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Tag: Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development

  • FMARD to empower 2m youths, women in 3 years

    FMARD to empower 2m youths, women in 3 years

    The Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development ( FMARD ) says it will empower about two million Nigerian youths and women in the first three years of its new initiative, Livelihood Improvement Family Enterprise ( LIFE ).

    The LIFE Programme Coordinator, Ms Keke Bongos-Ikwue, disclosed this on Tuesday at the commencement of registration of LIFE cooperatives at Ojokoro LCDA in Ifako/Ijaye Local Government, Lagos state.

    Bongos-Ikwue said that the LIFE was an initiative of the Minister of Agriculture, Chief Audu Ogbeh, targeting unemployed or underemployed women and youths.

    “We have been planning this programme for over two years and this is our first outing.

    “The pilot phase of the outing is being replicated in 24 states plus the Federal Capital Territory ( FCT ) simultaneously by different groups as we speak.

    Read also: Lagos empowers 150 women

    “We want to empower women and youths along the agricultural value chain of high value commodities like ground nut, palm products, wheat, rice, cashew nuts.

    “Also included are commodities like cassava, honey, cocoa, sugarcane, tomato, sesame seed, livestock dairy and aquaculture.

    “The second phase of this programme will cover the whole country within two years.

    “Research has shown that the major cause of insurgency is poverty and idleness; it has led many of the nation’s youth to look outside the country, causing them to become vulnerable and easily manipulated, and eventually some lose their lives.”

    The coordinator said the programme intended to directly empower approximately three million rural youths and women within five years of implementation.

    She added that it would also produce about 14 million metric tons of food in the 9,975 council wards across the 774 local government areas.

    According to her, the programme starts with registration of youths and women as LIFE clusters at the council/ward level to develop LIFE cooperative database.

    The LIFE coordinator said that all geopolitical zones in Nigeria would be visited, adding that the ministry was working with the state governments and local government authorities to achieve its aims.

    Ms Bongos-Ikwue said that the ministry was partnering with state and local governments, Bank of Industry, Bank of Agriculture, international partners and other ministries and agencies on the programme.

    The Special Adviser on Media to the Minister, Dr Olukayode Oyeleye, said that the programme was a developmental intervention, targeting an often overlooked and ignored group in Nigeria.

    Oyeleye said that the programme was to deal only with family enterprises, which had potential to grow.

    “This initiative is to help those already into small agribusiness to grow, who are constrained by finance or technology.

    “The team from FMARD has been divided into 12 to cover 24 states.

    “We will register the would-be beneficiaries and on the basis of the questionnaire they fill, we will collate and analyse to determine the kind of specific intervention to be given to each intended beneficiary.

    “The support we will grant them include access to finance, affordable agricultural inputs for sustainable production, agro-processing and packaging.

    “A robust marketing system that connects rural food surplus to urban cities will also be put in place for efficient market linkage and access,’’ Oyeleye said.

    Also speaking to the LIFE group in his office, the Lagos State Commissioner for Agriculture, Mr Oluwatoyin Suarau commended the initiative but called for caution by the team.

    “We are in the time of politics and you cannot afford to give these would-be beneficiaries money as past experience shows that they can misuse it.

    “Also the age group you are concentrating on, which is 18 years to 35 years, are still majorly students, you have to ensure that your beneficiaries have tangible, visible existing farms or enterprise.

    “You also have to monitor these farmers very well to ensure success of the programme.

    “On our part in the state, we will work with you to verify and identify your beneficiaries.

    “Once again, I want to thank you for including Lagos in the pilot stage of this intervention,’’ the commissioner said.

    NAN

  • FG pledges support for FCWC

    FG pledges support for FCWC

    The Federal Government has pledged to support the Fisheries Committee for the West Central Gulf of Guinea ( FCWC ) to achieve its goals for the benefit of the member states.

    Dr Bukar Ibrahim, the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, conveyed the assurance at the 10th Annual Ministerial Conference on FCWC in Abuja on Tuesday.

