The Nation Newspaper

Tag: food production

  • Firm to use mobile money to boost food production

    A firm, Fortis Mobile Money Limited, has  taken steps to enhance agricultural productivity of small and medium scale farmers  through increased financing. Fortis Mobile Money is one of the leading mobile money operators licensed by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in 2010.

    Its Managing Director, Samuel Oladimeji, said in Lagos that agriculture was key to long-term economic growth and diversification; and that the organisation was  ready to support the country ‘s policy thrust on food security, local production, job creation and economic diversification.

    According to him, Fortis Mobile Money Limited has designed  programmes that will benefit  small businesses and farmers  exploring opportunities across the sector.

    These products include mobile microfinance; cash transfer package and recently DiFRAD”.

    The organisation, he said, was determined to use mobile money mechanism to tackle the key constraints of the agriculture sector, adding that mobile money has emerged as an obvious solution to the risk of carrying cash. He added that while access to banks is limited for rural agricultural communities, access to mobile phones is not.

    He regretted, however, that Nigeria was not maximising the huge benefits in mobile money transactions, adding that the country would benefit more if it unlocks opportunities in mobile money.

    “The significance of mobile money to the economy is that it will help deepen financial inclusion because it will achieve more access to financial inclusion,” he said.

    Speaking further on DiFRAD, Oladimeji said: “DiFRAD is an acronym for Digital Finance for Rural Agricultural Development. It is a product we developed last year for Bottom of the Pyramid (BOP) segment. Particularly, this product was developed for smallholder farmers, especially those ones in the rural and peri-urban communities in the Northcentral, Northeast and The Northwest. This is digital agricultural initiative. The product was inspired by a first-hand encounter with some farming communities in Niger and Cross River states during some of our Cash Transfer Programmes.

    “We discovered that most of our beneficiaries are actually farmers, who are constrained by the lack of financial services and sometimes know-how. We immediately started toying with the idea of filling their gap by bringing the banks to them and linking them with agricultural developers. To achieve this, we had to partner micro finance banks, agricultural developers and insurance companies as we worked on a suite of products that will cater for the extensive needs of the farmers.”

    According to Oladimeji, Fortis Money has negotiated a most clement interest rate for the small holder farmers and have sought partnership with reputable insurance companies. “This suite offering also includes exposing the farmers to competitive buyers for their products and trying the best to shield them from exploitation. The idea is to provide competitive alternatives for the farmers throughout the value chain.”

    The product, Oladimeji said, is unique because it focuses on the value chain instead of isolated financing. “We in partnership with the microfinance banks and insurance companies finance the entire value chain starting from provision of farm land through its clearing to its harvesting, processing and selling. It is our passion to end the marginalisation of small holder farmers by buyers and nature by providing knowledge and guidance as they journey through the digital finance value chain,” Oladimeji said.

  • World bank consultant urges govt to rehabilitate dams

    World Bank Consultant, Prof. Abel Ogunwale has urged the government to rehabilitate dams across the country to boost food production and job creation.

    Speaking with The Nation, Ogunwale said dams will expand water supplies in drought-affected areas.

    According to him, farmers in the North depend on dams for water to overcome droughts.

    By investing in dams, he said, the government will ensure a safe, resilient environment for agricultural producers, especially in the rural areas.

    He urged the government to look for new ways of mitigating the impact of drought.

    To end  fish and other aquaculture produce import, stakeholders had urged  the Federal Government to lift restriction placed on all water bodies, especially underutilised dams.

    For instance, farmers in Bakori Local Government Area of Katsina State appealed to the Federal and state government to hasten the completion of Jare Dam.

    Speaking on behalf of the farmers, Alhaji Abdullahi Lawal,  leader of grain dealers in Bakori, said the dam is a Federal Government’s project, adding that it was abandoned due to non-funding.

    Lawal said the completion of the dam projects would make available water for irrigation, boost food production, and eceonomic activities in the area.

    The traditional leader noted that the farmers in the area were  experiencing losses due to the delay of the project.

    “It is important to complete the dam so that it will enable control water levels and increase the interest of farmers in the area. The enthusiasm of the farmers on the potential of the project had since waned,” he said.

    In 2016, President Muhammadu Buhari declared that his administration would construct more 400 dams to boost irrigation across the country before the expiration of his term next year.

    President Muhamadu Buhari told delegates from Africa and other continents during  the 32nd Annual Meeting of the Food Crisis Prevention Network held in Abuja that the country would  experience three harvesting seasons when more dams become operational in the next two years.

    Buhari, represented by the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbeh, said: “We can no longer rely on rainfall. We have to create more dams, water reservoirs and insist on harvesting food at least three times in a year.

    “I am happy to tell you that that programme is being designed and in the next two and half years, we shall add to the existing 200 dams at least another 400 dams across the country to encourage irrigation on a large scale.”

  • Ambode: Leading Nigeria’s rebirth through agric policies

    Ambode: Leading Nigeria’s rebirth through agric policies

    Nigeria will attain sustainable development if there is security of food and serious agricultural development. However, for this to be realised, Lagos State must continue on the path of sustainable food production and agricultural revival.

    Prior to the recent bold collaboration with Kebbi State that brought delight to many homes  during the Yuletide and New Year  through the sale of “Lake Rice”,  the state was producing only 15 per cent of what its people consumed, spending N350 billion on rice importation, half of the bill on the commodity by Nigeria.

    Daily, 6,000 cows are slaughtered at over N3 million, translating to N1, 080,000,000 yearly. Even with its huge population and the high purchasing power of residents, Lagos, with only 350 hectares of cultivable lands, had 53 hectares under cultivation.

    Because of the strategic position of Lagos in Nigeria, one would think Lagos would receive the biggest impact of Nigeria’s socio-economic dislocation. But the state is God has been blessed with visionary and competent leaders.

    Ambode swims against the tide of potential crisis to produce outstanding accomplishments, which have kept Lagos in the forefront of socio-economic and political development.

    Yet, Lagos must produce spectacular results in all sectors, especially in food safety and adequacy and agricultural security. At this period of recession, the first in 20 years in Nigeria, we need leaders who are willing, able and eager to rescue the country, bring us out of recession and restore our glory. Ambode is a shining example of such leaders.

