The Nation Newspaper

Tag: production

  • Overcoming challenges in sugar production

    Overcoming challenges in sugar production

    Following the Federal Government’s policy of increasing local production of sugar through mini plant technology,   the National Sugar Development Council (NSDC) and other organs of government have taken steps to ensure compliance and delivery of incentives to address challenges, reports OKWY IROEGBU-CHIKEZIE.

    Despite  the huge potential for the production of sugar, Nigeria produces less than two per cent of its  requirement, estimated at 1.7 million tonnes, according to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).

    Data obtained from the National Sugar Development Council (NSDC) indicate that sugar consumption in 2012 was 1.1m tonnes against the domestic production of 10,843 tonnes.

    Within the period, 1.1m tonnes was imported at $517.2 million. To address the shortage, the Federal Government has come out with a policy to increase local production. The policy aims at instituting mini sugar plant technology and a package of incentives.

    But industry watchers, who applaud the policy, said with a landmass of over 500,000 hectares suitable for cane and capable of producing over five million metric tonnes of sugarcane, the nation had no business importing sugar.

    Nigeria produces two per cent of its requirement, importing 98 per cent of the commodity. This was attested to by AFDB President Dr. Akinwumi Adesina.

    The Nation checks revealed that  due to challenges faced by sugar cane farmers, which have made the commodity highly unexploited, key players have remained in the business by importing  from Brazil.

    There are five major players in the industry: Dangote Sugar Refinery (DSR), BUA Sugar Refinery, Savannah Sugar and Josepdam Sugar Company, and Flour Mills of Nigeria.  Dangote Sugar produces 1.44 million tonnes.  BUA adds 720,000 metric tonnes.

    Dangote Refinery, which supplies 70 per cent of the local market requirement, plans to spend $1.5 billion to increase output over the next five years.

    “In the next five years, we should be able to produce 1.5 million metric tonnes locally, from around 50,000 metric tonnes now,” Abdullahi Sule, Managing Director of DSR, told Reuters in Abuja.

    To revamp the sector, the Federal Government has initiated incentives for an enabling environment for investors.

    Among the incentives are zero per cent duty on machinery and spare parts by companies, as well as 10 per cent import duty and 50 per cent levy on imported raw sugar. There is equally a 20 per cent duty and 60 per cent levy on imported refined sugar.

    The government has also begun a credit support scheme for sugarcane growers through the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and commercial banks; in addition to provision of infrastructure, such as access roads, boreholes, power lines, land acquisition, and health care facilities for new sugar estates.

    To reinforce its commitment, it has banned refined sugar in retail-ready packets into the country.

    According to industry watchers, privatisation of sugar estates has improved the subsector; it is now better managed. This, to them, can be attributed to the Nigerian Sugar Master Plan (NSMP) and the National Sugar Development Council.

    But the challenge remains evolving strategies to meet the demands of about 168 million consumers and prevent huge spending on imports.

    Industry players contend that there is an urgent need to establish mills where sugarcane can be crushed. They also add that sufficient portions of land should be made available to grow the plant. Sugar cane farmers complain of dearth of industrial buyers which leads to immense post-harvest wastage.

    Analysts believe that the establishment of a board to link buyers (companies) and sellers (farmers) could be a way out.

    Reacting to the development, the Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA) lauded the policy, describing it as a bold step which, if well implemented, will  have a multiplier effect on the sugar sector.

    “If we don’t want to move backward, we should take our destiny in our  hands to reduce importation, save the naira and the exchange rate and give jobs to our people,” said former NACCIMA Director-General, John Isemede.

    He said the private sector strongly believes that with these incentives, new investors will come into the sector while existing ones may expand their operations which would create jobs.

    “Those who are service providers, those who are into agro chemical and implements will have jobs,” he emphasised.

    However, he urged that priority should be given to companies and individuals in form of tax holidays, so that: ”We  do not leave our gates open for people to come in only to invest and after four-to- five years, because you have given them pioneer status, they will relocate to neighbouring countries.”

    “There should be a road map and it should be properly monitored so that we do not solve one problem and create multiple other problems. So, the position of NACCIMA, or the OPS, is that it is a welcome development because it will create jobs, it will reduce the price of sugar

    “In addition, it will help the country to move from its present level of the consumption of granulated sugar to cube and brown sugar, the one used for cake-making, so, it is a welcome development”.

    He noted that extant companies in the sector, such as Dangote Sugar Refinery and BUA Sugar Refinery, are into pack sizes now, and they have big sugar cane farms.

    “Dangote has a big farm in Numa, Adamawa State, which is the Savannah Sugar Company. So, they can now continue to invest more. You heard of Bacita Sugar, there is one in Hadejia and there is another one in Kwara. So, these are opportunities that we have to tap into to develop our economy,” he added.

    Managing Director, A &P Foods Limited, Sameer Vaswani, manufacturers of HAANSBRO brand of biscuits, chewing gums and sweets, also hailed the policy.

