The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Food

  • Fed Govt urged to focus on food safety, agric development

    The Federal Government has been urged to prioritise food safety to boost export revenue.

    The Chief Operating Officer,  Centre for Cocoa Development Initiative, Robo Adhuze, who gave the advice, said this had become necessary in the face of dwindling oil revenue and challenges in the export market.

    He urged the government to create conducive environment for enterprises in the agricultural and food sectors.

    According to him, the growth of agriculture at a reasonable rate is important to avoid distortions in the economy and it requires interventions to improve productivity in the land available.

    He said local firms need to enjoy favourable conditions to enable investment in improving output, ensuring quality products and creating value added products in the agricultural sectors, including livestock, cultivation, production of seeds and animal varieties, processing, preservation and technology after harvesting.

    He called on the government to promote public-private partnership (PPP) in the agricultural sector, improve farming and food value chains from production to harvesting as well as distribution of products besides research and expansion in regions producing material for agricultural processing and production.

    Adhuze stressed the need to set-up modern farms and enhances the regulation of quality of food and other farm products to tackle the difficulties.

    He called on the government to encourage private investment in farms and also try to secure cheaper financing options for more farmers.

    Adhuze urged the government to support banks to increase mid- and long-term infrastructure loans to rural areas as part of these developments.

    He said agriculture was the engine of growth for the economy, and that restructuring the sector to improve profitability and sustainability, and added value to products will help the population. The government’s objective, according to him, is to maintain high growth, create more jobs, increase income and improve the livelihood of farmers, and, at the same time, protect the environment.

  • Instability in food prices lingers

    What is responsible for the instability in food prices? TONIA ‘DIYAN sought the views of some traders and consumers against the backdrop of rising foodstuffs prices.

    •Traders lament continuous hike in price of food stuff

    Prices determine the demand for every item. The higher the price, the lower the demand. This is also applicable to foodstuffs. There low patronage due to the increasing prices of commodities, The Nation shopping gathered from traders.

    To some traders, the instability in prices of food items is caused by the devaluation of the Naira.

    A seller of frozen fish at Mushin Market, who requested to be identified only as “Iya Abbey”, believes  the devaluation of Naira is the reason for the hike in the price of fish.

    She said: “The prices of my goods have increased due to increment in the value of dollar which I find shocking as I have never heard of a case where dollar’s worth affects the prices of fishes”. The fish we buy at the rate of N9,000 is now purchased for N11,000 and N12,000 while that sold N7,000 now sells for N13,000.”

    She lamented the low patronage of her goods caused by the increase in prices, making the business less profitable. “Business is not moving like before because of the rate at which we sell our fishes now compared to before. We now sell three Titus and Kote fish for N1000, it was formerly N600. In fact, we formerly sold them for N500 but that has changed now.”

    Mrs Muyinat Adeyemo, another trader at Mushin Market selling plantain, had no different tale to tell. She also blamed the devaluation of Naira for the hike in the cost of her goods which were formerly one of the cheapest.

    “The increase in dollar has played a role in the hike of my plantain price. Also, the inadequate distribution of plantain due to the restriction in the movement of trailers is also a contributing factor,” she said.

    She noted that this month’s sales were better than the last two months when she recorded low sales, because of fuel scarcity at that period. She told the Nation Shopping that plantain formerly sold for N100, N200 no goes for N300 and N500. “Plantain is now a food for the rich,” she said, noting that most of her customers complain as they but plantain reluctantly.

    The hike in the price of some other food stuffs is not only caused by the devaluation of the Naira but also because of the ban placed on them.

    A rice and groundnut oil seller, who pleaded anonymity, said the hike in the price of her goods is not only due to the devalued Naira but also because of the ban on importation of rice.

    She said: “Before now, we sold a bag of rice for N7,500; a bag now costs N9,000. However, this depends on the quality as we also have some for N10,500 and N11,000. Also, the price of groundnut oil has gone up as we now buy at N6,160 as against N5,850.”

    Tomato sellers, on the other hand, experienced a reduction in prices compared to last month. A bowl of tomatoes sold for N500 now goes for N200. Mrs. Bisola Olowu, a tomato seller said: “The prices of our good will continue to fluctuate because its availability is seasonal.”

    Generally, a survey of other major markets showed that prices of commodities have been irregular since the beginning of this year. Some items are still sold twice their prices despite that that the festive season, which influenced their prices increment, is over. but the reverse is the case with staple items, particularly in Lagos.

    This development has forced various categories of eateries and canteens to increase the prices of their meals, attributing the high costs to unstable and unfavourable prices of farm produce which, according to them, they still buy for twice their original prices.

    Beans have been the most expensive in recent times and customers have not stopped lamenting due to its unstable price – especially those brought from the northern part of the country. Mrs Romoke Adewale, who sells beans in small and large quantities at Daleko Market, complained that a bag of beans sells for between N16,000  and N18,000, and the price has not come down.

