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Tag: Farmers

  • Oyetola seeks stronger bond between herdsmen, farmers in Osun

    Osun State Governor Adegboyega Oyetola has reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to strengthen peace between herdsmen and farmers.

    He said his government would continue to maintain and sustain the atmosphere of relative peace and harmonious relationship between the herdsmen and farmers.

    Oyetola maintained that the government would continue to intensify efforts to strengthen the existing bond among the relevant authorities to forestall kidnapping and banditry.

    The governor spoke yesterday while hosting the leadership of the Osun State Cow Dealers Association; members of the All Farmers’ Association of Nigeria (AFAN) and the leadership of the Fulani/Bororo at his office.

    The governor, who described peace as a necessity, said the state under his watch would do everything to enhance peaceful coexistence among the people.

    Oyetola implored the leadership of the Fulanis/herders to keep “eagle eye” on the illegal influx of people into the state and report strange movement to the security agencies.

    Oyetola stressed the need for proper data collection and registration of herders living in the state, saying the initiative would help to reflect true demographic composition and aid to know, identify, assess and evaluate the number of non-citizens living in the state.

    The governor maintained that the registration would enhance the security agencies to know and separate genuine immigrants from illegitimate ones, whenever there is discovery of misconduct.

    He said: “I am happy that peace has been continuously reigning in this state, most especially between farmers, cow dealers and herders.

    “This is an output of our administration’s commitment to ensure adequate security and guarantee the welfare of the citizenry.

    “As a government, the maintenance of law and order as well as the general welfare of the people has been taken as a priority since we summed office.

    “We are doing everything to prevent the illegal influx of people to our state as we request the cooperation of all and sundry to stamp out all forms of illegality in our state.

    “It is our believe that this initiative would help to know who and who live in the state and take control of any strange happening.”

    Chairman, Osun State Cow Dealers Association, Alhaji Garba Usman hailed the administration for taking the security of lives and property as its priority.

    He expressed the readiness of his members to support the government at maintaining peace, law and order.

  • Prospect of being millionaires excites Edo farmers

    When Shakespeare said in his play Macbeth that “there is no art to find the mind’s construction in the face,” it appeared to be incontrovertible. But an event at Warake, Owan East Local Government Area of Edo State was strong enough to invalidate this age-long axiom.

    When Governor Godwin Obaseki addressed farmers in the local government on his plan to make them Agriprenuers through a collateral-free loan he accessed from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on their behalf, it sounded strange to them. There was an element of disbelief on the part of the farmers.

    Issues seemed compounded when Governor Obaseki revealed to them that loans could be given to them without collateral and that the profits accruing from the farming exercise entirely belong to them.  This time, one could find the mind’s construction on the faces of the farmers. From their facial expressions, there was no way they could hide their reservations.

    It appeared so outlandish to the farmers who gathered to listen to Governor Obaseki on how he intended to make them agriprenuers. It was not something they ever fathom could happen in Nigeria that they could be given loans without collaterals and become sole owners of the entire proceeds from the ventures. To some of them, they would rather wait till harvest time when money from the proceeds of the farms would be handed to them before they would believe that the country has really changed.

    The farmers asked several probing questions in a bid to ensure that they heard right that money would soon be deposited in their various bank accounts.

    Governor Obaseki had secured N5 billion loan from the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) Anchor Borrowers’ Programme under the Commercial Agric Credit Scheme for rice and maize production.  The rice and maize would be cultivated on over 10,600 hectares of land across the three senatorial districts.

    Rice would be cultivated at Iguoriakhi, Iguomon, Illushi, Warrake and Agenebode while maize would be cultivated at Usugbenu, Sobe and Ekpoma. The target is to harvest 17,000 tons of rice and 11,000 tons of maize at the end of this year’s planting season.

    The loan was secured after the state government carried out an experiment last year with the FADAMA III additional financing programme. Despite the setback occasioned by flooding that destroyed most of the rice farms, many farmers that participated in the scheme, especially those that insured their farms, smiled to the banks.

    Represented by his Special Adviser on Agriculture, Forestry and Food Security, Prince Joe Okojie during a sensitisation tour of the different farm locations, Governor Obaseki urged the farmers to carry out proper supervision of the farms for good yields.

