The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Farmers

  • FG provides agro chemicals, tools for farmers in Ondo

    FG provides agro chemicals, tools for farmers in Ondo

    The Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development says it has provided 6,975 different agro-chemicals and 48,334 pieces of agricultural equipment for sale to farmers in Ondo State.

    Mrs Funke Omagbemi, the state Director, Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, said this in an interview on Tuesday in Akure.

    Omagbemi said that 4,048 different agro-chemicals and 125 pieces of equipment were made available for sales in July.

    She also said that 2,927 different agrochemicals and 48,209 pieces of equipment were also presented for sale to farmers in September.

    “In the first batch, the state received 24 gallons of Super Grow; 692 sachets of Ultimax Plus; 1,406 litres of Champ D; 397 packs of Aflasafe (Cereal) and 169 litres of Cypermetrin.

    “Besides, 45 litres of Grammazone; 573 litres of Paraquat; 147 litres of Pendimentaline; 204 of Retrazine and 392 litres of Uproot were received,’’ she said.

    Omagbemi also said that in respect of agricultural equipment, the state received 29 3HP water pumps, six 2HP water pumps; 11 double-action solo pumps; two jab planters; 74 knapsack sprayers and three multipurpose threshers.

    She said that under the second batch, the state received 16 gallons of Super Grow; 461 litres of Ultimax Plus; 936 sachets of Champ D; 265 kg. of Aflasafe and 113 litres of Cypermetrin.

    Also, 115 litres of Cranston Spectrum; 382 litres of Paraquat; 98 litres of Pendimentaline; 136 litres of Retrazine; 261 litres of Uproot; 74 litres of Round Up and 70 kg. of Amine Salt were received, she added.

    “In terms of equipment, the state received 20 3HP water pumps, four 2HP water pumps; 11,765 cocoa polythene bags and seven double-action solo pumps.

    “Others include 36,250 oil palm polythene bags; one jab planter; 160 knapsack sprayers and two multipurpose threshers,’’ she said.

    Omagbemi said that the items were sold to farmers across the state in highly subsidised prices.

    “We tried as much as possible to make sure that those items were sold to real farmers, and not to those who wanted to resell them,’’ she said..

    The state director said that if the state government could support the Federal Government’s efforts, the cost of agricultural production in the state would go down, while food prices would consequently be reduced.

    “The Federal Government is not only encouraging farmers go into production, it is also providing inputs with highly subsidised prices for them so as to enable them to make more profit,’’ she said.

    She, therefore, called on farmers in the state to key into Federal Government’s agricultural schemes so as to enable them to benefit maximally from government support.

    Besides, Omagbemi said that the ministry had trained 12 unemployed graduates in fish farming.

    “Each of them received 500 species of juvenile fish, six bags of feeds, farm booth, farm overall, weight scale, tank and N10, 000 financial support,’’ she added.

    NAN

  • IFAD distributes N8.6m rice processing equipment to farmers

    IFAD distributes N8.6m rice processing equipment to farmers

    The International Fund for Agricultural Development ( IFAD ) – Value Chain Development Programme ( VCDP ) on Tuesday distributed rice processing equipment worth N8.6 million to five women farmers groups in Niger.

    The State Programme Coordinator ( SPC ), Dr. Mathew Ahmed, while distributing the equipment to the farmers in Minna on Tuesday, said the measure would go a long way in creating jobs.

    According to him, it will also ensure that local rice farmers produce the crop in line with international best practices.

    “We are here today to distribute rice processing machines to our farmers to enable them produce rice that will compete favourably with the foreign rice.

    “Many of the foreign rice we eat today in Nigeria are not better than our local rice because they are expired but our local rice is fresh.

    Read also: Edo, Delta, Cross River fish farmers get equipment

    “Some of the foreign rice we eat constitute health hazards, hence the need for VCDP to ensure food security,’’ he said.

    The equipment distributed included five rice de-stoners, 10 rice parboilers, and 46 manual sprayers.

    The coordinator said IFAD-VCDP would subsidise the cost of the equipment.

    He explained that the groups selected from the five participating local government areas in the VCDP applied for the equipment.