    “Beans price hike has to do with the crisis in the North most of the time because that is where it is comes from. The price has been very unstable; sometimes, we get tired of purchasing because we are not sure of how much we are taking with us,’’ she said.

    Some traders also attributed the unstable prices to flood in some northern states where food items are mainly transported from. Farmlands are sometimes washed away and farmers with a few crops will increase the prices to make up for their investments,” he said.

    A wheelbarrow of yam costs between N8,000 and N15,000. It hasn’t been stable since after Christmas.

    The survey showed that the price of garri, a common staple food among low income earners, has also been irregular, jumping to N280, sometimes, N300 for a brand while another sells for between N200 and N230. Yam flour now costs between N750 and N800 at times, while those mixed with cassava sell for N500 and N600.

    According to traders, the prevailing security challenges in some parts of northern states have also prevented many of them from travelling to places where some commodities are available at affordable prices.

    A yam seller, Mr Bala Usman, said  the country was no longer safe for traders who travel to the North to get foodstuffs cheap, so that they can also sell them cheap to consumers. “The yam you see here are costly; it is not our fault; we also have to sell to make profits. We are afraid to travel to our home towns,” he said

    A retailer, Mr Franklin Idumebor, said: “Foodstuffs are now very expensive. They keep rising and I wonder when the prices will fall; we sell according to how we buy.”

    The price of onions has also gone up tremendiously and it has become scarce. A bag which was sold for N5,000 and N6,500, now goes for N15,000, it cost N6,000 to N7,000 as at last month.

    Consumers said they are at the receiving end. “When the prices are increased, we tend to suffer for it more,” said Mr Uchenna Kalu.

    He suggested a price control board to regulate food prices, saying food is one of the three basic amenities a human being shouldn’t be deprived of.

    For Mr Femi Abass, the problem is with market women who refuse to reduce prices of food items even when they buy at cheap rates.

    “You often hear them say: ‘na so we buy o’! And when you say the price has reduced, they shout at you saying: ‘na old market I get, I never go buy new one.’

    He added, “the problems at the local level are created by us. We are usually the architect of our misfortunes,” he said

  • How local governments can boost food production

    How local governments can boost food production

    With growing population, increasing local food production capacity has become a major challenge for governments at various levels. One critical level of government, stakeholders feel should address the food security issue, are local government councils. Experts believe local governments can change the game if they create an enabling environment for the local food production food system, DANIEL ESSIET reports.

    There  have been so much talks about boosting food production across the country.

    The reason for this is not far- fetched – any nation that is not able to feed its citizens cannot claim to have security. Aside this,  there is need to prune down the huge foreign exchange depleted yearly on food importation, espaecially when Nigeria has vast arable land.

    Increasing local food production has become a major challenge for governments at various levels, but experts say grass root planning of food production should be encouraged. They said the 774 local government areas in the country should be encouraged to boost production.

    To this end, farming will strive when the elected bodies charged with administrative and executive duties in matters at the local government levels take farming seriously.

    Of the 774 local government areas, 700 are  based in the rural areas. This implies that a larger percentage of the populace lives in the rural areas and therefore depends solely on agriculture for sustenance. However, experts have expressed concern over the poor state of agriculture within the local government councils.

    Observers agree that with the poor attention to agriculture developmentin the local councils,  growth in the foreseeable future could be threatened.

    Project Director, Cassava Adding to Africa (CAVA), Prof Kola Adebayo, has expressed concern over the absence of strategic plans in the agric sector to ensure that local government chairmen commit efforts and resources towards implementing agric projects and programmes.

    He said local councils could help  to boost food security if they outline a strategic sector plan for agriculture and implement them.

    Like the state governments, he said local government, though inadequately funded, should be able to give a clear picture of where  they  want agriculture to be in the long term.

    For this to happen, he said local  government councils need action plans, key performance indicators, service delivery standards, monitoring and evaluation systems and time lines in order to realise the integrated strategic plan.

    This will also require them to do things differently—with greater speed and urgency and in partnership with farmers, agribusiness, non-governmental organisation (NGOs), and other government departments.

    He lamented that inadequate funding still remains the main impediment to successful implementation of agricultural  programmes, adding that  it is  responsible for lack of delivery and implementation of a wide range of government policies, regulations and programmes undertaken at the local government levels.

    If properly funded and given sdirection, Adebayo said a local government council’s agric department level, should be able to provide farming inputs, technical assistance and value addition.

    He said the quality and efficiency of services delivered by local government councils’ agric department is important in achieving competitiveness in the sector.

    For this reason, he said a new service delivery guideline should be drafted in order to increase the responsiveness and accountability of local government councils’ agric department to farmers’ and agribusinesses’ needs.

