The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Agric

  • ‘Neglect of agric ‘ll slow down economic recovery’

    President, Federation of Agriculture Association of Nigeria (FACAN), Dr Victor Iyama, has warned that the economy will continue to decline due to the lack of attention paid to the agriculture sector, which has been the backbone of the economy for decades.

    He said contribution of the agriculture sector is likely to drop further this year as new government failed to deliver on infrastructural  development through budgetary  allocation.

    Iyama who is also Chairman, Board of Trustees, Cocoa Association of Nigeria (CAN),urged the government not to cave-in to the  pressure of increasing state government debts, to reduced budget allocation set aside for improving the farming environment.

    With the drop in oil revenue, he appealed to the government to rethink its plans by ensuring that more public money is spent on measures to protect agriculture and boost  agric exports.

    He stressed that the government needed to go back to the drawing board to ensure that agric strategy finds new ways to ensure farmers provide more food to Nigerians.

    According to him, the issue of delay in salaries payment should not be used as an excuse to divert funds meant for development purposes, as there were sufficient budgetary allocations for salaries.

    He explained that the issue of delay  in salaries payment has falsely been presented urging  the  government to continue meeting all ongoing commitments to agric programmes.

    He said so long as the budget pays less attention to agriculture, the overall national development would continue to be compromised.

    What is even more worrisome, he said, was that the few good policies in various budgets have also not been implemented.

    For example, he said the budget provided for irrigation facilities, but they were never implemented.

    He observed that Nigeria’s economic woes are a reflection of the state of agriculture in the country, which has been characterised by under-investment, application of outmoded technologies, and use of rudimentary agricultural equipment.

    He advocated for a paradigm shift in policy that will oblige financial institutions, particularly banks, to provide a certain percentage of their loan portfolio to agriculture.

    This, according to him, will certainly address the credit deficit that characterised agriculture production in the country.

    He said inadequate budgetary allocations for the sector undermine its capacity to expand and create more jobs, despite the fact that agriculture has the propensity to create more jobs than other sectors.

    According to him, large numbers of unemployed youth have low skills, thereby making them not qualified for high-skilled jobs in the services sector, saying they are best suited for the agriculture sector.

    He added that the quest to reduce poverty significantly is hampered by lack of job opportunities in the agriculture sector and the declining contribution of the sector to the GDP.

    He said for Nigeria to move into total mechanisation of agriculture, the size of farm land was critical because the one or two acre holdings is not economically viable for farmers to make enough profit to cater for themselves and their families. Therefore, farmers must have realistic land sizes to be able to make great gains.

    He noted that though all governments put some premium on agriculture, farmers had no access to viable seeds and the irrigation system in the country had totally collapsed.

     

  • Lagos accountants urged to invest in agric

    Accountants in the Lagos State public service have been urged to take advantage of the present economic situation in the country by investing in the agricultural sector.

    President, Institute of Chartered Accounts of Nigeria (ICAN), Otunba Femi Deru, who spoke yesterday at the fifth Annual Public Lecture of Lagos State Public Service Chapter of the association, said agriculture before now contributed about 42 per cent to the country’s revenue, adding that it remains one area that the country is capable of utilising to resolve its economic challenges.

    In his opening remarks, Chapter chairman, Mr. Abdul Adekunle, said agriculture has the potential to contribute immensely to the economy of the country if well harnessed.

    He explained that the theme for the lecture was carefully chosen after appraising recent happenings in the nation  urging the accountants to take advantage of the opportunities within the sector.

    “ICAN, since its formation, has consistently been in the fore front of awakening its immediate society in the areas of national issues with the aim of providing a platform by which issues of national interest are discussed. There cannot be a more appropriate time than this with the emergence of a new government which inherited a bewildered economy.”

    He said the Nigerian economy has largely depended on the proceeds from the sale of oil, which is at the expense of other sectors such as solid minerals and agriculture that contribute significantly to the nation’s economy.

    In his lecture titled ‘Agriculture: Catalyst for Socio-economic Development’, Permanent Secretary, Lagos State Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives,  Dr. Yakubu Bashorun, stressed the need to diversify and explore opportunities within the sector.

