal levels of a concentration for pesticide residues in or on food or feed based on good agricultural practices.

    The  Head of Food Safety and Applied Nutrition Directorate, NAFDAC, Mrs Veronica  Ezeh advised  exporters to ensure good hygiene in their packing yards. According to her, the application of pesticides without observing the Pre-Harvest Interval (PHI) is rampant.

    The PHI is the period of time that a farmer must wait before produce harvesting. She  said spray regimes should come with timings to  control pests and diseases leaving minimum pesticide residues. In spite of measures being put in place to address the challenge of MRLs compliance, she said some export companies and food handling organisations still use dubious means to circumvent the rules. Some of the methods used by these companies include exporting produce rejected by authorities through an alternative ‘partner’. Further,  she  said some exporters have  not enforced the disease and pest management monitoring on their production schemes and farms.

    To reduce incidences where produce are intercepted at points of entry and destroyed at the exporter’s expense, the NAFDAC chief urged exporters to submit their produce in time for chemical residue analysis at its laboratories.

    International Food Standards Advisor, Nigeria Expanded Trade and Transport (NEXTT),  Mrs Bukola Sotubo said  the group  had embarked on  farmers and exporters trainings in the value chain on how to handle the commodities during the post-harvest period. She said the programme is helping to strengthen the public-private dialogue and partnership opportunities  to   position Nigeria exports  for the global  markets.

    The Co-ordinating Director, Nigerian Agricultural Quarantine Service (NAQS), Dr Vincent Isegbe, called  for  increased  collaboration to  ensure  that EU  lifted the  ban  on some commodities  to  enter its market.   For this to happen, he  said  positive measures must  be  put in place to ensure compliance.

    The steps include: encouraging farmers to observe proper post-harvest handling and use of recommended and approved pesticides. United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) Country Representative and Regional Director for the Economic Community of West Adrican States (ECOWAS), Dr. David Tommy expressed the resolve of the organisation to assist the government improve the quality of food exports from Nigeria.

    He added that the state of food safety in the country remained high on its agenda. According to him, UNIDO has developed a country-wide awareness-raising campaign to provide intensive food safety training.

  • Nigeria: That agric transformation may be

    I read with dismay on October 12, The Nation article titled: “Importers, traders laud govt for lifting ban on rice.” The decision to lift the ban, we are told, is at the prompting of the Comptroller-General of Customs. The article incredulously informs us that lifting the ban on imported rice was necessary because a minimum of 10,000 bags of rice is smuggled into Nigeria each day. The logic is that opening the floodgates to importation would bolster Customs revenues.

    The following day, another national newspaper carried a similar article titled: “Brazilian investors beg FG to ease barriers on rice importation.” The article goes on to say that in a meeting with the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission, the Brazilian Ambassador to Nigeria said he was keen on exporting rice to Nigeria.

    First of all, this is the kind of meeting that should never have held in the first place. Sales of agricultural technology, yes! Rice importation, absolutely NOT.

    I am totally scratching my head on this one. Only in Nigeria, does this type of thinking take place and only in Nigeria do we jettison well thought through policies on a whim. No wonder foreign investors tend to be ultra cautious before venturing into the Nigerian market. One would have expected Customs to enforce existing regulations and clamp down on illegal importation in order to safeguard the nation’s food security,  support rural and commercial farmers, and preserve Nigeria’s Foreign Exchange earnings.

    I’m the grandson of a farmer, so I guess my biases are obvious. For the record, between 2011 and 2015, the former Minister of Agriculture, Dr Akinwumi Adesina, and his team, spearheaded a major transformation across Nigeria’s agricultural value chain. Was it perfect? Nothing is. Was it unprecedented and enormously successful? Without a doubt!

    We are a rice-eating nation. We consume approximately six million metric tonnes each year. Consequently, rice is life! In this sector alone, as with many other crops, Adesina provided millions of farmers with new high-yielding seeds at no cost, and fertiliser at 50 per cent subsidy.

    The goal was to create access, empower rural farmers, massively boost productivity, and reduce import dependence. The end result of a highly creative and generous Growth Enhancement Support programme and an electronic wallet system was that under Adesina, Nigeria achieved 80 per cent self-sufficiency in paddy rice production.

    Additionally, Adesina aggressively engaged the organised private sector and state governments, with the goal of up scaling commercial rice production. Kebbi, Nassarawa, Zamfara, Ebonyi, Ekiti and many other states, worked in tandem with the Federal Government to turn Nigeria’s high dependence on imported rice into self-sufficiency. In 2013, under a backward integration programme, investors who were engaged in farming and milling were allowed to import rice at reduced tariffs until 2017, when 100 per cent self-sufficiency was anticipated.

    What do we now tell the millions of farmers who believed the previous Government’s mantra that Agriculture was Nigeria’s new black gold? What message have we just sent to the many young entrepreneurial University graduates who for a moment in time considered agriculture a viable pathway to wealth?