    Through uncommon policies, Ambode has been charting a new path towards achieving self-sufficiency in the food and agricultural sector, complemented by businesses and industrial strategies.

    He created the Office of the Special Adviser on Food Security to, among other things, tackle food insufficiency, provide employment, stimulate relevant business and industrial value chains and fuel accelerated socio-economic growth and development.

    Ambode also seeks to inspire healthy competition and expand mutually rewarding agro-economy collaborations, not only in the states of the Western Region, but in all other states in the country. The Governor believes that when food is adequate, harmonious relationship and peaceful co-existence will reign.

    Ambode’s efforts in developing the agricultural sector can be seen in the proverb that says “don’t give me fish but teach me how to fish”. The empowerment of our people, particularly the youth, women and unemployed through partnership and networking with relevant stakeholders within the state are germane in Ambode’s creative policies.  In the next 2 years, Lagos is poised to scale up food sufficiency from the present 12 per cent to 25 per cent.

    For rice sufficiency in Lagos and for prosperity to her and other collaborating states, Ambode targets all arable lands in Nigeria. “Lake Rice” initiative is a fine example of strategic collaboration, where comparative advantages of partners are combined to produce impressive yield.

    During the Yuletide period, Lagos sold 32,467 bags of 50kg, 32,539 bags of 25kg and 30,780 bags of 10kg “Lake Rice”, produced and bagged by both states.

    Comparative advantage to maximise production is important in the agrarian policy. In alliance with Lagos, Kebbi State brings to the table 600 hectares of arable land, as Ogun State, in Eguaa provides 500 hectares. In the same manner, the state has stepped up rice promotion drive, acquiring lands in other states for cultivation, especially in the South West.

    The governor is determined to reach the maximum limit possible for rice cultivation in Lagos as well. He expanded the Imota Rice Mill to have the capacity of 16 metric tons from 2.5 metric tons; a total of 100 farmers, mostly youths, are engaged in rice production in Epe under FADAMA III project; and in Avia, Badagry, under Agric-YES, every year over 100 youths were trained for six months and practised for six months.

    At the end of their training, they were given loan facility, resources and technical support. Still under Agric-YES in Badagry area, he is fusing socio-cultural realities of the region with agricultural opportunities to maximise gains, by strengthening people’s bond with their lands, building alliances with the people of Soghai, Republic of Benin, promoting entrepreneurship and other economic value chains and encouraging friendship of the people in Badagry and in Benin Republic.

    Coconut has more than 300 derivatives, and in the past, coconut was a major export earner of the State, hence the Coconut Initiative is an area where Lagos still has massive comparative advantage. The Governor is poised to revive and scale up the coconut projects across all the value chains, as 180km stretch of coconut groves are available for planting of 30,000 seedlings, as 3 community-based micro-processing centres have been installed. This move will not only stimulate coconut industry (like in the Philippines where coconut earnings and coconut products can be compared to our receipts from petroleum) but will also improve coastal environment of the region.

    Ambode’s agrarian revolution is far-reaching, involving the entire food and agric-business spectrum. Under the Agric-YES, over 500 youths have been trained in poultry and fish farming. From the first quarter of the year, over 1,500 crates of eggs are being harvested every day, 2, 000 broilers hatched per month and 18 tons of fresh fish harvested per cycle; the Entrepreneurship Centre Initiative provides continuous advisory services to farmers through seasoned representatives in all technical areas of agriculture; there is Estate initiative; there is Commercial Agricultural Development Project (CAPD) initiative – 315 women were trained, 51 of whom were empowered in poultry, rice and aquatic value chain; Agric-Input Supply Initiative and Rural Finance Institution Project (Rufin)-aimed at strengthening the capacity of farmers while increasing access of poor rural farmers to financial services – Agric Programme (SAP) and Cage Culture System. There is Oyo Cattle Fattening partnership in Ejio to address the beef needs of Lagosians.

    Nigeria was once one of the few nations considered as giants in agriculture, in the pre-Independence era and two decades after.

    A nation blessed with clement weather, fantastic river systems and an extensive coast line, our Nigeria was one of the best for habitation. In those periods, foods, vegetables and fruits – fresh from the farms – were affordable.

    From 1960 to 1970, agriculture sustained the Nigerian economy as the main foreign exchange earner, contributing about 76 per cent to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The country was the largest producer and exporter of palm oil and groundnuts. With the ability to export 47 per cent of her products, Nigeria contributed 18 per cent to the world’s total exports and remained a major force to reckon with in such other cash crops as rubber, cotton, citrus and peanuts.

    • AbdulLateef is Lagos State Commissioner for Home Affairs
  • Agric: Avalanche of schemes on food production

    Agric: Avalanche of schemes on food production

    Despite enormous challenges, the nation’s agriculture sector has recorded some achievements. However, stakeholders are seeking more interventions to put the sector on the path of sustainable growth, DANIEL ESSIET reports.

    The revival efforts influenced by the nation’s agricultural policy objectives and the macro economic management framework were reported across the sector.

    However, the efforts were constrained by various factors ranging from socio-economic to institutional and structural. Problems persisting  in the sector, militated against the attainment of its potential. The year, however, also brought several positive developments for the sector, including the launch of several projects across the agric sector of the economy.

    Key among these projects, was the effort to achieve self-sufficiency in rice production. This was in line with the demands for rice estimated at six million metric tonnes. The supply of rice was 3.5 million metric tonnes with a gap of 2.5 million metric tonnes.

    So far, the sector is on an upswing. The government has kick-started initiatives to encourage farmers to grow more rice. These  include the Central Bank of  Nigeria anchor borrowers programme to support farmers rice  and allocation of funds to launch training programmes toincrease  the country’s overall rice production. The Federal Government spends N8.5billion on 500 harvesters, threshers to enhance rice production.

    The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbeh, who made this known in Abuja, said the machines were procured to reduce the cost and stress of rice farming.

    According to the Minister, “One of the worries of rice farmers is the labour in the harvest and that is why we are bringing these machines. If we have these machines in rice and wheat farms, the cost and stress of rice farming will reduce by 80 per cent”.

