The Nation Newspaper

Tag: agriculture

  • ‘Farm settlements ‘ll boost agriculture, empower youths’

    The Chief Executive Officer of EZ Farming, Dr Adewale Oparinde, has disclosed that farm settlements will  boost agriculture and empower youths.

    Oparinde stated this at the inauguration of the EZ Farm settlement at Dede village, Osun State, saying that the initiative was a platform for everyone to get involve in agriculture with ease, connecting commercial farmers and investors.

    “Our goal is to connect several stakeholders and investors to commercial farming opportunities. Interested investors and land owners are free to register on our platform. There is also a room for partnership. Aside the fact that we are connecting with communities on the enlightenment on the values of agriculture; we are also engaging youths on how to become successful through agriculture.

    “We have outlined a suitable platform on how to empower youths through this initiative, any interested member would join the platform as an intern  for two or six months, depending on the crop farming they are interested in. Later they would be upgraded to the stage of an upcoming commercial farmers under the commercial farmer guidance. It is a practical farming and our goal is to teach people what professional farming entails. We will allocate land to the person, if the person has no land and provide necessary infrastructure for him or her. Technical guidance would also be provided and the produce would be processed by the commercial farmers. Having gone through all these training, the youth farmer would have become an expert in the field.’’

  • Engage graduates in farming,Taraba Govt urged

    A member of the Taraba Business Community, Alhaji Sani Baba, on Thursday urged Taraba Government to engage graduates in its mechanised farming to check unemployment.

    Baba, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, SBG Global Services, said that graduates of College of Agriculture Jalingo, should be involved in the scheme.

    He gave the advice at an interaction with journalists in Jalingo.

    He said that the state government would set aside large expanse of land for crops and animal production in the three senatorial districts and engage the graduates to work on the farms.

    According to him, portions of the farms can be shared to youths to cultivate different types of crops and government should be ready to buy off from them after harvest to encourage them.

    Read Also:UNILORIN workers, students to get 5,000 hectares for farming

    “Taraba and Rivers Governments can partner to produce rice, cassava and others crops to boost their economy.

    “Today, Lagos and Kebbi are partnering to produce Lake Rice and you can see that the result is wonderful.

    “We need to think beyond oil and find ways of improving our economy,” Baba said.

    He commended the Taraba Green House project, noting that the huge amount of money spent on it could have engaged over 4,000 youths in farming and the result could be far better.

    “The governor can do well to meet the business community and interface with us on how to implement some of his policies, especially those that have to do with empowerment and economy of the state,” Baba said.

    He explained that if agriculture was given its rightful place, Taraba would soon become self-reliant.

  • World food prices down 3.7% in July – FAO

    World food prices fell 3.7 per cent in July from the month before with declines seen across all crop types, the United Nations food agency said on Thursday.

    The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) said in Rome that the drop was the sharpest monthly drop since last December.

    FAO’s food price index, which measures monthly changes for a basket of cereals, oilseeds, dairy products, meat and sugar averaged 168.8 points in July against an upwardly revised 175.3 in June.

    Read Also: India approves death penalty for piracy

    “The decline in July was driven by weaker export quotations for wheat, maize and rice,” FAO said.

    “International wheat prices were generally weaker during the first half of the month, but concerns over production prospects in the EU and

    the Russian Federation started to push export values higher towards the end of the month,” it added.

    The sharpest individual falls were registered in the dairy price index and the sugar price index.

    FAO did not provide any new forecast for cereal output in 2018. The next new forecast will come on Sept. 6.

  • Is Nigeria truly committed to agriculture?

    For nearly a decade, Nigeria’s government has indicated interest in increasing its focus on agriculture, with the aim of ensuring food security and sustainable development. There are obvious reasons for doing so: agriculture accounts for about a quarter of the country’s GDP and nearly half of its workforce. Aside from representing the largest share of non-oil exports in Nigeria, agriculture has the most potential to lift millions of people out of extreme poverty. In 2014, African leaders, including Nigeria’s government, agreed to a set of policy commitments to accelerate inclusive agricultural development on the continent, called the Malabo declaration. However, a recent review of the progress of these commitments shows Nigeria underperforming on a majority of its obligations.

    Given this, it is no surprise that Nigeria’s agricultural productivity has declined, while the number of people facing extreme hunger has increased. According to the 2016 Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) report, an African Union initiative that monitors countries’ progress in agriculture, Nigeria’s agricultural productivity fell at one of the fastest rates on the continent. Since 2014, productivity declined by 20%, compared with growth of 4% and 2% in Rwanda and Ethiopia respectively. 25% of the Nigerian population lack stable access to sufficient amounts of food. In 2016, over 14 million people or 7% of the population were reported to be undernourished—a 33% increase since 2011. If this trend continues, the number of malnourished people in Nigeria will reach 31 million by 2050, equivalent to the population of Ghana.