    The farmers were taught how to access the loan and how much they stand to make at the end of harvest if things were done accordingly.

    They were also warned against selling their produce to other merchants except the off-takers that entered agreement with the state government.

    Explaining how the loan would be expended, Governor Obaseki said N2.2 billion would be used for crop production, N2.3 billion for land development and N100 million for irrigation. He said N1.2 billion would be for rice and maize cultivation.

    Obaseki said flooding disaster would be avoided by planting early before the flood comes and doing another planting after the flood has receded, adding that experts would be engaged to give technical support to the farmers while a bank has been engaged to oversee appropriate disbursement of the funds throughout the farming season until harvest.

    He said: “We have engaged a lot of agronomists. We have employed the services of Nigeria Incentive-based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL) that is going to be our technical partner and who will bring on board a lot of agronomists that will help us.

    “We are trying to deploy best practices for the cultivation of the crops this season and hope that we get better yield than those of two years ago. We will not allow side selling. You are to sell the produce to the off-takers we have signed contract with. The CBN will come after you if you go contrary to the rules and regulations.

    “The ultimate beneficiaries are the farmers. All you have to do is to be dedicated to your farms for you to have good yields. We took about N5 billion under the Commercial Agric Credit Scheme, about N2.2 billion is for crop production, N2.3 billion for land development and about N100 million for irrigation.

    “We hope to produce millionaire farmers this year. We do not anticipate a drop in the price of rice. We hope that we are able to produce about 17,000 metric tons of rice after cultivating about 4,400 hectares of rice farms.”

    One of the beneficiaries expected to grow maize, Afadama Enotaye said: “Before now, we have been anxious about the matter, but from I have seen today, I think the government is committed to do something great which we are happy about. Since we have a dynamic SA on Agric, we pray that our patience for the past three years will pay off this time around.

    “We are very prepared to engage in serious farming. We will ensure that we didn’t disappoint the confidence that the government has reposed in us. We still find it difficult to believe it is true because we are not contributing anything.”

    Mrs Gloria Ogala at Illushi, Esan South East Local Government Area, said she participated in the scheme because of the cheap loans farmers could access from CBN’s Anchor Borrowers’ Programme.

    “We find it difficult to access loans here in Illushi and the ones we get come with high interest rates. For instance, if you borrow N200, 000 at the beginning of a planting season, you pay back N400, 000 at the end. This drastically affected our profits. I am happy because the state government wants us to make a good profit from farming”, she said.

    Another farmer at Warrake, Mr. John Aregbokhia, said the programme would encourage youths to take to farming as a business, going by the profit to be made at the end of each farming season.

    He said: “We usually make about N1 million from 20 hectares of rice farm but we have been told that we can make about N4 million from the same farm land. This is really wonderful. I have no doubt that the programme will be a success because we did something similar last year and the outcome was positive.”

    Field Officer, NIRSAL, Mr. Paul Jatau, said NIRSAL is partnering with Edo State government to provide technical support and inputs for the farmers. He urged them to take advantage of the opportunity provided by the programme to scale up their operations into commercial enterprises.

    He explained that the state government secured financing for the projects, which could only be accessed by the farmers when necessary requirements have been met.

     

  • FG to disburse N180b to farmers in 4yrs – BOA MD

    Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Bank of Agriculture (BOA), Kabiru Adamu has said that, the bank under the President Muhammadu Buhari initiated Anchor Borrowers Programme (ABP) has disbursed over N90 billion to farmers in the last for years.

    He, however, disclosed that about N180 billion will be spent in the next phase of the programme, which will cover new crops like; palm oil, cotton and sesame seeds among others.

    The BOA boss who disclosed these at the ongoing 40th Kaduna International trade fair, said the programme has also created employment and increased yield thereby addressing food security in the country.

    He further noted that additional crops that were not there have been introduced including palm oil, cotton, sesame seeds and the like which will be covered under the ABP.

    According to him, “Nigerians should expect a boast in the activities that we have undertaken under the ABP in collaboration with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). Immediately after the declaration of Mr. President as duly elected, the CBN called a stakeholders meeting where new targets were set.