    The food security and youth employment goals of the Federal Government  received a  major support with the establishment of a rice processing mill with 120,000 metric tonnes capacity in Argungu, Kebbi State by WACOT Rice Limited, a member of the TGI Group. The rice mill is part of WACOT’s expansion plan, which targets a capacity increase with additional rice plants to overall 500,000 metric tonnes in the next years.

     

    CBN approves N75billion loan for agricultural lending

    The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) approved the disbursement of about N75billion as loan to farmers in the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) under the Nigerian Incentive-Based Risk Sharing in Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL).

    The loan guarantee scheme is a public-private sector initiative set up to transform the agricultural sector. It was initiated by the apex bank, the Bankers’ Committee and the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, to guarantee 75 per cent loans provided by Deposit Money Banks (DPB) to farmers as part of efforts to transform the country’s agricultural sector.

     

    Supply of 20m bags of fertiliser

    The Presidential Committee on Fertiliser said it has concluded arrangement to produce one million metric tonnes of fertiliser, amounting to 20 million bags to farmers. This is just as the Fertiliser Producers and Suppliers Association of Nigeria (FEPSAN) said the project has in the last six months saved Nigeria N260 billion hitherto spent on subsidy and foreign exchange to import the product. The Presidential Fertiliser Initiative said that the era of hoarding fertiliser is gone, as people who engage in such act would be losers, because 11 fertiliser blending companies were producing across the country at a rate that the market will be saturated with the products.

     

    Lagos govt to upscale Imota Rice Milling Plant

    As part of plans to ensure food self-sufficiency, especially through rice production, the Lagos State government says it is up-scaling the Imota Rice Milling Plant from 2.5 metric tonnes to 16 metric tonnes.The Commissioner for Agriculture, Toyin Suarau, who made the disclosure at a ministerial press briefing to mark Governor Akinwumi Ambode’s second year in office, said the plant would be delivered within one year. Suarau said that the plant would be the biggest in Nigeria when delivered and also drive the state’s major goal to scale up food sufficiency from 12 per cent to 25 per cent in three years. ”The ministry is mandated to facilitate sustainable food production, poverty reduction and job creation through several agriculture projects and programmes.

    ”The major goal of the ministry is to make the state food secured and scale up food self-sufficiency from the current 12 per cent to 25 per cent within the next three years. ”It is part of plans to ensure that the production of Lake Rice and to stop milling rice paddy in other states like Kebbi, Jigawa and Kano states. ”We have begun plans to up Imota rice milling plant from 2.5 metric tonnes per hour to 16 metric tonnes per hour within the next one year,” he said.

     

    Dry season farming

    The Federal Government spent more than N9.5 billion for the distribution of farm inputs to farmers during the dry season farming. Director, Farm Input Support Services Department, Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, OhiareJatto said the inputs were distributed to no fewer than 458,498 farmers across 30 states of the federation between last December and this February, dry season farming. Mr. Jatto said the input were provided under the governments’ Growth Enhancement Support (GES) scheme to guarantee improved food production and security. According to him, some of the inputs provided to the farmers include two bags of Nitrogen Potassium Phosphate, one bag of urea, one bag of organic fertiliser each, 25 kilogramme rice seeds and 20 kilogramme maize seeds depending on the crop value chain.The director said that the government under the GES usually paid 75 per cent worth of seeds and 50 per cent for fertilisers and pesticides while farmers settled the remaining percentage of the money. He said the scheme attained 92 per cent success during the planting season. ”The dry season farming was very successful. We targeted 500,000 farmers and we were able to reach 458,498 farmers in 30 states.”All the northern states and many southern states benefited.  We only reached out to farmers that our funds were able to accommodate,’’ he said.

     

    AFDB approves $280m to support youths

    The President of the African Development Bank (AFDB), Dr Akinwumi Adesina, said the $280 million approved by the bank would be used to encourage Nigerian youths to go into agro-business. He stated this in Ibadan at the African Youth Agripreneurs (AYA) Forum organised by the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Ibadan.

    Adesina, represented by Dr Chiji Ojukwu, a Director in AFDB,  said the  forum was convened to attract youths across Africa into agribusiness as well as mentor them to invest in agriculture.

    Adesina said with IITA training initiative and the financial support from AFDB, more youths would be interested to go into agribusiness. He said that AFDB was working with 33 countries to give assistance to youths in agriculture. Adesina said Zambia, Sudan, DR Congo, Cameroon and Nigeria had already been given necessary assistance in 2016.

    He said the bank was targeting 37,000 youths in Nigeria who would be given $50,000 each as support in agriculture business. ”The $280m that we have approved for Nigeria cannot be enough; we need $1.8 billion to accommodate the 37,000 youth.

     

    NYSC set to post corps members to farms

    The National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) Director-General, Brig-Gen. Suleiman Kazaure, said the scheme would soon commence the posting of corps members to farms.

    Kazaure, who made this known during an interactive session with reporters at the NYSC Permanent Orientation Camp in Sagamu, Ogun State, expressed that the initiative was in line with the scheme’s agricultural development programme.

    “It should interest you to know that the NYSC will soon begin its agricultural development scheme where corps members will be posted to farms for their primary assignments. Already the NYSC has acquired active farmlands across the nation’s geo-political zones with four already fully operational in Kwali, Bauchi, Oyo and Kebbi”, he said.

    He also said the NYSC has concluded preparations to begin the posting at the conclusion of the three-week orientation exercise.

    “After this orientation programme for the Batch ‘A’ corps members, we will begin posting some of them to these farms as a pilot phase. Though we are starting with four states for now, we will integrate the other states as time goes on, the project is ongoing,” Kazaure said.

    He urged the corps members to maximise the benefits of the scheme’s Skills Acquisition and Entrepreneurship Development (SAED) Programme, as they begin their journey towards financial independence, adding that they could be employers of labour rather than being job seekers if they were innovative and creative.

    “The NYSC has provided all the tools and support you need to develop your capacity to the fullest, it now depends on you, and there is no short cut to success but by hard work. Of all the programmes outlined for you during the orientation, there is none more important that you must fully participate in than the SAED programme.