    Vaswani said: “The three main raw materials required for biscuit production are flour, sugar and palm oil. The long-term policy of encouraging local sugar cane plantations and growing of sugar cane locally is a fantastic policy but it needs time as sugarcane planting and harvesting cannot just start overnight.”

    In order to ensure availability of sugar cane, Executive Secretary, National Sugar Development Council, Abuja, Dr. Latif Busari, unveiled plans to cite 236,000 land banks in 17 states for sugarcane production.

    He listed the states as  Katsina, Zamafara, Jigawa, Imo, Ogun, Kwara, Kogi, Edo, Cross River, Benue, Taraba, Ogun, Plateau, Ondo, Anambra  and Adamawa.

    According to him, the industry is a promoter of investment, job and wealth creation and a tool for rapid rural development as it creates communities that are self-sufficient.

    As an example, he said that in India, the sugar industry employs one million people directly and six million indirectly, stressing that it is what it will do for Nigeria.

    He advised the Federal Government to encourage states to make land available to existing and prospective investors for the project. He said the expected cost of implementing the project to raise local sugar production for self-sufficiency as in the cement is about $3.1 billion. This will stem the tide of importation and enhance the production of ethanol and electricity generation.

    In an interview, former Minister of Trade and Investment, Mr. Olusegun Aganga, said compared to other West African countries, Nigeria produces two per cent of the 2.5 million metric tonnes of sugar required for its 170 million population while over 75 per cent of raw sugar is imported and granulated by a few investors in the sugar sector. Thus, the country is the lowest producer in the region, in spite of abundant raw materials for sugar production across the country.

    For instance, Benin Republic produces 25.6 per cent of its sugar requirement; Burkina Faso, 47 per cent; Cote d’Ivoire 54 per cent; Senegal, 48 per cent and Mali, 28 per cent.

  • Flour Mills mulls job creation, food production

    Flour Mills mulls job creation, food production

    Group Managing Director, Flour Mills of Nigeria Mr. Paul  Gbededo has said the company is planning to create  thousands of jobs and drive growth with the establishment of large-scale farms.

    He said the company is committed to driving productivity and innovation through opportunities offered by markets through the country.

    Gbededo, in a chat, spoke of the company’s performance and projections in the light of the award received from the Lagos Chambers of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) as ‘Award for Impactful Contribution to Economy through Backward Integration’ in the industrial space.

    Gbededo said the company acquired its 10,000ha Kaboji Farm in Niger State about 10 years ago which has grown to become the biggest mechanised maize farm in the country. It uses 4,000ha to grow maize. He added that soybean has been helpful in its vertical integration, which uses the produce at its feedmills in Ibadan and Calabar for feeds for poultry.

    He said the company is dedicated to sourcing its raw materials locally and further the development of the food industry.

    The award is in recognition of the company’s efforts spanning about a decade, when, in the organisation’s plan, backward integration was adjudged the only way to support its food business through local content addition as well as improve food security in Nigeria.

    On backward integration, he said the programme helps to support the group’s manufacturing and processing business.

    For this, the Group Managing Director said it has invested over a billion dollars in the last five years and projects that an equivalent sum would be spent in another five years in the agro-allied business. He added that the company is expanding its portfolio in the agro-allied space because that would grow the local content and help support the food business and strengthen the growth of agriculture, which would provide more jobs in Nigeria.

    On the fall of the naira and impact on the business, Gbededo said there are two sides to the issue of the devaluation of the naira. “In a way, it has put a lot of stress on our ability to bring machinery and spares. It increases the naira cost of those inputs and upsets our projections since we operate in a naira environment – it affects our ability to make profits,” he said.

    However, he pointed out that on the other hand, there is a positive side. According to him, using maize for instance, the commodity sells about N45,000 – N50,000 per metric ton, making locally produced maize to be competitive globally; importing the grain would be at about N60,000, thus making it a possibility to export surplus, if any.

    Gbededo revealed that it does not need to import maize now to run the operations of the processing plants. The company, he said, is now aggregating maize nationwide to help its 350,000 metric ton plants annually. “Except there is a shortfall in supply, we help boost the fortunes of Nigerian farmers in earning more,” he said.

  • Helping women in shea butter production

    Shea butter production was the focus of a programme anchored by Lagos-based entrepreneur, Mrs Mobola Sagoe, to assist women hone their entrepreneurial skills. DANIEL ESSIET reports.

    THE Chief  Executive Officer (CEO), Shea  Origin Nigeria project, Mrs Mobola Sagoe,  knows the importance of teaching local women to  get involved in shea butter production. She is one of the most successful businesswomen, who  have made  fortune from promoting beauty products.

    Her companies, which include a spa and beauty clinic, supply cosmetics  and export shea butter  to the United Kingdom (UK) and the  United States. A prominent woman entrepreneur,the CEO, Shea  Origin Nigeria Inc, studied beauty therapy at the Pivot Point Beauty School, Chicago, United States.

    Upon graduation, she relocated to the UK where she  started  her first  beauty  business, La Feminic, in 1988. She knew that women take great pride in their appearance and was convinced that there it was a niche market she could delve into. Thus, she went for further training in beauty techniques, eventually returning home to establish her firm. She has been at the cutting-edge of professional skin care and the manufacturing of organic skin care products.

