The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Farmers

  • Remove administrative bottlenecks for farmers, govt urged

    The President, Association of Small Business Owners of Nigeria (ASBON), Dr Femi Egbesola, has urged the governments to remove any bureaucratic  bootleneck for farmers if the nation is to grow its agriculture.

    He said this would help farmers to boost productivity, create more jobs and keep the  economy afloat.

    He stressed that barriers thwart growth.

    According to him, delayed actions on farmers’requests presented to government agencies are affecting businesses.

    Egbesola called for a review of red tapism and issues retarding progress in the sector to help make Nigeria the best place for people to start and grow farming businesses.

    He wants a robust plan put in place to reverse long-term declines in farming productivity and the nation’s self-sufficiency, increase the productive potential of farming, to stimulate investment, help farmers manage market volatility and ensure that the drive to increase food production is at the heart of each government department.

    He indicated that rising credit and interest rates are hurting farming businesses.

    He said higher rates were already in place and likely to rise and the broader economy and the farm sector have struggled in the past years.

    Egbesola implored that measures be taken to improve the industry.

  • Lagos Permanent Secretary assures farmers of govt’s support

    Lagos Permanent Secretary assures farmers of govt’s support

    Lagos State government has reiterated its commitment to support farmers to boost food production and create opportunities for small farmers.

    he Permanent Secretary, Lagos State Ministry of Agriculture, Dr. Olajide Basorun, stated this while delivering his keynote address at the award of certificates to 55 women and youths who were trained by the Commercial Agriculture Development Project (CADP) in the three value chains – rice, poultry and aquaculture.

    He said the state is ready to work with small farmers to assist them in solving food problems.

    The trainees were exposed to modern techniques and commercialisation.

    The new partnership aims at optimising food production in various areas of the state. Basorun said the state would work with them to improve food production, food security and rural incomes.

    Basorun congratulated the participants, surging them to make good use the training.

    ”We have engaged you; we have taken you from whatever you are doing to come and do farming and you have agreed because you have passion for it. We have equipped you with necessary information about the latest technology you need to use to succeed in farming,” he said.

    Basorun said the obejective of empowering the women and youth is to diversify the economy from over reliance on crude oil.

    He continued: “Before, it used to be about crude oil, now agriculture is a business. In other climes, the richest people are farmers, and that is why we need to focus on the benefit we can derive from agriculture produce. CADP was from to commercialise agriculture and shift from the hole and cutlass farming.’’

    Earlier, the state Project Coordinator of the Commercial Agriculture Development Project, Mr Kehinde Ogunyinka, said the space for the first batch of the trainees was keenly contested among over 100 candidates.

    He said they were chosen on merit and were certified to have passion for agriculture.

    The highpoint of the occasion was the presentation of certificates to the trainees by the permanent secretary.

    Speakinging on behalf of his colleagues, Jimoh Nurudeen thanked  Governor Akinwumi Ambode for his efforts to revitalise the agricultural sector of the state. He also thanked the state Ministry of Agriculture, the World Bank, CADP and other stakeholders for supporting  the scheme.

    He, however, promised that they would make good use of what they have learnt as well as any assistance they got from the scheme.

  • 1,200 farmers trained on improved cassava yield

    No fewer than 1200 cassava farmers have been trained on new farming methods and given 4440 bundles of high yielding cassava cuttings by the Cassava: Adding Value for Africa Project, Nigeria (CAVA II).

    The programme, which started in April, was facilitated by service providers working for CAVA II-Nigeria in some states.

    Four geo-political zones – South-South, Northcentral, Southsouth and Southwest – were covered during the training.  Thereafter, the farmers were linked to markets close to them.

    The Country Manager, Cassava: Adding Value for Africa-Nigeria, Prof Lateef Sanni, said the programme was aimed at mentoring smallholder farmers to cultivate cassava, thereby increasing their incomes.