    Ibrahim, who was represented by Mr Azeez Muyiwa, a Director in the ministry, said that the Federal Government would support the efforts of the committee to ensure that the fishery resources of the sub-region were sustainably exploited and managed.

    “Today’s annual conference is unique because the organisation is celebrating its 10th anniversary of existence.

    “The organisation’s excellent performance in fisheries management, promotion of fish trade, fight against Illegal, Unregulated and Unreported ( IUU ) fishing and regional cooperation among the member countries cannot be overemphasised.

    “The conference could not have come at a more auspicious time than now that the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari has redirected the focus of the Nigerian economy towards agriculture.

    “Efforts at harnessing the huge potential of fisheries and aquaculture will no doubt give an added impetus to the realisation of our shared objectives in wealth creation, food and nutritional sector in the Gulf of Guinea,’’ he said.

    Ibrahim, however, urged the participants to come up with a workable document that could be used to implement fishery development programmes that would be beneficial to the sub-region.

    Read also: ‘Mechanised Farming, key to Nigeria’s food security’

    Mr Seraphin Dedi, the Secretary General of FCWC, said that if the public and private sectors and all partners in the fishery sector invested appreciable resources in fishery development projects, the sector would record significant improvement.

    “If we are able to invest enough resources in the fishery sector, we may improve the contribution of fisheries to the food security, nutrition and the development of the sub-region.

    “The fishery sector is one sector that is helping a lot in terms redistributing the value addition of the sector to the population. So, if we invest in fisheries, you are sure that it will affect the people of the region.

    “If we look at the value chain of the fishery sector, we will discover that different people are involved in the system; by investing in the sector, you can touch all these people and facilitate the development of the region,’’ he said.

    Dedi said that FCWC was the regional fisheries body that managed the fishery resources of the region which comprised six countries — Nigeria, Liberia, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Togo and Benin Republic.

    “We are having this meeting in Nigeria, which is the conference of ministers.

    “We use to meet once a year and move from one country to the other. Part of the focus of the current meeting is the celebration of the 10th anniversary of our existence.

    “It means for the past 10 years, we have been working together as a body, sharing our experiences and implementing measures to combat illegal fishery in the region and manage our fishery resources.

    “So after 10 years, we need to sit down and reflect on what we have done so far and how far we can go again.

    “We have noted in our past discussions that investment in fisheries is not sufficient enough.

    “So, in efforts to support our region’s development, we decided to choose `Investment for Growth and Sustainability in Fisheries in West Africa’ as the theme of this year’s conference,’’ he said.

    NAN

  • ‘ Agriculture ‘ best alternative to grow economy – Perm. Sec.

    ‘ Agriculture ‘ best alternative to grow economy – Perm. Sec.

    Dr Bukar Hassan, Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, said on Tuesday that agriculture remained the best alternative to grow and develop the economy.

    Hassan said this at the opening of 2017/2018 National Agricultural Extension Review and Planning Meeting held at the National Agricultural Extension and Research Liaison Services (NAERLS), Zaria, Kaduna State.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the theme of the review meeting is “Extension: The Driver of Knowledge and Innovation in the Nigerian Agricultural Value Chain”.

    Represented by the Director, Federal Agricultural Extension in the ministry, Hajiaya Karima Babangida, Hassan called for meaningful contributions toward developing the agriculture sector.

    “We should note that ideas rule the world and the information we put together here will form the bases of Nigeria’s improvement in agriculture which is our best alternative for growth.

    “It is believed that the more people are involved in agriculture and agri-business, the faster the economy will grow and develop to compete favorably with powerful nations of the world both politically and economically.

    “The solutions to the problems encountered by farmers in Nigeria is dependance on the information that will be provided by the experts in agricultural research and extension services.”

    He expressed the hope that the forum would be used to harmonise all stakeholders’ activities in agricultural research and extension services in order to evolve a synchronised calendar of activities.

    He further said that the meeting would serve as a means of strengthening partnership among stakeholders in the field of extension service delivery in Nigeria.