    “I want you to create your own jobs by being creative and innovative, you must strive to be labour employers rather than labour seekers. Please don’t look for white-collar jobs, your skills and potentials can serve you better in the way of realising your dreams,” he said.

    Speaking at the event, the Ogun State Co-ordinator of the NYSC, Mrs. Gladys Mbachi, thanked the director general for the visit and praised his emphasis on the skill acquisition programme.

    She also encouraged the corps members to harness the benefits of the SAED programme as it would expose their talents to where they fit in, so that they can build on whatever foundation the programme has created for them.

     

    Staple crop processing zones

    In a bid  to curb post-harvest losses, the Federal Government has devised plans to set up staple crop processing zones across states of the federation.

    The Minister of State for Agriculture, Sen. Heineken Lokpobiri, who made this known during a stakeholders conference organised by Akassa Development Foundation zones (ADF), expressed that the plan was one of the multiple approaches outlined under the nine billion dollars fund, set aside to tackle issues of productivity in the agric sector.

    The minister added that the staple crops processing zones would be set up in areas of high food production, and the government will utilise fiscal and infrastructure incentives to attract private food manufacturing companies to add value to agricultural produce.

    Lokpobiri challenged the people of the Niger Delta region to engage in agriculture as the region has the largest wetlands with arable land for agriculture.

     

    Stakeholders’ reactions

    Despite this,participants of the Stakeholders Consultative Meeting on 2018 Agriculture Budget have urged the Federal Government to allocate 10 per cent of the nation’s annual budgets to finance the agricultural sector. They made the call in a communique issued at the end of their meeting in Kaduna.

     

    MAN

    The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) charged the government at all levels to increase investment in agriculture to scale up food production and sufficiency in the country.

    MAN Director-General, Mr. Segun Kadiri, made the call while reviewing the performance of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration in Lagos.

    Kadiri noted that the government should focus on aggressive food production through mechanised farming to enable food availability for human consumption as well as raw materials for industrial use.

    According to him, “It is important that people get food to eat; it is also important that industries get raw materials to use for production. Both are priorities. We, as a nation of more than 180 million people, should plan big and operate big such that there will be no shortage anywhere.

    “Nigeria is too big and blessed to complain about scarcity of food. We have 36 states in the country and you can grow virtually anything in the states. The onus lies with our leaders to ensure that we utilise our natural resources well.”

    The MAN boss said the rising of cost of foods could not be blamed on manufacturers using some of the produce as raw materials, noting that local consumption and industrial uses were both crucial.

    He called on the government to design realistic food production schemes that would subsidise financing, inputs and machinery for farmers, while increasing access to foods by the citizens.

    Kadiri added that promoting food production would avert crisis, end food scarcity, advance industrial capacity utilisation, and create employment and inclusive growth for citizens.

  • FG partners institutes to boost food production

    The federal government has concluded plans to partner with the International Crop Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) and other research institutes to ensure that citizens have access to bio-fortified foods.
    Sen. Heineken Lokpobiri, the Minister of state for Agriculture and Rural Development gave this hint at the Sensitisation Programme on Bio-fortified Crops for Building Nutritious Food Basket (BNFB) project in Abuja over the weekend.
    Bio-fortification is the process of increasing nutritional value of food crops by increasing the density of vitamins and minerals in a crop through conventional breeding, agronomic practices or biotechnology.
    Lokpobiri said the partnership which would culminate into the production of high nutritious foods, was a step toward reducing malnutrition among citizens especially children.
    According to him, Nigeria has the lowest life expectancy and has about 30 per cent of malnourished children because of the kind of food that we consume that is not nutritious.
    “The journey toward eradication of malnutrition has commenced and this is a crusade that everyone must be engaged in more so now that there are no more petrol-dollars.
    “The ministry has a directive from President Muhammadu Buhari to collaborate with different agencies and NGOs to see how we can improve the nutritional value of our foods.
    “Yes, food is available in the country but some of them are not nutritious.
    “There is no way Nigeria can compete with other parts of the world if we do not collaborate to make sure that we get only bio-fortified crops.
    “Some of our agro-products are rejected because they do not have the required nutrients.
    “If we have enough bio-fortified crops, there will be no need for the World Food Programme to be importing food to help our brothers in the North East because they claim that our food is not nutritious,’’ the minister said.
    Mrs Phorbee Olapeju, the Country Director, International Potato Centre (CIP) and the facilitator of the programme, said it was aimed at sensitising the government to support the initiative by including it in its policies and programmes.
    She said the BNFB initiative was working on tubers like orange fleshed sweet potato, yellow cassava, iron and zinc fortified maize and millet.
    Olapeju advised the federal government to include bio-fortified foods in its new home-grown school feeding programme, which is now a national mandate.
    The country director said the bio-fortified crops which the centre was promoting were conventionally bred, organic, natural and not genetically modified.
    According to her, farmers are currently planting the vines, distributing the planting materials and the crops have gone through the release committee before the distribution.
    “In the food basket initiative, you will have a crop that is peculiar to every state in the country.
    “We want the government to include at least one bio-fortified crop in our school feeding menu programme.
    “We want the present administration to buy into this initiative and support the scaling up. We have been encouraging this at the grassroots,’’ she said.
    Mr Tukur Abdulazeez, a Research Technician with ICRISAT, said that bio-fortification entailed enriching crops with nutrients by retrogressing genes from plant to plant.
    He said the institute in collaboration with the Institute for Agricultural Research, Samaru in Zaria, Kaduna State, had released two new varieties of sorghum in the country which was rich in iron and zinc for pregnant women and children.
    The research technician listed some crops that are currently bio-fortified in the country to include some varieties of sorghum, potato, maize and cassava among others.
    “Our breeders do not transfer genes from animal to plant except from plant to plant.
    “The introgression of the genes is usually done among crops of the same species or sometimes, of different species but belonging to the same family,’’ Abdulazeez explained.
    Speaking on behalf of bio-fortified Cassava and Potato Farmers, Mrs Carol Donko, said the business had been profitable.
    She urged other farmers to key into the business to boost the production of high nutritional bio-fortified foods in the country.
    The BNFB initiative is implemented through the CIP as the leading partner and International Centre for Tropical Agriculture, International Maize and Wheat Improvement Centre (CIMMYT), IITA, Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA) among others.
    It is a three-year project from November 2015 to October 2018, which is being implemented in Nigeria and Tanzania.
    The News Agency of Nigeria reports that at least $10 million investment had been devoted to bio-fortified crops programmes in Nigeria and Tanzania by the public, private and NGOs to support the initiative.

