The Nation Newspaper

Tag: WAAPP

  • Abia community benefits from WAAPP’s technologies

    Abia community benefits from WAAPP’s technologies

    The West African Agricultural Productivity Programme (WAAPP)-Nigeria has adopted Oriendu Village, a rural Community in Umuahia North Local Government Area of Abia State for the establishment of Biogas Digester.

    This step, in collaboration with the National Root Crops Research Institute (NRCRI), Umudike, is meant to demonstrate to the adopted community alternative cheap source of energy for cooking and lighting in the rural areas; creation of employment opportunities by training some persons in this respect; and discouraging deforestation, among others.

    At the training, the NRCRI Director of Extension Services/  WAAPP, Dr. Godwin Asumugha, said the technology is an alternative and cheap source of energy in rural areas, adding that already more than 10 youths were undergoing training on how to establish, or set up the technology.

    According to NRCRI Executive Director, Dr. Julius Okonkwo, the organisation has since 2011 been collaborating with WAAPP to facilitate the dissemination of improved agricultural technologies, stating that  the Adopted Village Concept which was first introduced to the National Agricultural Research Institutes (NARIs) in 1996 under the World Bank- assisted programs of the National Agricultural Research Project (NARP) was re-activated and consolidated by the WAAPP.

    According to him, the concept was introduced for developing, disseminating and evaluating technologies emanating from Research Institutes. The institures are to conduct their demonstrations in the identified and adopted villages for adoption and impact, and impres on intending farmers and end users on the viability of technologies being promoted.

    Other objectives,he listed, are to encourage large-scale adoption of improved technologies, economically empower resource poor farmers, and create job opportunities for youths and enhance  food security.

    On the main features of the adopted villages, he said they include empowerment of the communities through initial provision of some facilities, capacity building of the communities, empowerment of farmers to identify their problems and search for solutions, facilitate community activities, operate an agricultural research outreach center including information flow.

    On the other activities, Okonkwo said that apart from establishing adopted villages, the Institute established secondary schools outreach programs around them for the purpose of establishing Agricultural Research Outreach Centres (AROCs).

    The main purpose, he explained, “is to ensure that the impact of agricultural research and training is felt in these schools and increase students interest in agriculture and home economics, adding that NRCRI has 13 Outreach Schools in seven states out of which five are in Abia.

    Describing the training and the Biogas Digester project as first of its kind in his community, the community’s traditional ruler, Eze Philip Ajomiwe, a farmer, commended WAAPP and NRCRI for considering to adopt Oriendu for the project.              Meanwhile, the management team from the West Africa Agricultural Productivity Programme (WAAPP), Nigeria, has lauded FUNAAB during its visit to the university, to assess the progress made so far by Institute for Food Security, Environmental Resources and Agricultural Research (IFSERAR) in the  collaboration between both bodies. While welcoming the team, the Director, IFSERAR, who is also the WAAPP Co-ordinator in the university, Prof Akin Omotayo, thanked management as well as WAAPP for their support in ensuring that IFSERAR was at the fore-front in research and increasing food productivity so as to end hunger in the land. He said a lot of progress had been made since the collaboration started about a year ago.

    Omotayo said IFSERAR was into projects such as cassava seed multiplication and fingerlings multiplication, distribution, technology dissemination and adopted school project, noting that recently, the institute empowered some farmers by giving them farm inputs such as fingerlings and cassava stem, free of charge.

    The Vice-Chancellor, Prof Olusola Oyewole, who is also the President of Association of African Universities (AAU), appreciated the contributions of WAAPP-Nigeria through IFSERAR, in strengthening the University’s extension village farmers. He added that the FUNAAB recently bought a Toyota Hilux Van to support the programme, adding that a lot of things needed to be done in providing food security. He stressed the need to embark on sensitisa-tion and enlightenment activities that would enable the youth take up farming as a means of livelihood, to create more employment opportunities. He gave the assurance that the University would continue to ensure that its research efforts waxed stronger and that WAAPP team members should feel free to visit various ongoing farm projects on campus.

