The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Agricultural Development Programme (ADP)

  • Libya returnees appeal to Obaseki to fulfill pledge of N100m

    Libya returnees appeal to Obaseki to fulfill pledge of N100m

    Some returnees from Libya have appealed to Gov. Godwin Obaseki of Edo to fulfill his pledge and release the grant of N100 million for 150 hectares of land to them.

    They appealed to the governor to give the land he promised to the 150 trained returnees.

    Some of the trained returnees made this appeal when they spoke with journalists in Benin on Thursday.

    The state government in November 2017 organised two weeks training programme on various aspects of agriculture to some of the returnees.

    The returnees, who are indigenes of the state, were trained on poultry, fishery, food processing and crop planting.

    Obaseki had at the closing ceremony of the two weeks programme, announced the approval of N100 million seed grant as well as 150 hectares of land as seed grant for the trained returnees.

    The governor said that the State Agricultural Development Programme ( ADP ), would work with the returnees for the implementation of the project.

    However, some of the returnees who pleaded anonymity said they were in the dark on the implementation of the programme almost two months after the approval was made.

    “January is almost gone and we are totally at loss as to what is happening to the project that is meant to cushion the effect of what some of us who returned from Libya.

    “It is our belief that when implemented, we will be gainfully and meaningfully engaged and thus stopping us from being involved in social vices.

    “We also believe that with timely release or implementation of the programme, those who are yet to be trained will be encouraged as well as prevented from going back to Libya.

    “Whether we like it or not, some of those that have returned are still planning to go back to that country because of the hardship in the country,” he said.

    Meanwhile, the government had pleaded for patience from the returnees as modalities for the implementation of the programme was being drawn out.

    Mr Solomon Okoduwa, the Senior Special Assistant to the governor on Anti-Human Trafficking and Illegal Migration, made the appeal while reacting to the call by the returnees.

    He said the governor remained committed to the course and had been working assiduously to ensure timely release of the fund.

    “I can tell you that he (Obaseki) has not relented on ensuring better life for the returnees, especially to encourage the returned once to stay back home and discouraged those planning to leave.

    “It is for this reason he graciously approved the training programme and the subsequent the approval of the seed grant and 150 hectares of land.

    “It will also interest you to know that about 600 others have returned and they have started receiving a monthly stipend of N20, 000, which will last for three months pending their scheduled training programme.

    “So, I am also appealing to them to be patient as they have not been forgotten by the governor who has been working very hard toward this course,” he said.

    NAN

  • Anambra ADP to train 10 women at NIHORT

    Anambra ADP to train 10 women at NIHORT

    The Agricultural Development Programme (ADP) of Anambra says 10 women have been selected to undergo advanced training in different economic ventures at Nigeria Institute for Horticulture Research Training (NIHORT), Ibadan.

    Mrs Patricia Uba, the Coordinator of Department of Women in Agriculture in the ADP, told News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Awka on Monday that the 10 women were selected from different cooperative societies.

    She said that the women, who would be sponsored by the Anambra Government, would be taught how to turn waste into wealth, adding that the women would, in turn, teach others in their respective cooperatives.

    “When we visited NIHORT, there were a lot of good innovations we saw there, these innovations can give succour to the people, particularly in these hard times..

    “The state government deemed it fit to sponsor some women from different cooperative societies to learn the skills at NIHORT and later transfer the knowledge to others.

    “Some of the things they will learn include the process of making soap using plantain peelings, the extraction of perfume from flowers and the production of shampoo.

    “This will enable the women to become self-reliant; they will also be able to generate income, create employment and ultimately contribute to the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP),’’ she said

  • Anambra to commence rice export in 2018

    Anambra to commence rice export in 2018

    The Acting Programme Manager of Agricultural Development Programme (ADP), Anambra, Mr Jude Nwankwo says plans are underway to commence export of rice from the state in 2018.

    Nwankwo disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday in Awka.

    “By the grace of God, Anambra will commence rice export after our harvest this year’’, he said.

    He assured that the state will produce more than 500,000  tonnes of rice in the 2017 harvest year based on projections from the field.

    He said that the figure would be 300, 000 higher than what was recorded in 2016.

    “In 2016, we projected 180, 000 metric tonnes of rice, but we surpassed it by 20, 000. In 2017 our target is to produce 500, 000 metric tonness of rice, but the information from the field indicates that the figure will even go higher again’’, he said.

    He said that more rice farmers were being supported by government to cultivate rice in Orumba North, Ayame­lum, Awka North, Anam­bra East and Anambra West Local Government Areas and other communities across the state.

    “We distributed hybrid FERO 44 rice, maize, cassava and yam to farmers, in addition to huge support the state gave to vegetable farmers who already are exporting pumpkin and bitter leaf to markets in America and Europe.

    NAN reports that many communities in Anambra such as Owusi, Omasi, Omor, Ifite-Og­wari, Enugu-Abo, Ufuma and Umuekete-Aguleri, among other communi­ties have enormous potentials for commercial rice farming.

    Nwankwo said a more cheering development in the state was that more youths especially graduates are now showing serious interest and passion in farming due to evident prospect in commercial agricultural ventures.

    “ In Anambra now, the involvement of youths in agriculture is affecting rural/urban migration. Hardly do I spend up to one hour in my office without receiving youths coming to ascertain how they can establish one agricultural venture or another.