    “The new targets are ambitious and as a Public Financial Institution, we stand committed and ready to meet the target set by the CBN.

    “As you are aware, the ABP is one of the cardinal promises made by Mr. President during their electioneering campaigns, we have supported the programme to enable it to a large extent, by disbursing over N90 billion to farmers.

    “We have created employment through the programme and we have increased yield production and by extension food security in the country. With the election of R. President, Nigerians should expect more through the programme. ”

    He assured of government’s commitment to make things happen in the agric space and expressed commitment to support the desire of the government

  • Farmers begin dry season rice farming

    Rice Farmers Association of Nigeria (RIFAN)  has   kicked off its multi-billion naira dry season rice farming.

    Its President, Aminu Goroyo said, during the flag off in Abuja, that the project was being executed under the Central Bank on Nigeria (CBN) Anchor Borrowers programme (ABP).

    The president, however, said the group was working out the modalities for the fund disbursement with the bank.

    He said planting would start simultaneously in the 774 local government areas of the 36 states of the federation and Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

    Goroyo said each state and the FCT would distribute high-breed seeds and farm input to over 700,000  farmers that were expected to cultivate 570,000 hectares.

    “To this end, for easy cultivation and good harvesting, 52 registered input suppliers, 20 service providers and 450 private extension officers will be involved.

    “The programme, being a technology-driven process, will ensure that all aspects of the farming are involved.

    “This dry season farming is in strict compliance with the use of only irrigable land with adequate irrigation facilities under the supervision of extension agents,” he said.

    Goroyo said the CBN had expressed its willingness to continue to assist RIFAN because of its success in rice production.

    He said most farmers are enthusiastic about dry season farming because they were sure of high yields.

    Goroyo stressed that the Federal Government’s decision to ban rice import was another source of encouragement as it had started yielding the desired result.

    “Nigerians are now consuming made-in-Nigeria rice, and aside that, the volume of rice smuggled has reduced to five per cent and farmers are now getting dividends and value for their efforts,” he said.

    The RIFAN chief recalled that rice production had increased from 5.5 million tonnes in 2015 to 5.8million tonnes in 2017.

    He, therefore, challenged the beneficiaries not to default in their loan repayments because it would help to grow the economy.

    “It has become a must to grow the nation’s economy and feed this country; the population is growing at a high proportion and when you pay back your loan, farmers will be on land to farm and feed.

    APB was launched by President Muhammadu Buhari on November 17, 2015 to link anchor firms involved in processing and small holder farmers of the required key agricultural commodities to address the country’s food deficit.

  • I ’ll end farmers, herders incessant clashes, says President

    President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday made a fresh appeal for accommodation and tolerance among herders and farmers across the country.

    He said this was necessary to end the incessant clashes between the two sides in some parts  of the   country.

    Receiving leaders of the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN) who visited him in Abuja, Buhari pledged to give equal respect to all citizens irrespective of their ethnic, religious and geopolitical backgrounds.

    He urged the herders to support him in the task of bringing lasting peace to the country.

    He asked state governors to work with the Minister of Agriculture, who he said, had been mandated to work out a solution with the states by which herders will have access to water for their livestock and farmers security against destruction of their farmlands.

    “Whatever it will take, I am determined to bring peace between farmers and herders. I urge you all to be patient and exercise restraint while we are working for an enduring solution,” Buhari was quoted by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity,Malam Garba Shehu, as telling the delegation.

    He added: “Before the Benue and Taraba crises, I called the Minister of Agriculture and the Governor of Central Bank and asked them to work with the state governors on rediscovering the gazetted cattle routes, clear of farmlands that had made for peace during the First Republic.”

    MACBAN, led by Alhaji Mohammed Kiruwa, informed the President that the body had sent the delegation to endorse his bid for a second term on account of the administration’s achievements in office which included the successful clampdown on kidnapping and cattle rustling; and the fight against terrorism and corrupt elements in the society.

    Alhaji Kiruwa said President Buhari’s personal qualities of honesty, integrity and  unparalleled commitment to the unity and progress of the nation also informed his association’s support for a renewal of his tenure.