    He also decried the lack of infrastructure in the rural areas. This, he said has resulted in these areas not being attractive for investment. to address this, he called for measures that will lead to briging the infrastructure gaps, adding that attention should be given to rural towns and agric service centres.

    A Consultant to the World Bank, Prof Abel Ogunwale, said local population needs more and better roads to improve their lives and help give a much-needed boost to the farming industry.

    He decried the trauma farmers go through when it rains, adding that there were instances trucks get stucked in the mud due to poor rural road network.

    Ogunwale said the bad state of the roads across farming communities is a national problem that takes its toll on vehicles conveying produce from the farms.

    Deterioration of the roads in the rural areas, he noted, has stood in the way of agricultural production, adding that it has hampered plans to expand food production nationwide. He urged local government councils to resolve roads and transportation problems.

    According to him, the agriculture sector, if well harnessed, could be key engine of economic growth. Not only does it put food on the table of Nigerian families at affordable prices and provide raw material for a range of vital purposes, it also supports millions of jobs and is a key economic driver in many rural communities. All measures to increase productivity, he noted, would require increasing yields, diversification to higher value crops, and developing value chains to reduce marketing costs.

    He said localisation of food production, processing and consumption was important in the transformation agenda. One area that the local government councils can provide succour is farm land, which is a major barrier to agriculture. Access to land, according to him, remains one of the greatest challenges to new farmers.

    A lot of farmers have had to grapple with the challenge of limited land.  As a result of this development, there is pressure on farmlands as they are now selling at a market value which is equivalent to land used for residential and industrial uses.

    Most people are selling their farms for building and industrial development. The picture paints many challenges for farmers who increasingly believe that local food is integral to the health and wellbeing of residents, and the economic and social vibrancy of their communities but face the challenge of acquiring prime agriculture land for food production.

    While people believe that government protect farmlands from development, there is concern that it does little to ensure that the land is actually farmed or accessible to farmers.

    According to experts, assisting farmers to access farmlands should be part of a broader strategic response plan which aims to build the resilience of rural livelihoods and local food and nutrition security systems.

    While there are efforts to promote agro-industrialisation nationwide, the Provost, Federal College of Agriculture (FECA), Akure, Ondo State, Dr Samson Odedina said much could be achieved if the councils are supported to create community level  food chain with  efficient infrastructure in place to get food from fields to markets.

    This is because a lot of small and medium-size farms who operate outside the industrial system often lack the  tools necessary to gather, store, and transport food on a scale larger than a farmers’ market.

    He said community-linked food hub will occupy the middle ground between the small scale of a farmers’ market or a community-supported agriculture project and the behemoth of the industrial food system, which pumps massive quantities of processed substances into the pipeline of institutional purchasers.

    With dwindling oil earnings, he urged the various tiers of government to take a more comprehensive approach to food system planning and addressing many challenges that agriculture faces.

    The provost said the little effort made by the academic institution is helping communities around the school.

    For instance, since setting up the point of sale, Odedina said the college has supported the growth of the food and farming zone in the area. Because of the school, he said some areas of the state are   home to safe, high-quality and affordable food grown, harvested and made within the communities, for all to enjoy.

    The college is working to unleash food entrepreneurs, bringing together researchers, farmers, manufacturers, distributors and retailers so they could improve productivity and spark new ideas along the supply chain from farm to fork, from lab to lunch. This, notwithstanding, he said food enterprise zone are needed there, including artisanal food village to sustain a cluster of local artisan food producers around the area.

    Food enterprise zone, according to him, makes it easier for businesses to grow and bring different parts of the food supply chain together, and  ensure greater collaboration between rural businesses, kick-start local food economies and help people develop new skills. Recognising this, he said the college has launched a multi-pronged local food strategy to encourage students and agro entrepreneurs to grow foods within the local areas.

    This, according to him, is to use the students on graduation to support the establishment of food hubs to drive a rural food revolution.

    According to him, a network of food hubs, supported by the college graduates would create jobs nationwide in the food and farming industry, attract investment and add millions to the rural economy.

    Notwithstanding, he said a partnership between farmers and local government councils is win-win, because it allows for technical know-how to be deployed to support the investments that the communities so very much need.

  • Food as medicine

    Food as medicine

     The Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Health Forever Products Limited, Otunba Olajuwon Okubena writes on the role of food as ‘medicine’.

    Hippocrates lived about 2,500 years ago. The interpretation of his quote is that the ideal food should have, in addition to normal food, nutrients, such as sugar, elements, vitamins and fatty acids.

    The quote is a confirmation of what the scriptures had says from beginning of creation. Going through the scriptures, Genesis 1:29 said: “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food”.