    The local governments include Bida, Wushishi, Kontagora, Shiroro and Katcha.

    He said that aside training the farmers in mechanised farming in the value chain, the programme also trained them in using first-bottom approach to parboil rice.

    “We are presently working with the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control ( NAFDAC ) and Standards Organisation of Nigeria ( SON ) to make sure that our farmers adhere to international best practices that will make their product accepted across the globe,’’ he said.

    He said that there were 13,000 farmers participating in rice and cassava value chain in the state.

    In her remarks, Dr Amina Bello, wife of the state governor, Alhaji Abubakar Bello commended IFAD-VCDP, saying that it had added value to the state’s agriculture drive.

    She was represented by Mrs Kaltume Rufai, the Permanent Secretary, Niger State Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development.

    Bello urged the beneficiaries to utilise the equipment to ensure success of the programme.

    Responding on behalf of one of the beneficiary groups,  Hajiya Hadiza Yunusa, Chairman, Nufawamasu Gumi Rice Producers Association, Bida said that before the coming of IFAD-VCDP the colour of their rice was not attractive and contained impurities.

    Yunusa said that the VCDP had trained them on modern ways of cultivating, processing and marketing rice.

    “Now we sell our rice and cassava to other West African countries, our customers even book in advance,’’ Yunusa said.

    NAN

  • Orji donates 1000 fertilizer cans to farmers

    The Senator representing Abia Central Senatorial Zone , Chief Theodore  Orji,  has donated 1000 cans of fertiliser to farmers in the zone.

    Orji, who is also the vice chairman of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, said the gesture was to improve crops yield.

    Media Assistant to the Senator Don Obinna said  the gesture was in line with eradicating, poverty, hunger and child mortality in the zone.

    He said: “In agriculture, Abia State is 65 per cent farmers when one looks at Isiala-Ngwa North and South that produce enormous pineapple needs of the state. All the six local governments in the state are agrarian, capable of feeding the state and beyond.”

  • Beware of fraudsters, Ogun urges farmers

    The Ogun State government has urged farmers, especially those residing in state’s forest reserves to beware of fraudsters allegedly demanding money to influence the proposed review of Forestry and Wild Life LawA before the State House of Assembly in their favour.

    Commissioner for Forestry, Chief Kolawole Lawal, gave the advice in Abeokuta, Ogun State capital revealed that some miscreants had reportedly approached farmers in Omo Forest Reserved Area demanding they contribute money under the pretence of influencing the proposed law.

    He stated that such money was a waste, adding that the review of the law wasn’t within their powers, saying it remained the responsibility of government to carry out such amendment.

    Lawal said: “We consider any money contributed for this purpose as waste. The review of the law is a statutory and sole responsibility of the government of Ogun State over which nobody has any right. Our legislators are known to be people of impeccable characters and integrity who cannot be influenced in the discharge of their legislative duties.’’

  • World Food Day: Obaseki salutes farmers, rural women

    World Food Day: Obaseki salutes farmers, rural women

    The Governor of Edo State, Mr Godwin Obaseki, has saluted farmers, rural women, food processors, distributors and other actors in the agricultural value chain for their contributions to human existence.

    Obaseki gave the commendation on Monday in commemoration of the World Food Day, October 16 each year, set aside by the United Nations in honour of the founding of Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) in 1945 and other organisations that are committed to ensuring food security.

    “As the world celebrates the Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO), the World Food Programme (WFP), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and other institutions that work tirelessly in mobilising actions to check threats to food security across the globe, I wish to salute farmers, rural women, food processors, distributors and other actors in the food value chain for their contributions to human existence,” he said.

    He added that “despite the myriad of challenges that farmers face over access to land, inadequate agricultural loans, seedlings and other farming inputs in Nigeria, our farmers have remained resilient in their desire to put food on our tables, which according to Abraham Maslow’s hierarchical order of human needs, is a non-negotiable need and basic to survival.”

    According to the governor, a country’s ability to feed her population is a major hallmark of development and lauded “the efforts of individuals and groups whose skillful hands bring forth the food we eat.”

    He explained: “Our appreciation of the potential in agriculture, whether manifest or latent, explains our government’s adoption of the sector in our economic reconstruction strategy, which will deliver much of the jobs we are creating for Edo people and our industrialisation drive.”

