The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Agric

  • Young entrepreneurs urged to invest in agric

    The Chief Executive Officer, Davichi Farm Tech, David Echegwisi, has challenged young entrepreneurs to invest in agriculture to boost employment generation and meet the growing food gap.

    Echegwisi spoke at the Farmfest 3.0 organised by the company at Inspire Centre in Simawa, Ogun State.

    The event brought together farmers, women groups, cooperative societies, corporate bodies, students, school owners, and agriculture enthusiasts among others.

    He called for increased investment in agribusiness to tackle unemployment.

    According to him, industrialists, including Aliko Dangote, Maduka Cosmas, and Oba Otudeko, are into agriculture because they saw huge potential in the sector.

    He challenged unemployed youths to explore agriculture as there were fewer white collar jobs.

     

  • Booming agric, bumper growth

    Booming agric, bumper growth

    Experts expect the agricultural sector to gain momentum this year, boost incomes, complement the continued fiscal stimulus and an upturn in merchandise exports. This, however, will depend on policy reforms to promote   services liberalisation, and public infrastructure management. DANIEL ESSIET reports.

    To experts, agriculture will yield substantial growth and more revenues this year.

    They  based  their projection on  an enabling environment that would support  economic growth, strong fiscal consolidation, low account deficit, growing foreign direct investment (FDI), low inflation and higher wages in rural areas.

    Above all, they said, these would depend on the Federal Government’s ability to sustain its reform’s momentum.

    Speaking with The Nation, Vice-Chancellor Federal University of Agriculture (FUNAAB), Abeokuta, Prof Felix Kolawole Salako, said the reforms will lead to higher long-run growth.

    He noted that the government efforts to liberalise the agricultural sector and foster a friendly investment climate will help attract investment flows.

    According to him, the Federal Government has put its full weight behind a national strategy designed to make food  production an even larger engine of inclusive economic growth.

    Salako said steps taken by the government to  support sustainable rice production  will improve food security and livelihoods, while also safeguarding natural resources.

    Despite some hiccups, Salako believes that continued reform progress will help the country remain one of most dynamic emerging economies.

    According to him, the Ogun State and the Federal Government have convened a multi-stakeholder effort to refine key elements of the strategy, which includes developing rice varieties with high export value, adopting advanced crop management techniques, and more intensive use of machines and other technologies in rice farming.

    Citing Ogun, Salako said the state is working to help farmers participate in “viable, safe and dignified” entrepreneurial opportunities in the rice value chain.

    Cocoa Association of Nigeria(CAN) Board of Trustees Chairman,  Dr. Victor Iyama,  expects this year to be that of consolidation – with the results of all policy initiatives taken beginning to take shape.

    He said the agricultural sector will remain the biggest  job creator. This is because the sector is significantly improving both in terms of its output and its diversification.

    According to him,  the agricultural sector had been the biggest positive contributor to the growth.

    In 2016, agriculture was recorded as the top performing sector with the growth of 4.54 percent, again repeating its performance of a 4.53 percent  growth in Q2.

    Last year, from 3.4 per cent in Q1 to 3.0 per cent in Q2, the sector grew to 12.5 per cent y/y in nominal terms, compared to 9.8 per cent in Q1’17.

    Iyama, also the Federation of Agricultural Commodity Association of Nigeria(FACAN) President, said more youths would be attracted to agriculture  as there are  initiatives to get them to learn to adapt solutions in their areas of interest, as well as receive hands-on training to bring transformational change to their communities through agriculture.

    National Cashew Association of Nigeria(NCAN) Publicity Secretary, Anga Sotonye, noted that  there would be more emphasis on access to credit and financing. This stems from the awareness that more funds, in terms of both loans and grants, need to be supplied to the sector for it to reach its full potential.

    Sotonye said the economy might be off to a good start this year with improved exports pushing growth prospects.

    According to experts, government interventions are expected to create new opportunities for people in communities and increasing family incomes.

     

    Interventions

    There are many   programmes to fund agriculture. These include the Rice Intervention Fund, a loan programme targeting processing facilities; the Agricultural Credit Support Scheme; the Fund for Agricultural Finance in Nigeria, which works with small and medium-sized enterprises; the Commercial Agriculture Credit Scheme; and the Nigerian Incentive-Based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL).

     

    Export expansion grant scheme

    The Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) has resumed processing baseline data for the reintroduced Export Expansion Grant (EEG) scheme.

    Sotonye expects the Federal Government to re-introduce the EEG scheme this year  to salvage the agro exports sector.

    According to him, the policy will led to an increase in value chain expansion in terms of agro processing which resulted in significant new investments and job creation.

     

    NIRSAL

    The Nigeria Incentive-Based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL) was introduced to provide affordable financing to actors in the agricultural value chains. Recently, the CBN initiated a public-private sector initiative with the Bankers’ Committee and the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to provide N75billion as loan to farmers under the scheme.