    The National Co-ordinator of WAAPP-Nigeria, Dr. Sheu Salawu, said he was impressed with the serenity of FUNAAB, noting that the objective of the visit was to review the activities of the project in the University in line with the determination of the World Bank to eliminate poverty globally.

    He acknowledged the enormous effort being made by FUNAAB in supporting the WAAPP programmes, adding that he had a strong belief that the communities around the university were feeling the positive impact of WAAPP.

    Salawu urged the Vice-Chancellor to continue to support, and include entrepreneurship courses for graduating students to facilitate their accessing of finance. The team members were shown various research findings in the University as they visited ongoing agricultural projects on campus.

  • WAAPP support mission team visits FIIRO

    The Federal Institute of Industrial Research Oshodi has received the West Africa Agricultural Productivity (WAAPP) Supervision/Support Team who were on a working visit.

    The team was led by Dr. Sheu Salau who is the WAAPP Regional Task Team Leader from the World Bank. Also in the team were: Dr. Lucas Akapa, WAAPP Coordinator from CORAF/WECARD; Prof. Chi-kwendu Damain, National Coordinator, WAAPP – Nigeria and Dr. Kadir Osman Gyasi, the National Coordinator, WAAPP Ghana.

    Dr. Gloria N. Elemo, the Director-General/Chief Executive Officer, Federal Institute of Industrial Research Oshodi (FIIRO) in her welcome address, alluded to the objective of WAAPP team’s visit, saying it was review the progress of implementation of WAAPP projects with the various collaborating organisations with WAAPP of which FIIRO is a major stakeholder.

    She also stressed that WAAPP-Nigeria has been a very strategic partner to FIIRO because of her mandate most especially in the R&D on food and agro-processing technologies which is in tandem with the objective of WAAPP while stating that no other institution in Nigeria can serve this purpose better than FIIRO. She also appreciated WAAPP for the approvals the institute got from the organisation to execute some  projects.

    These include training in high quality cassava flour, odourless fufu flour industrial starch, fruit juice, instant pounded yam flour, kunu production and preservation, fish smoking, tomato processing, and zobo production and preservation in the six geo-political zones.

    Mre Elemo thanked the team for their various comments and suggestions and promised that she would set up a committee to look at the various suggestions made by the team with a view to implementing them to enhance the performance of the institute to make it deliver effectively and efficiently on its mandate.

    Regional WAAPP Task Team Leader, World Bank, Dr. Sheu Salau, stressed that FIIRO is a very serious result-driven institution and alluded to the fact that WAAPP and FIIRO have a lot in common thereby assuring of the readiness of World Bank and WAAPP to collaborate with the  institute.

    He promised to link the institute with various other donor organisations that are relevant to efficient and effective delivery on its mandate.

    The team expressed satisfaction in the institute’s activities and leadership and concluded that the institute has all it takes to execute all the approved WAAPPP projects.

  • WAAPP, IAR&T distribute improved maize, rice seeds to farmers

    The Institute of Agricultural Research and Training ( I.A.R. &T), Moor Plantation, Ibadan has distributed improved maize and rice seeds to farmers in the institute adopted villages and environs to enhance their productivity.

    The Director of the institute, Prof. James Alabi Adediran, admonished farmers to carry-out all the agronomic practices on the crops as it was recommended by the extension personnel.

    He said the varieties of the seeds distributed have been found to be well adapted to the southwest agro-ecologies.

    The I.A.R. &T WAAPP Coordinator, Dr Lucia Ogunsumi, appreciated WAAPP for their good gestures and expressed optimism that farmers in the adopted villages would continue to benefit from the Projects.

    The Southwest zonal coordinator of REFILS, Prof. Akin Oluwatosin educated farmers on the recommended agronomic practices of the crops (maize & rice).

    The farmers expressed their profound appreciation to the management of WAAP and the Institute.

    Earlier, in March, the  institute  had distributed free maize seeds and fertilisers to farmers in the South West.

  • WAAPP collaborates with entrepreneurs on rice production

    WAAPP collaborates with entrepreneurs on rice production

    An agro-entrepreneurial group made up of the agriculture graduates in Nigeria have successfully piloted a three-cycle rice production programme in Niger State in a bid to avail rice seeds to farmers.