  • How industries can boost agric value chain

    How industries can boost agric value chain

    Nigeria spends about N1.3 trillion yearly on food import. But a rethink in favour of using the industrial sector to enhance the agricultural value chain through private sector-led strategy holds promises of reversing the trend. Asst. Editor, OKWY IROEGBU-CHIKEZIE writes that the strategy, which encourages the involement of industries in storage, processing and export of agricultural raw materials to create jobs, enjoys the support of experts as well as the new administration of Muhammadu Buhari.

    Efforts at making agriculture more productive, efficient and competitive are on course. This time, the strategy is to find a way of riding on the back of the industrial sector to further enhacethe agricultural value chain. Essentially, the new rethink is in favour of encouraging  industries to be involved in areas such as storage, processing, and export of finished agric produce to create more jobs for Nigerians.

    To this end, experts and stakeholders in the agric and industrial sector are canvassing private sector-led strategy to boost the agric sector and make it a cash-cow for Nigeria. In doing so, they noted, for instance, that Nigeria has huge agricultural potential with over 84 million hectares of arable land, of which only 40 per cent is cultivated. Also, Nigeria’s estimated population of 170 million makes her Africa’s largest market. Besides, the country has some of the richest natural resources. Regrettably, the country has so far failed to properly harness these opportunities and derive benefits there from.

    However, a new dawn may be in the offing for the sector following renewed emphasis on private sector-led involvement in the agricultural value chain. The strategy is intended   to make  agriculture more productive, efficient and competitive through  improved food production for domestic food supply. It is also hoped that the strategy, which already enjoys the support of President Muhammadu Buhari, would help create more jobs along the agricultural value chain.

    At the 55th Annual Conference of the Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA), in Calabar, Cross River State, recently, Buhari said agriculture must cease from being treated as a development programme but as a business.

    The President said the urgency of unlocking Africa’s agricultural potential is pertinent because Africa spends $35 billion yearly on food import, with Nigeria taking the lion share. The development, he said, boosts the economies of countries and continents where such food items are imported from, leaving African economies depleted. “Africa has no business being a food importing region. With over 65 per cent of the arable land left to feed the expected nine billion people in the world by 2050, Africa should become a net exporter of food,” he said, adding that the size of the agriculture and agri-business sector in Africa is expected to grow to $1trillion by 2030.

    He projected that Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in agriculture in Africa will increase from $10billion in 2015 to $45billion in 2020.

    “To unlock this potential, we need to direct resources, both public and private, to agriculture, the sector which employs close to 80 per cent of Africans and accounts for about 40 per cent of the continent’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP),” he said.

    The president, who was represented by the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Mines and Steel Development, Alhaji Baba Umar Farouk, noted that a nation that does not feed itself becomes a threat to its sovereign existence.

    “Growing our own food, processing what we produce, becoming competitive in export markets, and creating jobs all across economy, are crucial for our national security,” he stated.

    The President added that as the nation drives a private sector-led agricultural transformation, government is also paying close attention to potential challenges, such as inequality and impact on small holders.

    According to him, there is need to embrace growth and make it work for farmers and rural communities.

    Hear him: “Agri-business, with their huge market pool and demand for raw materials for their factories can unlock the much needed market opportunities that have eluded farmers and expand jobs so crucial for the rising youth population in the rural areas as we have a policy that allows agri-businesses to have secure access to land, working closely with states, local government and communities. Such arrangements allow for transfer of technology, development of infrastructure, creation of market facilities, while unlocking shared prosperity between small holders and large commercial farmers.”

    Buhari regretted the ugly turn of events where Nigeria grew from being a major player in the global agricultural market in the past as the world’s largest producer of groundnuts and palm oil in the 1960’s, and the second largest producer of cocoa before the emergence of oil in the 1960’s to the current level she cannot boast of anything. “Today, seven of the 10 fastest growing economies of the world are in Africa.

    But there exists a paradox. The growth is not inclusive, as hundreds of millions only hear about the growth numbers, but feel alienated from the growth process. Africa’s rural economies habour the greatest share of those being left behind or excluded,” he said.

    He, therefore, said there is need for a new growth model in Africa, one that will stimulate shared prosperity, create jobs for millions of rural youth and unlock the huge sleeping potentials of Africa’s vast agricultural lands. He urged experts in the field to come up with recommendations for the government.