    Mrs Sagoe
    Mrs Sagoe

    Mrs  Sagoe, a professional esthetician (skin care therapist), with 28 years’ experience, has not only developed and manufactured organic skin care products to give and maintain smooth, healthy, supple and bright skin, but also treat problem skin with her products: the Flawless® skin care range, and the Shea Butter Origin® range. These are the core ingredients used at the three Beauty spa outlets by La Feminic in Lagos.

    Today, she is recognised for her skincare beauty products and marketing. Her skincare line has been a huge success because she took into account black skins and the Nigeria’s climate. She based her beauty products on shea butter ingredients, incorporating a centuries-old tradition that uses ‘the power of the plant’ in health and beauty treatments.

    According to her, the use of shea butter has been increasing in recent years as consumers are demanding better quality natural, minimally processed ingredients in personal care items and food. Internationally, 90 per cent of shea nuts is used for the food and confectionary industry, for the production of cocoa butter equivalents or improvers, confectionaries and margarines. Nigeria is a leading producer of sheanut in the world.

    As part of her commitment to promoting a sustainable shea industry, she is implementing a pilot project to help women gather the shea nuts and process them into butter.  But one of the things that make her proud is taking over the shea processing  centre in Saki,Oyo State to train villagers, mostly women, on how to pick and process shea nuts and make a living from it.

    She promotes empowerment by organising and training them to produce, market, and sell high quality shea butter themselves.

    Supported by The USAID Nigeria Expanded Trade and Transport Program (NEXTT), her firm strives to lift women and their families out of extreme poverty through  improved shea production.

    She is convinced she will achieve a lot for the women by shea is in high demand in various sectors and world markets. The principal factors driving demand include continued rising demand for cocoa butter equivalents (CBEs) due to rising world consumption of chocolate, high prices for cocoa, and strong demand for natural cosmetics and soaps.

    To her, shea butter is “Women’s Gold” for the dollars it yields.

    The villagers get  involved through manually collecting, sorting, crushing, roasting, grinding, separating  the oils from the butter and shaping the finished product.

    The raw nuts collected from the are processed into unrefined shea butter.

    Also,they make money by selling the  raw nuts to companies who extract, refine and export  the oil  abroad  for cosmetic purposes. In the process, she said a hefty markup is added which  create  profits through  the  value  chain. Major destinations for Nigeria’s shea nuts are the European Union and Japan while for the shea butter, they are in Asia, Europe and the Americas.

    Of the estimated 600,000 tonnes of shea nuts from West Africa, about 350,000 tons are exported, mostly as raw nuts. The balance are processed for local consumption. The market, according to her, values high-quality nuts because they deliver higher yields when processing butter.

    According to her, the oil content is the most crucial element of the shea nut as that component is an important ingredient in the composition of the butter that goes into Cocoa Butter Equivalents and other by-products. If the oil content is higher and the FFA and moisture content is lower, then the exporter will receive a price premium.

    With an investment of as little as N50,000, Mrs Sagoe said entrepreneurs  could go into nuts gathering for  big merchants.

    According  to  her,  profits from the  business  will provide  income  to  communities  where  most  of the population live below poverty line.

    What she intends to achieve is to ensure that companies source products directly from producers in the villages. And she seems, indeed, bent on helping women to make money through shea production.

    Shea products, she said, have been produced by women in poor, rural areas for generations. Improving quality, encouraging demand and increasing production, she added is a way to alleviate poverty. She sees the growth of the industry as beneficial for these producers.

    The joy of putting smiles on the faces of people that this business offers, is making her want to do it forever. According to her, support at the national level, community groups, associations and strong corporate linkages can produce results. But to ensure long-term sustainability and widespread economic growth in the sector, she said changes must be made to improve the capabilities of the women involved in the business at a national scale. One reason she has been successful is because of her commitment to her work.

    She believes it takes a certain mindset to succeed. This includes the refusal to see problems as setbacks.

    Her firm has also been selected as global supply partners for Shea Radiance,an  international  organisation that supplies communities with locally fabricated equipment to help increase production output, relieve physical labor of production and provide a consistent and improved quality of Shea butter. Shea Origin centres on a community-based cooperative and seeks to improve the livelihoods of women shea nut producers by offering training, greater ownership within the supply chain and access to improved technology.

     

  • Sorghum production gets boost

    A major boost may have come the way of the agricultural sector.

    Last week, the Federal Govern-ment signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with a Chinese firm, Sang-Liang Technology Development Centre (STDC), to grow sweet sorghum in the country.

    The MoU, signed by the Raw Materials Research and Development Council (RMRDC) on behalf of the Federal Government, The Nation learnt,  is part of the Council’s efforts to add value to local raw materials to stimulate employment and create wealth.

    According to the Deputy Director of Public Affairs Unit of RMRDC, Mr. Chuks Ngaha, the develop-ment is in line with the Council’s mandate of developing raw materials and facilitating the adoption of machinery and processes for raw materials utilisation.