    “The state currently has more than 2, 000 registered Farmers Cooperative Societies and many jobs and wealth are being created in the sector in the state’’, he said.

    The Anambra ADP boss noted that the state is practicing e-agriculture which enables information on agricultural activities to be easily generated and transmitted to the state agricultural data unit.

    On Meteorological Agency (NiMet) prediction that Anambra will be among states to record flooding which  may lead to poor  harvest, Nwankwo allay the fears insisting that it would not affect plants in the area.

    “We already have the records of communities with high risk for flooding; our agricultural extension officers guided farmers from such locations to strictly adhere to agricultural calendar.

    “And so farmers in these places like Ogbaru and FADAMA communities would have harvested their crops before the flooding will occur this time’’, Nwankwo noted.

  • IFAD injects N4bn into Ebonyi economy in 2016

    IFAD injects N4bn into Ebonyi economy in 2016

    The said it injected N4 billion into the economy of Ebonyi in 2016 to support farmers.

    Mr Sunday Ituma, the State Programme Coordinator, disclosed this on Saturday in Abakaliki while speaking on the recent distribution of farm inputs to farmers by the programme.

    “IFAD’s intervention added over 2,500 metric tonnes of rice paddy to the rice production output of the state and supported 6, 245 farmers during the same period.

    “We also piloted dry season farming in 2016 with the establishment of 32 hectare demonstration farms and accompanying impressive yields averaging 4.2 tonnes per hectare,” he said.

    Ituma said that IFAD’s target was to support 10,000 farmers in 2017 as it has presently verified and approved 455 business plans with 7,478 farmers expected to cultivate 8,252 hectares.

    “The cost of matching fund expected for this intervention is over N1 billion for which IFAD will contribute 50 per cent or over N500 million while the farmers are to provide the balance.

    “This investment will add about 40, 000 metric tonnes of rice paddy to the rice output of Ebonyi and will translate to the generation of N6.4 billion in the state’s economy,’’ he explained.

    He noted that the programme also funded the development of 200 hectares of farm lands at Ezillo, Ishiellu Local Government Area of the state and provided modern farm machinery to farmers for enhanced productivity.

    “The machinery include: tractors, power tillers, among others, as we also provided support to extension services through the provision of motorcycles to extension agents.

    “We also released funds to the state Agricultural Development Programme (ADP) and facilitated the profiling/training of farmers for the Anchor Borrowers Programme,” he said.

    Ituma explained that under the Agricultural Market Development Component, IFAD intervened in the provision of rural roads, market stalls, aggregation centres, solar powered boreholes and construction of rice processing centres for which massive resources were deployed.

    “Our input distribution system is technologically driven by Cellulant Nigeria Ltd which provides the electronic wallet platform while International Fertiliser Development Centre is the supply chain managers.

    “Their involvement in the distribution system is to ensure transparency and distribution of quality inputs to farmers,” he said.

  • Armyworm outbreak on maize still on increase, Expert warns

    Armyworm outbreak on maize still on increase, Expert warns

    Dr Oluwakemi Odeyemi of the Institute of Agricultural Research & Training (IAR&T), Ibadan, has warned farmers against armyworm outbreak on maize.

    Odeyemi, Head of Maize Improvement Programme for Southern Ecology, IAR&T, gave the warning in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Ibadan on Wednesday.

    He said that armyworm outbreak on maize, which incurred in 2016 led to 90 per cent loss to farmers, is still on the increase.

    Odeyemi, an entomologist said more than 90 per cent of maize fields visited in 2017 had more than 80 per cent infestation of the pest.

    She added that the outbreak was a great threat to national food security and livelihood of farmers.

    The entomologist noted that the pest, Spodoptera frugiperda (Smith), was first noticed on some maize fields in Ibadan by Ogun State Agricultural Development Programme (ADP) office and other farmers.

    Odeyemi remarked that activity of the pest was insidious and its presence was often noticed only after the havoc was done.

    “The pest is known to be capable of causing severe damage by feeding on the foliage of suitable crop, leading to heavy skeletonization and defoliation.

    “Leaves of heavily infested maize usually appear ragged; maize tassels, cobs are also attacked under severe infestation.

    “Young larvae are usually green in colour and feed deep inside the whorl of maize plant while older larvae are usually brown,” she said.

    She emphasised that in a quick response to the outbreak, an urgent survey was carried out by IAR&T scientists to know the spread of the pest and find possible control measures.

    According to her, the institute swung into action, organised sensitisation workshop for the farmers, ADP officers and other relevant stakeholders in affected states.

    “Information about the pest and possible control measures were also spread through print, radio, TV media; training were also organised for maize farmers.

    “While other control means are underway, these insecticides were found effective: Lambdacyhalothrin + Chlorantraniliprole (Ampligo) and Emamectin Benzoate based insecticides and Tihan,” Odeyemi said.

    She urged the government to support farmers by providing control subsidy for them, stressing that their farms should be insured.

    “The prize of the insecticides used in controlling such pests should be subsidised to help the farmers,” she said.

    Odeyemi further advised farmers not to be discouraged in planting maize with the pest infestation, pointing out that maize is an important economic crop which forms major component in the daily diet.