    Acting National President, NACCIMA, Chief Bassey Edem, called for enhanced productive economic activities that would bring about growth and development, improved GDP and by implication, enhance the nation’s domestic and foreign exchange earnings as well as more clout for the country in the comity of nations.

    He also called for a sustained growth and development in all areas of the economy where everyone would have equal opportunity to contribute his quota, and where justice and equity will reign.

    Edem assured of NACCIMA’s support, encouraging his members to ensure that they continued to partner the government and other private sector stakeholders with genuine intention to move the economy forward to build a virile nation on the part of sustainable growth and development.

    He said the theme of this year’s conference, ‘Policy consistency in agricultural value chain: A key to social economic development’ came at the right time considering the state of the  economy in particular and the global economy in general. He was referring to dwindling crude oil prices in the international market.

    He harped on the need to look inwards and go back to the basics to appreciate the importance of agriculture in the socio-economic development of the nation.

    “The business community is facing serious challenges. In order to ease these problems and to chart a course for the nation’s sustainable growth and development, we make a clarion call on the various tiers of governments especially now that we have a new democratic regime in place to create conducive environment that will make the economy a private sector driven one.  This is a sure way of making our country a prosperous nation that we all will be proud of,” he noted.

    Executive Director Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA), Dr Yemi Akinbamijo, who was guest speaker at the event, said Nigeria spends much of its foreign exchange to import food items.

    He called for Public-Private Participation (PPP) to leverage on economic transformation of the agricultural sector. He also made a case for innovations in small scale holders regarding harvesting, processing and access to markets.

    “It will take three things to move the agricultural sector forward. We need to enhance science, research technologies that improve production of the small holder. There is a need to leverage ICT to improve risk management through effective and efficient market linkages, enhance preservation of nutrient quality,” he said, adding that there was also the need to expand entrepreneurship of groups of women and youth, improve productivity via access to improved seeds, fertiliser, water management techniques and equipment financing.

  • Don urges in-coming legislators to revolutionise agric

    A former Dean, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Ilorin, Prof Abiodun Adeloye, has advised incoming members of the National Assembly to work with the Federal Government to ensure the agriculture sector is a leader in providing high quality food in the future.

    He said it is crucial that everyone works together in the quest for self-sufficiency in food production.

    He said the new government should come to power with a detailed and positive agenda for agriculture, to make the sector more dynamic, competitive and effective to address  areas such as improving foreign direct investment, enhancing farmers’ ability to tackle animal and plant health, building safe and secure food chains.

    Adeloye observed that there was a need  to  reverse long- term declines in farming productivity.

    He urged lawmakers to develop a blueprint for future agriculture policy as many farmers are feeling the squeeze of higher production costs.

    Suggestions include additional money for research and marketing for value-added products, innovation, development and extension, competitiveness and market access.

    Adeloye,who  is the Coordinator WAAPP Nigeria projects at the university, said the sector would need a large  funding,and  that issues affecting the competitiveness of the agricultural sector, within the country should be singled out for an overhaul.

    He called on the government to address issues around the cost of doing agro business, regulation, access to capital and critical infrastructure improvements.

    He urged the National Assembly to be proactive in engaging with Nigerians to find out what they think about agriculture, what their values are, regarding food production, and to proactively attempt to build better and more constructive relationships with community and activist groups, including those who are currently campaigning against the programmes  of the  sector.

    According to him, achieving food security  requires  a commitment by leaders in all sectors to ensure  a sustained and focused effort to end hunger.

  • Expert seeks review of bilateral agreements in agric

    Expert seeks review of bilateral agreements in agric

    World Bank Consultant, Prof Abel Ogunwale, has urged the Federal  Government to review  its bilateral and regional trade agreements to ensure they create jobs and opportunities for Nigerians  in the agric sector.

    In an interview, Ogunwale of  Agricultural Extension and Rural Development, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, Ladoke Akintola University, Ogbomosho, Oyo State, said  bilateral and regional trade agreements are meant for development and so  that the  government should  negotiate trade agreements at the multilateral, regional and, bilateral and domestic levels, that will best promote longer term sustainable and inclusive development objectives across the agric sector.