    He stressed that the theme of this year’s celebration “Change the Future of Migration, Invest in Food Security and Rural Development,” is apt, and a clarion call on world leaders to take good governance and development to the people at the grassroots to check life-threatening migration.

    According to him, “In Edo State, the goal of my administration in the next two years, is to ensure that farmers in the State cultivate a minimum of 250,000 hectares of farmland. We have taken some bold steps in this direction with the maize farm project in Sobe, Owan West Local Government Area of the state, where harvest is currently ongoing.

    “We have commissioned the Edo State Fertiliser and Chemical Company Limited in Auchi, to make the product easy for our farmers in the state and beyond to access. The College of Agriculture in Iguoriakhi is being revamped to produce world-class graduates with the right capacity to change the face of agribusiness in the state.”

    Noting that there is a holistic strategy adopted in transforming agriculture in the state, he said, “We have just received the Technical Report on the Development of the Gelegele Sea Port, a project that is very dear to my heart, and will on completion, serve as the gateway to the global market for agricultural produce and other economic goods produced in the state and the southern region.

    “Our trip to the Asian continent to firm up agreements with Indonesian and Malaysian companies and partners has illuminated our plan to develop an industrial park in the state and make Edo State the oil palm capital of the nation through mechanisation.”

    Obaseki said the role of rural women in food production is worth highlighting on a day like this, as the United Nations set out October 15, as the International Day for Rural Women. He added that with the 2017 celebration themed, “Challenges and opportunities in climate-resilient agriculture for gender equality and the empowerment of rural women and girls,” it was pertinent to applaud the role of women in driving sustainable agriculture, as they make up 75 percent of Nigerian farming population, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

  • 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.

    Read Also:FG owes NDDC N1.8trillion arrears

    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.

  • Boosting farmers’ income through value chain

    Boosting farmers’ income through value chain

    The Federal Government has embraced value-chain development (VCD) to stimulate growth, promote agric and combat rural poverty. One of the agencies promoting it is the Agricultural and Rural Management Training Institute (ARMTI), Ilorin, Kwara State. The institute is deploying VCD to empower rural people and  increase food security. DANIEL ESSIET reports.

    For years, life has been a  struggle for many rural farmers in some parts.

    To them, building a better life on the farm takes energy, hard work and commitment. Despite this, their crops wither under severe drought and other circumstances, the fields produce poor yields, the result is  meagre stocks at the end of the season.

    They attribute this to inefficient technologies, poor access to credit and poor marketing strategies.

    To them, the sector has suffered from weak food production, an unfavourable weather, and significant poverty. The outcome is a vicious cycle for farmers, which jeopardises  food security.

    So, how can farmers break out of this cycle?

    In August 2012, the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) provided $74.5million loan to the Federal Government to help improve food security and incomes of smallholder farmers through a Value Chain Development (VCD) Programme.

    Expectedly,VCD Programme  falls  in line with the government’s vision for agricultural development, which focuses on strengthening farmers’ capacity to take advantage of market opportunities and overcome constraints along the value chain. The loan agreement for the programme was signed in Abuja.

    More than 200,000 poor rural households have benefitted from the programme, with a particular focus on women and young people.

    Since then IFAD has financed some programmes and projects in the country, benefitting more than one million rural households.

    Equally, the Federal Government has made the development of the value chain one of the spear points of its  rural empowerment strategy.

    One agency at the vanquard of promoting value chain agriculture is the Agricultural and Rural Management Training Institute (ARMTI), Ilorin, Kwara State. For them, a productivity-led growth  in the sector is key to new employment opportunities, higher incomes, and a brighter future in rural areas.

    This gave birth to its Commodity Value Chain Development Programme, (CVCDP) programme to promote economic growth and employment, through an integrated agro training programme for small farmers micro and small enterprises.

    In addition, ARMTI has launched the first-ever National Association of Agricultural Commodity Value Chain Development (VCD) facilitators in the country.

    Inaugurating the facilitators in Abuja, Minister of Agriculture & Rural Development, Audu Ogbeh, reiterated the government’s readiness to implement measures to reduce productivity constraints for crops and other farm activities.