    He said: “Our aim is to mentor and coach the smallholder farmers to cultivate high-yielding cassava varieties, and expose them to good agronomic practices, which will increase their yield per hectare.

    ‘’In the next 12 months, when they harvest the varieties, if they are able to get about 25 per hectare, it can be said we have been able to improve their yield from the current 11 tons per hectare to 20- 25 tons per hectare.”

    Sanni said the training was in line with the objective of the CAVA II Project aimed at improving the incomes of smallholder farmers.

    He said: “If the project is able to double the yield of the farmers without expanding the area of their cultivation, the farmers will make more money. The improved varieties distributed to the farmers will also have a diffusion effect on other farmers, because after harvest, the farmers with high-yielding varieties can circulate their cuttings to other farmers in their vicinity; and gradually the low yielding varieties cultivated by most farmers will be replaced with high yielding varieties.”

    The Country’s  Technical Expert on Cassava Production for CAVA II-Nigeria, Mr Stephen Olonade, explained: “ The project distributed improved cassava stems which include: TME 419, TMS 96/1632, TMS 98/0581, TMS 30555, TMS 92/0326, and TMS 98/0505. These varieties where chosen because they have high starch content which is highly sought after by these large industries and SMEs.”

    He, however, added that having adopted the best agronomic practices and  improved cassava varieties, the farmers yields were expected to increase by at least 25 per cent in the next 12 months.

  • Farmers seek commodity marketing board

    A group of farmers in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) has demanded the urgent set-up of a commodity marketing board.

    The farmers, who spoke during a meeting with the Programme Director of African Centre for Food, Agriculture and Sustainable Development (Afri-CASD), Bolaji Akindehinde in Abuja, said the board would help regulate arbitrary pricing of farm commodities.

    The farmers sought support of the Centre to further advocate necessity of the board to increase food production and promote large scale farming.

    They said it was inappropriate for farmers to be at the mercy of buyers among other end users before farm harvests are sold.

    A representative of the farmer, Mr. Sulieman Azeez said, “Farmers are suffering in this country. This is a country where the buyers fix the price for our farm produce. But if there is agriculture commodity marketing board, you cannot tell me you will buy my rice for N5 when everyone knows in the country that it is being regulated for sales for N10 across the country.

    “So it is bad for farmers not to have control over sales of their farm produce.”

    In his remarks, Akindehinde disclosed that the erstwhile Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina showed the zeal to setup the commodity board but little was heard thereafter.

    He said such agency would better lots of the farmers and boost the nation’s overall food production.

    Akindehinde cited an instance of South Africa, United States and some advanced countries which regulates and guarantee markets for farmers’ yields to prevent post-harvest losses.

    According to him, if the nation must be food secured, farmers who are responsible for this giant responsibility should be properly taken care of.

    Speaking on the Agriculture Transformation Agenda (ATA) of the previous government, the farmers urged the present administration to continue with the agenda especially on the various value-chain programmes.

    He said though the administration is still young but emphasised need for the coming Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development to make the issue a core agenda.

    Akindehinde emphasised need to sustain the various value-chain programmes kicked by the previous administration.

    “If we must get it right by properly motivating our farmers, the agric sector should be accorded same attention given to the NNPC. Imagine that the sector has a department like the Petroleum Product Pricing Regulatory Committee (PPPRC) and Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) also performing a similar function in the agriculture sector farmers would do much more than expected,” he added.

    Among initiatives considered laudable is the electronic wallet (e-wallet), Growth Enhancement Support scheme (GES), subsidised mechanisation supports to farmers and private sectors involvement in the sector’s transformation.

  • Kebbi buys grains for farmers

    The Chairman, Wheat Farmers Association in Kebbi State, Alhaji Abdullahi Maigandu, has announced to his fellow growers that the state government has started buying tons of wheat for distribution to them.

    Maigandu said this in Birnin Kebbi, the state capital, where he displayed some of the grains, adding that the gesture was to encourage wheat farmers in the state to embark on large-scale production of the crop so that the state will be become number one producer of the grain in the country.