    Agriculture Graduates Association of Nigeria (AGAN), a private sector-driven extension programme and an assemblage of young knowledgeable farmers, achieved this by introducing organic farming using the System of Rice Intensification (SRI),

    SRI is an initiative of the West Africa Agricultural Productivity Programme (WAAPP) assisted rice value chain innovation platform that enables improved yields, reduce the cost of production, improve rice quality and ensure sustainable cropping/mitigation measures.

    According to the leader of the association, Mr Hassaini Ilyasu, who spoke at the inauguration of the second cycle (dry season) for rice farming and the raising of nursery for the third cycle held at Sheshi Bikun in Niger State , the journey towards sustainable food security began with a successful collaboration with the WAAPP-Nigeria and a few other supporting partners like the Niger State Agricultural Mechanisation Agency (NAMDA).

    He said the association had successfully piloted three cycles of rice production scheme and increased the productivity of rice from the usual two tonnes to a new high of 5.5 tonnes per hectare. It had also started promoting community seed production to make improved seeds available and affordable to farmers, noting that the provision of free seeds by the government fell short of farmer’s demand.

    He acknowledged the special contribution of WAAPP-Nigeria to their projects in terms of supply of improved rice seeds, which had enabled them to attain their present level of success.

    Mr Ilyasu appealed for more assistance such as would enable their private sector extension programme to scale through its teething problems, adding that it would enable them to multiply benefits in the areas of food security, job creation, empowerment of farmers and ensuring sustainable agricultural development.

    The Managing Director of the Niger State Agricultural Management and Development Agency (NAMDA), Alhaji Baba Kutigi Madugu, challenged Nigerian youths to emulate the examples of the young agro entrepreneurs in the state by exploiting various windows of opportunities open to them, such as keying into the programme of seed multiplication, among others.

    The representative of the National Seed Council, Mr S. Idowu, eulogised the young farmers for their involvement in the seed multiplication programme, which, he said, had made labour more beneficial to the local farmers.

    Last year,WAAPP, entered into collaboration with National Cereal Research Institute (NCRI) Baddegi and Niger State Agricultural and Mechanization Development Authority (NAMDA) to boost rice production and other cereal crops in the state.

    Niger State is among the few states selected for the programme, considering its rich potential for rice and other cereal crops. The areas of collaboration from the recent tour of the farm fields centred mostly on supply of improved seeds and multiplications.

    The national project coordinator of WAAPP, Prof Damian Okey Chikwendu, who was represented by Mr Shitu Hussaini, environmental focal point officer at the week long tour of the selected fields for the programme in the state, said that WAAPP is targeting root crops in the state.

    He listed the collaboration to include NCRI role in breeder and foundation seeds production as well as (SRI) with emphasis on rice and maize cultivation in the state.

    NAMDA, on the other hand, as  field analysis indicated, was focusing on rice, maize, sorghum and yam through development of improved seedling to boost output as well as improve the well being of the farmers.

  • WAAPP partners UI on food production

    West Africa Agricultural Productivity Programme (WAAPP) Nigeria and   University of Ibadan (UI), are set to improve sustainable food production and help to reduce poverty.

    Both  institutions  are   to  work together on  solutions for sustainable food production.

    Speaking  during  a meeting  between  the  two  institutions  in Ibadan, the  Dean,Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry, University of Ibadan, Prof  Emmanuel  Iyayi, expressed this aspiration on behalf of the Vice Chancellor of the University in Ibadan while welcoming the National Project Coordinator of WAAPP, Prof. Damian O. Chikwendu to the university.

    Iyayi, who lauded WAAPP for the impact it is making in other universities, said he was particularly happy with the visit as it will pave way for the participation of UI in the WAAPP.

    The University of Ibadan, he enthused, has all it takes to deliver services in areas of aquaculture, poultry, animal husbandry and in crop production. The university fish farm, for instance, he noted is well positioned to deliver dividends in aquaculture research while essential infrastructure are also on ground to support research and production activities in the animal sciences.

    He, therefore, requested the National Project Coordinator to do everything in his power to bring the university on board the WAAPP’s  plan.