    Represented by the  Deputy Director (Engineering & Mechanisation,  Federal Ministry of Agriculture & Rural Development, Abdullahi Garba Abubakar, an engineer, Ogbeh said the government will continue to create long-term and sustainable small farmer livelihood opportunities in rural areas through agribusiness ventures.

    Earlier this year, during the launch of the Green Alternative Policy,  Ogbeh  had reiterated  that strengthening the food value chain was one of the most important ways to foster rural-urban development.

    One of the major priorities of the policy, the Minister said, is to accelerate sectoral restructuring in the direction of increased value and sustainable development.

    According to him,  development of food supply chains would help increase farmer’s income and promote rural development.

    He said the government was  determined to build agri-value system in collaboration with private players, urging the producers, manufacturers, and agro businesses  to  come forward and partner with it in the quest to build a value chain system.

    ARMTI ‘s Acting Executive Director, Dr Olufemi Oladunni, said CVCDP started in 2012 when the institute undertook a nationwide baseline study on selected agricultural commodity value chains and organised a National Seminar in Abuja for relevant stakeholders to brainstorm on the subject.

    “To further deepen the impact of the programme, the institute had envisioned and identified a gap that needed to be properly blocked, and had proactively taken the initiative to do so. That is the matter of trained manpower to manage the gains of the value chain programme nationwide.”

    According to him, identifying the need to develop a crop of seasoned commodity value chain facilitators for the nation informed the application and securing of approval from the Federal Government to carry out a National Training of Trainers (TOT) for Agricultural Value Chain Development Facilitators as one of the capital projects for execution by ARMTI in 2013.

    TheTOT, after its completion aimed at spreading the messages of the CVCDP across the nation’s geo-political zones through many trainers that would have been churned out after the training.

    So far, he said, 109 have been trained.The participants, he said, have been empowered and mandated to further step down the training to the grassroots level in their respective states.

    “As facilitators in VCD, you will mobilise the stakeholders – producers, processors, marketers and even consumers – to unite in their activities to ensure food security, provide employment and increase income.”

    According to him, an interim executive body would be elected and commissioned; and ARMTI is willing to provide facilities for a secretariat for the association.

  • FG to arrest operators selling sub-standard seeds to farmers

    FG to arrest operators selling sub-standard seeds to farmers

    The Federal Government (FG) will henceforth arrest operators of companies which sell fake and sub-standard seeds to farmers, Chief Audu Ogbeh, the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, says.

    The minister made the disclosure in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Monday.

    Ogbeh regretted that continuous use of poor and sub-standard seeds and poor agronomic practices were the reasons for poor yields experienced by farmers.

    He added that “seed companies must know that if they sell anything fake and the farmer plants it and we discover that it is not genuine, they can be arrested.”

    He said the government would establish extension offices and train 10 officers from each local government areas across the country to teach farmers to sound agronomy practices.

    “We will have input suppliers or agro-dealers in every local government council; we will advertise for the private sector to come and open centres where farmers can get seeds, chemicals, fertilisers, tractors and other equipment.

    “We are asking council areas to help us before we start building. Once that is done, every farmer will know where to buy seeds.

    “These input dealers will link up with seed companies and research institutes, take seeds from them and sell to farmers.”

    According to him, it is important for extension officers to show farmers how to plant seeds.

    “There is also the need for them to educate farmers on the kind of fertiliser to apply, how to irrigate where irrigation is necessary and the kind of pest control chemicals to use.

    “There is no reason why farmers should fail to have a good harvest.

    “We just have to get away from hunger as quickly as possible; we have to move away from this anxiety about whether we can feed ourselves or not.”

    Ogbeh said Federal Government would also engage the various seed research institutes and Institute of Agricultural Research and Training (IAR&T) to engage in large-scale production of improved seeds and training of seed breeders.

    The minister, who announced that Federal Government would not adopt Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) in its agriculture policies, for now, noted that engaging in hybrid and improved seeds production was the only option.

    He said “Nigerians are not yet comfortable with GMO seeds. We are using high breed seeds. There may be future for GMOs, but debates are still on.

