The Nation Newspaper

Tag: agricultural sector

  • Securing the future of our agricultural sector

    Securing the future of our agricultural sector

    Sir: For too long, the agricultural sector has been weighed down by the “gravel” of security challenges. What should be a landscape of growth and food security has, in many regions, become a theatre of uncertainty. Farmers, who are the lifeblood of our nation, are facing more than just the traditional risks of weather and pests; they are navigating a terrain of banditry, theft, and land disputes.

    This environment of “life fear” has a paralyzing effect. When a farmer is afraid to step onto their field, the “acts” of planting and harvesting—the very foundation of our survival—is compromised. To achieve national prosperity, this climate of fear must not just be managed; it must be destroyed through deliberate action and strategic planning.

    To move ahead and push toward the “ultimate drops of success,” our approach to agricultural planning must evolve. We cannot treat security as an afterthought to farming; it must be integrated into the very setting of the sector.

    Establishing dedicated security outposts in high-production farming clusters to ensure that farmers can work without looking over their shoulders has become imperative. Utilizing drones and satellite mapping to monitor remote farmlands, allowing for rapid response to threats before they escalate is another crucial step.

    Read Also: Tinubu boldly steering Nigeria toward sustainable future — Okowa

    Planning must include the local farmers themselves. They are the first to see changes in the landscape, and their insights are vital for pre-emptive security measures.

    The drive for success in agricultural practice is “keen”—the potential is massive, and the will of the people is strong. However, potential alone does not put food on the table. We need a shift in the “settings” of our national policy where the safety of the farmer is as prioritized as the quality of the seed. When we remove the gravel of insecurity, we pave the way for a new era of productivity. By destroying the barriers of fear, we allow the sector to push forward, ensuring that our agricultural output doesn’t just trickle, but flows toward the ultimate goal of national self-sufficiency and economic resilience.

    Key points for the policy makers include transitioning from a state of fear to a state of productivity and ensuring policymakers integrate rural security into agricultural planning.

    •Michael Adedotun  Oke,Gwagwalada, Abuja.

  • Boosting youth employment through agribusiness

    As part of efforts to address dearth of skills and knowledge in agric, fertilizer giant Notore Chemical Industries, through its Green Schools Initiative, aims to enrich young professionals’ knowledge concerning the field and contribute to addressing youth unemployment by boosting rural and the regional economy through the creation of new agribusinesses. DANIEL ESSIET writes.

    After Nigeria caught the crude oil bug over six decades ago, one of the segments of the economy that received the hardest hit was the agricultural sector.

    Agriculture had hitherto laid the foundation for Nigeria’s industrialization, contributing the largest share to an economy that was experiencing very boisterous growth. Commercial farms blossomed and farming was seen and practiced as proper business.

    However, after decades of abandoning agriculture, dwindling hydrocarbon revenue and the need to re-articulate the economy has made going back to the farm a priority for governments and many other private actors looking to drive sustainable development.

    The resort to rejig agriculture is cast against the backdrop of the sector’s immense potential to absorb a large workforce. In fact, even with low productivity, agriculture still accounts for two-thirds of Nigeria’s working population, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

    Unfortunately, there still exists the belief that farming is a profession for the poor and illiterate, which entails grueling toil in the farmland with a pittance as returns. These notions have been fuelled over the years by lack of proper training for those who go into agriculture, causing them to demonize and abandon the venture, leading to an ageing farming population that is dying away gradually.

    This narrative is being changed by Notore Chemical Industries, Nigeria’s leading agro-allied company and fertilizer manufacturer, through its Green Schools Initiative. The initiative, a novel national programme, rallies stakeholders in the agricultural and educational sectors to expand the secondary school curriculum with the intention to get students to practice agriculture in dedicated farmlands in their school premises. The priority is to get young Nigerians acquainted with the nitty-gritty of agriculture at an early age, introduce them to the business and money-spinning aspect of the practice and at the same time, make schools self-sustaining in food production.

