The Nation Newspaper

Tag: agriculture

  • Transforming agriculture via foreign investments

    Transforming agriculture via foreign investments

    Available statistics show that private sector investments in Nigeria’s agriculture have increased appreciably.

    In the past two years, the private sector invested about eight billion dollars into agricultural projects.

    Observers attribute the renewed interest to invest in the agricultural sector to the Federal Government’s Agricultural Transformation Agenda (ATA), designed to promote “ agro-business”, while boosting food security and wealth creation in the country.

    Dr Akinwumi Adesina, the Minister for Agriculture and Rural Development, said that an additional four billion dollars was being injected into the sector by companies like Dangote Group, Indorama Chemicals and Notore Chemicals, among others.

    The minister, who spoke at a recent News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) Forum in Abuja, also said that Syngenta, the world’s leading seeds production company, had established a company in Nigeria.

    He quoted Michel Demare, the Chairman of Syngenta, as saying that “the direction Nigeria is going makes me feel that the demand for seeds is going to rise in the country.”

    Adesina noted that the best performing stocks in the Nigerian market today were agriculture-related stocks, adding that they even performed better than the banks’ stocks.

    He also said that banks were currently adapting their profit-driven business to accommodate agricultural projects.

    The minister, while receiving officials of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) who came under the aegis of the U.S. Corporate Council on Africa (CCA) Infrastructure Trade Mission to Nigeria, restated the government’s determination to boost investment in agriculture.

    Adesina said that the “investment drive” was important for the agricultural sector to open up the potential of some crops in some states.

    “We hope to discuss mechanisation systems; how tractors can be leased to farmers, as against each one of them owning one.

    “The Federal Government would also ensure that basic amenities such as roads, water and power around staple crop zones are provided to enable processors to establish their processing plants in areas where food production is high,” he said.

    Besides, the minister said that leading global institutions such as the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation had been investing in the country.

    He said that the World Bank invested 500 million dollars, Bill and Melinda Gates invested five million dollars, and IFAD invested 80 million dollars, while the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) invested 1.5 million dollars, among others.

    Moreover, a report released by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development said that the U.S-based multinational food security company, Blumberg Grains, planned to invest 250 million dollars in large-scale food storage facilities in the country.

    The minister and Mr Philip Blumberg, the Chairman of Blumberg Grains, reportedly signed the Letter of Intent (LoI) for the establishment of the facilities.

    The report quoted Adesina as saying that the food storage facilities, when completed, would create at least 1,000 jobs and aid efforts to boost food production in the country.

    “We are excited that a company with the reputation and resources of Blumberg Grains chose to establish its West African production operations and processing facilities in Nigeria.

    “This is a mark of confidence in the structural reforms of our agricultural sector.

    “By manufacturing storage warehouses in Nigeria, farmers, agro-processors and the financial services industry will be able to reduce post-harvest losses, while improving market access and incomes across agricultural value chains,” he said.

    Saying that the Federal Government’s goal was to make the country a global powerhouse in food production, Adesina stressed that the facilities would further enhance Nigeria’s regional standing in agriculture.

    He said that the investment would increase exports of “made-in-Nigeria” manufactured products and make the country an agro-business centre for food safety and security.

    The report also quoted Blumberg as saying that Nigeria had a huge potential agricultural market and that the country would provide a significant opportunity for the company to establish its presence in West Africa.

    “Our commitment is also a response to the New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition (NAFSN) programme of the Group of Eight Industrialised Nations (G-8).

    “The programme aligns members’ support to Nigeria’s agricultural objectives as well as to the country’s own commitment to promote a business-enabling environment for both domestic and international private sectors,” Blumberg said.

    Blumberg Grains is a leading U.S.-based food security company which provides integrated crop and food storage systems, technology and management.

    The company works with private companies and countries to modernise agricultural value chains and increase the quality and marketable output of harvests.

    The Federal Government has also entered into partnership with Brazil on rice, poultry and soya bean production.

    The former Minister of State for Agriculture, Alhaji Bukar Tijani, said that the partnership would encourage the transfer of agricultural technology to Nigeria.

    Tijani spoke when Mr Luiz Fernando Mainarde, the Secretary of Agriculture of the State of Rio Grande do Sul in Brazil, led a delegation to the ministry earlier in the year.

    “The total demand of rice in Nigeria is about five million tonnes per annum and our farmers produce just over two million tonnes per annum.