    “At this level, 400 tons of wheat have been purchased at N15,000 per bag; I got the assurance of the state government to support our farmers through accessing loans and other incentives. It is our hope that farmers will utilise this opportunity to cultivate wheat on the over 600,000 hectares of fadama land in the state.”

    The chairman has also allayed farmers’ fears on the sustainability of the scheme by announcing that the Federal Government has released funds to the association in that regard.

    The Speaker, Kebbi State House of Assembly, Alhaji Abdulmumin Kamba represented Governor Atiku  Bagudu at the event.

    He assured the farmers of the government support.

  • Govts neglect smallholder farmers

    Stakeholders in agriculture have accused government of favouring big-time farmers, while neglecting smallholders. They said governments at all levels grant multinationals and big organisations tax holidays on acquired land, leaving the small-scale growers to their own devices.

    The stakeholders who gathered in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital, included Actionaid, Centre for Community Empowerment and Poverty Eradication (CCEPE), the state government and Association of Smallholder Farmers of Nigeria.

    ActionAid’s Food and Agriculture Advisor, Azubuike Nwokoye said government’s preference to big-time investors in agriculture is worrying and that in some instances government gives a moratorium of between 10 and 15 years with low bank interest rate to such investors, neglecting the small holder farmers.

    Nwokoye said, “Smallholder farmers especially women farmers who produce the bulk of the food we consume in Nigeria are neglected. That is why we must put all hands on deck to protect [them]. That is why we must resist the [rich] from forcefully and illegally grabbing our land from us.”

    Director, Kwara State Bureaus of Land, Muideen Abdulkadir said the bureau will assist “organisations, associations and individuals in acquiring land for farming activities.”

    A woman farmer from Asa Local Government Area of the state, Iyabo Babatunde urged the state government to assist women in the state through provision of land and farm implements.

    Mrs. Babatunde said their plight is being compounded by the Fulani herdsmen whose cows invade their farmlands to graze destroying their crops.

    CCEPE Programme Officer, Abdulrahaman Ayuba presented the simplified versions of the United Nations voluntary guidelines on the responsible governance of tenure or land, fisheries and forests in the context of national food security.

    The guidelines contain rights of the farmers, states obligations to farmers, investors, judiciary, communities and agencies’ obligations.

    The guidelines stipulate that farmers have rights to hold and use land, fisheries and forests whether registered or not registered; farmers have the right to demand for justice; rights to be protected against eviction and rights to be informed of prior knowledge of any land deal.

    States obligations include providing necessary laws to recognize, respect and protect people’s land rights; providing access to justice; prevent tenure disputes; seek free prior informed consent of all community members and provide equitable land valuation mechanisms and fair tax systems for land, fisheries and forestry.

    To investors, UN guidelines stipulate disclosure at all times and in all settings, full information of their real investment and land use intentions; respect and recognise the land rights of all community members; seek agreement of all community members before any land contract is signed.

    The guidelines also urge communities to know their rights and how to protect themselves against corrupt behaviours from others; should demand full compensation where their rights are lawfully or unlawfully violated; to provide and promote a conducive environment for negotiations and interactions with investors and the government; provide and apply all available dispute resolution systems and should not discriminate against women on issues that relate to use of land, fisheries and forests.

    Judiciary’s obligations include application and enforcement of all laws to protect interest of farmers and other land rights holders; hear all cases without discrimination on basis of gender, ethnicity and religion and provision of prompt and efficient services without requesting for bribes.

     

  • NGO urges govt to support women farmers

    A Non-Governmental Organisation, the Women Advocates Research and Documentation Centre (WARDC), has called on governments at all levels to provide adequate support for women farmers to make them contribute their quota to the policy of national food security.

    The Executive Director of the WARDC, Dr. Abiola Akiyode-Afolabi, made the call at a capacity building workshop organised for women farmers in Osogbo, the Osun State capital.