    In his speech, the Vice-Chancellor, Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Prof. Ibrahim Garba, commended the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration for unlocking the full potential of the agriculture sector.

    Garba, represented by the Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Academics, Prof. Ezra Amans, said canvassed for the financing for all sub-sectors to encourage entrepreneurs and youths to embrace agriculture.

    He stressed the need to accelerate the growth of the sector to increase productivity, enhance export capacity and attain national food security.

    Earlier, the Director, NAERLS, Prof. Mohammed Khalid-Othman, noted that government policy and support had resulted in the influx of investors.

    “On our part in NAERLS, we believe the agricultural potential in Nigeria lie with the youths. Thus, we have actively championed the training of youths at various levels from secondary school levels to fresh graduates of tertiary institutions.

    “At the secondary school level, we have engaged more than 100 schools across the nation under “Adopted School Project.”

    He said the institute was presently discussing with World Food Prize Foundation for the conversion of the adopted schools to Nigeria Youth Institute, a branch of Global Youth Institute, with international support of agricultural innovations and creativity.

    NAN reports that the opening of the review meeting was preceded by exhibition and field show of agricultural implements and inputs.

  • Ogbeh wants soldiers to invest in agriculture

    Ogbeh wants soldiers to invest in agriculture

    The Minister of Agriculture, Chief Audu Ogbeh, on Monday urged officers and men of the Nigerian Army to join other Nigerians and invest in agriculture.

    Ogbeh spoke at a sensitisation programme organised by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development ( FMARD ) for the Nigerian Army in Abuja.

    “We are here to sentisise army officers and create awareness for them to see agriculture as a business and to strengthen the resolve of those in crops, aquaculture and animal husbandry.

    “Food security is an integral part of national security; that is why the army, whose mandate is to provide national security, cannot afford to avoid attending to food security.

    “Active participation of the army can never be seen as an incursion into an unfamiliar ground but a step in the direction that agrees in principle with one of its core mandate, which is ensuring peace.’’

    Read Also: Agriculture: VC harps on value addition, improved electricity

    Ogbeh, who was represented by Mrs Winifred Ochinyabo, his Special Adviser on Special projects and General Duties, said the strength of a nation lay in its ability to feed itself.

    She noted that because security personnel were trained combatants and not business people, they were usually vulnerable in retirement.

    He said the ministry was determined to enlighten servicemen on the opportunities in agriculture with a view to broadening their knowledge on agribusiness.

    Mr Matthew Owolabi, the Director, Irrigation and Crops Development in the ministry, said the sensitization would strengthen them to choose any aspect of agriculture of their interest.

    Earlier, the Chief of the Army staff, Lt.- Gen. Tukur Buratai, who was represented by Maj.-Gen. I.R. Nicholas, Chief of Linguistics, said the sensitization would encourage them to fall back to agriculture.

    “We will retire to agriculture and we will also contribute to the need of the nation, family and also provide raw materials to the manufacturing companies,” Nicholas said.

    NAN

  • 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

  • Conference will address farmers/herdsmen clashes – Osinbajo

    Conference will address farmers/herdsmen clashes – Osinbajo

    The Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo has said the on going National Conference on livestock will address persistent clashes between farmers and herdsmen in the country.

    Osinbajo disclosed this yesterday during the livestock stakeholders conference organised by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD), in partnership with the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and other stakeholders in Abuja.

    He said the conference was a deliberate plan to converge all key stakeholders in the livestock industry in order to provide a lasting solution to several challenges confronting the industry.

    Osinbajo said the effort will eventually contribute to national security stressing that the Federal Government has established agrorangers to protect ranches.

    The Vice President noted that about 3000 of the rangers are currently undergoing training in order to discharge the duty effectively.

    According to him, the agrorangers will be strongly armed to protect ranches across the country.

    Osinbajo, who was represented by the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbeh, said the service will be rendered free while the rangers will be supervised by the Federal Ministry of Interior.