    “We want to borrow technology and expertise from Brazil to enable us to become a major producer and exporter of rice, poultry and soya bean,” Tijani said.

    At the meeting, Mainarde said that the Brazilian President, Mrs Dilma Rousseff, had instructed the delegation to strengthen the trade relationship existing between Nigeria and Brazil.

    He said that their visit was on the request of Mr Vincent Amerib-Okun, Nigeria’s Ambassador to Brazil, who visited the state four times to facilitate the visit and ensure cooperative agreement for the transfer of technology to Nigeria.

    All in all, stakeholders urge the Federal Government to continue with its drive for foreign direct investments in the agricultural sector.

    This would boost employment and grassroots development in the country, they add.

    Source: NAN

     

  • ‘Why we chose agriculture to curb poverty’

    ‘Why we chose agriculture to curb poverty’

    Sylvester Okoh is the Project Manager of PIND Foundation. He spoke with reporters on the foundation’s strategies. Shola O’Neil was there.

     

    What informed PIND’s choice on projects?

    Well, there may be a couple of factors but what I can clearly tell you is that, for you to do development work and get it to succeed and affect the people positively, you have to first of all go down to the root cause of the problem. Most times development intervention coming from anybody will be addressing the symptoms and not the root cause.

    PIND’s intervention strategy is first look at the sector we want to intervene in. what are the things making things not to work well? We look at the market issues and the factors that are making markets not to work. These markets we refer to is not just the market for selling and buying but market for services. Why is stem not available for the farmer when he wants it? Why is the farmer not having access to fertiliser? Why is there a problem for him to get loans to expand his farm? Why is it that when he smokes his fish he does not get a place to sell it?

    So, it is when you look at all these issues and you begin to address them one by one that you can have a very smooth flow and the chain will move in a very orderly manner. If you take one of them and deal with it; ‘oh, the people need money’ and you give them money. You forget if the stem is available even if they have the money. The fish feeds they want to buy is not available. So the money becomes almost useless.

    It is that whole thing we are looking at when we talk of sector study, when we talk of how to intervene. You first of all find out what the issues are and then you agree on what is going to happen and who is going to do what. So when you begin to address these sectors one after the other, then you begin to talk about how to do development work.

    Why agriculture as the focus of intervention?

    Somebody told us the other day that if you really want to be a multi-billionaire, you cannot do it earning salaries. Dangote is not paid by anybody. Otedola is not paid by anybody; they work for themselves. And in this region there are so many persons that are working hard in spite of the situation we find ourselves. We think that if we encourage young people in activities that will give them money, to take up activities that are very productive, those services that are required by even the oil companies, they will do much better. It is better to be in the agricultural sector because the potentials are there. The market is there too. So do not forget that the oil sector is employing few persons but the agricultural sector is going to provide a lot of opportunities and our strategies is pro-poor. So if you are talking of how many persons your intervention can pull at the same time; agriculture is just there for it.

    Tell us about your interventions in the various communities

    We are working in nine states of the Niger Delta and we did sector studies and thorough analysis and we have very good reasons for starting from certain places. For example, in Delta State, just like in Bayelsa, predominantly people are into fishing. So, the fish farm we have in Ekpan is informed by that. In Edo state the people are good farmers. They have land and their land is very fertile. So if we are doing cassava there you can understand why. So, we take decisions as to locations of projects based on available statistics. When you talk of oil palm production in Nigeria you talk of Imo and Rivers states. Our first intervention in oil palm is in Oguta area and if you go there the predominant occupation is palm oil processing and that is why we are there. And it is logical to be there because if we get it right there we will be affecting so many people at the same time.

    Challenges since 2010 when PIND started

    The challenges have been quite a number. Getting stakeholders to pay attention to developmental strategies is one. In the last couple of years, several development agencies did not want to come here, for obvious reasons and getting them back here is a challenge. We are making progress in that direction. At least at the moment we have several agencies working with us in this region.

    And for the specific value-chain you have in cassava, we have quite a large market. But the challenge has been how to cultivate large portions of land. And the reason for that challenge is because the cost of land preparation is very high and it is difficult to do that for commercial basis without government intervention. That is another challenge.

    For aquaculture, we are working seriously with several organizations, consultants, the feed companies and sometimes trying to inculcate in the farmers the culture of how to do it well and how to reduce their cost of production. That is working out very well.

    But then going forward, even if you achieve high rate of production at very lower cost so that you can compete in the market, there will be a time where there will be a gloat. So what we are trying to do now is looking at the market. How can we add value to the fish such that they can go to packaging and go to export?