  • Feed Nigeria partners govt on food production

    The   Feed Nigeria Summit, is partnering the Federal Government  to increase  the production of  foods – which have not kept pace with demand, its Director–General, Mr. Richard Mbaram has said.

    Mbaram  said a summit had been scheduled for between April 6 and 7 , at International Hotel,Victoria Island, Lagos to discuss strategies to drive progress in agriculture.

    He said there was a need to bring together producers and leading industry representatives to agree to boost future production and open up new export opportunities.

    He said the meeting would need to set new targets to turbo-charge exports, boost inward investment and support emerging agro  companies to export overseas.

    He  said  there is a significant opportunity for  Nigeria  to develop international sales and profile through exploration of new markets and opportunities opening up all the time,championing  regional food  growing local businesses and potentially creating more jobs.

    According to him, Nigeria must embrace agricultural innovations to better compete in an evolving global bio-economy, by   technologies to address challenges related to population, poverty, food insecurity and climate change.

    He  emphasised the underdevelopment of  Nigeria ’s trade in agriculture, especially intra-regional trade, in spite of the potential for its expansion.

    He said the mission of the summit was to work with development partners and the Federal Government  to implement innovative solutions that could not only bolster agricultural performance, but also promote agri-food trade and food security.

  • Boosting food production in Nigeria

    Boosting food production in Nigeria

    Unarguably, the development of a strategic action plan for agricultural sector -Agricultural Transformation Agenda – remains one of the efforts of the Federal Government at boosting food production in Nigeria.

    Developed by former Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr Akinwumi Adesina, the programme recognises the need to target areas that have potential for increased agricultural activities to boost food production.

    One of the outstanding components of the programmes is Growth Enhancement Support Scheme (GES) aimed at eradicating corruption in the fertiliser sector by eliminating the middlemen in the sector.

    Supported by Electronic Wallet System, GES allows smallholder farmers to receive electronic vouchers for subsidised seeds and fertilisers directly on their mobile phones and enable them to pay for farm inputs from private dealers.

    This initiative notwithstanding, President Muhammadu Buhari recently observed that Nigeria had great potential for expanding food production but the agricultural sector faced numerous challenges.

    He noted that the challenges included low yield growth of major food and cash crops and land degradation.

    He also said inadequate infrastructure such as electricity, roads, scarcity of required farm inputs, storage and need for productive and profitable agricultural business, among others, were parts of impediments to adequate food production.

    He assured Nigerians that his administration would focus on enhancing the sector through sustainable programmes to enable farmers to acquire necessary farm inputs.

    He promised to ensure sustainable supply of fertilisers, farm chemicals, storage facilities, tractors and other modern farming tools and technologies, including irrigation, high yield seeds and access to funds.

    Further to the promise, Buhari visited Kebbi last November to inaugurate N20 billion Anchor Borrowers’ Programme – a financial window set aside by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for rice farmers across the country.

    At the inauguration, the President said: “Prior to the advent of oil, our country survived on agricultural production with huge economic potential from our palm oil, groundnut, cotton, and rubber plantations.

    “During this period, the economies of our sub-region were built on agricultural activities and our Gross Domestic Product grew steadily.

    “Our first generation state-sponsored banks and investment companies were financed with incomes from farming surpluses.

    “The discovery of oil was expected to complement our agricultural productivity but we allowed oil to almost completely replace it.

    “Current trends in the international oil market has brought to fore the urgent need to diversify both the productive and revenue base of our economy and conserve our foreign reserve by limiting our appetite for importation of goods that we can easily produce locally.

    “It is the only way to reclaim economic momentum and drive to prosperity. One way to do this is to go back to the land and develop our agricultural production.

    “That is why I have high hopes about the prospects of the CBN’s Anchor Borrowers’ Programme and its potential to create millions of jobs and lift thousands of smallholder farmers out of poverty.”

    The president said the programme had been designed as a one-stop solution for the agriculture value chain by creating economic linkages between farmers and processors.

    He said that the programme would ensure increased agricultural output and reduce dependence on imported foods.

    He expressed the hope that the Anchor Borrowers’ Programme would be a model in the way smallholder farmers are financed across the country.

    In his opinion, CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele said the bank was concerned about the huge foreign exchange spent by Nigeria to import food items that could be produced locally.

    He said that the programme would be implemented in Kebbi, Sokoto, Niger, Kaduna, Katsina, Jigawa, Kano, Zamfara, Adamawa, Plateau, Lagos, Ogun, Cross River and Ebonyi, for rice and wheat farming.

    According to him, the objective of the programme is to reduce commodity importation, conserve external reserves, reduce the level of poverty among smallholder farmers, create jobs and assist rural smallholder farmers to grow from subsistence to commercial production levels.

    He observed that the programme would also facilitate the emergence of a new generation of farmers and entrepreneurs.

    “The programme will empower 600,000 farmers in rice farming, 100,000 in wheat, fish and palm production each, 200,000 in their respective value chains in the next five years. “It is also expected to create more than1, 000,000 direct and indirect jobs in the processing segment of the value chains of selected commodities,’’ he said.

    He identified lack of mechanisation, low quality inputs and poor funding as major hindrances to rice production in Nigeria, promising that the programme would solve the problem of finance.

    He explained that farmers would be thoroughly trained on the global best agronomical practices, insisting that: “The farmers must be a member of a validated cooperative before applying for the loan.

    “We will find out how much it will take to produce one hectare of rice to determine the amount that will be given to each individual; the idea is to enhance efficient management of the resources.”

    Economists believe that the stimulation of rice production through the Anchor Borrowers’ Programme will lead to increase in production of rice in all rice-producing states where the programme will be implemented.

    They note further that the inauguration of the programme in Kebbi is commendable because of the state’s history in the production of rice, maize, wheat, barley, cowpeas, onions, tomatoes, sweet and Irish potatoes, among others. Mr Oladele Idowu, an economist with a private firm in Ibadan, nonetheless, advises stakeholders in agriculture to ensure the success of the programme.