  • 2019 polls: Farmers set agenda for politicians

    Ahead of the forthcoming polls, farmers, at an event organised by the Human and Environmental Development Agenda (HEDA) Resource Centre and Voices for Food Security (VFS), presented their expectations to some politicians in Lagos, DANIEL ESSIET reports.

    Farmers  organisations, especially those producing the raw ingredients and their suppliers from across the country, have united to set agenda for politicians aimed at addressing key principles that can help ensure Nigeria’s success in the supply of food.

    The manifesto emphasised the importance of the food production and supply sectors.

    The initiative, which is part of a national food security campaign supported by Oxfam, comes under the auspices of Human and Environmental Development Agenda (HEDA) Resource Centre.

    The farmers’ group, which comprised All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN), Association of Small Scale Agro Producers in Nigeria (ASSAPIN), Nigerian Association of Women in Agriculture (NAWIA), Voices for Food Security Campaign (VFS), presented the expectations to some politicians at a Meat Farmers Forum in Lagos.

    In the manifesto, the groups  noted that allocation to the sector have over the five years not exceeded two per cent, whereas there is a Malabo Declaration, which provides for at least 10 per cent of the yearly budgetary allocation to the sector. Nigeria is a signatory to the declaration.

    They observed that farmers are trapped in poverty due to the combined effects of poor policy implementation, poor markets and infrastructure provision for value addition, lack of credit as well as high cost of business environment which reduce their gross margins and therefore keep them within the poverty trap.

    The farmers observed that growth in gross domestic product for the agriculture sector was 13 per cent in 2015; 4.69 per cent in the third quarter of 2016 and 5.3 per cent in 2017.

    They said the overall sector’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) contribution is about 24 percent, making it one of the largest contributors to the economy. To this end, they noted that the sector needs to be given increased and adequate attention.

    According to the farmers, incessant dwindling of the budgetary allocation to the sector has continued with debilitating consequences on the funding of key projects and programmes under the various government policies including the Agricultural Promotion Policy (APP).

    The farmers said access to land for agriculture is still a challenge for them, especially their female colleagues because of the cost of and access to opening land for expansion.

    The groups noted that agricultural growth could lead to high rates of investment and gains in productivity throughout the economy.

    According to them,reforms would lead to growth in employment and income, improved income distribution, poverty alleviation, and stronger food demand.

    The farmers called for increased budgetary allocation to agriculture, especially for small scale farmers.

    The groups said if Lagos desires to make agriculture a major contributor to her GDP,then adopting the Maputo 10 per cent recommendation is a good starting point.

    HEDA Resource Centre Management Team Chairman, Suraju Olanrewaju, said the dream of farmers is to make the agricultural sector more competitive.

    According to him, Nigeria’s food security depends on increasing production to meet the demand of a growing population with rising income. To do so, he said a productive, competitive, diversified and sustainable agricultural sector will need to emerge at an accelerated pace.

    He said the group launched the ‘Farmers Manifesto’ as part of measures to boost economic development and food security in the country.

    He said that the group is tired of policy failures in the agriculture sector due to the non-commitment of politicians saddled with the responsibility of ensuring that the policies are implemented to the letter and in the interest of farmers.

    The Executive Secretary, HEDA, Sulaiman Arigbabu, said farmers face challenge  of having inputs such as fertiliser, provided in time; hence   because of this, he noted farm incomes remain poor.

    According to him, infrastructure bottlenecks are the main obstacle to Nigerian agriculture’s capacity to supply domestic market.

    He explained that poor roads impose high costs on farmers in the agricultural frontier.

    He said the farmers only ask for increase in budgetary allocation to agriculture, dedication of at least 10 percent of agriculture funding to the small-scale farmers (SSFs) and road map for the resolution of herdsmen-farmers crisis.

    He said the view of farmers is that they have been continuously short-changed over the years by politicians who only remember them when votes are needed.

    He said the idea behind the manifesto is to highlight the needs of farmers, for the endorsement of the political class and candidates of various political parties that seek their votes.

    He decried the continuous neglect by politicians across the country, saying that electioneering manifesto that capture farmers interests would henceforth earn their votes.