     

    The Commercial Agriculture Credit Scheme (CACS)

    To enhance the Commercial Agriculture Credit Scheme (CACS) as well as mitigate the risks faced by financial institutions in financing the agriculture sector, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has reviewed the guidelines for the scheme.

    The review affected sections 16 and 17 of the guidelines and introduced significant changes, including a requirement that, henceforth, the Nigeria Agriculture Insurance Corporation (NAIC) should provide insurance for all agricultural facilities/projects under the CACS in line with the NAIC Act.

    In furtherance of the revision, the CBN has directed the commencement of insurance premium payments by borrowers under the CACS scheme.  The CBN has so far released N501.697 billion under CACS. The fund was deployed to boost 526 agriculture projects across the country. Total repayment under the scheme was N251.156 billion for 526 projects, of which 281 projects had been repaid by last September

     

    Anchor Borrowers’ Programme (ABP)

    The  Anchor Borrowers’ Programme (ABP) is the government’s flagship agricultural financing initiative.

    Launched in the last quarter of 2015, the programme offers loans and farm input to smallholder farmers producing key crops  to scale up and commercialise their operations, and connect them with large-scale processors.

    The CBN believes the ABP will have a dramatic impact on the local economy, and has set a target of creating at least one million jobs in the processing segment through the scheme by 2020.

     

    Rice production

    The Executive Director, Risk Management and Finance, Bank of Agriculture (BOA), Prince Niyi Akenzua, said Nigeria has saved over N216 billion from rice import from Thailand and other countries, since the nation’s domestic mass production flooded the markets under the ABP.

    Akenzua disclosed this in Ibadan when he led some officials of the bank on a visit to Oyo State Governor Abiola Ajimobi. He said the figure represented a fraction of a staggering $22 billion (N7.92 trillion) spent on food imports yearly prior to the advent of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration.

    He said: “The pilot scheme was so successful that $600million was saved from rice importation due to massive rice production in the country.

    “One or two rice millers in Thailand have closed down because Nigeria, which has always been their major importer, has stopped importing their rice.”

    Also  states, such  as  Lagos,  Kebbi, Ogun and Kano, have been in the forefront in rice production.

    Ogun has intensified the production of Ofada rice.

    Governor Ibikunle Amosun said the  state can produce and process about 65, 700 metric tons of Ofada rice yearly, with a strong intention to expand production in no distant time to create more direct and indirect jobs in Ogun state.

    “We are intensifying our contribution to the attainment of the Federal Government efforts in increasing domestic rice production,” ,he said during the commissioning of MITROS Ofada rice in Abeokuta recently.

    The CBN also has formed strategic partnerships with agricultural commodity associations to expand the implementation of ABP.

    Its  Acting Director Corporate Communications Department (CCD), Isaac Okorafor, said the strategic partnership had begun to yield results with the commencement of the Rice Farmers Association of Nigeria (RIFAN) Anchor Borrowers’ Programme with the Bank of Agriculture where about 300,000 rice farmers across 20 States would be supported under the ABP during the upcoming dry season cultivation.

    The ABP has, so far, achieved success in terms of outreach and coverage, making it one of the most successful CBN development finance interventions to date. About N45.5 billion has been released through 13 Participating Financial Institutions for over 218,000 farmers cultivating nine commodities across 30 states.

    Information Minister, Lai Mohammed, said Nigeria will attain self-sufficiency in rice production  this year. According to him, Nigeria is inching closer to self-sufficiency in rice production due to the successes in the local production.

    Muhammed cited a report by a Thai rice export association to support his claim.”In fact, the Thailand Rice Exporters Association revealed that within just two years – from September 2015 to last September, Nigeria’s rice import dropped from 644,131 Metric tonnes to just about 21,000MT.

    “There is more good news to report: The increased rice production has, in turn, led to the establishment of rice mills, including the 120,000MT WACOT Mill in Kebbi and the 1,000,000MT Dangote Rice Mill,” Mohammed said.

    Mohammed added that Nigeria targets the production of seven million metric tonnes of rice  this year

     

    Thailand to establish rice milling plants

    Mohammed said: “Thailand have shown interest in establishing rice milling plants in Nigeria, and this is sure to further boost rice production.’’

     

    Challenges

    According to experts, agriculture has continued to face several impediments in the form of lower capacity, regulatory and policy challenges and corporate debt overhang. However, the push to increase infrastructure spending and to accelerate structural reforms will eventually drive a sustained rebound of private investments. However, credit growth, particularly to industry remains weak.

    NIRSAL Managing Director, Mr Aliyu Abdulhameed has lamented that Nigeria lacks the full capital to actualise its potentials in agriculture.

