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Tag: Chief Audu Ogbe

  • Ogbe was a great statesman, says former Benue SSG

    Ogbe was a great statesman, says former Benue SSG

    A former Secretary to Benue State government, Prof David Onu Salifu, has described the death of former minister, Chief Audu Ogbe, as a great loss to Nigeria, Benue State and Idoma land in particular.

     Salifu noted that   Ogbe who served Nigeria variously- as minister of communications in the second Republic, and minister of agriculture much later, was, “in every sense, a shining star among his peers. He was a man whose brilliance, intellect, and integrity illuminated every space he entered.

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    He possessed a rare combination of vision and humility, and he carried his responsibilities with a grace that inspired admiration across generations.”

    Speaking further in tribute, Salifu who is a professor of Public Administration  at the  Federal University Wukari, described Ogbe as “a foremost statesman whose contributions to the growth and development of our dear country is well documented.

    “He was also a renowned farmer and agriculturist with farms that fed Nigerians. Nigerians will also fondly remember him for being a national political party leader.”

  • Edo farmers to cultivate 250,000 hectares of land in two years – Obaseki

    Edo farmers to cultivate 250,000 hectares of land in two years – Obaseki

     

    …harps on modern farming methods

     

    The Governor of Edo State, Mr. Godwin Obaseki has disclosed that the goal of his administration in the next two years is to ensure that farmers in the State cultivate a minimum of 250,000 hectares of farmland.

    Obaseki said this at the weekend during  the 13th Esan Economic Empowerment Workshop, with the theme: “Modernising Agri-business in Esan Land for Economic Empowerment,” organised by the Association of Esan Professionals.

    He explained that agriculture is at the centre of the economic reconstruction programme of the Federal Government as well as Edo State government due to the sector’s potential to create millions of jobs.

    “This initiative is in line with my administration’s commitment to create 200,000 jobs for Edo people, which we promised during our electioneering campaign,” the governor said.

    He said agriculture is being embraced in Edo State due to the incentives his administration is providing to make access to land, fertiliser and other inputs easy for farmers.

    He further said that his administration has revamped the Edo fertiliser plant in Auchi to enable farmers have same type of fertiliser after proper examination of the soil to ensure healthy crop production.

    “We have equally revamped the College of Agriculture in the state to train our farmers and help them with the required knowledge to grow healthy agricultural products for export.”

    Obaseki said the Gelegele Sea Port is another important project that will help in the export of finished agricultural products.

    He urged the youths to embrace agriculture as his administration is creating the enabling environment for large scale farming, easy access to land and improved seedlings.

    “Agriculture is now scientifically done and mechanisation will help us compete in the international agricultural market.”

    The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbe, congratulated the organisers of the workshop and pledged the support of the federal government for their programme.

    The Minister who was represented by the State Director, Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Edo State Office, Omoragbon Wellington, assured that the Federal Government would support the group in the area of capacity building and supply of processing machines at subsidised rate.

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    The president of the Association of Esan Professionals, organisers of the workshop, Barr. Mathew Egbadon, said the association was established with the sole objective of serving as a non- political platform for the Esan people to contribute their quota to the development of Esan land.

    He said the association has established Esan Education Trust Fund to assist indigent students in accessing quality education.

    Egbadon said the association is focusing on agriculture because Esan people have comparative advantage in the sector with the vast land available for farming.

    Highlight of the event was the presentation of a cash gift of N500, 000 to three schools for coming tops in a quiz competition organised to test their proficiency in Esan language.

    The cash reward was to encourage proficiency in Edo languages in line with the state government’s resolve to promote Edo culture.

  • FG seeks law to export goat carcass, others

    FG seeks law to export goat carcass, others

    Minister of Agriculture, Chief Audu Ogbe, Thursday  sought the assistance of the Senate to review the export prohibition law to enable the country export certain food items including yam and goat meat.