    He said the incoming regime should pursue international agreements that will with domestic policy to foster increased productivity, decent job creation and higher standards of living for all, in a sustainable and equitable manner.

    While preserving regional integrity has been a key challenge in the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), Ogunwale said there is need  to  promote  items  support integration processes and boost the possibility of building regional value chains.

    He  said efforts  should be  directed at boosting  intra-Africa trade and  that  particular attention should also be paid to new mega trade deals, which will have a significant impact on  agriculture, trade flows and investment.

    He stressed the key role that private sector,  would play in bringing such  agreements into life, by  translating new trade opportunities into effective business relations.

    While acknowledging that addressing  challenges in a multilateral trade round requires time, Ogunwale urged the government to take urgent actions to address barriers, using all available trade and agricultural policy vehicles to improve regional and international markets for food.

    In addition, he advocated  capacity building and technical assistance programmes to facilitate removal of agricultural trade barriers, improve supply chains and increase farmers’ access to markets, including complying with trade rules and regulations,  complex sanitary and phytosanitary standards.

    With a new regime coming in place, he said there should an aggressive free trade agenda in agriculture where the government   will ensure the United States, European Union  and South Africa  to  open their markets up to Nigerian  agric produce and the right to define its own agricultural policies  to meet its domestic needs.

  • Don seeks viable agric policies

    Don seeks viable agric policies

    The  Federal Government has been urged to introduce policies that will make the agricultural sector more viable and productive to tackle increasing unemployment.

    The Country  Representative, Harvest  Plus, Dr  Paul Ilona made the call, at the meeting  of  the  Capacity Building in Agricultural Education in Nigeria (CBAEN) Project  at  the  Federal College of Agriculture(FCA)Akure, Ondo State.

    According to him, unemployment rate which  stood  at  5.3 per cent in 2006  increased  to   29.5 per cent  in 2013.

    Delivering a paper,”Training and capacity building in value chains: Creating and strengthening linkages for job creation, profitability and agricultural transformation, Ilona said  good  policies would    make agricultural sector more viable and productive , ensuring  income for farmers to encourage others to join the agricultural sector.

    He   emphasised the need for agricultural financing and investment to enhance production in the country.

    He called for measures to mitigate the challenges of climate change, emphasising  the need for harvest security to prevent post-harvest losses to ensure increased revenue for farmers.

    Ilona  emphasised the need for a chain of market with competitive businesses ready to buy farm produce to prevent post-harvest losses.

    According  to him,  agriculture is the nation’s  greatest strength and critical for the country’s industrial growth.

    To increasing incomes in the sector, he  stressed the need to ensure diversification into cash crops, livestock and value addition on commodities.

    He said farmers would also be further encouraged,in addition to their food crop farming diversify into the cultivation of cash crops and livestock.

    According to him, there is the urgent need to reflect on agricultural policies to ascertain business ideals and attractiveness to the youths.

    He believed the youth should be better off if  their concerns with agricultural mechanisation, transportation, water and other basic amenities were provided. He   said young people would be more interested in value addition than actual production.

    CBAEN is an initiative of the Switzerland Government and sponsored by Bern University of Applied Science, Switzerland.

    The focus of the programme is to increase the capacity of agricultural trainers, extension workers and agricultural students in value chain approach,  to open more opportunities  in the production of various agricultural commodities, such as, cassava, cocoa, aquaculture and livestock among others. This will, ultimately reduce youth unemployment , alleviate poverty and reduce social vices, particularly illegal immigration of youths to foreign countries.

    The  beneficiary institutions  include FCA, Akure, FCA, Ishiagu, FCA, Umudike, Agricultural and Rural Management Training Institute(ARMTI), Ilorin; Nigeria University Commission, National Board for Technical Education, Agricultural Research Council of Nigeria, Abuja and Ondo State Agricultural Development Project (ADP).

    The CBAEN team on the  Planning Mission included: Prof. Robert Lehmann (Bern University of Applied Science, Switzerland) and Dr. Ingrid Fromm (Bern University of Applied Science, Switzerland), Mr Andreas Brogers (Representative of the Switzerland Ambassador) and Prof. Placid Njoku (CBAEN consultant).