    Low government investment in agriculture is one of the main drivers of low agricultural productivity and food insecurity. Nigeria has 190 million citizens but just 2% of the federal government budget goes to the agriculture sector, this is less than N1,000 or about $2.50 per person annually.  In Rwanda and Ethiopia, where agriculture is booming, governments spend more than 7% of their budgets on the sector. Rwanda spent 7.5% of its budget on agriculture in 2017, whilst Ethiopia spent 16.8% – in dollars per person—almost $4 and $20 respectively. What is worse, Nigeria’s budgetary allocation of 2% is less than the 3% allocated between 2009 and 2014. It is also far below the commitment made under the Malabo declaration to spend at least 10% of the budget on agriculture.

    As well as increasing government spending on agriculture, it is important that spending prioritizes core challenges in the agricultural sector such as:

    Low investment on research and development: It has been proven that spending on research and development is more effective in boosting agricultural productivity and reducing poverty when compared to other types of agricultural spending, but the government has often ignored these types of investments. According to ActionAid, the share of the agricultural budget allocated to research and development fell by 70% between 2017 and 2018. Currently, only approximately 3% of the agriculture capital budget is allocated to research and development, this does not reflect its level of importance in catalyzing growth in the agriculture sector.

    Weak agricultural input market: An efficient input market is necessary to boost agricultural production. But farmers’ access to items such as seeds, fertilizers, and pesticides has deteriorated significantly, and this results in low input use.  For example, fertilizer use is extremely low at 11kg/ha, compared with an average of 58kg/ha in Ethiopia and 32kg/ha in Rwanda. Currently, budget allocation to the development of the agricultural inputs market represents 7% of agriculture capital budget, up from about 1% in 2017. This is a positive development, and could help address some of the issues in the inputs market. However, we must ensure that these funds are spent adequately, and that funds do not crowd-out private investment into the input market.

    Low farmers’ access to extension services: Agricultural extension services remain the major vehicle for transfer of technology and best agricultural practices to small-scale farmers, who represent over 80% of the farming population. But in 2016, less than 15% of Nigerian farmers had access to extension services. Despite this, the budget for extension services in 2018 dramatically declined to one-third of its 2017 level so it is likely to become even more difficult to educate and empower many of these farmers.

    Rising youth unemployment and a widening gender gap: Women and youth have historically been left behind in agriculture. It is encouraging to see the government’s commitment to empowering these groups in a bid to achieve inclusive growth, but much more investment is needed. In 2018, programmes containing youth elements received 3% of the agricultural capital budget, and those with a gender focus received just over 2%. But at the end of 2017, more than half of the Nigerian youth in the workforce (15-35 yrs) were either unemployed or underemployed, and so the government must invest more if it is to achieve a youth-led agricultural transformation. Women working in agriculture are still a long way from benefiting from their labour, despite accounting for nearly half of agricultural production.

    Adverse climatic effect on agriculture. There is an increasing need for investments that help farmers adapt to the adverse effects of climate change such as extreme weather and natural disasters. For instance, the days in which it will be possible to grow crops in sub-Saharan Africa will decrease by about 20% by 2050, impacting crop and livestock productivity. This means that the government needs to increase its budget for climate smart agriculture significantly above the 2% of agriculture capital budget in 2018.

    There are many important reasons why Nigeria’s government needs to increase its spending on agriculture but arguably the greatest is the one that has the potential to be either transformational or catastrophic. By 2030, the country’s population will reach 265 million, more than half of whom will be under the age of 25 years. Adequate investments need to be made now to double agricultural productivity and ensure that Nigeria’s growing population is employed and well-nourished.

     

    • Razaq, Fiona and Anita are part of the global policy team at ONE, an international campaigning and advocacy organization working to end extreme poverty and preventable disease.

  • Ayade is BusinessDay Best Governor in Agriculture

    Cross River State Governor Ben Ayade has won BusinessDay Award for Best Performing Governor in Agriculture. The newspaper said the award was in recognition of Professor Ayade’s initiative in agriculture.

    President Muhammadu Buhari recently inaugurated Africa’s first and only Rice seeds and Seedling Factory in Calabar.

    The factory is one of Ayade’s signature projects.

    Buhari commended the governor for keying into the economic diversification policy of his administration by investing in agriculture, describing him as a reference point in agricultural revolution.