    At the first yearly NACCIMA-NIRSAL Agribusiness and Policy Linkage Conference with the theme: Implementing the agriculture component of the Economic Recovery Growth Plan (ERGP) in Abuja, Abdulhameed noted that this development  threatens the ERGP, which aims at increasing yeraly agricultural growth from 2011-2015 output of 4.1 per cent to 8.3 per cent by December 2020.

    According to him, “We are naturally endowed with land, water, climate and the market and at very competitive levels, but we lack the full capital to actualise these opportunities. To leap frog the development as desired by the agricultural sector, fully identified actors have to be attracted into Nigeria.”

    He said though the country lacked the funds for infrastructure, logistics, storage and processing, NIRSAL was established to share all  funding risks across the value chain.

     

    Poor input

    Experts say except the government does something, farmers will still face the challenge of poor input that will result in declining yields across key crops. They say  yield growth can only be  achieved by increasing input, and by improving input productivity through the use of technology.

    Farmers recorded low yield of most key crops, including cassava, cocoa beans and palm fruits, a reflection of low utilisation of improved seedlings, agrochemicals and poor adoption of technology.

     

    Infrastructure challenges

    Food transporters said with bad roads, which compound their problem, they lose lives and goods worth between N250 million and N300million weekly, which consequently affects prices of food items in the market. They said most of the roads connecting farm gates to cities are in bad shape, stressing that unless the government starts massive rehabilitation, the prices of food will continue to soar. The food transporters explained: “If roads are fixed and made motorable, prices of food would come down and that would also reduce post-harvest losses and waste because a lot of food items perish at the farm gates due to this problem.

    “For instance, the Jebba Bridge has been damaged due to lack of maintenance and rehabilitation and trucks cannot ply the road from the North to Lagos, and they have to go through the Abuja-Lokoja Road to Lagos, which is also in a deplorable condition and this has further made food dealers and vendors to record high losses of goods and lives. Even the road from Niger to Oyo is impassable and is in terrible condition.”

     

    Prospects

    According to global research and consultancy firm, Oxford Business Group (OBG),  despite any adverse developments in the country, it remains a key investment destination in Africa.

    Speaking during the launch of its new report titled: “The Report: Nigeria 2017”, OBG Editor-in-Chief, Mr. Oliver Cornock, stated: “Nigeria remains an appealing destination for investors and the fact that growth has begun to pick up following a slower period for the economy will provide the country with a welcome boost, as its efforts to develop and diversify the economy gains pace.”

    He saids the report explored moves to boost industrialisation and diversification, to steer the country towards economic revival. The report further explored some areas of the economy that have remained resilient in difficult times, such as agriculture, which has become a major employer and is benefiting from the relaxing of lending constraints. The report also examined the key part that a regulatory overhaul should play in helping to tackle the challenges that the sectors face ahead of the implementation of new infrastructure programme, while analysing the government’s far-reaching plans to modernise the country’s long-neglected public transport system. It considered both the opportunities that the project pipeline will signal for investors and the difficulties in bringing the private sector on board for ventures.

     

    N118.98b budgetary allocation to agric

    As part of its commitment to diversify the economy, the Federal Government has proposed N118.98billion as budgetary allocation to the agricultural sector this year.

    This amount, however, is an improvement on the N103.79 billion allotted to the sector in 2017 budget.

    Meanwhile, analysts said to achieve economic diversification, with a large land mass of 923,768 km² and many Nigerians venturing into farming, it is essential that the government  revisits its commitment made 15 years ago in the Maputo Declaration, a pledge by African heads of state and government to allocate 10 per cent of their national budgets to the agric sector as part of the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP).

     

    CBN offers five per cent interest rate  on agro equipment

    The CBN considers the next phase of the credit scheme, which will centre on cheap funding for importers and fabricators of agro-allied machines.

    At the launch of local Ofada Rice tagged, ‘MITROS Rice’ produced by the Ogun State government, CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele, declared: “We are going to be looking at providing cheap funding at no more than five per cent  for those who are going to be assessing facilities to acquire agric equipment like threshers, like harvesters, or those who will be going to fish farming, or those who will be going into feed mills. Be rest assured that if you identify yourself, you will be counted and we will support you.”

    Emefiele declared that the next phase of credit scheme by the apex bank would be a graduation from small holder farmers to the importers and fabricators of agro-allied machines.

  • Experts explore potentials in agric value chain

    One sector that needs adequate attention is the agric-food value chain. It actually links farmers, processers, marketers and the retailers together creating jobs and putting food on the table for many. Interestingly, this was the focal point at the recent conference organised by AWEP (African Women Entrepreneurship Program) in Lagos.

    Tagged: ‘Women’s Entrepreneur’s Creating Sustainable Business Economy,’ the workshop took a holistic look at the problems in the sector and tried to proffer solutions to them.

    One of the focal persons at the event, Ify Osineme who talked about the organisations mission and some of the achievements over the years, said more attention is shifting to adoption of made in Nigerian goods as well as efforts aimed at the export market. “It is also very important for our women to plug into the agric value chain.”