    Iyayi also extolled WAAPP for the initiative of taking the Shika Brown, an indigenous specie of chicken released by NAPRI, Zaria in year 2,000 off-the-shelf.

    He noted that the Shika Brown technology remains the most significant technology ever to be released in animal science in Nigeria but has remained largely on the shelf due to lack of funds and should be given its deserved prominence. The  university, he hinted, will be very keen on promoting the Shika Browntechnology if the collaboration with WAAPP materialises.

    Earlier,  WAAPP’s National Project Coordinator, Prof.Chikwendu, had announced that he was in the university in a follow up visit that will enable him inspect available facilities and straighten out areas of likely collaboration between his organisation and the institution. “We are here in the university”, he declared, “to see how we can work with you, particularly in areas of aquaculture and in poultry farming as well as in other sphere that may be of interest to you”.

    He appreciated the efforts of Prof.Emmanuel Ajani, the Head of Fishery and Aquaculture Management Department of the university who is also the representative of Council for Agricultural Research and Development in Central and West Africa (CORAF/WECARD ) for bringing the impact of the regional body to the university, noting that WAAPP-Nigeria’s priority focus in Nigeria include aquaculture, poultry, cassava, maize, and rice among other.

    WAAPP-Nigeria’s area of mandate from the regional body is however in the area of aquaculture, just like it is cassava in Ghana, animal husbandry in Niger Republic and rice in Mali. WAAPP-Nigeria, he concluded, is thus committed to doing anything possible to promote aquaculture.

    The entry of the University of Ibadan into the WAAPP-Nigeria , brings to a total of 14, the number of universities collaborating with WAAPP in the implementation of the regional projects. Other collaborating institutions include 15 agricultural research institutes, 12 Colleges of Agriculture, 26 state Agricultural Development Programmes (ADPs), scores of Agricultural Innovation Platforms (AIPs) and a host of reputable and highly resourceful private investors.

    The objective of WAAPP is to improve agricultural productivity in the ECOWAS countries and at the same time encourage integrated development of agricultural research in order to generate innovations and promote their diffusion throughout the sub-region.

     

  • WAAPP sets up independent monitoring team

    WAAPP sets up independent monitoring team

    In a bid to ensure a credible and timely feedback on its numerous projects and activities in the country, the West Africa Agricultural Productivity Programme, (WAAPP-Nigeria) has set up an Independent monitoring and evaluation team consisting of agric. researchers, and scientists from selected Universities, Agricultural Research Institutes and Colleges of Agriculture in the country.

    Inaugurating the committee, the World Bank Task Team Leader and Chairman of the monitoring team, Mr. Salau Shehu, remarked that WAAPP-Nigeria had opted to set up an Independent monitoring team made up of home-grown researchers and scientists as opposed to the normal consultancy services The will  monitor and evaluate its numerous research- oriented projects being executed all over the country. The new approach, he said, will promote participatory ownership of projects, thus leading to the overall success of the programme.

    The team, he added, should be seen more as a social corporate responsibility outfit rather than the usual commercially oriented consultancy group as members of the monitoring team are only entitled to the normal daily subsistence and transportation allowances, in line with World Bank rate.

     

    Shehu also said that the activities of the team would essentially be to monitor and evaluate the adoption rates on the various WAAPP Projects many of which are sited usually in Adopted Villages and Schools within the radius of about 50 kilometre of the respective Institution.

    Many vital WAAPP assisted projectshe informed are also located in the domain of selected Universities, Agricultural Research Institutes and Colleges of Agriculture as well as in the sphere of State Agricultural Development Projects (ADPs) and Private sector entrepreneurs.

    He warned that the assignment would be highly time consuming as that it may eat much into each participant’s time and comfort as projects to be covered are elaborate and time bound.He thus charged them to put in their best in order to enable them meet up with the aims and objectives of setting up the monitoring team.