     

  • How technology can boost food production

    How technology can boost food production

    Nigeria’s 170 million population is projected to increase to 250 million by 2050. With the growth rate significantly faster than that of food production, experts say there is the need to raise food production by about 70 per cent between now and 2050 or risk a serious food crisis. To avert the crisis, they are canvassing the deployment of modern technologies to address the challenges and harness the opportunities in the food industry. DANIEL ESSIET reports.

    Nigeria’s population is projected to hit 250 million by 2050, and domestic demand for food will automatically rise, driven by the predicted population growth. This, according to the Managing Director, Dizengoff Nigeria, Mr. Richard Hargrave, will make it very difficult to feed everyone.

    Specifically, Hargrave and other experts noted that the population growth rate is faster than that of food production. They warned that unless food production is raised by about 70 per cent, between now and 2050, a serious food crisis may be staring the country in the face.

    Hargrave was, however, quick to add that since food production does not meet  demand, a viable option for agricultural and food industries is to increase production  through innovative technologies.

    Addressing a forum at the just-concluded Agro Expo in Lagos, on the topic: “Tomorrow’s Technology Today’, Hargrave said one sure way of boosting production  is by getting more farmers to adopt modem technology.

    According to him, advances in modern technology and innovation will be required to produce the significant yield increases needed to boost food production. He said there is a parade of new technologies and scientific breakthroughs, such as vertical farming, green houses, aquaponics and others, for farmers and food industries.

    Hargrave said through facilities, such as green houses, which Dizengoff Nigeria is using to empower farmers, food production has been increased with less water used and fewer chemical inputs.

    He made a case for improved value chain performance to offer income opportunities for farmers, processors and other operators in agribusiness. He, however, said achieving the full potential of technologies to boost food production requires effective leadership.

    He, therefore, said government must invest or encourage investment in roads and infrastructure to facilitate food production. According to him, government’s policy should aim to achieve increase in agric exports, improve food security, and create new jobs and income for rural populations.

    He said the Agricultural Transformation Agenda (ATA) of the previous administration could address the broader constraints of achieving agricultural productivity growth and food security, with co-ordinated national strategies and investment plans for agriculture.

     

    Vertical farming to the rescue

    The challenge of feeding a growing population is pushing the concept of urban farming to new heights. Since arable land is not sufficiently available for farming in the urban areas of the country, Hargrave called for the establishment of vertical farms.

    Vertical farming as a component of urban agriculture is the practice of cultivating plant life within a skyscraper greenhouse or on vertically inclined surfaces. Intended to bring large-scale food production to places where most of the consumption occurs, vertical farms are farms on high-rise farm buildings that might produce everything from algae-based biodiesel to salad greens, eggs, beef, and milk.

    Hargrave explained that vertical farms are tailor made skyscrapers containing multiple levels of viable farmland to provide year-round food production in a controlled, parasite-free environment.

    According to him, vertical farming practised on a large scale in urban centres in places such as Lagos has great potential to supply enough food in a sustainable way to comfortably feed the increasing population in that mega-city.

    Apart from allowing year-round food production without loss of yields due to climate change or weather-related events, the system, Hargrave noted, eliminates the need for large-scale use of pesticides and herbicides, creating an environment that encourages sustainable urban life.

     

    Aquaponics also

    According to experts, aquaponics, which is a combination of fish and plant production using aquaculture and hydroponics systems, also holds promises of increasing food production. It is an intensive sustainable agricultural production system that connects hydroponic and aquaculture systems to produce multiple cash crops with reduced water and fertiliser inputs.

    An aeroponics system cultivates leafy greens, such as arugula and watercress, in growing cycles of 18 days, compared with 60 days or more in conventional agriculture. It is highly suited for small farm producers targeting local markets and agri-tourism opportunities. In an aquaponic system, wastes produced by fish become beneficial fertiliser for hydroponically grown plants (ie plants grown inside water).

    The most common aquaculture (raising fish) system used in aquaponics (growing fish and plants within the same system) is the Re-circulating Aquaculture Tank System (RAS). Here, the tank becomes the base nutrient and water reservoir that flows to the hydroponic subsystem and is usually re-circulated back to the tank.

    This is an intensive, usually high-fish-density production system that allows for build up of waste nutrients from fish feed to levels that can benefit plant growth. Pond water may contain harmful microorganisms and algae, so the use of well water or municipal water sources when using RAS aquaponics is recommended.

    Dizengoff Nigeria, for instance, has identified various agro technologies and  is making  it available to farmers  in Nigeria to support competitive Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in agribusiness.

    The Vice-Chancellor, Federal University of Technology, Akure, Prof. Adebiyi Daramola, said the agriculture transformation agenda can be realised by harnessing and enabling the entrepreneurial skill and spirit of young people. He said this should be at the forefront of every food security and growth agenda of the government.

    Delivering a  paper titled: Agriculture: A Panacea for Youth Unemployment in Nigeria at the 15th Prof. A.A. Adegbola Memorial Lecture organised by Ikorodu Division Human Resource Development Board (IDHRDB) in Lagos, Prof. Daramola noted that young people often see agriculture as outdated, unprofitable and hard work.

    He, however, said there should be technology support to open up a myraid of opportunities for entrepreneurship along the entire agribusiness value chain. According to him, innovation and technology, often regarded as  pre-conditions for successful entrepreneurship, should be supported to increase the nation’s competitiveness, productivity, growth and also create more jobs.

    He said increased involvement of youths in agribusiness will help reduce unemployment. “The enhanced agribusiness, according to him,  throws open opportunities for employment in marketing, transport, cold storage and warehousing facilities, credit, insurance and logistic support services’’.

    According to him, what is needed is to better prepare youths technologically to meet the challenges and take advantage of new opportunities in agriculture to improve their livelihoods.

    At a recent international  fora, the Chief Executive of Pan-African Agribusiness and Agro industry Consortium (PANAAC), Lucy Muchoki, said her organisation has been able to identify key innovations. PANAAC, she said,  has been sensitising farmers and mobilising support for the  commercialisation of the technologies.