    Stakeholders, such  as  Cassava Adding Value for Africa (CAVA), HarvestPlus, Syngenta, Nestle, Plantation Industries Limited, WAAPP, among others, made pledges and commitments to partner with Federal College of Agriculture, Akure in various case studies that will form part of the CBAEN project.

  • Still on Agric production and cooperatives

    SIR: The agricultural sector is one of the most important components of the economy. Its importance cannot be over-emphasised as productive agriculture offers many benefits: food for domestic consumption; raw materials for agro – allied industries; employment that generates income, which in turn encourages other industrial, commercial and service activities and export markets for foreign exchange earning.

    Indeed, agriculture has made significant impacts on Gross Domestic output until the oil boom era of the 1970s and early 1980s, when there was change in emphasis away from agriculture.

    The production of agricultural crops and livestock has not kept pace with population growth and rising demand. Thus, there is the need to prioritise rapid agricultural production to achieve national food security, especially as the country is endowed with immense human, natural and agricultural resources.

    • Abolarin Tayo

     Kwara state university      

  • Sowing the seeds of stable agric

    Sowing the seeds of stable agric

    As climate change poses a threat to food security, the World Bank, through the West Africa Agricultural Productivity Programme (WAAPP), is working with local scientists to produce improved seed varieties adapted to drought farming environment, DANIEL ESSIET reports. 

    In some parts of the North with a precarious history of food insecurity, seasonality means that there may be food shortage during parts of the year, attributed to drought and climate change.

    To tackle this, farmers resort to planting a variety of early-to later-yielding crops, storing or selling harvests to minimise losses and drawing on social obligations of reciprocity when food is scarce. Some of the farmers also take to other economic activities to diversify and ensure income in off-agricultural seasons.

    Despite these, prolonged or multiple years of shortage is still being experienced in parts of the country.

    The situation is not helped by changing temperature and rainfall which determine when and how often crops can be sown.

    Compared to their farming counterparts in the South, who are able to harvest, sometimes, three times in a year, food production in many parts of the North is nearly halted during dry seasons because of heat and other climatic changes capable of ruining harvests.

    For the present, drought is the most widespread climatic threat to production in the North. West Africa Agricultural Productivity Programme (WAAPP) response, therefore, is drought-tolerant seeds which can be made affordable to farmers.

    Stressing the need to provide drought-tolerant seeds to farmers, the National Project Coordinator, WAAPP-Nigeria, Prof. Damian Chikwendu, said agriculture has become very precarious, with production and livelihoods vulnerable to fluctuations in weather.

    To address this, he said the programme is taking the issue of seeds very serious, adding that delivery and release of improved crop varieties is a major focus of WAAPP, especially considering the situation in the North.

    Describing good seed as basic to sound agricultural growth and prosperity, the coordinator said the programme is ready to foster a more stable agriculture by encouraging research institutes to produce varieties that can be used as certified seed.

    As part of its mandate, Chikwendu said WAAPP Nigeria supports and participates in disseminating new technologies resulting from research to farmers, including production and use of quality seed of improved varieties and hybrids.

    So far, he said the organisation has cooperated with universities and research institutes in the introduction and distribution of seed stocks and propagation of materials of improved crop varieties.

    The project, according to him, is supporting research activities conducted by 15 institutes and 13 Federal universities and 11 colleges of agriculture. Each of these institutions, he added, are demonstrating improved technologies in some adopted villages and schools, a new approach promoted by WAAPP to bridge the gap between researchers and communities around them. To boost its activities, he said the project has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with 29 states for the dissemination of improved technologies.

    These include improved varieties of sorghum, maize, rice, cassava and yam, fish fingerlings and improved post-harvest and processing equipment.

    From initial results, Chikwendu said beneficiaries are happy with the quality of technologies disseminated as they contributed to doubling yields for various commodities.

    Under component 11, Chikwendu said the target commodity for the project is aquaculture.

    Working through National Centres of Specialisation (NCoS) on aquaculture, consisting research institutes in the areas of fish fingerlings, fish feed and post-harvest for the sub region, Chikwendu said the project  has scale up adoption of improved technologies to improve  aquaculture business.

    According to him, all the released technologies by NCoS show an improvement in yield of at least 15 per cent.