    “Europeans are not comfortable with that; Americans and Brazilians have no quarrels with that and they are doing very well.

    “And someday, maybe we will resolve it but Nigerians are extremely sensitive about GMOs, so I rather be on the side of Nigerians for now.

    “ FG will not adopt GMOs in agriculture policies for now, but we are watching to see if we can one day take a position on whether we are going GMO or not.”

  • Bird flu: poultry farmers urge govt to hasten compensation

    Bird flu: poultry farmers urge govt to hasten compensation

    Bird Flu Affected Farmers Association has called on the Federal Government to expedite action on the payment of compensation to members, who were affected by the disease outbreak in 2015, 2016 and this year.

    As part of measures to re-launch production, poultry farmers demanded compensation from the government for losses incurred during the avian flu scourge in the country.

    According to the association, some farmers are waiting to access the government’s compensation for their birds destroyed, after they were found to be infected by avian influenza, otherwise known as bird flu.

    In a statement by their representative, Oche David  Okpe, the association said, however,  that  some farmers in the 2015 batch have been compensated.

    The association added: ”Over 45 per cent of the 2015 affected farms and 2016 and 2017 are yet to be compensated,” stating that some of them have not been able to restock because their livelihood was completely shut down following  the disease.

    Early this year,  Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbeh assured poultry farmers of the Federal Government’s readiness to compensate those affected by the bird flu outbreak.

    He said although the computed amount was quite huge, the Federal Government was working out modalities on how to settle the farmers.

    “We have not compensated any farmer in the last one year because we have no money. The last compensation they were paid was a donation from the World Bank. I lost a lot of chickens, too.

    “We are trying to find money to pay them. So, it was a disaster. We can actually prevent Avian Flu in poultry through biosecurity measures in farms. Many farmers are very careless. Sometimes, the human being is a bigger transporter of diseases into the poultry farm than chicken.

    ”Make sure people don’t walk into your farm anyhow, a farmer from another farm don’t enter your farms, the feed sacks you use are not reused. There was an outbreak in Kano about two months ago, but it has been contained. So, somehow, we are limiting the outbreak of the disease. We have to find money to pay those who lost chickens but the sums are huge,”he said.

    He continued: “If we have to pay for all the chickens, we may be talking of something in the neighbourhood of six or seven billion (naira) in many states, especially around Kano and Kaduna. People were moving chickens all over the place without checking and some of the hatcheries are very dirty, so, other diseases have to come in.”

  • NIRSAL Earmarks N17.09b for Rice Farmers

    NIRSAL Earmarks N17.09b for Rice Farmers

    The Managing Director, Nigeria Incentive-Based Risk Sharing for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL), Mr Aliyu Hameed, has said about N17.09 billion has been earmarked to support rice farmers in the 2017 wet season farming.

    Hameed disclosed this on Wednesday at the Agrikexpo Nigeria Agribusiness Group (NABG) conference which commenced on Monday in Abuja.

    The event was themed: “Harnessing Nigeria’s Agricultural Potential for Food Security, Youth Development, Nutrition and Wealth Creation.”

    He said over 53,319 farmers are to benefit from the intervention for this year wet season rice farming.

    “In August 2017 as a Participating Financial Institution under the CBN Anchor Borrowers’ Program (ABP) we disbursed over N2.63 billion to 24,732 rice farmers. We have profiled over 53,319 farmers and voted about N17.09 billion for the 2017 wet season.”

    According to him, “Cumulatively, NIRSAL has issued 634 Credit Risk Guarantees (CRG) with a total face value of N66.36 billion. We have also provided Interest Drawback (Interest rebate to borrowers) worth N940.98 million.”

    He stated that the financial institution recently signed a N50 billion Agribusiness financing partnership with the Stanbic IBTC under the Nirsal Agriculture Financing Scheme, with an initial commitment of N10 billion as takeoff.

    “At NIRSAL, we recognize that agriculture lies at the heart of the Economic Recovery Growth Plan (ERGP) of the Buhari administration. We are mindful that as a policy tool of the government in this sector, it is in line with our mandate to make agribusiness more attractive to the private sector,” Hameed added.