    Ogbe told the Senate Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development that the country cannot export certain agro-products because of the law prohibiting their export.

    The minister specifically mentioned yam as one of the agro-products that cannot be exported because of its prohibition.

    He said, “It cannot be exported because of the law. You have to help us. The law banning certain things including yam has to be amended. We have the request of goat meat from Qatar. We have the request of 120,000 goat carcass per week from Qatar. But there is a law you can’t export.”

    Ogbe noted that at least N500 billion should be set aside by the Federal Government as Agricultural Fund to move the sector forward.

    The minister who said that credit facility for farmers remained a big issue insisted that “we have to find funds for agriculture and if we don’t have up to N500 billion for agriculture we are not going anywhere.”

    He said that big time farmers in the country are foreigners because they have access to funds.

    Ogbe said that although foreigners should invest in agriculture to create employment in the country, local farmers should also be empowered to invest in big time farming.

    The minister decried the attitude of the elite who thought that “there is nothing in agriculture” and appealed for a change of attitude.

    Ogbe muted the idea of the introduction of scale as a means of buying and selling in the country.

    He said, “We have to introduce scale. If you want to buy a bag of rice, what is a bag of rice. It should be weighed and you pay. If you want to buy onions, it is weighed and you pay. A buyer should know what he is paying for. We are working on it.”

    On the menace of kidnappers, Ogbe said that the Federal Government would soon roll out fully armed 3000 Agric Rangers trained by the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) to guard farms and their owners.

    He said that his ministry in collaboration with the Ministry of Interior engaged the Agric Rangers and will soon begin operation.

  • Govt saves $5m daily from ban on rice, wheat imports

    Govt saves $5m daily from ban on rice, wheat imports

    The Minister of Agriculture, Chief Audu Ogbe yesterday in Kano said the policy on the ban of importation of rice and wheat has enabled the country to save $5 million daily.

    Chief Ogbe, who spoke in Garun Baba village in Kano during this year’s wheat farm harvest ceremony, said the importation of rice, wheat and some other cereal crops through land borders, as well the raising of tariffs on them, have been saving the nation $5 million daily.

    “The tariff increase introduced in December last year saw the import duty on rice increased from 10 to 60 per cent in an effort to increase local production of the product,” he said.

    Chief Ogbe added that the policy option has created wealth for local farmers and those in the farm produce value chain.

    “The rice you grow, the wheat you grow is saving Nigeria a lot of money. Before now we were spending N5 billion a day importing rice from Thailand. Now that money is in the hands and pocket of farmers in Kano, Jigawa, Kebbi and other parts of the country.

    “That is why farmers are getting richer; before now, the money was going to some other places and the poverty was coming here, that era is gone,” he noted.

    He said the figure represents the money being spent on the importation of these farm produce before the ban on food importation and tariff increase by the government.

    Chief Ogbe commended Kano State government and the farmers for the rice, wheat and other food programme saying it has expelled recession from the state and supplied food to needy states across the federation.

    “I’m proud of you and thank you for all your effort. I know if we give you the right support as we are trying to do, you can feed the whole nation and there will be no hunger in Nigeria,” he added.

    He said further production is being encouraged through reduction of price of fertiliser to as low as less than N6,000 per bag by the Federal Government via an arrangenment with the Moroccan government.

    On herdsmen/farmer clashes and cattle rustling, the minister said grazing reserves are being created across the federation fitted with accommodation, human and veterinary clinics, water, schools among others to stop herdsmen from roaming about,

    “Similarly, the good news is that 3,000 Civil Defense operatives are being trained by the Nigeria army to combat issues of cattle rustling perpetrated on those rearing cattle by hoodlums,” he noted.

  • Agriculture: U.S launches $2m partnership with Nigeria

    Agriculture: U.S launches $2m partnership with Nigeria

    Nigeria efforts towards achieving food security received a boost on Monday as the United States Agency for International Development (USAID)
    launched a two-million dollars agricultural partnership.