    Addressing members of the monitoring team,the National Project Coordinator, WAAPP-Nigeria, Prof. Damian Chikwendu said that the setting up of the team was informed by the need to strategize and find solution to difficulties resulting from the vast and complex nature of Nigeria which makes the monitoring assignment more demanding. Other WAAPP participating countries he noted have more manageable population and size thus making it easier for them to operate within the one line structure set up for the regional body by the West and Central African Council for Agricultural Research and Development (CORAF/WECARD).

    Recalling the history of WAAPP in Nigeria, Chikwendu said that the West Africa Agricultural Productivity Programme (WAAPP), is a World Bank assisted programme for countries of the Economic Communities of West African States (ECOWAS), with the main objective of improving agricultural productivity while promoting regional integration as instrument for promoting shared growth and poverty reduction in West Africa. Full implementation of the project he said took off only in April last year in Nigeria due to some bureaucratic bottleneck unlike in other ECOWAS countries such as Ghana, Senegal and Mali which are already in their second term of programme implementation

    He announced WAAPP’s priority agricultural commodity value chains in Nigeria to include rice, aquaculture, poultry, maize, sorghum, cassava, yam and selected fruit such as mango for dry processing and packaging. The focal mandate of WAAPP – Nigeria he said however is the development of research in aquaculture. Nigeria is expected to come out with top notched technology on fast growing fingerlings, standard fish feeds, post-harvest storage and packaging and marketing strategy. This he said necessitated setting up of some National Centres of Specialization (NCoS) in Aquaculture at some Research Institutes in Nigeria namely NIFFR in New Bussa, NSPRI in Ilorin and NIOMR in Lagos.

    WAAPP activities in the field he noted are vast. If properly documented he added, they will confirm Nigeria’s determination to catch up with lost grounds. He thuscharged the monitoring team to avoid anything that could compromise the assignment and to commit themselves to helping WAAPP show case its success stories in Nigeria.

  • Only 5 per cent of farmers have improved seeds

    Only 5 per cent of farmers have improved seeds

    The West Africa Agricultural Productivity Programme in Nigeria (WAAPP-Nigeria) has said only five per cent of Nigerian farmers have access to improved seeds.

    The National Coordinator of the programme, Prof. Damian Chekwendu,spoke yesterday at the 2014 Seed Production Planning meeting in Minna.

    He said Nigeria had the lowest agriculture growth indices among leading developing nations like Brazil, Malaysia and Thailand.

    “The percentage of farmers with access to improved seeds in the country is about five per cent compared to 25 per cent in East Africa and 60 per cent in Asia.

    “Agricultural mechanisation intensity is about 10 tractors per 1000 hectares compared to 241 per 1000 hectares in Indonesia.

    “Nigeria cannot continue to tolerate this state of things,’’ he said.

    Chikwendu said that WAAPP intended to support community seed multiplication this year.

    He said that WAAPP would collaborate with ADPs, AFAN, community-based association under the supervision of the Nigerian Agricultural Seed Council (NASC) to achieve the significant results.

    The coordinator said that WAAPP in 2013 had inaugurated seven private seed companies to produce maize, rice and sorghum seeds.

    He said that the companies had produced 432 tonnes of various varieties of maize and 150 tonnes of improved sorghum seeds.

    According to him, 172 tonnes of rice and 15.603 tonnes of sorghum had been distributed to farmers in WAAPP adopted villages.

    The Governor of Niger, Dr Babangida Aliyu thanked WAAPP for bringing the meeting that would intervene in the seed sector to the state.

    Aliyu was represented by the Commissioner for Agriculture, Mr Ahmed Ibrahim.

    He said that the state has 10 per cent of the arable land in the country, adding that the state had water bodies that would add aqua culture.

    The governor stressed the need for mechanisation, saying that less than one per cent of fish farmers had access to facilities to dry their fish.

    He solicited the support of the private sector in the programme, saying that the state had voted 50,000 hectares to Dangote Group of Companies to cultivate rice in the state.

    He assured WAAPP of government support to make the programme a success.

    The News Agency of Nigeria, (NAN) reports that the meeting was attended by Chief Executives of Agricultural Development Programmes (ADPs) across the nation.

    Others at the meeting included the Agricultural Research Institutes and the All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN).