    According to the immediate past president, Hajia Zainab Jaji, getting the right data and monitoring the statistics is very important. She took time to talk about the impact the organisation has had in the different sectors of the society.

    “In Nigeria about 43 per cent of women are entrepreneurs, in the US you have ten per cent and so you can see that our women are there. Our focus is on creating a sustainable team and take steps to move out of the recession. What we need is innovation, technology, investing more in agriculture and the ability to sustain our economic growth.”

    Expatiating, Jaji said, the green gold project which has spurred our women to do more. “We also had the first African fashion Expo in Mauritius, a Cairo meeting for buyers and collaboration in Maami for honey, leather goods and Spices. In addition, we also had a SMEDAN sponsored trip to China. At the local level, we have also partnered with organisations like NEPC, Raw Materials Testing Research and

    Development Council, Sterling Bank, US Embassy.”

    For the representative of the DG and Minister, Dr Friday Okey there are so many opportunities for female entrepreneurs. “Recently, a survey was done by SMEDAN that women’s ownership in business is about

    42 per cent and SME’s shows only 21.2 per cent. A lot of work is required to mainstream what we have in micro to small. We need to see more access to the markets. In India, women in self employment have their own bank and gives loans to members. . However, goods must meet standards; they must be goods that have added value.”

    For Ambassador Folake Marcus Bello, the major problem with products from Nigeria has a lot to do with quality.

    “As an entrepreneur, we must decide that you are going to make it right. It is essential that we get our packaging and your product right. I met Mrs. Hilary Clinton, when she came to Zambia as an ambassador. Then she said that a lot of African women are hard working but the packaging is wrong. There is so much talent in Nigeria but we keep underrating ourselves by not reaching out”. In addition, we

    should go for small profits and stop being greedy.”

    For Mary Ade Fosudo, who represented Chief Olabintan Farotimi, the President of the Nigerian /American Chamber of Commerce (NACC), there is need for diversification and for more women to take charge of the growth.

    “More women and girls now have opportunities to leverage on their innovation all over the world. Sadly, in Africa, there is little data.

    Gender inequality is costing 95 billion a year and Africa loses 6 per cent of its GDP every year. When women entrepreneurs are supported, the economy would grow.”

    Mrs. Obi, the representative of the DG of the Raw Materials and Research testing Council , Dr Hussein Idoko  shed light on some of its 13 flagships projects and how entrepreneurs can work with the standard of AGOA market.

    “We are the first organisation that invested in cashew in the University of Kogi state and we developed quality cashew nuts. It is important to work with synergy and get relevant information about products. For instance, the shea butter from the 16 belts of the country differ because of the ecological and environmental reasons.”

  • ‘Agric, water priorities in Edo’s 2018 budget’

    Edo State government has stressed plans to drive rural and urban development by prioritising agriculture, potable water, roads and market-linkage initiatives for agribusiness in the 2018 Appropriation Bill.

    Special Adviser tothe Governor on Budget Mr. Joseph Eboigbe spoke in an interview with reporters in Benin City.

    He said the government would drive massive rural and urban development programmes to propel investments and improve people’s lives.

    Eboigbe said: “In the first quarter of 2018, the government will roll out urban development master plan that will enable it drive infrastructure and social development in Benin City, the state capital; Ekpoma-Uromi axis in Edo Central and Auchi in Edo North.”

    He said the government would focus on building water infrastructure in Edo North and Central, where there is acute water problem.

    The aide said the state would do this with support of the European Union, as the project will include reticulation of pipe-borne water around Uromi axis.

    “The government intends to revamp two water schemes in Edo Central, to ensure that between 2018 and 2020 drinkable water will be available to people in Edo North and Central,” he added

    Eboigbe said the government would invest in transportation infrastructure in urban and rural communities, adding: “The 2018 budget will enable the government to build roads that will connect farms to markets and industries where farm produce will be required. The roads will also give people in urban and rural areas easy access to hospitals, schools, markets and places of worship.”

  • ‘Nigeria can earn $400b from agric produce export’

    Nigeria can earn about $400 billion in 10 years from the export of agricultural produce,   Community of Agricultural Stakeholders of Nigeria (CASON) Coordinator, Sotonye Anga, has said.

    He, however, said for the country to achieve this, there was the need for the government to improve the global competitiveness of exporters.

    Anga noted that despite the  initiatives put in place by some state governments and the involvement of Nigerians in the business, Nigeria still lagged behind in export infrastructure    certification.

    He told The Nation at the weekend that the perishable goods need extra care to ensure they remain fresh.

    Anga, however, identified one of the significant challenges facing exporters as access to finance.

    To solve the problem, the CASON coordinator said there was the need to float an export credit agency.