    The U.S. Government’s agricultural and private sector partnership is aimed at promoting the development of Nigeria’s agriculture sector.

    Speaking at the launch held at the Embassy in Abuja, U.S. Deputy Chief of Mission,  Maria E. Brewer, said that the two years partnership was with two local companies including Babban Gona and Hello Tractor.

    The partnership, Brewer was aimed at increasing access to smart tractors, improved seeds, and profitable markets for over 45,000 smallholder farmers across seven states and the Federal Capital Territory.

    Brewer explained that under the first partnership, Babban Gona helps to address economy of scale problems for smallholder farmers by forming cooperatives called ‘trust groups’.

    “Over the next two years, Babban Gona will help more than 20,000 small holder farmers in five states increase yield and potentially increase their income up to 30 per cent.

    “The success of this partnership will support Hello Tractors sales, while providing 115 young people with an opportunity to build businesses in providing tractor hiring services.

    “Improved access to tractor services will allow 24,500 small holder farmers across three states to boost their productivity and gain higher revenues for their households,” she said.

    According to her with these partnerships, the U.S. government’s Feed the Future Partnering for Innovation programme will provide training, financing, and mentoring opportunities to experienced entrepreneurs to young agricultural entrepreneurs alike.

    The Minister of Agriculture Chief Audu Ogbe at the launch commended USAID for its support for Nigeria at its critical moment.

    Ogbe harped on the need for investment in agricultural sector which he said was key to economic development.

    “There is future in agriculture, if you invest in it you are securing your future, if we don’t invest in agriculture there may not be a place to call our nation in future.

    “If we don’t deal with the food challenge, we will never be able to cope with the food challenge,” he said.

    The USAID Mission Director in Nigeria, Mr Michael Harvey said that under the Feed the Future initiative USAID partners with private sector to support smallholder farmers in Nigeria.

    According to him through these partnerships USAID addresses development and business challenges by increasing access to improved agricultural inputs and mechanisation, better quality technical advisory services, and expanding market opportunities for smallholder farmers.

    These partnerships capitalises on the untapped potential of youth in agriculture and helped build capacity of young entrepreneurs to help grow their businesses, create jobs and boost economic growth in Nigeria,” he said.

    The Chief Executive Officer of Hello Tractor, Mr Jehiel Oliver, said that through the partnership smallholder farmers would gain access to tractor services.

    Oliver said that the collaboration would afford 100 youth entrepreneurs on the business opportunity of owning and maintaining a fleet of smart tractors.

    He added that some 15 young technicians would benefits from trade skills to repair Smart Tractor.

    A representative of Babban Gona, Ms Chinwe Osuji, said that through the partnership the company would create positive impact for 20,000 smallholder farmers.

    She said that the company addressed the challenge of small farmers by forming strong cooperatives called Trust Groups, which enable farmers to gain access to new markets and sell at premium.

    She said that Baban Gona provided member farmers with services designed to optimised crop yields production costs, and prices of agricultural outputs.

    She said that the model helps to increase profitability of smallholder farmers and contributes to household food security and improved livelihoods.

  • Agric to create three million jobs – Minister

    Agric to create three million jobs – Minister

    Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbe, Thursday said that the Agricultural sub-sector will create three million sustainable jobs this year.

    Ogbe also said that government has concluded arrangements to focus on Agriculture as one of the key sectors for economic diversification as well as the largest contributor to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

    The Minister spoke at his ministry’s 2016 budget defence session in the Senate.

    He noted that the key initiative for the fiscal year, 2016 in the Agricultural sub=sector is to increase the national food supply to address national food security, to add 20 million metric tons of food annually and to create three million sustainable jobs annually.

    The ministry, he said, will continue with the Growth Enhancement Support (GES) programme as a platform to deliver inputs like fertilizer, seeds and agro-chemicals to small holder farmers.