  • Social media dialogue on Agriculture holds on Sept 4

    Social media dialogue on Agriculture holds on Sept 4

    HEDA Resource Centre in partnership with Oxfam GB and Trust Africa will on Wednesday, September 4 hold a social media dialogue on Food Security and Agriculture in Nigeria.

    Questions to be considered during the online forum are:

    – How do we make Agriculture the mainstay f Nigeria’s economy again?

    – How young people can create wealth from the Agriculture value chain?

    – How do we make Agriculture fair to Small scale Women and Men Farmers?

    – Despite the 10% budget to Agriculture signed up to by Africa’s leaders, why does Nigeria budget less than 3% to Agriculture?

    The vital details for this conversation according to a statement by HEDA signed by Arigbabu Sulaimon are from 7am – 7pm includes the following:

    Twitter: @HEDAgenda

    Facebook: head resource centre

    Web address: www.hedang.org

    Hashtag: #hungerpalava, #wetinUthink

     

    Among others,  the forum aims at helping to halt the menace of hunger, youth unemployment and a failing national economy due to dwindling oil revenue,

     

     

  • World Bank offers to boost agriculture – Adesina

    World Bank offers to boost agriculture – Adesina

    The Minister of Agriculture, Akinwumi Adesina, said on Friday the World Bank boosted agricultural development in Nigeria in the last two years by offering nearly N139.5 billion to the sector.

    The News Agency of Nigeria reports that Adesina, said this while speaking at the ongoing All Nigerian Editors’ Conference in Asaba, Delta.

    He said that nearly N62 billion of the amount was specifically pumped into irrigation development.

    He also said the African Development Bank (ADB) had provided nearly N77.5 billion to support the development of infrastructure around the staple crop processing zones in the country.

    He said the International Fund for Agriculture Development had also provided additional N31 billion to support staple crop processing around the country.

    The minister added that the French Agency for Development for the construction of rural roads had provided another $200 million (about N31.2bn) to complement government’s market development efforts.

    He said since the advent of the reform programme in the agriculture sector, changes were recorded in commercial banks’ lending to farmers.

     

  • Nigeria should invest crude oil cash in agriculture, says ex-commisioner

    You are a lawyer and politician, what motivated your involvement in agriculture

    I come from a farming background. I hail from Patani community what we do there is fishing and farming. Once an opportunity to actualise it emerges I am wont to jump at it because it is a passion. Apart from rice. I am also cultivating oil palm, sugarcane, fish and pineapples. It is a passion and a conviction that it is not enough to say lets feed ourselves, we must demonstrate it. It is possible to feed ourselves.

    The floods of last year devastated your farm, this year you increased your acreage, are you not scared that the floods will deal a similar fate on your investment?

    I am not scared. After last year’s flood, I wrote a letter to the Minister of Agriculture saying that despite the fact that the flood affected me, I will remain in agriculture. It is a personal challenge. Last year we cultivated 30 hectares, but this year we have cultivated 105 hectares of rice. Last year we did not do agric insurance, but this year we have one in place. I have a strong feeling that Nigeria can feed itself and we should be feeding ourselves. It is a shame that Nigerian businessmen spends billions importing rice, if local farmers are encouraged to plant rice ,I am sure before long we can end importation of rice.

    Have you been compensated for the losses suffered by your farm in 2012.The Federal Government gave a grant to affected states you will recall?

    No, I have not gotten any support from any government department as far as the last year’s flood is concerned. We are believing that the support will come quickly, especially now we are at the peak of the planting season.  The assistance coming must come on time so that it will be of use to victims of the flood disaster. We lost about N7million to the floods last year.

    How do you think government can assist farmers in Nigeria?

    One way government can support farmers is in land acquisition and preparation .The River Basin Development Authority set up by the Federal Government is a good idea, but there are many parts of Delta State where this initiative is non-existent. Therefore, a prospective investor will have to face the communities, and when this has been surmounted, you will have to deal with the issue of preparing virgin forest for farming purpose which you will agree with me is capital intensive.

    If government at all levels can do what the Federal Government is doing with the River Basin Development Authority, then Nigeria farmers will feed the nation. Government can also assist farmers by giving inputs like fertilisers. I am working on 105 hectares of rice farm, the GSS programme is supposed to support farmers, but that programme does not take us commercial farmers into consideration. The GSS programme gives only two bags of fertilisers to farmers, but in this farm we are using over 200 bags of urea already, not to talk of NPK. My position is that the Federal Government must support big farmers.