    Ayade who has often spoken of his determination to remove Cross River from over-dependence on oil- driven federal allocation through diversification, is also building a modern rice mill in Ogoja, and a 30000 yearly cocoa processing plant in Ikom.

    He has established a cotton farm in Woda, Yala,  Banana Plantation in Odukpani. Work has commenced on the Calabar mordern poultry farm and  yellow maize farm in Obubra  among others.

    The Business Day Award, which will be confered on the governor on Thursday, at Transcorp Hilton, Abuja, is the latest award confered on Ayade in recognition of his achievements.

    He had won the Vanguard Governor of the Year Award, Authority newspaper Governor of the Year Award, Tell magazine Man of the Year Award, and The Most Labour Friendly Governor Award, from the organised Labour.

     

     

     

  • Britain to support Osun in agriculture, education, others

    The British government has pledged to collaborate with and complement the efforts of the Osun State government in education, agriculture, politics, tourism and infrastructure.

    The British High Commissioner, Mr Paul Arkwright, spoke yesterday when he visited Governor Rauf Aregbesola in Osogbo, the state capital.

    The envoy, who was accompanied by the Political Adviser at the Deputy British High Commission in Lagos, Mr Wale Adebajo, said the British government would support the state’s economy by strengthening its potential for the betterment of her citizenry.

    He said: “The present administration in the state has done so well and this has made the British government to deem it fit to render assistance to the state to strengthen its economy.

    “The British government is interested in boosting the economic opportunities of Osun; we want to work with the state to galvanise its economic potentials for the betterment of all.

    “Since Osun is rich in mining and mineral resources, our government is ready to do everything possible to revive the state’s potentials in this regard and ensure that the sector enjoys necessary attention from government.

    “We are also ready to assist the state in the areas of tourism, agriculture, mining and human capacity development. Our keen interest to support the state in agriculture is aimed at bringing back the lost glory of the sector and putting in the required values to every aspect of the sectors.

    “It is a pity that 90 per cent of cocoa production in the world comes from Africa, but is sad to know that just 10 per cent of the benefit is what Africa gets. So, we want this to change…”

    Aregbesola hailed the British government for extending the hands of economic support to the state.

    He said: “…We thank the British government for the prospect of economic development and the move to deepen the democratic process of our land.

    “As a government, we are so passionate about human development to the extent that nothing will be spared to make life better for them. One of our strong points as a people is agriculture, especially cocoa production, which makes us the second largest producer of the produce in the country.

    “There is also mining; there is a huge deposit of gold in commercial quantity in our state and we would love you to assist us in attracting investment in this very lucrative area.

    “Tourism is another significant area of interest for us. Osun is the historical centre of the Yoruba from all over the world. The state has the highest number of traditional towns with the longest history. We will also want you to assist us in our mid-region market under the O-hub project.”

     

  • Case for agriculture

    Sir: As a stakeholder and as a practitioner of many years in the agriculture sector, it is high time we focussed on other sectors of the economy aside oil, which will bring in the needed foreign exchange. Agriculture is one sector which can make us self-sufficient in food production, as food importation is one area that drains the country of its forex reserve, while also providing jobs for foreign farmers.

    Also, making agriculture the mainstay of our economy will provide employment for our unemployed youth, as it should no longer be viewed as a developmental project, but as a business capable of generating growth.

    Nigeria remains the most populous in Africa, seventh globally with an estimated population of over 180 million; yet as good as it sounds, going by the huge market it provides for business, it also comes with a threat. How can this huge population feed and survive when local food production activity is continuously on the decline?

    Before the discovery of crude oil in 1956, agriculture was the mainstay of Nigerian economy and we recorded low unemployment rate and minimal social vices and civil unrest.

    In the heydays of the agricultural sector, raw materials such as cocoa, rubber, palm oil, groundnut, timber, among others, were exported in large quantities to industrialised nations, thus, making Nigeria a major exporter of these products. Things changed when crude oil came on board, government shifted its attention and this naturally, led to mass exodus of people from agricultural activities. Now, experience has shown that only oil sector cannot sustain the nation, hence, call for the revival of the agricultural sector to enable the country produce enough food to feed its teeming population, provide jobs for the youth and generate more revenue into  the coffers of the  state.

    Now this is the time to discuss methods to promote increased food production, poverty alleviation, food insecurity, empowerment of small-scale farmers and the need for holistic agricultural research encompassing various stakeholders in the government and non-governmental sectors of the agricultural value chain.

    The inauguration of the National Food Security Council, consisting of all stakeholders  by President Muhammadu Buhari with a mandate to among other things, address all problems capable of creating food security crisis in the country, is lofty, but government should ensure its success by frontally tackling all the challenges that mitigate against food sufficiency in the country.