    In Ezekiel 47:12, the Bible says: “ Fruit trees of all kinds will grow on both banks of the river, their leaves will not wither nor their fruit fail, every month they will bear fruit because the water from the sanctuary flows to them. Their fruit will serve for food and their leaves for healing. Another interesting portion of the Bible is Daniel Chapter 1:5-15, where Daniel in captivity refused to defile himself with portion of the King’s meat, nor the wine which he drank, but preferred to eat vegetables and drink water.

    At the end of 10 day’s trial, he looked much better than those who were fed with the King’s meat. The last chapter of the Bible, Revelation Chapter 22:12, also confirms the importance of plant that it is for the healing of the nations.

    The Holy Quran contains an interesting portion in Chapter 16:69, where it states: “Then eat of all fruits and walk in the ways of your Lord submissively. There comes forth within it a beverage of many colours, in which there is healing for men”.

    Holy Prophet Muhammed lived about 1600 years ago and with this portion of the Quran prophesied what in modern times is known as Antioxidants. They are produced from plants with colours. Examples are Acai berry, tart cherry, blue berry, etc.

    All health authorities, including the World Health Organisation (WHO), United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), United States Food and Drug Administration (USFDA), and European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) confirm that it is only food and nutrition that could prevent you from chronic diseases, such as cancer, heart  diseases, diabetes, arthritis etc. No drug has yet been discovered to play this role.

    First, about half of all American adults—117 million individuals—have one or more preventable, chronic diseases, and about two-thirds of U.S. adults—nearly 155 million individuals—are overweight or obese. These conditions have been highly prevalent for more than two decades. Poor dietary patterns, overconsumption of calories, and physical inactivity directly contribute to these disorders. Second, individual nutrition and physical activity behaviours and other health-related lifestyle behaviours are strongly influenced by personal, social, organisational, and environmental contexts and systems. Positive changes in individual diet and physical activity behaviours, and in the environmental contexts and systems that affect them, could substantially improve health outcomes.

    Humans require a wide range of essential micronutrients and macronutrients for normal growth and development and to support healthy aging throughout the life cycle. Essential nutrients, including most vitamins, minerals, amino acids and fatty acids, water and fiber, must be obtained through foods and beverages because they cannot for the most part be endogenously synthesised, or are not endogenously synthesised in adequate amounts to need recommended intakes.

    Nutrition is coming to the fore as a major modifiable determinant of chronic disease, with scientific evidence increasingly supporting the view that alterations in diet have strong effects, both positive and negative, on health throughout life. Most importantly, dietary adjustments may not only influence present health, but may determine whether or not an individual will develop such diseases as cancer, cardiovascular disease and diabetes much later in life. However, these concepts have not led to a change in policies or in practice. In many developing countries, food policies remain focused only on under nutrition and are not addressing the prevention of chronic disease – WHO.

    Unfortunately, no single food item has been identified to prevent these chronic diseases  to fulfill the famous Hippocrates quote that: “Let food be thy medicine and let thy medicine be food.The pharmaceutical companies in an attempt to fill the gap have formulated dietary and  food supplements to supply the nutritional items in the ordinary man’s food intake.The companies have assembled synthetic equivalent of the essential nutrients as  supplement. In most cases, they are not bio-available.‘’

    Researchers from various parts of the world have published documents pointing in the direction of Sorghum as the a grain that would fulfill Hippocrates quote because it combines both food and medicine. There are different varieties of the Sorghum plant. These are mainly the edible and the medicinal Sorghum. The latter contains food and almost all the essential ingredients but it is poisonous. At the time the Americans saw the potential of this plant and decided to propagate it in the United States, they were only interested in the edible variety which they have improved over the centuries using the plant genetic engineering.

    A recent publication by Nancy D. Turner Associate Professor of Nutrition, Food Science and Genetics Texas A&M University, College Station  advocated that the  national goal is to “avoid preventable diseases from occurring in the first place “ and suggested that Sorghum is the grain that Americans should be consuming for this purpose. She concluded that Sorghum grain and their bioactive phytochemicals appear to contribute toward the suppression of several chronic diseases , that the national goal is to “avoid preventable diseases from occurring in the first place”and that to achieve the  Target to double whole grain consumption ,  Sorghum should be included in our food supply to derive these health benefits.

    In another recent publication by Anita Stefoska-Needham School of Medicine, Illawarra Health and Medical Research Institute, University of Wollongong, Australia , it was stated: Sorghum is an important cereal grain food, grown globally, that is rich in nutrients, dietary fiber, and bioactive components yet is considered of low value to humans and often used as an animal feed. This review provides an overview of key sorghum grain components, including starches, dietary fiber, protein, lipids, and phytochemicals, with functional properties that have potential to impact on health. Though acknowledging the impact of the whole food will reflect the synergy between the components, studies of these components implicate effects on energy balance, glycemic control, lipids, gut microbiota, and cell-mediated immune responses, including antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects. For these to be confirmed as contributory effects from sorghum consumption, evidence from quality randomised controlled trials is required. If proven effective, there may be a role for sorghum grain–based diets to assist in the prevention of chronic diseases such as diabetes, obesity, and heart disease. Future research addressing effects of sorghum consumption may help drive a paradigm shift from sorghum as a low value food to a potentially health-promoting, highly valued human grain food.