    He explained that if the strategy works in addition to stakeholder reccomendations from the national confeence, it will be recommended to other neighbouring north African countries to adopt.

    The VP expressed concerns that the nation’s national security is already threatened by the incessant crisis between the farmers and herdsmen.

    Describing the conference as timely, he said implementing the recommendations would help promote the economy and create jobs for the unemployed.

    “In the face of expanding human population, food production and demand have increased in a commensurate manner. The pressure on land is great. There is a decline in soil fertility and farm holdings are small while grazing lands are being degraded due to increasing livestock activities, poor management, effects of climate change and increased conversion to farmlands due to high population of humans.

    “We have heard so many have lost money, 300 cows rustled, 200 cows taken. We have now put together a new security group called agrorangers. This group is being trained by the ministry of interior. They are heavily armed. 3000 of them are heavily trained.

    “If you have a ranch or big agricultural project, approach us, we will post them to you at no cost. They will protect your investment,” Osinbajo said.

    The Vice President assured the farmers and pastoralist of providing an insurance cover to protect their investments.

    The Minister of Agriculture, in his personal remark lamented over lack of attention on the livestock industry by successive administrations.

    He said the pastoralist have been marginalised with their grazing routes and reserves already taken over while attention was mainly on crops.

    Ogbeh, who pleaded supports of the conference participants disclosed that about 13 States have provided 5, 000 hectares of land for grazing reserves.

    He said prior to this time, cattle don’t roam but because of need for survival they had to scout for pastures, adding that beyond cows reared by herdsmen in the country, there are foreigners who come into the country from Chad, Niger, Senegal in search for grass.

    Senate Committee Chairman, Abdullahi Adamu in his remark called for holistic approach to addressing the situation.

    He said the livestock sector has suffered reject from the government stressing that the roles of pastoral farmers are significant to contributing to nutritional need in the country.

    According to him, grazing reserves and cattle routes were in the government Gazette before he was born.

    “We have to make-up our mind on what to do to achieve transformation in the livestock industry,” he added.

  • FG alerts on birdflu outbreak of in 7 states, FCT

    FG alerts on birdflu outbreak of in 7 states, FCT

    The Federal Government on Friday alerted the public to the outbreak of Avian Influenza or Bird Flu in the FCT and seven states of the country.

    raised the alert at a meeting with state Commissioners of Agriculture in Abuja on Friday.

    Mshelbwala listed the states affected by the outbreak to include Bauchi, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Nasarawa, Plateau, FCT and lastly, which reported a case on May 30.

    He said that the disease had spread across 26 states of the federation and the FCT since it started in 2008 affecting 800 farms in no fewer than 123 local government areas.

    Mshelbwala, who said that there were no scientifically proven vaccines for bird flu, noted that the Federal Government was adopting quarantine, movement control, stamping out, decontamination and bio-security measures to curb the spread.

    The director expressed regret over the poor bio-security practices by some poultry farmers, adding that it was the major reason for the continuous spread of the disease.

    According to him, the Federal Government has paid over N674 million in compensations to 269 farmers across the affected states.

    “Our national action plan encourages proper regulation of the poultry industry and enforcement of annual registration of all actors along the poultry value chain including farmers, traders, egg merchants and feed millers.

    “It also encourages the creation of veterinary extension services to facilitate the control and proper inspection of poultry and poultry products,’’ he said.

    Mshelbwala said that the way forward to the containment of the disease was to ban importation of poultry and products, quarantine and bio-security measures, among others.

    He, however, warned poultry farmers against illegal vaccination of birds, saying that it was a deadly alternative to the control of the disease.

  • Obasanjo: It’s shameful we still import vegetables from S/Africa

    Obasanjo: It’s shameful we still import vegetables from S/Africa

    Former President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo has described as shameful the importation of vegetables from South Africa.

    Obasanjo said in Abuja that despite the massive land and good vegetation in the country, larger per cent of vegetables used by hotels in Lagos are being imported.