    Keen on setting the right mood for the programme’s national roll-out, Notore launched the Green Schools Initiative at Aliyu Musdafa College, in Yola, Adamawa State, on June 11, at a ceremony graced by Nigeria’s First Lady, Hajiya Aisha Muhammadu Buhari, as well as her counterparts from Niger, Chad, Ghana and The Gambia.

    Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Notore Power & Infrastructure, Femi Solebo, said the Green Schools Initiative was timely because it was coming at a period when Nigeria’s population was growing faster than there are farmers to feed the nation.

    Noting that agriculture still remains the largest sector of the Nigerian economy and employs two-thirds of the labour force, he said, “Agriculture accounts for approximately 22% of Nigeria’s GDP.

    Read Also: NIRSAL moves to raise over N140bn for Agric financing

    However, in the past, many of the youth have not been interested in going into agriculture as a career due to their previous misconceptions about the sector. However, this is something we are working to change as we highlight the various benefits of agriculture as a business.”

    He added that Nigeria’s rapidly ageing active farmer population was due for a baton-change, noting, “When the current farmers retire, Nigeria will face a major crisis in food production because without a strategy a new generation of sustainable farmers will not exist.”

    Breaking down the concept of the Green Schools Initiative, he said that the programme aims to ignite the interest of school students in agriculture and encourage them to pursue agriculture-related careers instead of banking and oil & gas sector careers.

    According to him, “The Green Schools initiative involves Notore partnering with Secondary Schools across Nigeria to establish demonstration farms that will be used to teach students modern agricultural techniques and best practices. The hands-on approach of demonstration farms accelerates the adoption of these international agricultural best practices, which will give the students a competitive edge over their counterparts in other sectors.”

    He said that Notore’s launch of the Green Schools Initiative reflects its commitment to enhancing the quality of life as aptly captured in the company’s mission statement, noting that the initiative is a strong testament to Notore’s quest to be a significant contributor to the development of Africa, and especially Nigeria, as it targets the youth.

    Solebo added that the company also supports food security in Sierra Leone, Niger Republic and other West African countries.

    Tijjani St. James, Head of Notore’s Commercial Division, said the Green Schools Initiative will start off with 120 Unity Schools and top state-owned colleges across the country, stating that the company aims to significantly increase the number of participating schools and include relevant NGOs and state governments in the quest to lay the foundation for Nigeria’s future agricultural development.

    He said, “Notore will see to it that this initiative makes maximum impact and endures for a long time by working with the Federal Ministry of Education to expand the Agricultural Science subject curriculum to include agri-business at the SS3 level.

    “As we progress, we will expand the sizes of the demonstration farms so that each school cultivates a minimum of two hectares annually to help minimize Federal Government’s spend on grain purchases to feed the students.”

    St. James also revealed that the First Lady of Niger wants Notore to replicate the initiative in her country by including it in the existing MOU that Notore has with Niger.

    Nigeria’s First Lady, Hajiya Buhari said she was pleased that the initiative was kicking off at her former school, Aliyu Musdafa College, noting that the programme contributes immensely to President Muhammadu Buhari’s quest to stimulate youth interest in agriculture.

    According to her, “I have always expressed my desire to see that women and young people become self-reliant; this is why I welcome the effort of Notore Chemical Industries to introduce a Green Schools Initiative, which is aimed at inculcating the love of agriculture and especially farming among Nigerian youth.  With the commissioning of the pilot this afternoon at Aliyu Musdafa College, I hope that it will be replicated in all schools in the country. Our young people need to see agriculture as a business and a way to grow the Nigerian economy. I therefore commend Notore for this initiative.”

    She said that it was delightful that Notore’s Green Schools Initiative would ignite the interest of school-age youths in agriculture and encourage them to grow up to take agriculture-related careers.

    Noting that there was a need to support such causes, she called on the private sector, non-governmental organizations and extension agencies to invest in agriculture because “The potential is enormous, and the foundation is the youth, as they are the future of the nation. I also call on the youths to embrace agriculture and turn our economy around.”