    “The agreement with STDC is for the processing and development of sweet sorghum into food and industrial and energy products to add value to local raw materials and create wealth,’’ he explained

    He said the Council would receive the sole franchise for the distribution of the improved sweet sorghum seedlings, planting materials and its technology in West Africa.

    “The Council seeks to domesticate the technology for sweet sorghum production and processing in Nigeria. Consequently, the agreement includes joint establishment of a comprehensive industrial model project on the development of sweet sorghum,’’ Ngaha said.

    According to him, STDC will provide technical support and expertise, including conducting the initial soil testing and other related activities. The council said it would also partner Niger State Government for land provision for the pilot project of cultivating improved sweet sorghum seeds.

    He added that the state government provided some hectares of land for the project. “This collaboration shall also see STDC facilitating the replication of the sweet sorghum village industry in other states of the federation.

    “The Council is already engaged in discussions with various stakeholders in Taraba, Adamawa, Kebbi, Bauchi and Gombe states to fashion out areas of collaboration on the project,’’ the statement added.

    The Director-General, RMRDC, Dr Hussaini Doko, represented the Federal Government while Mr. Lyu Wei represented STDC in the signing of the MOU.

  • NNPC to review JVs, production sharing contracts

    NNPC to review JVs, production sharing contracts

    The Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Dr. Ibe Kachikwu yesterday spoke of a plan to review all Production Sharing Contracts (PSCs) and Joint Venture Agreements and other contracts between the NNPC and its partners. The review is aimed at reflecting present day realities in the global oil and gas industry.

    He said his mandate in the Corporation is to put in place efficient, transparent and profit-oriented processes and not to embark on a mass retrenchment of the workforce.

    NNPC’s Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division, Mr. Ohi Alegbe, in a statement yesterday added that  Kachikwu stated that the mandate given to him by President Muhammadu Buhari is to turn around the entire commercial processes and procedures in order to impact on the growth trajectory and operations of the Corporation.

    He said the reduction in the NNPC directorate from eight to four at the top management cadre is to refocus and sharpen the business aspiration, adding that training and retraining of workers to align with the new vision is the next stage of the ongoing reforms.

    Dr. Kachikwu said the recent repositioning is to put in place the right set of skills for performance, stressing that the new arrangement provides a veritable vista for upcoming professionals to have a speedy career path.

    He stated that the NNPC, under his watch, would put in place mechanisms that would plug all revenue leakages in the upstream, midstream and downstream sectors while adding that all crude oil proceeds due for the Federation Account would be remitted accordingly.

  • Boosting fish production with integrated rice-fish farms

    Boosting fish production with integrated rice-fish farms

    There is growing interest in researches aimed at improving fish farming globally. Part of the outcome is integrated fish farming approach championed by the University of Ibadan (UI),which involves the use of earthen ponds to raise fish and rice, and using poultry and piggery wastes for fish production. DANIEL ESSIET reports.

    To boost fish production,  the Department of Aquaculture and Fisheries Management, University of Ibadan has introduced a technology known as fish-rice-pig-poultry integrated aquacul-ture.

    It involves the use of earthen ponds to raise fish and rice. It utilises the waste from, poultry, piggery and agriculture for fish production.

    At the end, the farmer benefits from meat, eggs, rice, and fish.

    The project occupies an expansive area. For farmers, students and researchers it is a model integrated fish farm with rice grown inside a fish pond. It has been drawing local and international tourists who come to see a demonstration farm where fish is cultivated and integrated with some agricultural products such as rice, pigs and poultry to optimise yields.

    Speaking on the farm, the Head of Department of Aquaculture and Fisheries Management, Prof Bamidele Omitoyin, said the fish-rice-pig-poultry integrated aqua-culture project involves using ponds to raise fish and rice and using the waste from pigs and  poultry as  feed for fish. At the end, he said the practice reduces the cost of production and maximises streams of income for the farmer through sale of fish, rice, eggs and pigs.

    Omitoyin said the agriculture sector is faced with the challenges of producing more food for ever increasing population while simultaneously tackling issues of environment conservation and sustain-ability.

    Tackling these challenges,he added, has given impetus to the West and Central Africa Research for Agricultural Development (CORAF/WECARD)-sponsored project on the development of viable and sustainable integrated aquaculture systems with agriculture production for resource poor farmers.

    His words: “This project has two components, namely; Integrated Production of Fish and Rice cum Poultry and Integrated Production of Fish and Rice cum Pig.  The first component is led by a research team from the Department of Aquaculture and Fisheries Management, University Ibadan in collaboration with Njala University in Sierra Leone and University of Beau in Cameroon. The second component which is also involves collaboration between the three institutions is led by the research team from Njala University, Sierra Leone. These projects are specifically designed to address the challenges related to decreases in capture-fisheries and the need for accelerated rice, poultry and pig production in West and Central Africa. It started in June 2013 and the project duration is three years. “

    According to him, the major regional target was to improve techniques on integrated crop-aquaculture-livestock production systems and subsequent up-scaling and out-scaling to countries of the West and Central Africa sub-region while the target beneficiaries are 600 integrated rice-aquaculture cum livestock farmers out of which 30 per cent  are women and youth.