    Do you agree that agric is the way forward for Nigeria?

    Before the discovery of crude oil, agriculture sustained the economy. Where are the groundnut pyramids, palm oil and rubber plantations? The government of the day must use the proceeds from oil to reinvest in agriculture. In Malaysia, there is petro-dollar from crude oil but it is not the mainstay of the economy. Our research institutions are not being funded adequately. If this is done then we can begin to appreciate the immense potentials locked untapped in our soil.

  • ‘No future for Nigeria without agriculture’

    ‘No future for Nigeria without agriculture’

    •FG makes N591b on six crops

    There is no future for Nigeria without agriculture, the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr. AkinwumiAdesina, has stated.

    He also declared the nation’s status as a net importer of food as unacceptable, stating each import creates unemployment and devalues the nation’s currency.

    Adesina, who spoke at the weekend during his keynote address at the 40th meeting of the National Council on Agriculture and Rural Development (NCA) in Abeokuta, emphasised the needs for people to support value-chains programme of the Agricultural Transformation Agenda (ATA).

    He said: “The future can no longer be in oil but something we have comparative advantage in and it has to be agriculture so there is no future for Nigeria without agriculture.

    “Nigeria can no longer continue to be a sleeping giant. We have to wake up. And if we wake up, we must begin to do things differently.”

    Speaking on the GES, the minister emphasised that the programme was able to make available farm inputs such as improved seeds, fertilizer to farmers at a subsidise rate.

    On rice production, he disclosed farmers who embarked on dry season farming in 10 northern states were able to rake N32billion within the season.

    The minister added the Federal Government generated N591 billion through cultivation of value-chains in rice, cassava, sorghum, maize and cotton in two years.

    While calling on stakeholders to embrace local consumption of foods to create jobs and expand farmers’ yield, the minister urged the Ogun State Governor, IbikunleAmosun, to support local farmers in the state with distribution of free seeds.

    Amosun said that about 20,000 hectares of land is currently available in the state for investors to cultivate crops with market advantage.

    The governor urged participants to draft policies and programmes that will guarantee production of adequate and quality food supply.

     

  • ‘Give priority to agriculture’

    The Federal Government has been urged to give priority to agriculture to ensure food security and reduce dependence on oil.

    The advice was given by the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Adura Farms Settlement in Ogun State, Chief Lawrence Olusesan Bankole. Going on memory lane, he said the old Western Region survived on cocoa, to prosecute its major infrastructural and educational programmes.

    Bankole said given the right atmosphere, agriculture will engage most of our youths actively and increase the country’s Gross National Product and “reduce our dependence on oil”.

  • N2b PPP loan to boost agriculture in Niger

    About 10,000 farmers and agribusiness entrepreneurs in Niger State are to benefit from a N2billion agricultural credit scheme.

    The deal is to be done in a Public Private Partnership (PPP) arrangement between the state government and Bank of Agriculture.

    This was disclosed yesterday in Minna, the state capital when the

    The bank’s Managing Director, Dr. Mohammed Santuraki, broke the news in Minna, the state capital, when he visited Governor Babangida Aliyu.

    Under the arrangement, Santuraki said the bank and the government will provide equal counterpart funding for the scheme for the 2013/’14 farming season.

    The bank chief explained that over 5,500 hectares of arable land will be cultivated under the scheme with concentration on rice, yam, cowpea, cassava, groundnut and fish.

    Appealing to the governor for the release of the government’s counterpart fund, Santuraki said besides direct employment of 50,000 indigenes, the scheme will also improve the quality of lives of about 500,000 others in the next one year.

     

  • World Bank earmarks $1b for agric

    World Bank earmarks $1b for agric

    The World Bank Country Director for Nigeria, Marie-Francoise Marie Nelly, said the global lender will support the agriculture sector with $1 billion to be spent between three and five years.

    Nelly spoke during a Technical Dialogue on Gender and Agriculture organised by the bank yesterday in Abuja.

    She said the bank will not support the Federal Government’s irrigation schemes, arguing that the World Bank had planned to rehabilitate some of the irrigation systems, but was denied access to lands and other forms of support to complement the Federal Government Agricultural Transformation Agenda (ATA).

    She said: “The World Bank is strongly engaging agriculture. We are planning to commit almost $1 billion in the next three to five years in agriculture. Not only on the aspect of transforming the capacity of women, but also in transforming the tools to improve on productivity.