  • Fed Govt created eight million new farmers, says Ngige

    THE  Federal Government has through its anchor borrowers programme  in the agricultural sector created over eight million new farmers, Minister of Labour and Productivity, Senator Chris Ngige, has said.

    Ngige stated this while briefing senators on the achievements of his ministry during the 2019 budget defence session in Abuja.

    The Minister who was answering questions on what the government is doing to mop up the growing army of unemployed youths in the country told the Senate Committee on Labour and Productivity that there are three categories of jobs which the government has created.

    The three categories of jobs, he said, included, white collar jobs, blue collar jobs and punk collar jobs.

    According to him, the government has created millions of jobs in the informal sector including empowering women and artisans.

    He said that the Federal Government has also lifted embargo on employment so as to offer more white collar jobs to deserving applicants.

    Ngige however emphasised that job creation in every country is not the sole responsibility of the government.

    The private sector, he said, plays a significant role in the creation of job opportunities for the people.

    He urged those in the private sector to take more than passing interest in the creation of job opportunities in the interest of the youths.

    Scoring the government high in job creation and empowerment, Ngige noted that for the first time, Nigeria has developed a national roadmap on job creation.

    He said that the eight million new farmers were doing excellently in rice production in Kano, Katsina, Jigawa, Ebonyi and part of Anambra and other states.

    The minister also said that more than one million jobs were created through the social security programme of the government, particularly the N-Power, which he said has about five hundred thousand jobs, conditional cash transfer policy of the government and Tradermoni initiated by the Vice President.

  • PDP wasted commonwealth of Nigerians, says Buhari 

    President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday night again blamed the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) for wasting the commonwealth of Nigerians during its sixteen years administrations.

    According to him, there was nothing to show for the huge resources that were earned in the country during the period.

    He spoke at a dinner for youth political appointees at the new Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

    He specifically queried the $16 billion expended on the power sector during the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo.

    “There was no power they said they spent $16bn on, where is it?” he queried.

    The President also expressed disappointment with the Nigerian press over the poor coverage of his go back to land agricultural revolution program.

    He said that the press did not give the credit of the ongoing transformation in the agricultural sector of the country to his administration.

    Buhari said: “I’m very disappointed with the Nigerian press. They didn’t give this government the credit of the go back to land program. We have cut down the importation of rice by at least 90 percent.”

    According to him, Nigerians are now leaving white collar jobs for farming to tap from the revolution.

    He also said that the country has achieved food security.

    The President said he appointed Chief Audu Ogbeh as the Minister of Agriculture in view of his experience in the sector.

    “Ogbeh went to a bank, borrowed money and invested in the agriculture. He suffered but eventually he paid the money. So, you cannot have a better person than somebody who has suffered in the sector, “he said.

    Speaking at the occasion, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Boss Mustapha, said that the PDP didn’t achieve one-tenth of APC achievements in its sixteen years at the helm of affairs.

    He said “As a Government arm, we have achieved so much and I am going to make available to you a document that we have put together, which captures what the government has been able to achieve in just about two and half years, what I called a midterm report.

    “If we have to make a comparison of what has been achieved in the last couple of years, the 16 years of PDP administration will not constitute one-tenth of what we have been able to achieve in the last three and half years.

    “We went to the 2015 elections with promises, but we will go to the 2019 elections with our scorecard,” he said.

  • Agricultural sector created 3m jobs in three years- minister

    Agricultural sector created 3m jobs in three years- minister

    The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, said the agricultural sector created three million jobs in the last three years.

    Adesina said the government was driving agriculture through the commodity and value chains approach to achieve results.

    He spoke at the 2014 World Food Day with the theme: “Family Farming: Feeding the World, Caring for the Earth.”

    The Minister, who was represented by the Director, Federal Department of Agriculture in the Ministry, Demola Emmanuel, said this year’s theme is aimed at heightening the role of family farming in achieving food security as well as signifying the contribution of small scale farmers.

    He said: “The agricultural sector over the last three years has created three million farm jobs thereby putting young people to work as the agricultural revolution deepened across rural areas and agricultural value chains, leading to reduction in rural urban migration.