    He said the approach gave birth to the establishment of two demonstration plots within the country. “Two adaptive research plots were established on the University of Ibadan fish farm, one for each of the components.”

    So far, he said over 500 farmers have been trained in Nigeria, exceeding the original 200 farmers expected to be trained in the project document for both components. Also,he said  over 700 hundred students have been trained through this process out of which 300 are females.

    Explaining the  reason for growing rice inside a fish pond, Omitoyin said the rice that is  planted  inside the fish  pond  benefits from nutrients which come from fish excreta. In addition, he said the aquatic weeds of rice also get reduced due to fish presence.  In turn, he said the fish benefits from the favourable micro climate created by the presence of rice plants. However, he said rice requires nutrients in the form of inorganic fertilisers which the fish waste provides whereas fish needs nutrients in the form of organic form. The essence of integrating them, he explained, is to allow the circulation of nutrients in different forms.

    He said poultry litter from the poultry farm is recycled into fish pond. The droppings of poultry birds, he added are used to fertilise the pond. To achieve this, he said the chicken waste from the poultry unit built near the pond is washed down through the delivery channel as organic fertiliser for the growing of rice. This, he added, helps farmers to avoid spending money in buying chemical fertiliser.

    The ponds also receive pig dung. This waste, he explained acts as excellent pond fertiliser and raises the biological productivity of the pond and consequently increases fish production and boost rice growth. To help the process, the pigsties are constructed in such a way that the washings are drained to the pond through a delivery channel.

    Omitoyin said the project could be started on one acre of land. He said would- be fish farmers will be taught to integrate rice with fish, poultry or piggery to increase production of yields. This model, according to him, would help farmers to realise so much profit from their investment than running a simple fish farm.

    Because of the success of the project, UI invites stakeholders and farmers to come and see the demonstration farm. The farm is used to train extension officers, farmers and students on aquaculture. Agriculture and fisheries students also go to the farm for school attachment.

    Omitoyin noted however, that space, labour and capital must be integrated and properly utilisfor optimum farm output.

    He stated that fisheries and aquaculture is a big source of incom, and added that there are lots of business opportunities in fish farming.

    The farm is part of the one million United States Dollars CORAF/WECARD project meant for University of Ibadan in Nigeria, Njala University in Sierra Leone and Buea University of Cameroon. Some of the project activities include: rehabilitation and re-stocking of abandoned ponds; develop capacity in sustainable integrated aquaculture techniques and tackle poverty and unemployment among poor vulnerable especially women and children.

    In one of the fora, the university’s WECARD training grant coordinator, Prof Emmanuel Ajani said the research into integrated farming was farmer-generated and meant to tackle challenges of monoculture source of income to farmers.

    He revealed that based on the success of the research into and implementation of findings of the aquaculture integration, the department had been called upon to train 5,000 farmers in Nigeria in the art of poultry-fishery-rice or pig-fishery-rice integration depending on demand.

    “This integrated farming has been helping and will continue to help alleviate poverty and create wealth, as well as employment,” Ajani said.

    The project cover sustainable integrated pond-based aquaculture with rice and poultry production and economic, social and environmental assessment. It deals with poverty eradication and grassroots empowerment through sustainable integrated aquaculture development: fish and rice cum piggery production. The projects are expected to boost fish production in Cameroon, Nigeria and Sierra Leone.

    It is expected that when the 1million US dollar project ends after 3 years, enough information on integrated fish-poultry-pig and rice farming will be available to help government and other institutions develop this vital poverty alleviation sector.

    The project have three main components, “the development of suitable integrated fish-rice-poultry production technology through participatory research, expansion of the integrated aquaculture production in a community based demonstration plot and institutional strengthening and integrated capacity building of all stakeholders.

    The Project Director, Dr. Olapade Oluwafemi Julius said the essence of the project is to reduce poverty amongst grassroots dwellers.

    Meanwhile, a  profitability  study  on Integrated Aquaculture with Rice and Poultry Production in West and Central Africa (SIARP-ESEA project) conducted  by  the  university  showed that Integrated fish farming is more profitable than unitary system of farming as it ensures a spread of financial risk for its varied and diversified nature in rearing of fish, animals and crops;

    A Comparative analysis of biological productivity and yield of Integrated Aquaculture system (IAS) with conventional fish pond system showed that mean Food Conversion Ratio and Specific Growth Rate of 1.90± 0.18; 3.96±1.02 (convectional system) and 1.25±0.22; 3.16±0.29 (IAS) were recorded respectively. The total yield of rice harvested after 12 weeks in the paddy area of the pond in IAS was 20kg which can be extrapolated to 3.3tonne/hectare. Extrapolated figures between 1.63t/ha and 2.3t/ha was recorded in conventional system of rice production. Mean egg production of 52±1.50eggs per day and 53±1.0eggs per day were obtained in IAS and convectional system respectively. Water was about 17 times more efficiently utilized by integrated system of rice production than conventional irrigation system. Mean phytoplankton recorded in unfertilised pond was 12.71x 106/l, while 78.18X106/l was recorded after 12 weeks manure loading. Mean zooplankton population in the unfertilised pond was 15.4X106l, and 67.4X106 after 12 weeks of manure loading.