    She disclosed that women farmers have just 14 per cent holding rights on the land where they farm and therefore, have limited access to land, credit facilities, farm inputs, training and advice, technology and crop insurance, which the government is in better position to provide, but has failed to oblige them.

    Dr. Akiyode-Afolabi lamented government’s neglect of women farmers despite their deep commitments to farming and enormous contributions to food production and security in Nigeria.

    She advised government to motivate women farmers in actualising their dreams in farming.

    According to her: “Nigerian women play important roles in food and agriculture. It has been reported that women small holder farmers constitute 70-80 per cent of agric labour force. They produce the bulk of food for domestic consumption and they are the drivers of food processing, marketing and preservation.

    “In spite of their strategic roles in food production, the government hardly focuses on supporting them. I am also calling on government to involve women in the policy-making processes in agriculture to improve their participation in government’s hunger and poverty eradication agenda.”

    She lamented that most of the organisations advocating for government support for farmers were made up of male advocates who exclude women’s contributions.

    Akiyode-Afolabi, said the workshop was organised to push for a parading shift from male domination and ensure that gender approaches are introduced to government’s agricultural policies and programmes.

  • Give us Cashew Board, farmers plead

    Stakeholders in the Cashew industry have called for the es-tablishment of a Cashew Board to boost foreign exchange earnings and generate jobs.

    They spoke at the end of a two-day workshop in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital.

    The theme of the workshop was: “Cashew business competitiveness and sustainability”.

    They urged the Federal Government to assist cashew farmers and processors through the provision of a special fund to boost production.

    Deputy Director, Product Development, Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC), Chief Emmanuel Ezeagu, said the board would protect the interests of cashew farmers.

    He added that the board would ensure that cashew species are of high quality, and also source markets for them.

    Ezeagu, who described cashew as a money spinner because of the high demand for the nuts, added that the government should assist farmers to improve and increase production.

    “Cashew is a money spinner; there are lots of Indians and Vietnamese coming to Nigeria to buy the raw cashew nuts. The market for cashew nuts is so huge that Nigerian cashew farmers should take advantage of it,” Nzeagu said.

    He also called on both the states and local governments to encourage farmers to venture into the cashew plantation business. He said state governments can assist cashew farmers with improved seedlings, fertiliser and micro-credit loan facilities.

    President, National Cashew Association of Nigeria (NCAN), Mr. Tola Fasheru, decried the high cost of processing a ton of cashew.

    He said it costs $500 to process one ton of cashew, whereas it costs about $250 in India and $217 in Vietnam to process the same quantity of cashew.

    Fasheru said for the cashew industry to compete favourably with other countries, the government should set up a special fund for the industry.

    According to him, the sustainability and competitiveness of the sector may be a mirage if the government did not assist cashew farmers and processors.

    Business Advisory Manager (BAM) of the African Cashew Alliance (ACA), Mr. Sunil Dahiya, said the cashew industry had a great potential as a foreign exchange earner for the country.

    To realise this potential, Duhiya said the sector must be properly harnessed and incentives provided by government. He said the governments of India, Vietnam and Mozambique subsidised the cost of processing cashew nuts.

    According to him, the Indian government pays cashew processors $80 as subsidy per metric ton, while Vietnam pays about $70 to its cashew processors.

    The BAM said ACA, since its inception, was committed to improving the competitiveness and sustain-ability of the African cashew industry. He said the alliance had also made efforts to increase the processing of cashew in the continent.

    “Our objective is to facilitate the development of an industry that benefits the entire value chain, from farmer to consumer by sharing information and best practices among stakeholders,” he added.

    A cashew farmer, Alhaji Akeem Anifowose, appealed to the Raw Material Research and Development Council (RMRDC) and investors to come up with the appropriate technology to process cashew apple and shell.

