The Nation Newspaper

Tag: production

  • ‘How to boost cassava production’

    The Federal Government has been urged to double its efforts in boosting cassava production. Participants made the call at the Agra Innovate exhibition in Victoria Island, Lagos.

    Speaking on the topic: Key value chain analysis: cassava, the Dean, College of Food Science and Human ecology, University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, Ogun State, Prof Lateef Oladimeji Sanni, urged the minister of Agriculture to call a strategic meeting of stakeholders in the sector to know its problems and prospects. He said it was not enough for the minister to promise to revamp the sector without getting input from its participants. “We need a minister that will come to the grassroots,” he added.

    The don, who took an overview of the sector since 2002, said it had grown significantly. He however listed its problems as the production and supply of the product, low pricing and insecurity, among others. Mr L. A. Adeniji of the Niji Group, said equipment and storage were some of the problems of the sector. “We try to compare ourselves with Brazil, Turkey, which use heavy equipment. But some of their equipment we cannot use here. Also, firms are set up in the cities, while the farms are in the rural areas,’’ he said. He canvassed the pegging of cassava price for uniformity and that owners of processing firms should be more dedicated.

    Executive Director Manufacturing Honeywell Mills Dr Nino Ozara said access to mills, especially in Apapa, Lagos was a major problem. He wondered how farmers could navigate the bad roads in Apapa to reach the mills. He called for reduction of tariffs and levy on wheat.

    Director (Agro), Allied Atlantic Distilleries Rajasekar Rajaveu whose firm manufactures ethanol from cassava listed the problems in the sector as “90 per cent of farmers are subsistence, who use traditional implements and methods’’ and that the clearing of land was difficult.

    His solution: “All large scale industries should have their own plantations to sustain supply. The government should allocate bulk areas of land for farming.’’ He also called for more extensive programmes and finance for farmers. He said when Nigeria has large farms, it would produce enough ethanol.

    Afrocet Managing Director Bryan Pearson praised the exhibition, saying it was well-attended. “It was good to see debate,’’ hoping that it would engender growth in the sector and direct government’s agric policy.

    Of the 150 exhibitors, a lot of them, he said, were small and large scale, who might be looking forward to investing in the sector. “We expect good business to be undertaken, that a new breed of businessmen will invest in the sector. Agra Innovate is important for the industry to form and complement the policy work of the government. We can help to stimulate the sector’s development,’’ he added.

  • Oando invests $400m in lubricants production

    Oando invests $400m in lubricants production

    Oando Marketing Plc has  invested  $400million to produce a wide range of lubricants. It has also introduced a new lubricant, called Oleum SYN into the automobile market.

    Speaking at the unveiling of the synthetic lubricant, Oleum SYN, in Lagos, its Chief Operating Officer, Mrs. Williams Olaposi, said the product was introduced to meet the needs of users of top-of-the-range cars.

    Oando’s decision to produce synthetic lubricant, she said, was informed by the need to satisfy various layers or users of automobiles.

    She said: “The firm believes in meeting the yearnings of various users of automobiles in Nigeria. For years, the country has been using fairly used cars otherwise known as Tokunbo, and Oando has lubricants for people driving such cars.

    “In recent times, there has been a paradigm shift from the use of Tokunbo to new cars. Nigerians are now driving new and highly sophisticated vehicles, and the only way to satisfy people in that segment was to produce synthetic lubricant.”

    She said every litre of Oleum SYN comprises top quality base oil and additives, noting that the product has been certified internationally.

    Olaposi said Oando conducted several years of research before coming out with the product, stressing that a lot of money was invested in the production of lubricants by the company.

  • Oando invests $400m in lubricants production

    Oando invests $400m in lubricants production

    Oando Marketing Plc has  invested  $400million to produce a wide range of lubricants. It has also introduced a new lubricant, called Oleum SYN into the automobile market.

    Speaking at the unveiling of the synthetic lubricant, Oleum SYN, in Lagos, its Chief Operating Officer, Mrs. Williams Olaposi, said the product was introduced to meet the needs of users of top-of-the-range cars.

    Oando’s decision to produce synthetic lubricant, she said, was informed by the need to satisfy various layers or users of automobiles.

    She said: “The firm believes in meeting the yearnings of various users of automobiles in Nigeria. For years, the country has been using fairly used cars otherwise known as Tokunbo, and Oando has lubricants for people driving such cars.

    “In recent times, there has been a paradigm shift from the use of Tokunbo to new cars. Nigerians are now driving new and highly sophisticated vehicles, and the only way to satisfy people in that segment was to produce synthetic lubricant.”

    She said every litre of Oleum SYN comprises top quality base oil and additives, noting that the product has been certified internationally.

    Olaposi said Oando conducted several years of research before coming out with

  • Benue State invests N87m in rice production

    Benue State invests N87m in rice production

    As part of efforts to boost local production and marketing of rice and cassava, Benue State Government has released the sum of N87 million as counterpart fund to the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) funded Value Chain Development Programme (VCDP).