    How do commercial farmers and millers recoup billions of Naira in investments in a market awash with inferior and cheap imported rice? By this singular act, have we not sent powerfully wrong signals to the agriculture sector? That it is a whole lot easier, more convenient, and certainly much more lucrative to import rice rather than engage in full scale production that has the potential to create more jobs than any other sector of the economy. My heart truly goes out to our farming community.

    While I expected some agricultural policy flip flops, as is usually the case in our beloved Nigeria, I just did not expect it this soon. After all, lifting the ban on rice importation should not have been at the insistence of the Comptroller-General of Customs alone, but in concert with the Central Bank Governor, the soon-to-be appointed ministers of Agriculture and Finance, the highly respected Nigerian Agribusiness Group, and the Federal Executive Council. There is no other way to describe what has just happened than as an ‘agricultural coup d’état! But alas this is Nigeria!

     

     – Dr Victor Oladokun is a

    Media Strategist and CEO of 3D Global Consult

  • Slow growth spurs investment in agric

    Project  Director, Cassava: Adding Value for Africa (C:AVA)11,Prof  Kola  Adebayo  said  the slow growth in the agric sector has increased the need for more  investment  to drive transformation and inclusive growth.

    According to him, investment in agric is one of the most important and effective strategies for economic growth and poverty reduction.

    To  promote sustainable economic growth and poverty reduction,  Adebayo  said  it has become critical  to  increase investment while the  government  should work with  the  private sector to develop and deliver affordable solutions to the benefit of both producers and consumers, including the traditionally unbanked.

    While farmers are encouraged to embrace modern farming to ensure sustainable food security Adebayo said the suspension of support under the Growth Enhancement Support Scheme (GESS) was making it difficult for famers to increase production and meet the market demands.

    According to him, accelerating the pace of transformation in the agric sector, should be a major priority of President Muhammadu Buhari with food security issues as well as lifting people out of poverty.

    He said Nigeria’s potential in food production has remained unutilised despite promises by the government to reform the sector.

    He said it was time for the sector to improve the quality of products by following market demand while applying science and technology, marketing, and trademark building to boost efficiency.

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • AATF, USAID boost agric with $30m

    AATF, USAID boost agric with $30m

    The African Agricultural Technology Foundation (AATF) in partnership with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has committed about $30 million to boost the agricultural sector.

    AATF Executive Director, Dr. Denis Kyetere, disclosed this at the inauguration of Confined Field Trial (CFT) facility for NEWEST rice project at the National Cereal Research Institute (NCRI) at the weekend in Minna.

    Kyetere said the ongoing investment was expended on cowpea (beans) improvement, Open Forum on Agricultural Biotechnology (OFAB), Cassava Mechanisation and Agro-Processing (CAMAP), Aflatoxin Project and NEWEST Rice.

    “So far, Nigeria has benefited from over $30m AATF investment in Cowpea improvement, Open Forum on Agricultural Biotechnology (OFAB), Cassava Mechanisation and Agro Processing (CAMAP); Aflatoxin Project and NEWEST Rice and is expected to benefit more in direct and indirect expenditure in the coming years,” he said.

     

    According to him, the Nitrogen-use Efficient, Water-use Efficient and Salt Tolerant (NEWEST) rice project is expected to reduce the cost of providing irrigation and fertiliser usage, thus reducing cost of production.

    Kyetere added that, “Planting of NEWEST will require less water and thrive on nitrogen depleted soils.

    “The project is therefore very important for Nigeria as it has great potential to increase rice production, improve incomes for farmers and strengthen national and household food security.”

    Head of Service of the Federation, Mrs. Winifred Oyo-Ita lauded AATF for its intervention, restating President Muhammadu Buhari’s commitment to developing the sector through massive investments.

    Oyo-Ita, who was represented by the Director, Bio resources Technology, Federal Ministry of Science and Technology, Abayomi Oguntunde, said the technology would improve farmers’ yield.

    The HoS called for increased funding for agricultural research especially in research centres and universities.

  • 10,000 Akwa Ibom youths ‘ll get agric jobs

    The Akwa Ibom State government has said it will create jobs for 10,000 youths in the agricultural sector to sustain the administration’s plan for an agricultural revolution.

    Governor Udom Emmanuel spoke at the weekend in Uyo, the state capital, during an interaction with leaders of major socio-cultural organisations.

    He said his administration was committed to laying a solid economic foundation for the future through industrialisation.

    Emmanuel said for the agricultural revolution’s take-off, 10 modernised cassava processing plants would be established across the state.

    The governor noted that the state was blessed with arable land that makes cultivation easy for all seasons.

    He expressed commitment to exploiting the agricultural potential in the state by ensuring that the vast arable land across the state was cultivated.

    Emmanuel said the job creation plan would make it easier for youths, who were sent to Israel for training on mechanised farming, to maximise their skills in agriculture.

    The governor noted that the move was meant to ensure that indigenes could earn a living rather than beg for it.

    “He said: “If we don’t plant today, there may not be harvest tomorrow to sustain the people as overdependence on oil does not do the economy any good.”