    From Nigerian folk medicine, the medicinal sorghum, which had been in the custody of the people of the Southwest, had been developed to a product (Jobelyn) that had been researched to contain food and medicine.  Recent laboratory research from GMP Laboratories in the USA confirmed that it contained Vitamins, Selenium, Calcium, Potassium, Magnesium, Iron, Zinc, Phosphorus, Sodium, Copper, Omega3, 6 & 9 and other  fatty acids.

    For millennia, the indigenous people of western Africa have relied on this botanical to support whole health and a balanced inflammation cycle.

    A simple bunchgrass, Sorghum bicolour’s superior antioxidant capacity is revealed only through a traditional folk preparation of its leaf sheath.

    Modern science has been working hard in the past 15 years to isolate the plant’s antioxidant components in an effort to create a synthetic version. The results? It doesn’t work. The impressive ORAC rating, higher than grapeseed extract and well-known antioxidant berries and fruits, is seen only within the traditionally prepared African remedy using the sorghum leaf in its complete natural state.

    We call our Sorghum ingredient “Jobelyn” after the Jubi River where it originally grew wild. Now a domesticated plant, it is grown on our own organic plantation.

    3-Deoxyanthocyanidins are rare flavonoids found in only a few plant species. These unique flavonoids are the major pigments in the flowers of Sinningia cardinalis, and they are found in silk tissues of certain types of corn. Sorghum is the only dietary source of 3-deoxyanthocyanidins.

    Many plants use secondary metabolites, such as flavonoids, to protect themselves against pathogen attack. In sorghum, this defense is an active response resulting in the accumulation of high levels of 3-deoxyanthocyanidin phytoalexins in infected tissue. This defensive mechanism is the power that Jobelyn uses to strengthen the body and promote whole health.

    • For further enquires send email: Okubena@health-forever.com
  • Food should be good, nice and delicious

    Food should be good, nice and delicious

    Food should be good, nice, and delicious for the rich and for the poor, for the free and for the prisoner, for the young and for the old, for the sick and for the healthy.

    Americans love Chinese food and so do I.  In my days in the US when I could not speak of cash flow, my first choice was always Chinese.  I would go to an eatery and enjoy as good as a feast under five dollars, tax included.  The days are coming, if we work hard enough, when everybody has a chance of eating well.  Until the poor man or woman can buy good food and enough food, we are not yet a developed country.

    Food is necessary for living and if we want to live our best lives, food should be good, nice, and delicious.  Food keeps our bodies looking good, feeling good, and fit for our missions in life.  Food keeps our minds functional, positive, and fine.  Food keeps our spirits high, keen, and gracious.  We all know the effects of food on us even without Oliver Twist singing “food glorious food!” Excuse my using Jesus, but he did turn water to the finest wine  fact or fable.  Now if he were to prepare the food for such a wedding feast, surely the feast would be heavenly.   Bread and life are so synonymous that he, himself, wanted to be bread for his beloved.   When we give food to people, we can be sure we are giving them life.  The better the food we eat, the better the life we live.  Therefore, food should be good, nice, and delicious to keep the life of the family healthy and happy. This means some sweat for the bread winner(s) of the family, but it is worthwhile sweat.

    Food should be good.  If food is nice and delicious but not good, it is not food.  Food should give life, not take life.  So many people end up with less life because of what they ate or what they have been eating.  Some “foods” shoot up a person’s blood pressure to damage the body’s vital organs, or create bad internal environment within the body such as high cholesterol, or damage body structures such as causing arthritis and gout.  Foods that cause permanent bodily dysfunction or that destroy body components are poisons; they disturb life, they limit life, and they take life from us.  They are not good.

    Food should be nice.I once went on a date and we went to a posh Chinese restaurant for lunch.  The restaurant was large and beautiful but full of “customerless” tables.  The lack of busyness should have been a warning sign but the environment was so inviting that we looked forward to the meal.  The orders came, served with propriety.  The food was too plain for a posh place and not appetizing.  I noticed he hardly ate and I did my best to eat something so as not to waste.  After struggling, we abandoned the meal.  The bill for that lunch was more than a laborer’s minimum wage for one month.  We did not mean to sin.  We asked for a doggy bag and we left.  The guy did not win my heart originally and the meal added bias to doubts.   I might have fallen in love through just roasted plantain and peanuts (“boli-b’epa”in the streets of Lagos).  I later gave the doggy bag to a hungry man who only wanted food in his stomach and didn’t care what food.