    The VCDP is a Federal Government of Nigeria and IFAD initiative that focuses on supporting cassava and rice value chains for smallholder farmers in six states of Benue Anambra, Ebonyi, Niger, Ogun and Taraba.

    While  receiving the team from IFAD at the Government House in Makurdi, the state capitalm  Governor Samuel Ortom said the state is committed to pursuing its agricultural agenda and partnership with IFAD would contribute to actualising the vision of transforming Benue from “food basket” of the nation to food basket of Africa.

    He said: “We are known as the food basket of the nation and we intend to translate that into reality. The potential is there, we have what it takes to feed Nigeria, feed Africa and even export to other parts of the world.”

    The governor expressed commitment of the state to sustain collaboration with IFAD. “We are happy you are partnering with us. We believe with your experience and technical assistance we can get to that level. Benue is focusing on agriculture, it is our main agenda, which was why against all odds we provided the counterpart fund, we are serious and will do our best for our farmers,”

    He said Benue has comparative advantage in agriculture especially rice and cassava and that was why the state recently launched an agricultural agenda to woo investors to come and invest in the state.

    Ortom, who also disclosed that the state was seriously considering dry season farming, said the state would explore the advantage of the two rivers (Rivers Benue and Kastina Ala) in the next dry season for that purpose.

    In her remarks, IFAD Nigeria Country Programme Manager, Ms Atsuko Toda thanked the state government for paying its counterpart fund.

    “With the payment of your N87million counterpart fund, we are prepared to match that fund by four to five times each year and would ensure due diligence in utilising of your funds so that Benue farmers can enjoy improvement in their value chainm,” she said.

    The IFAD boss stated that Benue farmers and indeed, the entire state stands to benefit immensely from the programme, saying all that was required is the continuous commitment of the state government and cooperation of stakeholders to ensure better earnings for farmers.

    The VCDP,Toda further explained,  hopes to target 7,500 farmer households in four local government areas of the state,  including Guma, Gwer, Okpokwu and Logo both in skills set among other capacity building.

  • 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.

  • Local sugar production begins in 2016, says Council

    The Federal Government on has said the domestic production of sugar would take off from next year with an estimated initial output of 700,000 tons.

    Dr Latif Busari, the Executive Secretary of the National Sugar Development Council (NSDC), said this in an interview in Abuja.Busari said the projected take off output would be contributed by three private investors, Dangote, Bua and Flour Mill Sugar Companies.

    To this effect, he said the three companies had already signed separate agreements with the government for the execution of backward integration projects, which the council was monitoring.

    “The Savanah Sugar Company in Adamawa, which was acquired by the Dangote Group in 2002, has also given its commitment to commence production in 2016. Currently, they have expanded their field in Numan to about 7,000 hectares and they are planning to further expand it to 10,000 hectares by 2018 with an installed capacity of 100,000 tons.

    He explained that the sugar project owned by Flour Mill at Sunti, Niger State, will also begin operation by 2016 with an estimation of 50,000 ton per hectare sugar mill.

    Busari, who was appraising the sector since independence, noted that major achievements had been recorded, especially in the area of establishment of sugar refineries in the country. He said: “Twenty years ago, the Savanah Sugar Company and the Nigerian Sugar Company, which were the two major sugar companies in the country, were at a point of collapse.

    What happened between 1995 and 2005, ten years later, was mainly the establishment of refineries, first was the Dangote Sugar Refinery in 2000 followed by Bua refinery in 2006,’’ Busari said.

  • ‘Improved shrimp production vital to growth’

    Increased shrimp production is vital to the economy, Prof Martins Antekhai, has said.

    Antekhai of the Department of Fisheries, Lagos State University (LASU), said investors could explore investment opportunities in small, medium scale shrimp aquaculture to meet an anticipated shortfall in seafood supply.

    He said there’s a huge business opportunity in shrimp production to fill the growing supply-demand gap in the face of rapidly expanding demand.

    The shrimp production supply chain provides opportunities for small farmers, cultivating companies, input and feed providers, processors, transporters and marketers.

    Investors, according to him, can explore intensified farming methods with industrialised processes to seek profits.

    Antekhai said there was  the need for Nigerians to get involved in shrimp production to benefit from the global shrimp exports market being explored by leading producers,  such as Colombia, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Mexico and Nicaragua.

    With $5 million, he said investors could made good returns. The international price of a freshwater prawn stands at $380 while a large fresh tiger shrimp sells for $975 per kilogramme.

    The model farm costs $4.7 million to build, including the hatchery and a processing facility.

    Initial investments involve building ponds, irrigation system, processing plant, cold storage, feed mills, hatchery, pumping station, farm stores, warehouse and waste water treatment.

    He said the produce would be processed and exported abroad.

    He noted, however, there were challenges for producers, following increasing demands from international consumer for better food safety standards and traceability.

    Poor infrastructure, he noted, also has made it difficult for Nigeria to improve domestic and global shrimp production volume.

    According to experts, shrimp is the most valuable fisheries commodity in the world, accounting for about 15 per cent of the total value of internationally traded fisheries products.