  • Women group urges youths to take up agric careers

    Women group urges youths to take up agric careers

    An organisation, African Women in Agricultural Research and Development (AWARD) has held a career-counselling for youths in Abia State, urging them to take up careers in agriculture.

    The event was held in conjunction with the Michael Okpara University of Agriculture Umudike, (MOUAU) Demonstration Secondary School.

    No fewer than 176  SS1 and SS2 students of  the school attanded.

    Speaking during the counselling in Umuahia, a fellow of AWARD, Dr. Chinelo Ezeocha said that the event was organised to ensure that the youths of the state are encouraged to return to agriculture.

    Ezeocha recalled that agriculture in the 1960s was the economic back bone of the state and that many of the infrastructural development of the state were done through the revenue generated from agriculture.

    She recalled that there are several farm settlements scattered across the state and that they have been wasting away, “There is need for them to be revived and made habitable for the teeming youths of the state to be fully engaged”.

    The lecturer in food science department of MOUAU said that there is a sharp decline in the number of youths that go into agriculture as a career, stressing that there is need for the trend to be reversed.

    She explained that the youths going into agriculture will ensure food security, job opportunities and also help to reduce youth restiveness in the state, while crime rate will be reduced to the lowest level.

    Ezeocha regretted that the youths in the state are finding it hard to take up agriculture as a career, “They [children] are complaining that agriculture is a hard profession bearing in mind that many people are still using obsolete equipment to farm.”

    She called on state and federal governments to provide modern day equipment so that the youths will be willing and encouraged to go in to agriculture for the good of the people of the country and also ensure food security.

    The food science lecturer said that agriculture does not mean only food production, “It includes cash crops like cocoa, rubber, cashew, oil palm and many others which if well managed will ensure increase in revenue generation for the youths”.

    Ezeocha said that youths should never shy award from agriculture, stressing that agriculture does not require custom men harassing them as they would in the other way round export the excess produce to the outside world.

     

  • Communities benefit from firm’s agric programme

    Communities benefit from firm’s agric programme

    The Green River Project (GRP), which was established in 1987 by the Nigeria Agip Oil Company (NAOC), with the aim of pursuing food security and improving the lives of the company’s host communities in the Niger Delta is now yielding huge results.

    So far, 35,000 farmers in over 120 communities spread across the company’s operational states of Rivers, Bayelsa, Delta and Imo are now being provided with improved seedlings; agricultural materials and equipment; extension services; training and micro-credit schemes.

    The General Manager District of NAOC, Mr. Paolo Carnevale, who disclosed this during the 19th GRP Farmers’ Day celebration which took place at Obie in Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Local Government Area of Rivers State, also revealed that about 225 new co-operative societies have been established while 265 existing ones have been strengthened.

    The company said through the projects, about 3,750 youths and women have been trained in various technical and vocational trades since 1999 to enhance job creation.

    Carnevale also said that last year, about 1,256 farmers were supported with inputs and service deliveries while 550 youths have been trained in skills acquisition programme with 57 co-operative societies being given support  by the company.

    Impressed by these achievements, he stated the company’s “willingness to continue strengthening the project” as it is relevant to Nigeria’s development plan, agricultural policy and vision 2020 as well as United Nations sustainable development goals.

    Also speaking at the event, with the theme: “Feeding the Nation, Energy for Life” the Managing Director of NOAC, Mr Massimo Insulla listed many other achievements the GRP has achieved in the four states, adding that it was why the company has decided “to highlight its successes at an international platform and promote stronger inter-governmental ties both at the state and federal levels for the development of the agricultural sector.”

    Insulla also said that in realisation of the objective of setting up the project, NAOC would take the Farmer’s Day celebration to international exhibition taking place in Milan, Italy very soon which would attract participants from about 140 countries.

    He further used the opportunity to commend the efforts of the four state governments, various research institutions and other organisations in partnering with NAOC to ensure that the GRP is a success.

    In his speech, the Chairman of NAOC, Mr Ciro Antonio Pagano, who described GRP as the company’s flagship, also stated that it is “our conviction that a better way of empowering the communities of Niger Delta states is to intervene and empower them to realise their full economic potential by harnessing and adding value to their God-given resources.

    “That way, more employment opportunities will be generated within the communities, earning capacities will be increased and reduce restiveness in the communities.”

    •Sonny Echono who represented President Muhammadu Buhari.
    •Sonny Echono who represented President Muhammadu Buhari.

    President Muhammadu Buhari, who was represented at the occasion by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Mr. Sonny Echono, used the opportunity to explain all the programmes the Federal Government has mapped out to boost agriculture and make it more market-oriented and to create massive employment for youths.

    The President commended NAOC for establishing the GRP which he said is in line with the new agricultural drive of the Federal Government.

    Rivers, Bayelsa and Imo states that were represented by their respective deputy governors also commended NAOC for setting the GRP while Delta State that was represented by a staff of its Ministry of Agriculture also spoke in the same manner.

    Various categories of awards were given to the participating farmers’ groups and co-operatives while many traditional dance groups from the participating states featured at the occasion.