     

  • How agric corridors can boost food production

    How agric corridors can boost food production

    Experts say the use of agric corridors holds the key to Nigeria’s search for sustainable food security. It is an innovative strategy of developing underutilised land areas with  great potential to enhance food production and economic growth.  They, however, argue that despite its capacity to transform the nation’s subsistence agriculture into profitable enterprises, the strategy requires substantial investments in infrastructure, especially in the area of transport networks, DANIEL ESSIET writes.

    The consensus among experts in the agric sector is that the adoption of new strategies aimed at sustainably increasing agricultural production is key to feeding an estimated 250 million people by 2020.

    To them, one sure approach to achieving this is by creating agric corridors, an innovation that encourages the development of underutilised land areas that have great potential to enhance food production and economic growth. The strategy, according to them, is a Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) approach, which takes the entire agric value chain into consideration with the aim of improving efficiency through targeted investments.

    The strategy, The Nation learnt, works by recognising the fact that there are regional differences in production of many commodities, and that different agro-climatic zones and other bounteous natural advantages offer immense opportunities for high growth in the agriculture and allied sectors.

    For instance, while the southern part of the country is known for vegetables, root and tuber crops, the Northcentral zone or Middle Belt is known for root, tubers and cereals. The thinking is that by exploring the regional competitive advantage to develop all the commodities that the nation is blessed with, Nigeria can ride on the agric corridor approach to increase food production.

    The Project Director, Cassava Adding to Africa (CAVA), Prof Kola Adebayo, said the nation’s agriculture is affected by the diversity of climatic conditions, soil types and water sources.  What is required to stimulate  balanced  economic  growth, according to him, is for the government to recognise these diversities and limitations and create  distinct  growth corridors for  the  production of  key crops and  livestock.

    For  instance, establishing  agric corridors  in the  northern  zones that  focuses  on growing  grains would  give  the nation high returns. In the same vein, such facilities in the Southwest will support growers of cocoa and cashew nut. Crops such as ginger will prosper in the Northeast and Western part of the country.

    Prof Adebayo said the same consideration should be given to livestock production. Emphasis, he noted, should be in terms of environmental advantage and cost merits that support profitable production. Each agric corridor, he said, should focus on a chosen commodity or livestock while government takes into consideration geographical and/or sectorial strengths. In all the corridors, Adebayo said infrastructure and supportive industries such as input production and supply enterprises, meat production lines, fisheries, forestry, commodity processing and storage enterprises are necessary.

    The CAVA Project Director listed other important elements to include linkages to enable easy movement of products to consumption areas, including supporting services such as transport, commodity grading and quality control. In locating them, however, he said the aim should be to elevate the overall standard of living and achieve balanced socio-economic development across the country.

    By being largely regional, Adebayo said agric corridor developments provide a model that transcends state boundaries, employing a range of modernisation techniques. Nigerians, he said, should be provided incentives to invest in commodity marketing, manufacturing, export and support services.

    He, however, noted that there are constraints to agricultural enterprises performance, one of which is the lack of processing and storage facilities. Others include poor infrastructure, including epileptic power supply, inadequate supply of water among others.

    According to him, these factors are responsible for the declining export crop production and food shortages. He, therefore, said putting agric corridors in place would help create a national network of agro service centers to facilitate the distribution of modern inputs, including the provision of tractors and farm machinery services to farmers.

    That is not all. Adebayo said other benefits of the agric corridor approach include the availability of raw materials and other inputs, market availability, good climate/environment, high returns on investment, use of modern crop varieties and other technologies. The system, he added, would make other portfolio of technologies available to farmers, including availability of improved varieties, biological control of pests and diseases and processing of raw materials into high quality products.  There is also the possibility of linking farmers to agro inputs and industries.

    The agric expert however, pointed out that the successful implementation of the strategy is contingent on an enabling environment for agriculture to grow in equilibrium with other sectors.

    He said whether trade corridors can be successfully linked to broad-based agriculture development is a question of high-level political will and action.

    Publicity  Secretary, National  Cashew  Association of Nigeria (NCAN), Sotonye Anga, said  the  government  should buy into the  project since it  considers high growth of agriculture and allied sectors as means to accelerate the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth, enable farmers to earn more income and ensure food security.

    According to him, Nigeria has rich bio-diversity and agro-climatic zones suited for majority of the agricultural and horticultural crops and a long coastline that encourages fisheries.

    He noted that despite the nation’s inherent natural advantages, the performance of agriculture and allied sectors have been affected by poor traffic infrastructure that has to be upgraded to support production, profitability, competitiveness and sustainability of crops, livestock and poultry. In anticipation of influx of new investments, he said government needs to build effective corridors geared towards the competitive advantage of a territory. He added that agric corridors will draw private capital and large-scale investment to projects that benefit small scale farmers and boost food security.

    The corridors, according to him, will foster agriculture in an area connected by lines of transportation such as highways, railroads, ports or canals. The strength of the approach, he noted, is integration of investments, policy frameworks and local institutions.

    Since the new vision of agriculture requires the PPPs approach, Anga said investments in farms will follow in form of transportation infrastructure investments. According to him, agric corridors will involve investment in roads and dams, reduction of tax burdens on agribusinesses, promotion of clusters of businesses and infrastructure.

    According to him, there is need for an enabling institutional structure for addressing the challenges of facilitating the flow of investment, technologies and modern skill sets to the agric sector. He said agribusinesses need incentives to deploy investments in developing the much needed agric infrastructure and agro based industry units in a fair and transparent manner for ensuring sustainable development. Anga argued that to position the country on the path of sustainable agricultural growth involves creating the enabling framework and infrastructural facilities that will generate higher returns to farming communities.

    National President, Association of Small Business Owners of Nigeria (ASBON), Dr Femi Egbesola, said government has come up with a plan to increase capabilities and income of farmers and rural communities. He said  the  agric  sector  need  a  policy  drive  that  benefit land owners, farmers, fishermen, rural workforce, other producers and also improve the competitiveness of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). These, he said, would lead to better unit value realisation, besides facilitating large investments and opening avenues for export markets.