    On critical projects and programmes, he said that the ministry in the budget 2016 will concentrate on import substitution commodity value chains; export substitution commodity value chains; labour intensive family enterprise (Life) programmes; agricultural mechanization and grazing reserves/ stock routes development.

    The minister who gave summary of 2015 budget performance said that N2,755,369,984 representing 50% of capital appropriation was released and N488,133,883 representing 18% of release was utilized, leaving a balance of N2,266,417,876.

    The balance, he said, will be utilized before March 31, 2016.

    He said that the ministry projects Internally Generated Revenue of N904, 739,098.69 for 2016 fiscal year.

    The IGR, he said, will be made up of N664, 998,569.88 as taxes and N239, 740,528.81 as Independent Revenue.

    The 2016 budget proposal for the ministry is N40, 918,856,927

     

  • Manufacturers urge Agric Minister to rescind ban on raw material

    Manufacturers urge Agric Minister to rescind ban on raw material

    Investors and members of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) in the agricultural sector have called on the Minister of Agriculture, Chief Audu Ogbe to help in the reversal of forex policy by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

    The forex policy of the CBN included one of MAN’s most important raw materials, Crude Palm Oil (CPO) on the ‘not valid for forex’ list.

    Recently, President of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), Dr. Frank Udemba Jacobs said that forex should be made available for genuine manufacturers that use CPO as a major raw material for production of end goods such as noodles, biscuits, cosmetics, etc.

    According to him, this decision by the apex Bank has threatened the existence of several manufacturing companies who rely heavily on Crude palm oil as a major raw material for production.

    “These companies have invested heavily in plants and machinery worth several billions of dollars in the country and what the CBN is indirectly telling them is that it could not be bothered with the challenges this policy is posing to our members,” Jacobs noted.

    The manufacturers’ chief further revealed that these companies have been involved in the agricultural sector of the nation’s economy as part of their backward integration program, thereby creating more jobs and strengthening Nigeria’s ability to be self-sufficient in food, beverage and cosmetic production.

    Dr Jacobs commended the present administration for its efforts in trying to revolutionalise local industries through this policy; but stressed that there are certain indices that must be taken into consideration before full implementation of such policy.

    He explained that while the policy is a welcomed development, there should be no sudden obstruction to importation of the raw material that is needed for local production, especially when demand for such material cannot be met locally.

    According to Index Mundi, a data portal, the domestic palm oil produced in Nigeria equaled 930,000 MT in 2014. The consumption of palm oil in Nigeria amounts to 2.0 million MT per annum.

    The official figures states that the shortage in oil palm industry is estimated to be around 900,000 MT annually. This poses a very precarious situation for the manufacturing sector that depends largely on CPO as a major source of raw material.

    If this shortage is not filled with importation of high quality food grade palm oil, the economy will lose further investment in the manufacturing sector as companies would be forced to shut down and relocate their business outside the country, like it happened in the past.

    It is pertinent to note that 90.0% of crude palm oil is consumed by the food industry and the remaining 10.0% is used by the non-food industry. Food products like noodles, biscuits, vegetable oil, margarines, cereals and bakeries, depend on CPO as raw material.

    The Noodles industry alone consumes 72,000 MT of imported palm oil and the leading, domestic palm oil producers cannot meet this demand. Nigeria today produces only 1.7% of the world’s consumption of crude palm oil, which is insufficient to meet its domestic consumption that stands at 2.7% and likely to increase in coming years.

    Jacobs explained that for Nigeria to meet the shortfall in local usage of crude palm oil and be self sufficient, Nigeria needs a total plantation of 300,000 hectares of land, which presently is not available.

    He emphasized that backward integration program is a long and gradual process, and most of the major users of CPO have already embarked on huge investment in plantations across the country.

    Palm plantations takes time to come to full maturity before it can be harvested and while this process is ongoing, there must not be a total shutdown of the plants due to inability to access forex to purchase high grade CPO from foreign markets.