    The former People’s Democratic Party (PDP) chieftain said it was inappropriate and as such, every Nigerian should become a major stakeholder to reposition the agriculture sector.

    According to him, with over 180 million people, the country could turn around food insecurity in the country and do exports.

    His words: “let’s do something, we must all pledge to do something positive, let us be producers, we are all consumers, but we can do more than that. You are either a producer, a financier, a researcher, an enabler, an advocate, a processor, a marketer, an exporter.

    “Let us do something positive and productive. God is at this time, giving us another chance, hence the present situation of our economy, are we going to accept the challenge and move forward, if we don’t we will have ourselves to blame as a nation.

    “We have the land, we have the population, we are about 180 million, now let me digress a little bit, almost all the vegetables that the hotels in Lagos are using are being imported from South Africa, carrots, lettuce, cucumber, now population of South Africa is only 50 million, we are 180 million and we cannot produce vegetables, I think it is shameful.”

    Speaking on the popular term, food security, Obasanjo defined it as a situation where people have access at all time to sufficient, safe, and nutritious food to maintain a healthy and active life.

    “In short there must be availability of food which means there must be enough production or if you are not producing enough you are importing enough to make up for your shortfall in your production.

    “There must be affordability, which means every family must be able to afford the food to make them live a healthy and an active life,” he added.

    Though, the current administration under the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development initiated the Green Alternative Policy, a four-year agricultural development plan to reposition the sector

    It targeted vegetables as part of the priority commodities listed for exports. Vegetables were listed as pineapples, pawpaw, bananas, vegetables among others.

    As contained in the policy document of the Buhari-led administration, the identified commodities are cocoa, cashew, cassava products such as ethanol, cassava starch and cassava chips. Other crops include ginger, sesame, oil palm, gum Arabic, fruits and yam.

  • FG to provide inputs to 1m farmers

    The Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development says it will provide farm inputs to one million farmers across the federation during the wet season farming.

    Mr Ohiare Jatto, the Director, Farm Input Support Services Department in the ministry, disclosed this on Thursday while speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja.

    He said that the inputs would be under the governments’ Growth Enhancement Support (GES) scheme.

    The director said that the non-passage of the 2017 budget by was responsible for the delay in the distribution of the inputs for the wet season.

    “Most of government expenditure is based on budget and you cannot spend any money that is not budgeted for.

    “The ministry has been making a case that agriculture being time-dependent, should have seasons; you should start a particular thing at the right time.

    “If we can have a kind of waiver whereby at the end of every year we already have something in our kitty that we can start spending as early as possible the following year. The issue of input can be accommodated

    “So that by February, we have started doing our paper work and by March, we are already in the field giving out input to farmers especially in the South. And by April, May in the North, so that at the end of the day, the timeliness of our input distribution is very right.
    “But of course, the present situation is that you have to know how much is allocated to input before you start committing agro dealers that will supply farmers these inputs.

    “Because we do not want to go into a situation again where we are going to owe agro dealers based on assumption that what is in the budget will be approved.

    “But for this year’s wet season, we are preparing and with what is in the budget, we hope we will be able to get to one million farmers.’’

    (NAN)

     

  • FG restates commitment to food security

    The Federal Government has reiterated its commitment to use agriculture to ensure food security and provide more employment opportunities for Nigerians.

    The Director, Department of Agriculture and Extension Services, Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Mr. Alphonsus Onwuemeka, disclosed this on Thursday during a training organized for Agricultural Extension Officers at head office of Ekiti State Agricultural Development Programme in Ikole-Ekiti.

    Onwuemeka pointed out that the Federal Government is working towards using agriculture to generate export and support sustainable income and job growth.

    According to him, Nigeria is the world’s largest producer of cassava which is handled only by small farmers in southern, central and lately northern Nigeria regretting that the country still imports starch, flour and sweeteners that can be made from cassava.

    In his remarks, the Acting Programme Manager of Ekiti State Agricultural Development Programme, Mr. Oladele Yakubu, said Nigeria is presently facing shortages in staple crops because of dependence on imported food.