    Four adopted schools have been selected for the project intervention in Nigeria with infrastructure almost at 80 per cent completion in two of the selected adopted schools.

    The project has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the West Africa Agricultural Productivity Programme (WAAPP-Nigeria) on fingerlings multiplication and dissemination of the integrated fish farming across twelve states in Nigeria;

  • Total begins production from Dalia field

    Total begins production from Dalia field

    Total said it has started production from Dalia Phase 1A, a new development on the offshore operated Block 17, located 83 miles off the coast of Angola.

    The Dalia Phase 1A project involves the drilling of seven infill wells tied back to the Dalia Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) unit. The project will develop additional reserves of 51 million barrels and will contribute 30,000 barrels per day to the Block’s production, according to Total.

    Total President Exploration & Production, Arnaud Breuillac, said: “The Dalia FPSO came on stream nearly nine years ago and with the addition of Phase 1A will still produce around 200,000 barrels per day. It is the latest milestone in the success story of Block 17, Total’s most prolific licence with cumulative production reaching two billion barrels in May 2015. Dalia Phase 1A demonstrates Total’s commitment to maximising value through the optimal use of existing facilities. These types of profitable satellite tie-back developments play an important role in maintaining production levels and generating additional free cash flow for the group.”

    Total operates Block 17 with a 40 per cent interest alongside Statoil, which holds a 23.33 per cent interest, Esso Exploration Angola Block 17 Limited, which holds a 20 per cent interest, and BP Exploration Angola Limited, which holds a 16.67 per cent interest.

    Through Blocks 17, 0 and 14, Total’s equity production reached 200,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day in 2014. The company’s operated production exceeded 700,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day in 2015, making it Angola’s leading oil operator.

  • Delayed rains threaten North’s food production, say farmers

    Delayed rains threaten North’s food production, say farmers

    Farmers in some northern parts of the country have expressed worry that the delay in the rainfall experienced this year may affect food production in the country.

    Meteorologists had predicted that some northern parts of the country would experience delay in the arrival of rains this cropping season, while they were also advised not to rush to plant.

    Some of the farmers told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that most farmers are yet to begin planting due to lack of adequate rainfall.

    They said the situation posed serious threat to food production in the region this year.

    One of the farmers, Malam Baushe Talle, said: “Rain is a factor in plant growth, therefore, the greater the rainfall, the faster the seed grows and the higher the yield.”

    Another farmer, Malam Musa Abdu, stressed the need for government to provide farmers in the region with drought resistant seeds, to avert crop failure and ensure bumper harvest.

    “Farmers should also be educated on different farming techniques because of this kind of situation,” he said.

    Malam Lawan Kado, advised government to reduce the effects of potential food shortage by buying the surplus directly from farmers.

    ‘’So, if there is a shortage of food, the stored ones can be sold at cheaper prices in order to ensure that food prices remain affordable and stable,” he said.

    Malam Musa Dogara and Malam Maiwada Karaukarau, canvassed for adequate budgetary allocation to the agriculture sector to ensure easy access to facilities and farm inputs required to sustain massive production.

    According to them, such provision would ensure prompt supply of fertilisers, chemicals, improved seeds and farming implements, as well as credit facilities to farmers.

    Secretary, All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN), Alhaji Garba Bichi, advised farmers in the northern states to plant their crops as soon as the rains start.

    “Farmers should not wait for heavy downpour before they start planting because if they plant early, crops will mature before the rain stops,’’ he said.

    Bichi urged farmers to embrace dry season farming as solution to inadequate or delayed rainfall.

    “In fact formers must embrace irrigation in order to augment the shortfall during wet season farming,” Bichi added.

    Chairman, Kaduna state Commercial Agriculture Association, Malam Nuhu Umar, said timely provision of farming inputs including seeds and fertiliser, was key to sustainable agricultural production in the country.

    “As long as farmers do not have timely access to inputs and at affordable price, they would continue to produce at a loss and this could pose serious threat to the country’s quest for food security.

    “As such, the government must on a consistent level make available seeds, fertiliser, tractors and other crucial farm inputs as well as training us in modern farming techniques.

    “This will go a long way to assist us remain in business and compete with other farmers from developed countries,” he said.

    According to him, farmers are recording consistent drop in yield due to lack of access to vital farm inputs and adequate rains.

    The chairman, however, begin the Kaduna State Government for providing 30, 215 tonnes of fertiliser to farmers at subsidised rate and 186 tractors to be sold to farmers at 60 per cent discount.

    Alhaji Nuhu Aminu, AFAN chairman in Kaduna State, stressed the need for government at all levels to encourage agricultural mechanisation to enhance food production and security.

    Aminu encouraged farmers to form cooperatives in order to access loan with which to procure tractors and other farm inputs to boost agricultural production.