    He added that an efficient and cost-effective infrastructure was required for local exporters to be competitive, adding that the tariff structures are more expensive in the country than in other parts.

  • Exploring employment and business opportunities in agric

    Agbelowo Cooperative Agricultural Multipurpose Society Limited (ACAMSL) has organised a business opportunities seminar in Ikeja, Lagos. The focus is to explore how Nigerians can secure their livelihoods through agricultural enterprises. DANIEL ESSIET reports.

    The global unemployment rate will increase to 5.8 percent representing 3.4 million people. The 3.4 million will bring the total global unemployment to 201.1 million people, according to the World Employment and Social Outlook-Trends 2017 report recently released by the International Labor Organization. This gloomy picture is attributed to the weak economic growth.

    However, expert believes the future is in Agriculture. For this reason, Agbelowo Cooperative Agricultural Multipurpose Society Limited (ACAMSL) held its seminar in Ikeja, Lagos to sensitise Nigerians on the challenges and the opportunities in the sector and had as its theme, ‘Understanding the Agricultural Value Chain.’

    President of ACAMSL, Mr Dele Owolowo said t agriculture is a key factor in making economic growth inclusive and in reducing poverty incidence in the country, stressing the need to pursue large-scale activities in the agribusiness sector . He said Nigeria despite dubbed as “the land of promise” and a“food basket has not maximized agricultural potential despite its rich biodiversity, conducive climate and fertile soil.

    According to him ,the projection for the agribusiness sector was positive in the long term given the country’s potential and the readiness of the private sector to invest in foo d production, although backyard farming and infrastructure problems continue to hamper growth of the sector which remains “uncompetitive.”

    He blamed the situation on lack of mechanised agriculture and poor funding of farmers by banks on the dearth of research, agric engineers and economists.

    He also lamented poor power supply as a factor that has killed agro-allied industries in the country as it has raised the cost of production.

    Owolowo said the ACAMSL was partnering with other cooperatives even though his organisation has preference for soybeans.

    In his keynote presentation, Mr Olubusola Falola of the Institute of Agricultural Research and Training, (IAR&T), Ibadan called for the re-establishment of marketing boards by the government to buy up excess produce from farmers, urging corporate bodies to step in where government fails.

    Mr Falola who educated the cooperative members on the production of soybeans stated that the IAR&T has a seeds store where farmers could access good and viable seeds for better productivity.

    In his presentation, Mr Chiaka Ikechukwu of LAPO Microfinance Bank revealed that the bank works with over 38,000 farmers across 32 states in the country.

    He stated that the bank offers farmers loans at a 5 per cent monthly reducing balance interest rate.

    Team Leader, Peters Poultry Town, Mr Yomi Omosanya revealed that his organisation, is a cashless community of farmers and operators in the agriculture value chain, adding that they have developed a Poultry Caring House, a poultry management software.

    He added that the organisation produces 25 million eggs per day, which represents 17.6 per cent of daily egg requirements for Nigeria’s South-West region.

    The President, Cornerstone Cooperative Society, Mr Kayode Adeyeye called for solutions to problems with land ownership and rentage such as land grabbers.

    He advised farmers to study the type of loans and banks they need before applying for such loans.

    In his presentation, Mr Chiaka Ikechukwu of LAPO Microfinance Bank revealed that the bank works with over 38,000 farmers across 32 states in the country.

    He stated that the bank offers farmers loans at a 5 per cent monthly reducing balance interest rate.

    Team Leader, Peters Poultry Town, Mr Yomi Omosanya revealed that his organisation, is a cashless community of farmers and operators in the agriculture value chain, adding that they have developed a Poultry Caring House, a poultry management software.

    He added that the organisation produces 25 million eggs per day, which represents 17.6 per cent of daily egg requirements for Nigeria’s South-West region.

    The President, Cornerstone Cooperative Society, Mr Kayode Adeyeye called for solutions to problems with land ownership and rentage such as land grabbers.

    He advised farmers to study the type of loans and banks they need before applying for such loans.

  • How E-Wallet is changing agric sector

    How E-Wallet is changing agric sector

    For over 40 years, black marketers literarily held Nigerian farmers and authorities in the agric sector by the jugular. They controlled the fertiliser distribution system and hijacked subsidised farm inputs meant for farmers. The racketeering was hurting efforts at leveraging large-scale agric for job and wealth creation. However, it took the introduction of Electronic Wallet (E-Wallet) platform and creation of a data base for farmers to reverse the trend. Assistant Editor CHIKODI OKEREOCHA writes that the innovation could be the wedge for a continent in search of youth empowerment, food security and industrialisation.

    Of all the challenges that stood in the way of Nigeria’s quest for increased productivity in the agric sector, none was, perhaps, as frightening as the activities of black marketers. They are the powerful middlemen in the sector, who allegedly ensured that critical farming inputs from the government never got to farmers.