    High interest rate is affecting the growth of agricultural, sector, and to stimulate a whole lot of agricultural production, interest rate should drop to single digit, not more than 5% with less cumbersome collateral conditions

    There is urgent need now more than ever before for mechanisation of agricultural to pave way for all seasons farming, across the country. Government must address the farmers/herders clashes because of the deleterious effects on food production.

    Also, rebranding agricultural insurance for food security is needed, as it will boost food production.

     

    • Chief Emmanuel Folorunsho Ogunnaike (MFR),

    Former Vice Chairman, Poultry Association of Nigeria (PAN).

  • Why Nigerians must consider ‘farm to factory’ programme

    Agriculture is the mainstay of several African countries, including Nigeria, where it contributes more to the country’s GDP than even oil. Well over 70% of the Nigerian workforce are employed either directly or indirectly along the agricultural value chain, making it a strategic sector capable of engineering meaningful growth. Its huge potential notwithstanding, the agricultural sector in Nigeria is struggling to live up to its true potential. Wrong policy choices, a widening infrastructural gap and inadequate commercial funding are but a few factors limiting the realisation of the aforementioned potential of the agricultural sector.

    Even though the agricultural sector employs far more direct labour, 82% of that number are mostly at the subsistence level, farming on less than two hectares of land and earning less than 30 dollars a month. These farmers sell most of their harvests to middlemen who squeeze them out of their profits largely because they lack the capacity to access major markets where they can negotiate better prices. This infrastructural impediment has left millions of small holder farmers poor and unable to significantly climb the social ladder.

    For instance, to move a typical container from Lagos to Kano will cost the farmer about the same as moving that same container from Lagos to Osaka in Japan which is 13 times farther. Usually, drivers have to part with opaque fees at several check points across the country, many times even settling ‘area boys’ to allow for safe passage or risk losing the entire commodity being transported. It is further worthy of concern to note, that though Nigeria has a cattle population of 33 million cows, we still spend a million dollars per day on imported milk powder.

    Worse is that when dairy products get to stores from our farms, they cost three times more than the price of milk imported from Europe. Except we bridge this huge infrastructural gaps and improve our supply chains, Nigeria will continue to create several jobs for hard working young people in Thailand, Indonesia, China and India.

    Less we forget, asides our huge infrastructural deficit, the shortage in supply of fertilizers to farmers is a huge Impediment to productivity. A simple comparative analysis of the amount of fertilizers used per acre of arable land vis-à-vis several other countries will expose the fragility of our agricultural out-put.

    Averagely, Nigeria uses about 6kg of fertilizer per acre of arable land while China uses 180kg, India 182kg, Indonesia 550kg and even Ghana 18kg per acre of arable land.  A lot more needs to be done in this regard in a bid to boost productivity and agricultural output. The recent administration has extensively focused its agricultural policy on low value crops like rice and yams which can, in the long run, only provide a little more food for the farmer and his family to eat but can hardly significantly improve his livelihood. Trust me, it is good to feed but I am more concerned about creating wealth and employment opportunities for hundreds of thousands of youths and not simply feeding them.

    This is why we have rolled out an ambitious programme called “Farm to Factory”, that will target high value crops like cocoa, cotton, rubber, groundnuts and palm kernel to ensure that they are not exported as primary raw materials but are processed, packaged and distributed across the country. Think about it, we produce 1.8 million metric tons of tomatoes and import 170million dollars’ worth of tomato paste yearly. If we can ensure a state policy of processing and packaging most of the tomatoes we produce, we will succeed in creating thousands of jobs for young people around the country and possibly seek new markets outside the country in future.

    Hence, there is also the need to provide institutional support for big commercial farmers to enable them boost their outputs to meet the demand of the factories and the general consumers. Same would apply for other crops like groundnuts, cocoa and rubber. The extension and investment in the agricultural value chain from ‘farm to factory’ will stimulate the economy so much that about 10 million jobs will be created in eight years.

    Nigeria has an annual consumption of $301 billion consisting of mainly consumer goods which a large chunk can be produced in the country by adopting an industrialisation policy. In fact, by 2030, the annual consumption would have hit about $950 billion creating a huge opportunity for industries producing consumer goods. The question to answer is, will we reposition ourselves to capture a sizable amount of the market share by pursuing industrialisation or will we continue to outsource our jobs to China, South-Asia and Europe.

    • Garba, an ICT expert, writes from Abuja

  • Buhari urges youths to maximise opportunities in agriculture

    President Muhammadu Buhari has reiterated his call on youths in Nigeria to seize opportunities in agriculture, a sector of the economy he said is already proving to be the bedrock of the nation’s new economy.