    Food should be delicious.Before I left Memphis this summer, after some weeks of brain-exciting research, my host lab went out for dinner.  The restaurant we went to downtown was known to be excellent and popular.  As we sat waiting for our plates, a celebrity was departing and all eyes were turned towards the door and of course the room was filled with related chit chat.  The valet hustled about at the exit and in no time the celebrity was gone, dinner done.  As we were rounding up our own meals, all different choices, a colleague asked me how was mine (since my plate arrived looking interesting) and unthinkingly I blurted out: “Boring!”.  Now, that was quite impolite of me in such a posh restaurant but it was an involuntary reaction.  I think I am pardonable because I do have taste buds and may God bless my taste buds always.

    It is not good to fall sick from the food we eat; it is not nice to grind sand in our teeth every time we eat; and if food is not delicious, it simply passes through the stomach and not the appetite.  Food should be good, nice, and delicious, but if it is not, we might still eat, for half bread is better than none.  Next, we look at what our minds and bodies need to be strong and thrive, what our bodies need to be healthy, what our bodies need to survive, and what our bodies need to stay alive.

    Dr. ‘Bola John is a biomedical scientist based in Nigeria and in the USA.   For any comments or questions on this column, please email bolajohnwritings@yahoo.com or call 08160944635

  • From oil and gas to food processing

    From oil and gas to food processing

    Many wonder kids do not go from big business to the farm. Rather, it is the other way round. But Olawaseun Obidipe has broken the ‘jinx’. From a sojourn in the lucrative oil and gas sector, he has gone into cassava processing. Daniel Essiet writes.

    Chief Executive, Ocean and Earth Limited, Oluwaseun  Obidipe, is a multiple-award winning entrepreneur, including  last year’s President Obama’s Young African Leader (Business).

    With a   BSc (Economics) from Olabisi Onabanjo University and Executive MBA from the Lagos Business School,  his goal is to be the chief executive of a thriving and globally recognised chain of businesses.

    He started off in the oil and gas  firm, where he held a senior position. He later quit to establish his firm.

    As an employer, he has been involved in several business ventures, such as procurement and supplies, logistics and real estate.

    He started his first business with  less than N50,000. Obidipe’s words: ”I remember pushing to  become a government contractor in one of the agencies, in order to increase the small business’ capital, and one of the directors in the agency laughing me to scorn, at the meagre amount. Then, I got an unusual offer to render services to a financial organisation, and another, and another, and the story changed dramatically. That seed funding never depleted and grew to form the base of a multi-million naira enterprise.”

    The business has grown with many hands working with him. He said: ”Even though they earn salaries at the end of the month, they must operate as intrapreneurs (i.e. work as entrepreneurs within the organisation) within the business, without that, we would never deliver on our aspirations. Starting the business  was challenging .One was finance.

    He said: ”I faced similar challenges that most early game-changers face, such as desiring a financial war chest, ability to organise the required resources to achieve the dream, dealing with pessimistic and fearful majority- e.g. your peers don’t understand you/your dream; and advice you to seek the better alternative of getting  a steady and stable job, and be assured of a salary, and/or the older generation warning you, from the catalogues of business failures across Africa, and advising you against a lifetime of debt and ridicule.’

    ‘’Earlier, I failed terribly twice, because I didn’t know the path to successful business, so I had an idea, spent a lot of time, energy and of course, money building and branding a business, and then expected all customers to scramble, and run over themselves in patronage.

    ‘’No one moved! Today, I know the ultimate function of a business is to satisfy a client’s desire.”

    But what drove him into agro business? He watched farm struggles with distribution of harvest through normal channels. He had seen that farm and food businesses were not diversifying their offerings and exploring direct-to-consumers effectively.‘’

    For him, improvement on marketing was crucial and such business models seemed promising. This is because the market has immense potential and lots to offer to entrepreneurs. The number of people in the middle class is set to triple over the next 15 years, implying a significant impact on disposable income.

    Domestic demand is expected to grow, creating opportunities for many industries. This will create huge opportunities for local and foreign companies and consultants involved in agriculture.

    He chose to set up a business in the agribusiness industry because it is a critical sector in any nation, and with our inversely growing food level (i.e, the population is growing faster than the available food, leading to high dependence on food imports), there is a continuous need for urgent intervention.

    Since his firm deals with the cassava growers, Obidipe’s approach has been to ensure presence in almost all the states – in some cases directly and in others, through distributors who help them in marketing and the distribution.

    By developing a distribution network, the company has kept the lines to their customers as short as possible. Moreover, to get maximum benefits from the chain, the firm assesses how it is doing and also on the shop floor to see how their varieties perform on the shelves.

    For him, gaining an understanding of their customer needs is highly critical.

    Due to Obidipe’s versatility, he  was appointed a mentor by YOUWiN, a the Federal Government initiative, to support innovative youth businesses awardees, and this year also, for the Tony Elumelu Entrepreneurship Programme (TEEP) grant winners.