    For instance, apart from controlling the Federal Government’s fertiliser distribution system for about four decades, the black marketers whose activities clearly verged on economic sabotage also denied farmers access to other subsidised inputs such as disease-resistant, high-yield rice seeds and palm oil seedlings.

    The Nation learnt that the inputs, which would have seen farmers’ output rising and contributing to food security, job and wealth creation, were brazenly sold in the open market or in neighbouring West African countries at exorbitant prices. And the effects of the racketeering on the agric sector were telling.

    For one, it was a major disincentive to Nigeria and, indeed, Africa’s efforts at diversifying the economy through commercial, large-scale agriculture. Specifically, the black marketers were hurting the continent’s efforts at empowering its youth population by making agriculture an attractive start-up sector for them.

    The former Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development and African Development Bank (AfDB) President, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, did not mince words when he said: “We must turn rural areas from zones of economic misery to zones of economic prosperity. This requires agricultural innovations and transforming agriculture into a sector for creating wealth. We must make agriculture a really cool choice for young people. The future millionaires and billionaires of Africa will come initially from agriculture.”

    This was at the 2017 G7 Summit in Taormina, Italy, in May this year. At the event, Adesina expanded on this vision, saying: “The future of Africa’s youth does not lie in migration to Europe nor should it be “at the bottom of the Mediterranean.”

    He proposed rather that an agribusiness-driven economy could be one of the economic reasons Africa’s youth choose to remain on the continent.

    Adesina’s vision was one backed by innovation and creativity on how to modernise agriculture, get the youth engaged in the sector and change their perception in a way that allows them to see agriculture as a viable and profitable business.

    The AfDB president articulated that vision when, as Nigeria’s Minister for Agriculture from 2010 to 2015, set the stage for what is now acknowledged globally as a revolution in the agric sector through the introduction of the Electronic Wallet (E-Wallet) platform to Nigeria’s food production and distribution chain.

    Through the E-Wallet, Adesina pioneered a new way for the Nigerian government to deliver subsidised farm inputs, such as fertiliser and seeds, to local farmers through private agro-dealers. The farmers, in turn, redeem these subsidised inputs from the agro-dealers, using e-vouchers, which they can access through their mobile phones.

    To implement the platform, Adesina initiated a Growth and Enhancement Support Scheme (GES), powered it by orchestrating the successful registration of more than five million Nigerian farmers, whose information and mobile phone numbers were added to the GES database.

    The database, coupled with the E-Wallet, now allows Nigerian farmers to receive directly from the government everything from fertiliser to high-yield rice seeds and palm oil seedlings. The platform also helped solve other previously intractable problems in the way of commercial large scale food production in Nigeria.

    For instance, the E-Wallet platform was a shot in the arm of paddy rice farmers in the country. Since its introduction, not a few farmers have been receiving high yield NERICA rice varieties from the government, which saw their output rise from about five to six tons per hectare.

    With thousands of paddy farmers producing a consistent grade of rice, the development was said to have created the opportunity for several agro-based companies to switch from rice importation to local rice production. And the standardisation of the country’s rice output led to large private sector investments in rice milling.

    Expectedly, Adesina’s innovation in the agric sector has not gone unnoticed. He recently clinched the highly coveted 2017 World Food Prize (WFP) Laureate award in the United States of America (US).

    He was announced winner of the global feat by the WFP for his dogged determination and practical commitment to boosting agriculture and food supply chain both as Minister of Agriculture and President of AfDB.

    Adesina earned the laureate in Des Moines, US, where the WFP Board chose him for this year’s $250, 000 prize, highlighting his role in improving the availability of seed, fertiliser and financing for African farmers, and for laying the foundation for the youth in Africa to engage in agriculture as a profitable business.

    In choosing Adesina for this year’s award, the organisation also recognised his endeavours at the Bank Group to implement the ambitious High 5 priorities (Light up and power Africa, Feed Africa, Industrialise Africa, Integrate Africa, and Improve the quality of life for the people of Africa), and the positive impact this would have in Africa and the world.

    That was not all. Adesina was said to have successfully built strong partnerships that enabled commercial banks and development organisations to provide loans to tens of thousands of farmers and agri-businesses in Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Ghana and Mozambique.

    While as Nigeria’s Minister of Agriculture, he also created programmes to make the country self-sufficient in rice production and helped turn cassava into a major cash crop and a strategic raw material for bakeries.

    More importantly, Adesina’s success in enabling Nigeria’s farmers increase farm yields through an electronic wallet system, which helped them to obtain fertilisers, led to dramatic improvement in agricultural production and enhanced food security for 40 million people in the country’s rural farm households.

    The WFP was founded by Norman E. Borlaug, a native of northeast Iowa, who was awarded the 1970 Nobel Peace Prize for his life’s work on feeding the world through the scientific advancements of the Green Revolution.