    “One area that is on the line is irrigation.We intend to rehabilitate a number of these irrigation schemes, but cannot be allowed to have large land irrigated for farmers and we hope that in doing so, we certainly will not be able to do so anymore.”

    She described the ATA as a major tool to drive rural-urban growth, achieving food and nutritional security, generate employment as well as position the country among world players in the global food market.

    According to her, the strategy is to improve on the value chains in a few commodity areas, stressing that women were involved in some programme.

    Speaking on the rationale for supporting the agriculture, she said the sector employs 70 per cent of labour and contributes about 40 per cent to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

    “We are practically supporting this programme for two specific reasons. First is the role agriculture plays in Nigeria’s economy where agriculture employs about 70 per cent of the labour force and also represents 40 per cent of Nigerian GDP,” she said.

    Referring to a report titled: Manifestation of gender inequality in agriculture, Nelly said many people involved in agriculture are women.

    While applauding Federal Government’s policy on the liberalisation of access to fertiliser input, she expressed concerns on the yield of female farmers compared to their male counterparts.

    According to her, women would rather spend more of their farm harvest on their children to access quality education, adding that this has made it more imperative to support women farmers in the country by transforming poor households and in doing so, transforming the nation’s economy.

    She said: “In a study we will be presenting, the team has worked on junior allowance survey panel of 75, 000 households and out of that, almost 60 per cent of them are agricultural households and we think it is a good representation of the structure of Nigerian society and economy.

    “Looking at females, we see that globally, as part of the national distribution, 35 per cent are females, but if we focus on rural areas, we will see that 50 per cent of people involved in agriculture are women, which are a significant involvement of women in agriculture and we need to see the implication particularly in the peers.”

    “My question will be, do we make sure women have access to fertilisers? So, in the context of high importance of agriculture in Nigeria, we want to understand how women are participating in agriculture, which is quite significant but the policy proposed, is it adaptive to their specific concerns?”

    In his presentation on: Who produces more? Men or women?, Markus Goldstein of Africa Region Gender Practice, identified difference in skills, education and extension as major contributing factors.

  • Farmers dazzle at agric feast

    Farmers dazzle at agric feast

    Farmers in the Southsouth have proved their resurgence, posting an impressive harvest, despite of last year’s devastating floods.

    The Nigerian Agip Oil Company (NAOC) Ltd, which is hosted by communities in Rivers, Bayelsa, Delta as well as Imo states, praised the farmers whose commitment paid off with a remarkable yield.

    The growers produced enough foodstuff to showcase at the NAOC-Green River Project (GRP) Farmers’ Day and the launch of the 2013 farming season.

    The Managing Director of NAOC, Mr Ciro Antonio Pagana, who made this commendation in Obie-Obrikom, Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Local Government Area of Rivers State during the 17th edition of the GRP, also promised that his company would continue to impact lives in areas such as multiplication and distribution of planting materials as well as various agricultural services in partnership with non-governmental agencies.

    Represented by the General Manager, Human Resources of NAOC, Engr Namaan Dienye, the MD who listed the key areas the company had assisted farmers in 2012 as well as the activities carried out for the improvement of cultivation materials also said that they had provided extension services and training to 54 cooperative societies and 22 secondary schools across the company’s host communities.

    The NAOC Boss also said that during the period under consideration, the company in partnership with Community Development Foundation disbursed a total of N20.8million to 41 farming cooperative societies, women and youth organizations in its micro credit programme.

    To further ameliorate poverty in its host communities, the company also engaged 548 youths in various skills under its skills acquisition programme.

    While commending the efforts of research institutes in the Southern states of Nigeria, he also lauded the governments of the four states where NAOC operates for being of “tremendous assistance to us and our various extension officers operating in these states.”

    In his welcome address, the General Manager District of NAOC, Mr Giovanni Salvini also praised the farmers “who despite the great challenge of 2012 flood disaster, weathered the storm to still provide the agricultural produce we see today.”

    Earlier in his opening remarks, the Chairman of the occasion, Prof Boma Oruwari, who said he was involved at the inception of the GRP also urged Nigerians to take interest in farming because food is important.

    Oruwari who is also the Dean, Faculty of Agriculture, Rivers State University of Science and Technology, Port Harcourt also expressed happiness with the crop of young men who took part in the exhibition of their farm produce noting that “the GRP is getting better and better.”