  • Shell’s Bonga Northwest production hits 60,000bopd

    Shell’s Bonga Northwest production hits 60,000bopd

    In its first anniversary, Bonga Northwest, operated by Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company Limited (SNEPCo), has returned a good report card: It reached daily production of 60,000 barrels of oil.

    An excited General Manager, Deepwater Projects, Jerry Jackson, said this was a product of teamwork, adding that the production was a milestone for Bonga Northwest.

    Shell’s Deepwater Project and Technology team officials handed over the Bonga Northwest assets to the Offshore Asset team in March in Lagos.

    On the accomplishment, Jackson said: “Bonga Northwest demonstrates what can be achieved when people work together effectively. Every single team collaborated to enable the SNEPCo organisation deliver on this project in a very challenging environment. Bonga Northwest is showcased by the Shell Production Academy as a ‘Best-in-Class’ project in terms of execution.”

    According to the latest Shell World, a Shell Company’s publication, “Bonga Northwest is a six-well tied in to the main Bonga Floating Production, Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel. It produced its first oil on August 5, last year, and all the six wells have been hooked up and are producing an average of 50,000 – 60,000 barrels  daily.

    “In addition to being executed successfully, safely and within budget, Bonga Northwest also met its primary objectives.”

    Jackson also said the team executed the projects that resulted in the huge success because they wanted to fill the tank. He noted that some projects were successful, after some months, they are not able to fill the tanks for various reasons so that at the end of the day, one really doesn’t have a ‘successful’ project.

    Stressing the team spirit shared by the Deepwater Project and Technology team, and other colleagues from Well Engineering and Development, the former Bonga Northwest Project Manager, Joey Uyanwune said: “We had an integrated team. We worked together with a common purpose and focus to deliver this project.’’

    The Head, Deepwater Projects Operations Readiness/Excellence, Obinna Mbonu, said: “Not all projects achieved this milestone and in record time like Bonga Northwest project has done. It is a demonstration of due diligence and excellent collaboration by both teams.”

    The Bonga General Manager, Offshore Assets, Effy Okon and Operations Manager, Theo Ekiyor-Etimi, said the teams learnt many lessons, adding that they expected those learnings to be replicated in future projects.

    The Bonga project is located in oil mining lease (OML) 118 and about 75 miles offshore Nigeria. It is the country’s first deepwater development asset and in water depths of over 1,000 metres.

    It started production in 2005.  So far, it has produced over 500 million barrels of oil.

  • Ebonyi acquires equipment to boost rice production  

    To boost rice production in Ebonyi State, the government has procured mechanised equipment to be distributed to farmers.

    The state governor, David Umahi at an event organised at the State University permanent site, Abakaliki to test-run the equipment, said his administration would also introduce irrigation farming soon.

    Chief Umahi gave the state Ministry of Agriculture and the Faculty of Agriculture at Ebonyi State University two weeks to test-run the equipment on all the available arable farmland in the university. He said government was ready to provide all the funds needed.

    While reaffirming his administration’s commitment to turn around the fortunes of the state through rice production, Governor Umahi said that his government would purchase three bulldozers to boost farming activities.

    He stated that the Agricultural equipment will be thoroughly tested before handing it over to local council for proper management.

    In her address, the chairman of the occasion and provost, Federal College of Agriculture, Ishiagu, Prof (Mrs) Justina U. Mgbada assured the farmers of regular training on the use of the equipment and expressed her confidence that with the introduction of mechanised Agriculture in the state, youths would start to engage the farmers to make effective use of the equipments.

    In a speech, the state Commissioner for Agriculture, Barrister Uchenna Orji observed that the event was the practical “manifestation of the political will of the state governor, Chief David Umahi to mechanize and commercialize Agriculture in the state.”

    Barr. Orji noted that the event was the outcome of the colloquium on rice production convoked by the state Governor on the need to tap the incentives and potentials in rice production.

    He stated that the event was to train the farmers on the use of farm machinery to attain the full accomplishment of the state governments desired to make Agriculture the hub of the state economy.

    Good will messages were delivered by the representative of the permanent secretary, federal ministry of Agriculture; the forum of agricultural cooperative societies in Ebonyi State, and the representative of the university community.

    Some of the equipment demonstrated at the occasion include; manual, power tiller, manual transplanter, weeder, motorized transplanter, power tiller and grain winnower.

  • Neconde’s July production hits 24,000 bpd

    Production from oil mining lease (OML) 42 operated Neconde Energy Limited, an indigenous oil and gas firm, has grown to 24,000 barrels per day (bpd) in July from 14,194 bpd in June.

    The oil asset situated at the Niger Delta basin is a joint venture owned by Neconde and Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC), the exploration and production arm of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).

    OML 42 is one of the oil blocks divested by Shell Petroleum Development Company Limited (SPDC) Joint venture.

    The July production is a record output from the asset. The highest production on the acreage before July was in February 2015, when the output averaged 19, 700BOPD. Neconde took over the operatorship of the acreage in May.