    The chairman identified lack of access to credit facilities and markets for agricultural produce as major setback to agricultural growth in Nigeria.

    Aliyu observed that non availability of markets had discouraged many people from continuing with farming activities.

    An Environmentalist, Prof Ibrahim Jaro of Geography Department, Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria, said the report which stated that over 90 million Nigerians are hungry, referred to those not getting balanced diet.

    “What the report meant is that over 90 per cent of Nigerians are lacking balance diet.

    “The fact that you eat three times a day does not mean that you are not hungry.

    “You may eat yam at breakfast, semovita during lunch and rice as dinner, but you only succeeded in taking carbohydrate, which will only supply you energy nothing else,” he said.

    According to him, for a person not to be hungry, he needs to have a food that is well balanced.

    Some peasant farmers who spoke with NAN appealed to government at all levels to stop paying lips service to agriculture and increase their budgetary allocations in order to boost food production in the country.

    The Kogi Government said it has begun the distribution of N232 million loan and grants to 145,000 farmers in rural areas of the state.

    A statement in Lokoja yesterday by the Special Adviser to the State Governor on Media, Mr Jacob Edi, said the grant would be given to farmers on the platform of Nigerian Agricultural Payment Initiative e- wallet system.

    According to the statement, the loan aspect of the package is being disbursed in phases by the state government in partnership with the Kogi Farmers Cluster Development Union.

    It said that 145,000 rural farmers selected across the 21 local government governments in the state had been listed to benefit.

    Also. the Federal Government said it distributed seeds and fertiliser worth N2.5 billion to rice farmers in Jigawa for the 2014/2015 farming season.

    The Director, Agricultural Transformation Agenda (ATA) in the state, Malam Ahmad Labaran, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Dutse that the farm inputs were distributed to 177,425 rice farmers in Hadejia, Kafin-Hausa and Auyo.

    He added that each farmer was given two bags of fertiliser and 2.5 kg of improved rice seed, saying the items were given to the farmers at subsidised price

  • FIre burnt bricks firm begins production

    ccccccccccs Congress (APC) in Ekiti State in a statement by its Publicity Secretary, Taiwo Olatubosun, congratulated Fayemi and Ekiti people, for the resumption of production in the company.

    Olatubosun said Fayemi’s dynamism and commitment to the industrialisation of Ekiti State had resulted in the great feat.

    He urged the new administration to emulate the former governor by making industrialisation one of its development agenda.

    Daramola explained that the Burnt Bricks Company was abandoned 22 years ago, but Fayemi in his industrial development a?genda insisted that the industry would be brought back to life by fully paying for the completion of the industry before he left office.

    He added: “I told my people that if they could give me their  mandate, I would ensure the completion of the project. Working with the state government on this, Fayemi took bond in the capital market to resuscitate the industry, among other income generating development projects he executed. He engaged professionals and gave them a matching order to bring the industry back on stream. The result is what we are celebrating today as the company begins production.

     

  • How to boost food production, by experts

    How to boost food production, by experts

    To increase food production, experts say Buhari’s administration should make agriculture a top priority to meet the needs of a growing population. This, however, will require building on the foundation of the Agricultural Transformation Agenda (ATA) and navigating current resource limits, DANIEL ESSIET reports.

    The agricultural sector is facing an exciting future. The sector is reviving, helped by positive policy actions that have improved confidence in agriculture. To continue on this trend, experts said there was the need to accelerate structural reforms as the sector is the bright spot in the economic landscape.

    While there are many challenges ahead, the good news, however, is that enormous opportunities exist to turn the situation around, create profitable farms that produce an abundance of healthy food while improving the soil, enhancing biodiversity, and protecting habitats. To this end, they urged the President, Muhammadu Buhari to find  ways to increase food production.

    Speaking with The Nation, Prof  Daniel Gwary, of the Crop Protection Department, University of Maidugari, Borno State, said bolstering agriculture sector health would support growth going forward. He believes farmers and agribusinesses could create a food secure economy if they can access more fund, electricity, better technology and irrigated land to grow high-value crops.

    Gwary said the agriculture sector  has capacity to boost growth rates, create more jobs, significantly reduce poverty, and grow enough cheap, nutritious food to feed its families.

    He urged the government to  carry out the reform of the food  production system to make it  more efficient, effective and to be more relevant to the mandates.

    The agric development blue print, he noted, should aim at restoration of high economic growth.

    Nigeria, he noted, has great potential for expanding  food production but that the sector is facing  a lot of challenges including slowing yield growth of major food crops,  land degradation and water scarcity issues, and a changing climate.

    His concerns is shared by other  experts with the report that post-harvest losses run 45 per cent for perishable products due to poor storage and other farm infrastructure.

    His position is that the government could support farmers to boost food production without punishing the environment. This will require experimenting with less harmful farming practices.

    According to him, rural underdevelopment has been the main drag on the potential and prospects for growth in agricultural production and productivity, adding that  inadequate infrastructure such as electricity, roads, and potable water, account for the lag in agricultural development.