    This was why the WFP compares the spread of Adesina’s efforts in scale to the “Green Revolution” work of Borlaug, who, in the 1970s and 1980s, introduced high-yield dwarf wheat to Latin America and Asia, spawning “Green Revolutions” on two continents.

    At the event, which brought together key players in the world of bilateral and multilateral development, Adesina said he was inspired by a commitment to transform African agriculture into a means for lifting millions out of poverty and is proud his work has been recognised.

    “It’s vitally important to show young people in rural regions of Africa that farming can be profitable and can improve their lives…,” he said, committing himself to using the $250, 000 cash prize to set up a fund for financing African youths in agriculture.

    Specifically, he said his prize money will be used to establish a World Food Prize Global Youth Institute for Africa, an organisation, he said, will support a new generation of agricultural scientists and innovators across Africa.

    This organisation, he said, will nurture and produce graduates known as Borlaug-Adesina Fellows, who will become the next generation of hunger fighters.

    Adesina’s feat earned him the US Government’s commendation. A statement signed by US Vice President Michael Pence described Adesina as a man whose “devotion to the cause of fighting global hunger is admirable, and deeply needed”.

    Pence said: “As our global food system is stretched, and the need to feed more people grows, agricultural transformation will require persistence from leaders like you in driving change and capitalising on public and private sector expertise.”

    Adesina’s revolutionary achievement was also seen as a major public relations boost for President Muhammadu Buhari. The president wasted no time in joining in the global acclaim that came in the wake of the award. Through a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, he expressed his delight at the development.

    Buhari’s words: “Certainly, this did not come to me and many Nigerians as a surprise, given your antecedents and contributions to the development of agriculture across the African continent.  We are very proud of you.”

     

    Nigeria as model for other African countries

    At the official announcement of the prize during a ceremony at the US Department of Agriculture in Washington D.C., hosted by its Secretary, Sonny Perdue, the Secretary said there were still huge challenges on the way.

    While commending Adesina for his tireless work in securing food for Africa and the world, Perdue, however, pointed out, for instance, that as the world population grows, raising the challenge of feeding nine billion people, “Adesina knows that our work is not done”.

    The statement was instructive. For one, it underscored the growing expectation that the sustainability of the initiatives that earned Adesina the coveted prize were critical to Africa’s food security, if other countries in the continent could replicate them.

    The thinking is that as other African countries start to adopt E-Wallet platforms to get subsidised inputs – and even financial services – directly to their farmers, the innovation would spark a Borlaugian “Take it to the Farmer Revolution across Africa.”

    Already, according to experts, Africa’s labour market is expected to absorb 11 million youth every year for the next decade. Despite rapid growth in formal wage sector jobs, the World Bank estimates that most of the continent’s young people “are likely to work on family farms and in household enterprises, often with very low incomes”.

    The consensus is that creating jobs for young people in agriculture can help Africa’s economic transformation and also offer a solution to some of the challenges facing the continent and the world namely, the high rate of youth unemployment in Africa; human trafficking and the high rate of illegal migration of young Africans into Europe.

    Indeed, Africa’s rapid population growth, specifically the growth of the working-age population, complicates a precarious labour market characterised by poor-quality employment, which in turn creates the urge for the youth to seek better opportunities elsewhere.

    For instance, the International Labour Organisation (ILO) estimated that in the next four years, an additional 12.6 million youth in sub-Saharan Africa will enter the labour force. Data from the International Organisation for Migration show that more than 154,000 young Africans have so far crossed the Mediterranean to Europe in 2017.

    The organisation said more than 2, 900 have died trying to make the crossing. In 2016, more than 352,000 Africans crossed into Europe and more than 4,750 died.

    But with what Adesina pointed out earlier that “the agric sector (in Africa) has four times the power to create jobs and reduce poverty than any other sector,” this is expected to spur other African countries to replicate the innovations now changing the agric landscape, at least from Nigeria’s experience.

  • UF, IITA sign pact for joint agric research

    UF, IITA sign pact for joint agric research

    The International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) and   University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS),  have signed an agreement to work together to fight hunger, poverty, and pollution in Africa. The agreement was signed in Des Moines, Iowa, United States (U.S).

    IITA’s Director-General, Nteranya Sanginga, signed the agreement on behalf of IITA. He did so after participating in a panel discussion organised by UF/IFAS on the Fall Armyworm’s threat to African food security.

    “IITA and UF/IFAS share a common approach to science. We see discovery as a source of solutions, a catalyst for action, and the foundation for international cooperation,” Sanginga said, adding that combining our expertise will accelerate inquiry and is expected to hasten the identification of solutions to address the fall armyworm problem.

    IITA is marking its 50th year as an agricultural research institute working with international partners to improve livelihoods and nutrition, and preserve natural resources. UF/IFAS celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2014.