    In terms of beneficiaries, he said the number increased  from 600,000 in April to 1,277,000 in November last year.

    In addition, he said the number of women beneficiaries under the project increased from 29 to 37 per cent during the same period.

    Expectedly, also, the number of hectares under improved technologies increased from 238,000 hectares (ha) in April 2014 to 330,244 ha representing about 38 per cent increase.

    So far, about 300,000 beneficiaries have adopted improved technologies generated/promoted by the project.

    According to him, farmers are going to benefit more from WAAPP. The National Corodinator said WAAPP is training farmers on technologies in food processing.

    Overall, he said there are several economic benefits of the project, such as increasing the value of a primary agricultural commodity, local production of food products and reducing imports of equivalent ones.

    To ensure the high quality of agricultural produce and keep them competitive in the market, he said the programme is sponsoring targeted research for sustainable development.

    It also offered training to small and medium-sized enterprises and technicians in the farming industry, agricultural extension workers, among others.

    Chikwendu explained that  WAAPP, a sub-regional Programme, involves 13 ECOWAS countries. The development objective of the first phase of the programme, according to him, is to generate and accelerate the adoption of improved technologies in the participating countries’ top agricultural commodity priority areas that are aligned with the sub-¬region’s top agricultural commodity priorities, as outlined in the ECOWAS Agricultural Policy (ECOWAP).

    Leading the World Bank team to  evaluate the project, its Lead Agricultural Economist and Regional WAAPP Task Team Leader GFADR, Dr Abdoulaye Toure said it has been implemented in line  with the expectations of the bank.

    The project, the team noted, has  implemented 90 per cent of the agreed actions from last April’s  mission.

    On disbursement rate, the team  said  it   significantly increased from 42 to 63.88 per cent for assistance  from International Development Association (IDA) while  that  from Global Food Crisis Response Programme (GFRP) increased  from 22 to 56.67 per cent since the last mission.

    However, with the GFRP TF closing in May, this year, the team stressed the need for increased disbursement to ensure the full use of the resources.

    On the basis of performance and activities, the mission rated the progress made by WAAPP Nigeria as satisfactory. Nevertheless, the mission agreed that the project should continue to scale up and out dissemination of improved technologies through Innovation Platforms (IPs), adopted villages and schools.

    The  team also  urged  the  project  to  speed up the implementation of the full scheme of the e-extension; establishment of the tissue culture laboratory through Public–private partnershipand  job creation initiatives  for youths.

    On  the  restructuring of Agricultural Research Council of Nigeria (ARCN) – WAAPP funded study tours to Brazil, China and India for officials from the council  and Federal Ministry of Agriculture of Nigeria, the. team submitted a comprehensive report to the Federal  Government, which it considered  the way forward.

    Outlining a proposal and the next steps to be taken, the team identified some consultants from Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuaria (EMBRAPA), Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation as ready to launch the technical studies on the restructuring.

    The mission, however, noted that no major progress was recorded on the restructuring process since the last mission and that apart from WAAPP; the government has also requested the Melinda and Bill Gates foundation to support the restructuring process.

    According to the team, Melinda and Bill Gates Foundation  decided to contact the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) for implementation.

    Other members of the mission  were Agricultural Economist and Co-Task Team Leader, SheuSaiau ; Lead Agriculture Specialist,El HadjAdamaToure; Senior  Agriculture Economist, AdetunjiOredipe ;  Senior Environmental Institutions Specialist, Joseph Ese Akpokodje ; Senior Procurement Specialist, Mary Asanato-Adiwu;  Senior  Financial Management Specialist ,AkinrinmolaOyenugaAkinyele; Social Development Specialist ,Michael GboyegaIlesanm; Senior Communications Specialist, Obadiah Tohomdet; Nieyidouba Lamien of West and Central African Council for Agricultural Research and Development (CORAF), Emmanuel Ajani  of National Agriculture Research Systems (NARS) and Programme Assistant, Abiodun Elufioye.

    Speaking at the inauguration of the cassava processing initiative  by WAAPP in collaboration with the Institute of Agricultural Research and Training (IAR&T) in Oyo State project at Apete-Onidoko in Ido Local Government Area, Oyo State, Abdoulaye Toure said hope for food security in Nigeria was rising as a result of the adoption and adaptation of variety of new agricultural technologies by practising farmers across the country.