    Responding to the farmers request, the Lagos State Deputy Governorship candidate, All Progressives Congress (APC), Dr. Kadri Obafemi Hamzat, said his party will ensure that agricultural reform stays on the front burner.

    He   said the nation’s future growth in agriculture could slow down if efforts are not made to address constraints for farmers,including infrastructure along the food supply chain, and concerns about limited land access.

    He stressed that large investments in maintenance and expansion of transport infrastructure are needed to keep up with the expected growth in demand, to lower delivery times and costs and to maintain product quality.

    Hamzat said his party would ensure increasing productivity and expansion of land devoted to agriculture to enable Lagos become a major food supplier.

    Similarly, the Lagos State governorship  candidate of the People Democratic Party (PDP), Jimi Agbaje, said the nation’s agricultural system still has much potential to supply more agricultural products if it can address financial constraints for farmers, infrastructure challenges along the food supply chain, and environmental concerns about land expansion.

    The Lagos governorshipl candidate, Action Democratic Party(ADP), Mr. Babatunde Gbadamosi, said the state’s  rising food consumption will require continued increases in food supplies. The challenge for the farm sector, according to him, is to sustain productivity growth to meet increasing domestic demand and, at the same time, maintain its position as a major supplier of agricultural commodities to world markets.

    The governorship candidate of the Social Democratic Party,Dr Adetokunbo Pearse said his party is ready to implement reforms that will restore steady economic growth.

     

  • Women farmers want review of agric credit disbursement conditions

    The Small-scale Women Farmers Organisation in Nigeria (SWOFON)  on Tuesday appealed to the Federal Government and banks to review stringent conditions for  farmers to access agricultural loans.

    Mrs Mary Afan, the President of the organisation, made the appeal in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja.

    Afan said the current conditions required by small scale farmers across the nation before accessing agric loans were too stringent.

    According to her, the farmers want credit at single digit and flexibility in accessing the credit.

    “You ask a rural woman to bring utility bills, open a bank account and she lives where  there is no light or water. Where will she get utility bills?

    “The financial institutions also ask women farmers to bring a guarantor who is a civil servant on  Grade Level 16. If she doesn’t know anybody, what will she do?

    Read Also:Farmers no longer at ease with post-harvest losses

    “So, these are some of the difficult conditions demanded by the banks and it takes a lot of time and effort to meet.

    “However, since the women are in cooperatives, they should be able to guarantee each other. The banks can give such loans to cooperative society for disbursement to members.”

    The president expressed regret over the late disbursement of the credit, saying: “farming season starts in March. If any bank wants to provide the credit, it should be provided in February.

    “This is what will enable them to plan.”

    She appealed to the government to increase agric budget to 10 per cent as well as to revive the Growth Enhancement Support Scheme (GESS) to enable women  have access to inputs.

  • Farmers call for peaceful 2019 elections

    The All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN) has appealed to various stakeholders saddled with the responsibility of ensuring peaceful elections to increase their efforts to guarantee peace during and after the 2019 elections.

    The Vice President of AFAN, Chief Daniel Okafor made the appeal in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Thursday.

    He said that without peace during and after the elections, farmers would not be able to go to their farms.

    Okafor, who was speaking on Farmers’ 2019 expectations in the agriculture sector, noted that agriculture budget and inputs should be timely distributed to farmers to boost food production in 2019.

    The vice president, who said that agriculture was time-bound, suggested the approval and release of agriculture budget between January and February to aid the implementation of agriculture projects.

    He said that timely implementation of agriculture projects and activities would guarantee food security in the country in 2019.

    “What we have noticed is that without peace and harmony, human beings cannot exist and farmers cannot go to the farms.

    “We want peaceful elections as our first expectation from the government this year.

    “The second is the farmers-herdsmen crisis. Government should look into it because it is going to the extreme and government can do more than they are doing.

    “Inputs should be given to farmers and distributed on time and not when the farming season is over.

    “Agriculture budget should be timely. It should be approved by January or February to enable the timely implementation of agricultural projects.

    “I wish the government well this year but they should not joke with agriculture,’’ Okafor said.

  • Farmers remanded for alleged killing

    Three farmers at Gbajimba in Guma Local Government Area of Benue State have been remanded for allegedly killing a 26-year-old man, David Tsenzughul.