    “The private sector participation in driving ATA shows that between 2011 and 2014, the sector attracted over $5.6 billion of private sector investments. Between 2012 and 2014, a total of 14 million farmers received their subsidised farm inputs using electronic voucher on their mobile phones to directly pay private sector input retailers.”

    According to the minister, the government has recorded 21 million metric tonnes of food from 2011 to 2014, surpassing the 20 million mt of food target set for 2015.

    “Between 2012 and 2014, six million rice farmers were reached with improved rice varieties through the e-wallet system. The total cumulated rice area rose by two million hectares, national paddy rice production rose by an additional seven million MT.

    “The rice policy has attracted $1.6 billion of private sector investment and it is expected that Nigeria will become a net exporter of rice like Thailand or India very soon.”

    Adesina added that investment by fertiliser companies expanded from 100 million in 2012 to $500 million by 2014.

    Earlier, the country Representative of the Food and Agricultural Organisation, Dr. Louise Setshwaelo, said a growing and increasingly urbanised world population was relying on food produced by a much smaller percentage of farmers.

    According to her, family farming and the support it receives need to adjust in ways that can respond to these changing conditions.

    Dr. Setshwaelo said: “Innovation is key to make this happen. Family farmers need to innovate, in the systems they use; governments need to innovate, in specific policies they implement to support family farming.

    “Clearly, family farmers need to produce enough food, not just for them but also for people in rural areas not involved in farming or city dwellers. They also generate income -money to buy inputs, such as seeds and fertilisers.”

  • Fed Govt gets N80b investment in agric, says Jonathan

    Fed Govt gets N80b investment in agric, says Jonathan

    More than N80 billion investment has been attracted to the agricultural sector from the private sector, President Goodluck Jonathan said yesterday.

    He made this remark in Abuja while speaking at a two-day summit by the Rockefeller Foundation.

    The summit, titled: ‘Realising the Potential of African Agriculture,’ is part of the drawn-up programmes for the centennial (100 years) celebration of the foundation.

    Jonathan stressed that the transformation of agriculture in Nigeria is a centerpiece of the entire transformation agenda of his administration, adding that his programmes are tailored toward making agriculture attractive to the private sector as a viable business.

    He said: “To drive our agriculture, we have ended the approach of agriculture as a development programme, we now take agriculture as a business. Private sector investments are expanding rapidly from sales by fertilizer companies, agriculture processors.”

    “In the last one year alone over N80 billion of private sector commitments have been made to the agricultural sector. We developed staple crops processing zones to attract the private sector to invest in rural areas to process and add value to all of our crops.”

    “This will reduce post-harvest losses and create jobs for our people.” He noted

    According to him, over 1.5 million farmers have benefited from the Electronic-Wallet System developed by the administration.

    The e-wallet system allows farmers to receive electronic voucher to redeem subsidized fertilizers, improved seeds and other farm inputs directly from private sector seeds and fertilizer companies.

    Jonathan said: “I am pleased to note that Nigeria is the first country to develop such scheme in Africa. Farmers now receive their seeds and fertilizer via mobile phones in the first one year of this experiment and we ended four decades of corruption in our fertilizer sector.”

    As the world largest producer of cassava, he said that the desire of his government is to make Nigeria the world largest processor of cassava.

    Towards cutting down import of wheat, he said that the administration embarked on a major innovation to use high quality cassava flour to replace some of the imported wheat flour.

    “Today, cassava bread made out of composite flower from 20 per cent cassava and wheat flour have hit our markets. This alone has saved Nigeria, N254 billion (about 1.5 billion dollars) in import bills on wheat.” he stated

    On the need for the country to move away from the monolithic oil economy, he said: “Nigeria is known for oil, but today, many countries around the world have found oil.”

    “The recent discovery of crude oil and gas in the US and other parts of the world means that we must look elsewhere if we must continue to feed our people.”

    “With abundant land and water resources and abundant labour force, Nigeria has all it takes to use agriculture as its new frontier for growth. There is no reason why Nigeria should be a net food importing country. It should be a net food exporting country.”