    He also made a case for the NEPC to find market for cashew shells, as many of the by-products waste away on their farms

  • Lagos to support fish farmers

    Lagos State Government has reaffirmed its support for fish farming in its bid to  the decline in supply of fish, the Permanent Secretary, Lagos State Ministry of Agriculture, Dr. Olajide Basorun, has said.

    At the closing of the 11th Annual Executive Training on Investment Opportunities in Fish Farming,  where 89 persons were trained in production techniques, Basorun said the state committed to facilitating capacity building for fish farmers and easy access to credit facilities.

    He said: “Government will continue to create enabling and conducive environment, facilitate capacity building and create ground for easy access to credit facility for fish farmers so as to reduce cost of production and enhance their profitability.”

    The Permanent Secretary explained that the reduction in fish supply is due to a number of factors, which includes pollution, high cost of fishing input and use of obnoxious fishing methods, rural urban drift and over fishing, among others.

    He noted that traditionally, Lagosians have always been fisher men, but over the years volume of fish caught has been dwindling;  thus prompting the state to introduce fish farming about 20years ago to address the dwindling supply.

    Basorun said the executive training on farming was conceived 11 years ago to expose participants to the new investment opportunities in the fisheries value chain and build capacities of practicing fish farming for enhanced productivity.

    The Permanent Secretary said food security is one of the cardinal programmes of the present administration of Governor Akinwunmi Ambode, adding that strategies are in place to engender sustainable food production and ensure that the citizens are well fed.

    According to him, “one of the major principles of attaining food security is to look at those areas where we have comparative and competitive advantage and focus on them. One of those areas is aquaculture because over 22 per cent of the land mass of Lagos is covered by water and we have a 180-kilometer coastline”.

    Speaking earlier, the special guest of honour, who is a veteran fish farmer and a former Permanent Secretary in the state Civil Service, Mrs. Adedoyin Olusoga, said the downward trend in fish supply over the years has necessitated the massive importation of fish, adding that: “this is a big drain on the scarce foreign exchange, hence aquaculture or fish farming has been identified as the next viable option for increasing domestic fish production.”

    She said the state requires about 330,000  metric tonnes annually to satisfy the dietary needs of its citizen and the aggregate domestic fish supply from all sources is about 176,850 tonnes per annum.

    She added that the government has realised the huge potential for increasing fish production and has initiated developmental projects that make aquaculture popular and as a tool for sustainable fish production and employment creation.

  • FADAMA III AF enhances farmers in Niger

    The FADAMA III Additional Financing, a collaborative project of the World Bank,  Federal and State Governments has been of immense benefits to farmers in Niger State.

    Speaking with newsmen in Minna,   the Niger State Coordinator for FADAMA III AF, Engineer Aliyu Usman Kutugi, said the project has “greatly enhanced the capacities of farmers, increased their income, boosted the economy and made life more worthy of living”.

    Niger State is presently cultivating 371, 482 hectares of  rice, mostly under the production season of rainfed. Under the FADAMA III AF, 2,635 rice farmers with 7,100 ha land holding has been registered, 100 business plans for ten production clusters were reviewed out of which 49 were approved and currently being implemented. Also, 10 facilitators and 1000  farmers rice farmers have been trained, while awareness have been created for agro dealers, cultivation of 120 ha nursery beds by five production clusters.

    Engineer Kutugi, while informing that 20 tones of improved rice seeds (Faro 44) has been procured and distributed to rice farmers along with 480 litres of herbicides from certified agro dealers, also thanked the Niger State Government and  the National FADAMA Team led by Mr. Tayo Adewunmi for “their continued support and cooperation, without which the FADAMA III AF would not have been implemented.”

    Niger State has implemented six World Bank/FG assisted projects under the agricultural sector namely Bida Agricultural Development Project, Multi-State Agricultural Development Project, National Agricultural Technology Support Project, FADAMA II and III, and presently implementing FADAMA III AF, which have helped to developed farmers-managed irrigation schemes of 400 hectares and formal irrigation schemes of 1,500 hact.