    The accused, Desmond Tyosongo, Terlumun Utor and John Liambee, were charged before a Makurdi Magistrates’ Court with criminal conspiracy and culpable homicide.

    Prosecutor ASP Michael Lorundu told the court that the brother of the deceased, Timothy Tsenzughul, had reported the incident at the Guma Police Station.

    Lorundu alleged that the complainant had told the police that the accused conspired and stabbed his 26-year old younger brother to death.

    He alleged that the trio had applied anti-cutlass cut charm on the deceased and stabbed him with a knife in the chest to test the potency of the charm.

    The prosecutor said when the charm failed, resulting in the deceased sustaining a serious injury, he was taken to hospital where he died during treatment.

    Lorundu said the farmers were arrested during police investigation and the first accused confessed to stabbing the deceased to test the effectiveness of the anti-cutlass cut charm.

    The prosecutor said the knife the suspect used was recovered from him.

    He said the offence was punishable under sections 97 and 222 of the Penal Code Laws of Benue, 2004.

    When the case came up for mention, the accused persons could not take pleas for lack of jurisdiction of the court over the matter.

    The prosecutor informed the court that investigation into the matter was ongoing and asked for another date for mention.

    The Magistrate, Mrs. Regina Ochokwunu, adjourned the matter till January 22 for further mention.

  • Lalong, farmers seek ways of improving agric yields

    PLATEaU State Governor Simon Bako Lalong has urged farmers to take advantage  of the Federal Government’s policy to boost agricultural production and facilitate the diversification of the economy.

    Lalong stated this at the Northern Agricultural Summit in Jos.

    He lauded the theme of the summit which was: “Harnessing the successes of the agricultural sector in Northern Nigeria and Plateau State.” He said it will definitely contribute towards sustainable agricultural production, not just in the North but the nation at large.

    Lalong said: “The theme of this year’s summit is apt and timely, especially when viewed against the backdrop of our commitment to addressing the critical issues of food security and economic diversification and the commercialisation of agriculture in Northern Nigeria and Nigeria in general.

    “It is delightful to also note that this conference has in attendance the academia, including crop and livestock farmers and technocrats from the various ministries of agriculture in the north. This hopefully underscores the significance of the summit, with a very strong belief that the quality of discussions will continue to assist us in attaining our set objectives of national food production, security and poverty alleviation.

    “Since we assumed office in May 2015, we have spent considerable time and energy reviewing the challenges that had in the past prevented the emergence of Nigeria as the bread basket of Africa, given our enormous resources. The immediate answer was that majority of our farmers were small holders with average holdings of one hectare or less.

    “However, further probe into these revealed that our agriculture is characterised by some critical issues, such as subsistence farming methods; poorly fertile soils due to low fertiliser usage per hectare; inadequate access to the right quality farm input; low technology application; bad agronomy practices; poor road rural network and other vital infrastructure; high prevalence of crop and livestock diseases; and inadequate research and low uptake or utilisation of research results, and so on.

    “This list is by no means exhaustive, but it provided us with the scenario on ground of which Plateau State is not an exception. The next challenge for us then was how far we could go in an effort to address these critical issues. With due sense of modesty, let me state that within the over three years of being in office, we have re-modelled, supported and enhanced some of our crucial agricultural projects and programmes. Currently, we are sustaining this through harnessing agro-enterprises, where we possess near absolute comparative advantage and collaboration with individuals, firms, and agencies that are professionally reputable.

    “It is necessary for me to reel out some of our laudable achievements in the agricultural sector which includes the Potato Seedling Multiplication Project.

    ‘’In view of the recent increased incidence in potato blight disease,  farmers have continued to record decline in yields, government sought the assistance of the federal ministry of agriculture and rural development in procuring 10 metric tons of a blight resistant variety of potato called the Mirabella from the Republic of Germany.

    “The project has since been inaugurated in Kwall, Bassa Local Government Area and foundation seeds distributed to farmers by the supervising consultant. The yield from the multiplication units have been sold to farmers for planting. The government had initially targeted 2,500 farmers and all have benefited from this improved variety.’’