    Sanginga is a founding member of the Fall Armyworm Science Advisory Board that UF/IFAS convened in Iowa. The Board seeks to combat the rapid spread of an insect that threatens maize crops on which 200 million Africans depend for food security.

    “UF/IFAS needs African expertise if it hopes to make a great impact on African challenges. Dr  Sanginga and IITA are world renowned not only for their expertise, but for their willingness to share that expertise with other organisations,” Payne said.

    The five-year pact between IITA and UF/IFAS is a broad framework for cooperation. It lays the foundation for the identification and implementation of specific and joint scientific projects.

    “Africa has two great sources of appeal from a scientist’s point of view,” said Jack Payne, leader of UF/IFAS. “For one, it offers a great opportunity to put science to work improving lives. In addition, it is home to a corps of talented scientists such as those at IITA who are invaluable partners in that science,”he added.

  • Exhibition makes case for agric

    With the theme, One home, one farmer, artists and poets marked the World Food Day with poetry and photography exhibition at Didi Museum, Lagos.

    The event was sequel to the maiden edition of the exhibition held last year. This year’s edition was by Fingerprints in conjunction with Foodbank Nigeria and SheAgric.

    ‘One home, one farmer’ featured award-winning poet, Tade Iapdeola; Jos-based spoken-word poetry artiste, Andrew Patience; award-winning photographers Uche James Iroha; Rufus Ashiru, and accomplished graphic designer, and body performance artist, Yusuf Durodola.

    According to the organisers, this year’s theme was selected to drive home the awareness and advocate for subsistence agriculture and possibly encourage every full-blooded Nigerian family to devote a portion of their homes, no matter how little to planting food crops and other agricultural practices.

    The Fingerprints creative content director, Olawale Oluwadahunsi, said the exhibition was instituted to create the needed awareness for agricultural re-invigoration in Nigerian homes.

    Fingerprints, according to Oluwadahunsi, who is also a United Nations Youth delegate who represented Nigeria at the 20th UN Assembly at the United Nations, is a registered trademark under Poetic Mines Incorporated. It is a Creative Arts platform which expresses art through Photography, Creative writing, Motion Pictures and Literary Journalism to drive the practical significance of United Nations world calendar dates using various platforms to address the various socioeconomic issues affecting the nation to achieve sustainable development.

    He said: “We should all be farmers. The ‘twin’ green colors in our national flag signify fertility, chief of which is agriculture. This is in consonance with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) number two which stands to promote zero hunger and agricultural development in the country.

    “We all know we should diversify the economy, but how many people are taking a bold step towards it? What are we really doing? Can we really wait for the government to do all? We are proposing that every family in the country should have at least one person practicing agriculture as a part-time engagement.”

    The exhibition consultant, Rufus Ashiru, noted that the exhibition proceeds will be used to encourage the work of the Agricultural NGO, Foodbank Nigeria.

    “This is a charity exhibition but we are also using Art as a tool for agro-social advocacy to revive the back-to-the-basics culture of farming. Let us build our Nigerian dream and take our destiny into our own hands by agreeing to this proposition that we should all be farmers. We can make it happen. Meanwhile, this is a sales exhibition and 100% of the works sold will be donated to the Foodbank Nigeria”, he said.

     

     

    The maiden edition of the exhibition, with the theme Life, was held in 2016 in conjunction with Priceless Arts Inc, Ara Studio, National Council for Arts and Culture (NCAC) at National Theatre, Iganmu Lagos State, it was said.

  • Nigeria earns N261.9b from Agric exports in second quarter

    Nigeria’s non-oil sector is growing with N261.92 billion earnings in the second quarter of the year from agric exports, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Audu Ogbeh has said.

    Ogbeh spoke at official unveiling of the Nigeria Agribusiness Resource Centre for Agricultural Investment at the weekend in Abuja.

    He said agricultural export increased by 82 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2016 and earnings from the sector stood at about N30 billion in the first quarter of the year.

    According to the minister, the country earned N3.7 billion from export of sesame seed to Turkey, N1.6 billion to China and N1.6 billion to Canada.

    Ogbeh, who was represented by the ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Bukar Alhassan, said in the first quarter, N3.4 billion was made on Soya bean export to Russia, N1.2 billion to Greece, N2.2 billion was earned from the export of frozen Shrimps to Netherlands, N1.8 billion made from cashew nuts export to Vietnam and crude palm kernel oil export to The Netherlands netted N1.2 billion.

    The minister listed destinations of agricultural exports in the second quarter as including to Asia, Europe, America, Africa and the Oceanic.

    He said the country earned N13.5 billion from cashew nuts export to Vietnam with N12.6 billion, India (N1.4 billion) and Kazakhstan (N6.34 million).

    African Lead Regional  Director Carla Denizard said the resource centre was established in response to the request by the ministry’s Department of Agriculture and Marketing to bridge the knowledge gap in the sector and enable investors have access to information.