    To him, poor and inadequate infrastructure, among other problems, increase operational expenditure in agriculture and wants  the administration to address  it. In addition to inadequate infrastructure provision, he   noted  that  there is scarcity of a myriad of required direct farming inputs and needs for productive and profitable agricultural business.

    Inspite of the identified problems that inhibit growth and productivity in agricultural production and food security, Gwary expressed  optimism regarding current scale and enthusiasm of foreign direct investors in the sector following  the efforts made by the outgone Minister of Agriculture, Dr Adesina. This has prompted the global momentum in the support for agriculture in Nigeria from outside.

    The Dean,  Faculty  of Agriculture, University of Uyo, Prof Ini Akpabio, urged President Buhari  to  put agriculture and agribusiness at the top of the development and business agenda.

    He pointed out that productivity in agriculture in Nigeria remains relatively lower, suggesting the need for incentives for farmers to produce more food. He argued for support of the government in the sector for expanded growth in production and a greater coordination of public ministries, departments and agencies that have linkages to the agriculture sector.

    According to him, Nigeria needs a standard policy towards agriculture improvement. In this regard, he identified with the move to  support the production of viable agricultural commodities to facilitate economic and industrial growth. These measures, he noted, would help the nation utilise its potential and the comparative advantages in agricultural production.

    To address the economic growth objective, World Bank  Consultant, Prof Abel Ogunwale, called for the strengthening of the macroeconomic framework, a more responsible fiscal stance, increasing the role of private sector in economic development and improvement in physical infrastructure.

    To reduce poverty, he urged the government to focus on expanding  productive capacity in agriculture, development of rural areas, and upgrading the living conditions for urban dwellers that had suffered from poor urban infrastructure and social services arising principally from high urbanisation rates.

    Ogunwale called for clear plans for agricultural development.

    Farmers, he noted, need support   to enable them to acquire critical inputs such as fertilisers, insecticides, pesticides, storage facilities, tractors and other modern farming tools, hybrid seeds, to increase productivity.

    He urged Buhari’s administration to construct dams and irrigation projects to enhance agriculture development with many rivers flowing through the country.

    This, he said, could lead to self-sufficiency in the production of some critical food crops and the national food security programme, which must necessarily be a component of the national security programme. He said that one way of addressing its food security problem is to move from the present over-dependence on the weather for food production, and also promote agro-processing and good storage facilities to reduce the current high levels of food losses.

    This aside, he said the sector requires good transportation network to facilitate agricultural activities and a vigorous transportation programme to build more highways, railways and improve water transport to enhance agriculture development.

    Ogunwale said there is also the need to provide basic infrastructure and facilities such as roads, hospitals, water, electricity and other basic facilities in the rural areas.

    This would prevent the exodus of youths from the farms in rural areas to the cities and the industrial centres in search of jobs.

    Ogunwale said the sector needs more investments, especially in water, agri-R&D, farm mechanisation. For  him,  the industry should  improve in terms of gross capital formation. But much of this, he   said, should come from the government and also from the private    sector.

    According to him, considering   a stable mandate for the government, backed by strong political will, the government should be able to turn around the economy, through the agricultural sector.

    For him, the government may walk the extra mile to boost growth through infrastructure development.

    According to him, the government needs to increase capital expenditure on agricultural infrastructure to make it an important contributor to GDP growth and job creator.

    He  urged the government to  accelerate policy reforms and invest in transport and storage infrastructure to encourage more participation in agribusiness.

    Experts stated that agribusiness has potential to lift Nigerians  from poverty. They urged the government to empower farmers through training, exposure to new markets and provision of subsidised inputs  such as  seeds and fertiliser.

    They challenged the government to invest in training for farmers and partner with banks to extend to them affordable credit.

    To experts, however, the importance of the agric industry to the  economy has been recognised  by  the  outgone Federal  Government in its economic Strategy 2011 to 2015.

    Demonstrating this, the government through the former Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr Akinwumi Adesina   developed a strategic action plan for the industry through the Agricultural Transformation Agenda (ATA). The plan recognised the need to target those areas which have the greatest potential for growth.

    To some experts, his initiatives have empowered more than six million farmers across the country to embrace agriculture as a business as he has been relentless in unlocking opportunities for farmers and changing Africa’s narrative on agriculture to wealth creation, away from poverty reduction.

    His Growth Enhancement Support Scheme (GES) ended four decades of corruption in the fertiliser sector, eliminating the middlemen and scaling up food production by nine million metric tonnes in the first year -almost half of the 2015 production target. To further enhance this process, he introduced an Electronic Wallet System which 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 sector agricultural input dealers. The system has reached over six million farmers and enhanced food security for 30 million persons in rural farm households.

    With the success of the electronic wallet system, Nigeria has become the first country in Africa to reach farmers with subsidised farm inputs through their mobile phones. The impact is already being noticed beyond Nigeria with several African countries, Brazil, India and China now expressing interest in adopting the electronic wallet system in their agriculture sector.

    The World Bank, African Development Bank and other global development finance institutions have put up over $2 billion in support of his bold initiatives.