     

  • APC chieftain donates food items to Muslims

    APC chieftain donates food items to Muslims

    A member of the All Progressives Congress (APC)’s Board of Trustees (BOT), Alhaji Jamiu Ekungba has donated rams and bags of rice worth millions of Naira to Muslim members in the 18 local government areas of Ondo State.

    He said the gesture was to help Muslim families to have fruitful celebration during the just-concluded Eid-el Adha festival.

    Ekungba said the gesture was a way of giving back to the society which he said he has benefited from.

    The BOT member, who is also a governorship aspirant of the party, however, assured residents of bright future.

    Ekungba stated that there was no hiding place for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) government in Ondo State as all its antics and persuasive strategies are now known to the people.

    He said the Labour Party-turned PDP can no longer deceive the people in next year’s governorship election.

    The APC chieftain also said the future of Nigeria is now secure under the present APC-administration.

    He said: “Every Nigerian that is reasonable, that loves the country has seen the direction we are going under APC than the PDP.”

    He noted that indigenes of Ondo State have no option than to look for a party that will restructure and rebuild the state for development to thrive.

    Ekungba, who said the APC remains the only party that could salvage the people from the purposeless government of the PDP, urged the APC to ensure that it does not only present a credible candidate but also a candidate that understands the economy of the state.

    He lamented that the state has no reason to be bankrupt, saying an oil-producing state such as Ondo should be financially buoyant.

    “The chances of the APC in the coming election are very bright; we thank God that he has made it obvious to everybody that Labour Party-turned PDP government has nowhere to hide again.

    “Every antics and strategies of cajoling our people have become clear to everybody. Nobody can be deceived again in Ondo State.

    “That is why we are urging the APC to ensure that it does not just present a very credible candidate, but must also have a candidate that understands the economy of the state.

    “It is unimaginable that the state is bankrupt; an oil-producing state cannot pay salary. So, we must present somebody who understands the economy and who will be able to restore its glory,” Ekungba said.

  • Food and health

    I am one of those who was eagerly looking forward to this weekend of Eid, not because I am a Muslim, but I felicitate with Muslims (though my faith tells me Isaac not Ishmael).  My main anticipation was a needed 4-day week end.  I would just like to spend some time at home, eat well and watch movies which I have not done in a long time, and do some important repairs and chores.  Then, a few days to the feast, there is no electricity in the neighborhood as if the devil was about to gloom and doom this should-be festive weekend.

    Recovering from my recent trip abroad, my budget has been trimmed for the last three months, so trimmed that I dare not publicize my recent menus.  But while I struggled with the lack of cash flow, as many Nigerians have been doing during the recent transition in governance, I discovered that I could eat as good as a feast with what I would not have reckoned with when “things were fine”.  I would look at what was available (seemingly miserable) and ask for grace to make a feast out of it and the resulting meal was always great.  I imagined I could write a book of “Hard Times Recipes” from my miracle meals.

    Whether there is electricity or no electricity, cash flow or no cash flow, as human beings, we must eat well.We should know how to eat well.  We should know what our mind and body need to be strong and thrive, what our body needs to be healthy, what our body needs to survive, and what our body needs to stay alive. Our goals in eating can vary from time to time, according to our means and circumstances.

    Personally, I have experienced food is diverse ways.  As a child of a Nigerian diplomat, I have dined with the Queen of England in the lawn of her palace.   On the contrary, as an adult in a world of strange powers, I have stretched a small 50 cents packet of sunflower seeds from Thursday to Monday in the longest weekend of my life, surviving American racism.  Between the two extremes and decades of life, perhaps I have gained enough experience for a PhD in Eating Habits.  No, I am not an “onijekuje”, as Yorubas might say (in my own translation: “one who eats crazy”).

    Many people in developing countries pass through various eating habits depending on times and circumstances.  In developed countries, an average guy might have three square meals at regular times daily throughout most of his life.

    There is a lot of poverty in the world and, for many people, a festive weekend makes no change in their lives.   Rarely or never is feasting made their goal in eating.  Rather, they are trying to stay alive or to survive.   Those who are rich, whenever they want to, indeed can give some food or money for other people to enjoy some food normally.

    Being educated might be as important as having ample food.  Even in the developed world, food is a source of many modern day diseases, some of which are a tremendous financial burden on government health systems.

    I believe the food we eat,whether rich or  low-budget, should always be good, nice, and delicious otherwise Jesus would not have given best wine to guests at a wedding unnecessarily, and extraordinarily.  Observing the way foods are produced and handled in developing countries, it seems the world has a long wayto go not only in providing food for people but also in helping to refine the way we eat.  A few weeks ago, I bought some okra from a “mallam” in his small neat-looking market outside our upbeat Government Reservation Area.  On untying the nylon bag to remove the okra at home, I saw a clump of rat feces in the okra.  Now if a housemaid had washed and cooked the okra in a hurry, perhaps somebody of that household could be dead by now.  In Africa, government oversight and regulation of food production, preservation, preparation, distribution, and presentation is inadequate.  There is need for massive investment in the food industry to meat modern standards as well as adequate quantities.