    To move the industry forward, he canvassed implementation of a policy, which promotes a holistic and sustainable growth of farming, horticulture, agro-forestry, dairying and animal husbandry, fisheries, and food processing sectors, including related and allied industries.

    He also stressed the need to harness the expertise of the private sector, as well as a structured and pragmatic approach for the development of agri-infrastructure through PPPs, which will lead to greater industrialisation. He, therefore, called on the government to establish corridors to ease transportation of goods to and from the interiors and the ports.

    According to him, there are lots of activities taking place across the sector, which need to be captured using economically efficient means of transportation. He noted that lack of basic rural infrastructure to bring produce to towns or store them make farming business difficult. If well designed, he said, agric corridors could do more to support agricultural development by creating employment and helping to increase food security. He pointed out that the regional dimension of agric corridors can immediately help food security by connecting food surplus with food deficit areas, and increasing intra-regional trade of food staples.

    Egbesola said with the approach, government would be able to identify growth areas with untapped agricultural potential along the corridors and support value chains that may prove attractive for investment. He explained that in the corridors, small producers will be introduced to the clusters and the value chains. He, however, pointed out that in developing agricultural growth corridors, it has to be linked directly to  the agricultural  development  agenda  of the  government to  connect  small farmers to markets, achieve capacity and competitiveness and assist  operators to  solve their basic economic weaknesses.

    He said ASBON is currently promoting value chain agriculture in Ogun State and that it is making effort to create better business environment for small holders. With agric corridors, he said other associations will be able to cluster small scale and investment in specific value chains and link small farmers with large estates. While stressing that agribusiness is expected to act as growth engine, he said government’s efforts should revolve around agricultural and agribusiness development concentrated around a major infrastructure investment or set of interrelated infrastructure projects.

    For the Provost, Federal College of Agriculture, Akure, Dr Samson Odedina, there is need to promote profitable and sustainable production, processing, marketing and utilisation of agricultural commodities and agricultural based products in  areas  where  selected communities/states have some competitive advantage.

    The commodities of focus, he noted, should contribute significantly to food security and/or income generation in the communities/states. According to him, this has been captured on the staple crop processing zones programme of the government through the Agricultural Transformation Agenda (ATA), adding that  the  programme  involves undertaking an integrated competitiveness and feasibility analysis, which leads to the development of production, processing and marketing programme for the selected commodity.

    The programme, he said, involves the formation of a cluster that comprises all stakeholder groups including farmers, processors, input suppliers, marketers, transporters, equipment fabricators, industrialists and others in businesses revolving around the selected commodity. He said by working with the cluster, an implementation plan is developed and implemented for improved production, processing, marketing and utilisation of the selected commodity.

    The Minister of Agriculture, Dr. AdesinaAkinwumi, said government is implementing the Staple Crops Processing Zones (SCPZ) scheme to reduce post-harvest wastages and creating job opportunities that would develop the rural country side. It is also designed to boost food production and drastically reduce Nigeria’s dependence on food import while creating business and job opportunities for investors.

    Today, the zones are located within 14 states or corridors to provide services and interventions to mitigate risks at every step of the value chain by linking players from inputs to end markets to streamline the process for investors.

    The  14 states and corridors are Anambra/Enugu, Bayelsa, Benue; Borno, Cross River, Kano Kogi, Kwara Lagos, Nasarawa, Niger, Ogun, Rivers, Taraba and Kebbi/Sokoto. Adesina said Nigeria has transformed in such a way that agribusiness now dictates the pace of economic activities.

    The minister noted that tremendous transformation has taken place in the sector since the government launched the ATA in 2011, which set a target of adding 20 million metric tons of food to the domestic output. About 75 per cent (15.7 million metric tons) was achieved two years ago.

    Country Director, (Nigeria) United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO), Dr. Patrick Kormawa, sad globally, Nigeria is reputed to be the largest producer of cassava, yam and food sorghum, at 54 million metric tonnes (MMT), 38 MMT and 6.9 MMT respectively, while the country places second and third globally in citrus and ground nut production.

    According to him,  processing remains rudimentary, with post-harvest losses for various commodities remaining high as these are associated with inability to meet market requirements.

    To overcome challenges to agro-processing, Komowa said providing support for infrastructure has been identified as a key intervention that requires urgency.

     

  • Unilever chief urges 70% increase in food production

    The Managing Director,  Unilever Nigeria Plc, Mr. Yaw Nsarkoh, has stressed the need to boost food production by at least 70 per cent to assure food security in the country.

    He warned that there was growing threat of ecosystem collapse because of the emergence of global instability associated with the struggle for global resources which are being consumed at a quicker rate than they can be replenished.

    Speaking at an event in Lagos,  Nsarkoh said with world’s population projected to increase by two billion by 2050, there was urgent need to increase food production by 70 per cent by 2050 to meet expected demand.

    The Unilever chief said the financial crisis arising from the crash in oil prices and the devaluation of the local currency is causing stagnation, depression and poverty.

    “Today, over a billion people go to bed hungry every night. Over 2.5 billion lack access to basic sanitation or to water,” he said.

    Nsarkoh pointed out that the world is cracking from the pangs of poverty and inequality, with the top 85 richest people in the world today having the same wealth as the bottom three and half billion. “A billion people go to bed hungry, while the rest waste 30 to 40 per cent of their food,” he lamented.

    He said this, perhaps, explained why capitalism is being questioned. “Capitalism may have generated a lot of wealth and delivered many benefits, but there is an increasing sense that too many people are being left behind. This situation is bad for the individual, bad for society, and bad for business,” he noted.

    Nsarkoh pointed out that businesses could only thrive in societies and economies-in the long run-where there is absence of poverty and crisis.

    He said: “How we choose to act or react today in response to the broken system is the most critical question the world has ever faced.”

    Nsarkoh, however, said since business has a role to play in the response to the broken system, business needs to step up especially in an environment such as Nigeria’s. “Business should be more than a mere bystander in the very system that gives it life. Businesses are affected, directly or indirectly by the well-being of society,” he said.

    Noting, for instance, that climate change impacts on food supply, drives poverty, and creates political instability, he said Nigeria is key to the African continent on the rise.

    He, however, said Nigeria’s super star status within the African context brings along with it responsibilities.