     

     

     

  • WAAPP partners Teemartins Aquaculture on value chain innovation platform

    The West Africa Agricultural Productivity Programme (WAAPP) is partnering Teemartins Aquaculture to establish the South- East Innovation Platform for the Aquaculture value chain. Commissioner for Agriculture, Anambra State, Chief Ndubuisi Menakaya declared the inaugural business meeting held at the Agricultural Development Programme (ADP), Awka open. Menakaya, represented by Director, Engineering Services in the Ministry, Mr Anthony Chigbo, informed that the forum was timely and commended the facilitator and CEO/MD Teemartins Aquaculture for his personal contributions for the industry in Anambra State and Nigeria at large. He said WAPP and Teemartins partnership for a private sector driven fish industry would take the aquacultural sector to the next level. He said if the government provided an enabling environment for the private sector, the Aquaculture industry would thrive in the country. According to the South East Zonal Coordinator and Managing Director of Teemartins Aquaculture, Mr Emeka Iloghalu, the objective was to effectively engage all stakeholders to develop the aquaculture industry to create jobs, create wealth as well as increased food (aquaculture) production. He noted that the duty of the platform was to organise the aquaculture business so that the industry would stop being chaotic as it was now and encouraged fish farmers to work as team players to enable them build a solid aquaculture value chains and innovation platforms in the South East region. He informed on the need to advance knowledge through innovative platform in the aquaculture value chain in line with Institutionalizing Integrated Agricultural Research for Development (IAR4D), the West and Central African Council for Integrated Agricultural Research and Development (WECARD). Dean Faculty of Agriculture, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Prof. (Mrs.) Uba Nwuba who led a team to the business meeting, said the platform would encourage further research into the processes of value addition to aquaculture products for clearer and deeper understanding of the aquaculture value chain.

  • ECOWAS to boost agric with $56m

    ECOWAS to boost agric with $56m

    The West African Agricultural Productivity Programme (WAAPP) Economic Community  of West African States(ECOWAS) plans to boost the agricultural sector with $56million.

    The amount is to be spent over a five-year period.

    The National Project Coordinator, Prof. Damian Chikwendu, made this known at a meeting between WAAPP and Federal University of Agriculture in Makurdi.

    WAAPP is a sub-regional programme of ECOWAS coordinated by the West and Central African Council for Research and Development (CORAF/WECARD).

    The amount is made up of US$30 million sub-regional International Development Association (IDA) and US$15 million Nigeria IDA.

    According to Chikwendu, the Federal Government is providing counterpart funding of US$5. million.

    In addition, he  said the Spanish Government through the Global Food Crisis    Response Programme (GFPR) is providing a US$6million grant. He said 1.5 million farmers, processors and marketers are expected to benefit from the project

    Beneficiaries, he  said,  would come from  adopted villages and communities around them.

    Chikwenu said the main objective of WAAPP is to improve agricultural productivity and promote regional integration.

  • Research institutes urged to be innovative for farmers

    Executive Directors of the Agricultural Research Institutes and Provosts of Colleges of Agriculture in the country have been urged to embrace a more comprehensive research management approach for attaining the organisational change to enhance client-orientation.

    The National Project Coordinator, West African Agricultural Productivity Programme (WAAPP), Prof. Damian Okey Chikwendu, made the call at a workshop on Integrated Agricultural Research for Development (IAR4D), at the Kakanfo-Inn Conference Centre in Ibadan, Oyo State.

    He urged the participants to develop their IAR4D implementation strategies to enable them to meet up with global paradigm shift in agricultural research for development.

    Chikwendu described the Integrated Agricultural Research for Development as participatory and capable of promoting natural research management and market relationship. These, he said, are in conformity with the global paradigm shift in Agricultural Research for Development.

    He thus charged them and other key stakeholders at the workshop to take a more holistic approach to enable them to address the interactions between natural resources management, production systems, agricultural markets and policies. Such approach, he said, should also enable them to conduct research for development that squarely addresses the complexity and heterogeneity of farming systems.

    It should also ensure institutional changes that can forge new partnership as well as involve stakeholders in addressing the problem of food production, agro-industrial raw materials and the maintenance of the resource base of agriculture for the future generation, he added.