    He spoke on Monday at Blair House, Washington DC after his White House engagements with President Donald Trump, at a meeting the Chief Executive Officers of six American agricultural companies and their Nigerian counterparts including Aliko Dangote and John Coumantaros.

    He again lamented the challenges of the country’s youth bulge, with “sixty per cent of the population below 30 years.”

    The President said the country must help the young people to plan their future and urged them to explore opportunities easily accessible in agriculture because, as he said, “agriculture is the future.”

    While stressing that planning in Nigeria must take into consideration the factors of climate and a bulging youth population, President Buhari also promised the support of his administration in the promotion of skill development, innovation and entrepreneurship among the young population.

    According to a statement by the Senior Special Assistant on Media and publicity, Garba Shehu, the President said “We realized, rather belatedly that we ought to have been investing in agriculture. We are now aiming at food security because of our large population. Our youths, the ones who have gone to school and even those that have not, should go to the farm, to earn respect for themselves. Agriculture is providing jobs for millions of our citizens and we are doing well towards the attainment of food security and jobs. The media may not appreciate the work we are doing but we will shock them by the success we are recording.”

    He welcomed the several investment proposals being put in place by the Americans and their Nigerian counterparts.

    Among those brought up for discussions were the three million tons fertilizer by Dangote, the largest in Africa coming on stream in July, to be followed by another one to produce 1.4 million tons of the commodity; a large-scale modern seed production company, and weed and pest management and chemicals products companies by the Americans.

    Similarly, the Burger King food chain with plans to integrate local farmers in livestock production; the Heinz tomatoes production, with backward integration of Nigerian tomato farmers; and another company coming to set up a local branch to facilitate merchandising of commodities, in effect establishing a link between the Nigerian producers and the global market.

    A tractor manufacturing company, John Deer, also unfolded a plan for an assembly plant to produce 10,000 tractors in four years in Nigeria. They will all come with jobs for Nigerians.

    In a second business meeting same day, President Buhari brought together Nigerian businessmen and their American counterparts from the U.S Chamber of Commerce and the Corporate Council on Africa, (CCA.)

    The U.S Chamber, on behalf of its three million member-companies which included General Electric, Chevron, Proctor and Gamble and Boeing aircraft manufacturers, expressed happiness with improved security in the Niger Delta, reforms in the economy leading to ease in doing business, and the war the administration is waging against corruption.

    Several of the oncoming plans were disclosed to the President who demanded concrete plans and an aggressive timetable for their actualization.

    He envisaged that the investment schemes will lead to a lot of new opportunities for the Nigerian youth.

    Read Also: What Trump and I discussed, by Buhari

  • Edo earmarked 200, 000ha for oil palm plantation – Obaseki

    Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, has said his administration plans to earmark not less than 200,000 hectares of land for organised oil palm plantation to diversify the state’s economy and create jobs for its teeming youth population.

    Obaseki disclosed this during the public presentation and launching of the Nigeria National Interpretation of Round table on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) in Benin City, Edo State on Wednesday.

    He said, “The goal for the palm oil industry is to have not less than 200,000 hectares of organised oil palm plantation by the end of my administration. We are ready to fulfil our commitment made during the commissioning of the extension II project for Okomu Oil Palm Company, to pioneer the establishment of Oil Palm Council of Nigeria.”

    According to him, the state is committed to the principles of the RSPO, noting, “Adopting the principle is critical in ensuring the achievement of the goal to position the state as the hub of palm oil production in the country. We will develop a master plan to deepen and re-enforce some of the RSPO principles with specific benchmark.”

    He said as part of the state’s plans to ensure RSPO compliance, the state government has partnered with Pro-Forest to audit the forest assets in the state. “We have set-up a technical committee to review the report and work towards establishing a forestry commission for the state,” he said.

    Obaseki commended Okomu Oil Palm Plc. for its collaboration with the state to train fifty students from the College of Agriculture, Iguorhiakhi for a period of three months.

    “The college was closed to allow for a comprehensive revamp. We require support of stakeholders to drive investment, economic growth and wealth creation through agriculture. The support will also assist the state to build a College of Education that will be responsible for providing needed technical manpower for the sector,” he noted.

    Chief Executive Officer, SIAT Group, Gert Vandersmissen, said the oil palm sector in the state, if properly positioned, will be among the most sustainable in the world.

    According to him, “This will be sustainable for large estate development. Oil palm is important as none of its products is a waste. It also has the capacity to create wealth for farmers and serve as a means through which poverty can be reduced.”

    NAN