    He noted that the adoption of new agricultural technologies has impacted positively on Nigerian farmers as shown in their cassava (gari), among others.

  • Nigeria gains N777b from agric interventions

    Nigeria gains N777b from agric interventions

    Nigeria recorded N777 billion as income from various intervention programmes in the agricultural sector in 2014, Minister of Agriculture Mr. Akinwumi Adesina has said. He spoke during the week in Abuja while briefing members of the Senate Committee on Agriculture on the performance of the ministry’s budget in 2014.

    The Minister said the money went to the rural economy as many local farmers benefitted from the interventions and were currently performing well in their farms.

    Adesina, who also defended the ministry’s 2015 budget before the committee, announced a crop insurance for farmers in the country.

    He said that no fewer than five million farmers would benefit from the programme, explaining that it was intended to build the confidence of farmers and encourage more people to farm. “The main economic value of all the interventions that were done on rice, maize, sorghum, wheat, soy beans, cassava and others added N777 billion worth of income back into our rural economy.

    “This has helped to create significant amount of wealth for our farmers in the country. As you know, we added about 21 million metric tonnes of food to the domestic food supply and that goes all over from rice to maize, cassava, sorghum, and to soy beans. All of that has added an average of N777 billion of revenue back into the economy; that is money going back into the hands of farmers and communities,’’ he said.

    The minister stated that anybody that goes into many parts of Nigeria today, particularly the north, and particularly for rice farmers, for example, will notice that those that actually pay first to buy tickets to go to Mecca are rice farmers. “That tells you how much things have changed for them; we have been able to create significant amount of wealth across the country from agriculture,’’ he added.

    Adesina disclosed that the agriculture sector witnessed a revolution in maize in 2014 with 14.9 million metric tonnes production from nine million metric tonnes recorded in 2009.

    Similarly, the wheat industry witnessed a revolution with new varieties that yielded an average of six tonnes per hectare of land with 240,000 metric tonnes produced in 2014 on a 75,000-hectare.

    He said that the ministry had also liberalized the insurance market and opened it up for private sector companies to invest in insuring farmers, adding that the Nigerian Agricultural Insurance Corporation (NAIC) had been completely revamped.

    “NAIC is now offering a new product which is called ’Planting with Peace’ so that our farmers will have access to crop insurance. We are hoping to reach about five million farmers by this year and then we can scale it up; it is a very important issue for us,’’ he said.

  • ECOWAS to mobilise $21b for agric, others

    The ECOWAS Community Development Programme (CDP) is set to mobilise about $21 billion to enable it finance over 200 projects in across various sectors of the economy in the West African Sub-region.

    The projects are part of a long term development strategy to be implemented ove five years. Sectors to benefit from the projects include agriculture, transport infrastructure, energy, health, education development and, capacity building.

    The Coordinator of the ECOWAS- CDP, Dr Guevera Yao, made this known at a meeting of the Network of Economic Journalists in West Africa. The meeting brought journalists from 15 countries in the sub-region to review and validate the com-munication plan of an impending High Level Conference and Roundtable to be held in Cote D’ Ivoire later this year.

    Yao said the ECOWAS-CDP already has $7 billion  in its coffers and need the $21 billion to enable them to holistically implement the five-year development plan.

    He explained that the projects to be implemented are proposals brought to the CDP through a survey conducted among inter-governmental organisations, non-state actors and media networks.

    He further explained that if the ECOWAS CDP gets the needed funds to implement the projects, it would enhance the economic development in the sub-region by increasing the Gross Domestic Products(GDPs) as well as reduce poverty.

    Director, Africa and Regional Integration Bureau at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mrs Sena Siaw-Boateng, who chaired the meeting,  noted that the Network of Economic Journalists had an important role to play in the resource mobilisation effort.

    While pledging government’s support for the meeting, she expressed belief that the meeting would be a success, urging the participants to develop a good action plan for the regional media network.

    The ECOWAS CDP programme was formulated in 2008 to help with the vision of transforming the ECOWAS from an organisation where heads of states meet to an organisation where people or citizens play a vital role.