    For a person who has lived for a long time in a developed country, some of the third world local food markets are scary.  The dirt and the sight and stench that greet the customer are an appetite killerif not a health hazard for those who are not used to such.Indeed, men should respect their wives for their bravery in going to such markets.

    Why must we continue to pick beans before boiling them? Why continue with insects in grains?  Why sand in gari? Why off-color egusi?  Why dirty vegetables? Why ugly looking fruits? Many of such food issues do not need rocket science and it is actually shameful if we continue to accommodate those deficiencies in our culture.  African entrepreneurs in the food industry need to involve or employ many PhD’s who would work with a sense of research and development instead of sticking to inadequate routine and changeable established procedures.  African scientists need to be change agents towards better and healthier societies.Next we will look at what our body needs.

     

    Dr. ‘Bola John is a biomedical scientist based in Nigeria and in the USA.   For any comments or questions on this column, please email bolajohnwritings@yahoo.com or call 08160944635

  • Prices of staple food remain high

    During  Sallah, sharing and felicitating with one another is not the only trend as the celebration is usually  accompanied with an increase in food items three days to the celebration. Items like groundnut oil, rice, palmoil, pepper, tomato and ram fall in the category.

    At Mushin market, the increase is evident in the prices as a basket of tomato which formerly sells for N6,500, N6,000, now goes for N7000, N8,000 and N9,000. Small sized basket cost N4,500. 25litres groundnut oil cost N6,500 as againt the former N6000. 5kg of rice cost N1,200 .

    Ordinarily, the explanation for this increase has always been because of the season that is out as the producers would have taken rest for these few days and in the process causing a little scarcity in these goods especially the tomato and pepper, but there is a twist in the story for this year as most of these buyers blame the deteriorating state of the economy as a main causative agent, The Nation Shopping gathered.

    For groundnut oil sellers, they do not belief that it is because of the festive season that there is an increase in price of goods. Speaking with Mrs. Shade Mustapha, a rice and groundnut oil trader in Mushin market, she said “the hike in price does not have anything to do with Sallah because there was no money in Nigeria before now so until the government, push the money out and allow it flow round, that is when the price will come down.”

    Another groundnut oil trader, Mrs. Etoro Akpan attested to this fact as she explained that the prices would not reduce even after the Sallah period till next year when there would be a reduction.

    For the tomato sellers, they still stand that sallah is the main reason for the increase in price but explained that the bad economy still played a part in the increase of these goods.

    Mrs. Bimpe Olowu, a pepper seller explained that immediately after sallah, there would be a drastic reduction in the price and that the price of tomato for this year’s sallah is lower than that of last year.

  • Why people must take healthy food, by VC

    The food people eat will determine how healthy they are, a don has said. Prof Lawal Suleiman Bilbis of Federal University, Birnin Kebbi, Kebbi State, was delivering the 16th Inaugural Lecture of the Usmanu Danfodiyo University in Sokoto (UDUS) with the theme: Antioxidants in the service of man.

    The event, held at the university auditorium, started with a procession of body of principal officers led by the Vice-Chancellor (VC), Prof Abdullahi Zuru.

    In his opening remark, the VC said inaugural lecture was an important occasion to celebrate the promotion and appointment of lecturers as professors. He said it was also a platform for lecturers to contribute to the nation’s development.

    Bilbis, a professor of Biochemistry and pioneer VC of the Federal University, Birnin Kebbi, said the lecture detailed his activities in the last 13 years, he was appointed a professor and what he intended to do.

    He further defined antioxidants as compounds that inhibit or prevent oxidation process, which are essential ingredients for the delay of diabetes.

    Noting that food remained the source of antioxidants, the lecturer said he had carried out induced stroke in experimental animal model, which he reversed with the use of food supplementary.

    He said deficiency of antioxidants was responsible for a 2010 report, which estimated that about 285 million adults battled diabetes globally. He said Africa had the largest proportional increase. He added that diabetes prevalence in the world could reach 7.7 per cent, which could make adults susceptible to be dreaded disease. The solution, he said, remained the intake of healthy food that would increase production of antioxidants to prevent diseases.

    Zuru hailed the lecturer for the research, saying the lecture would help to increase awareness about healthy living. He, thereafter, presented a gift to Prof Bilbis for making the school proud.

    Guests at the event included Bursar, Federal University Birnin Kebbi, Alhaji Rilwan Argungu, the school Director of Research, Prof Yakubu Aliyu, and immediate past VC of UDUS, Prof Riskuwa Arabu Shehu, among others.