The solution to food insecurity is food sovereignty

Human society faces a moment of reckoning. The coronavirus pandemic has brought humanity to its knees and bared its many faultlines. No country has been spared.

As scientists scramble to find a vaccine that could rein in the pandemic, many countries have imposed lockdowns requiring people to stay at home. But for many of the poor, this is a challenge.

Slum-dwellers, living in crammed shacks, cannot abide by social-distancing measures demanded by governments, nor can they follow strict hygiene, as access to running clean water is scarce. The lockdowns have deprived millions of daily wage workers in cities from their income, pushing many families to the verge of starvation.

People living in rural areas are also struggling. While many peasants continue to work our fields, people are finding it increasingly difficult to sell their produce. Governments have shut down local markets which has left many of farmers' crops rotting in the fields.

Small-scale fisher-folk have also suffered. Even if they are able to get to their fishing grounds in the sea, lakes or rivers, they too are finding it difficult to distribute their fish. The same is true for pastoralists and family-owned dairy farms.

Small-scale livestock farmers and peasant families with domestic animals are also worried about finding enough feed for them.

While disruption of local small-scale food production has indeed been significant, the large-scale food industry which relies on international supply chains to function has been hit even harder because of travel bans affecting labour supply and international distribution.

Indeed, the pandemic has highlighted yet another ill of countries becoming too dependent on large international food industries. For decades, governments did little to protect small farms and food producers which were pushed out of business by these growing dysfunctional corporate giants.

They stood idle as their countries grew increasingly dependent on a few major suppliers of food who forced local producers to sell their produce at unfairly low prices so corporate executives can keep growing their profit margins. They remained silent as evidence piled up of large agribusiness contributing disproportionately more than traditional small-scale farming to greenhouse gas emissions and global warming.

Local peasant markets gave way to supermarkets, and big businesses and their commodity trading partners took control of the global food system, disregarding all principles of agroecology and food sovereignty.

The aggressive expansion of industrial food production has also increasingly put human health in harm's way. Apart from the overuse of chemicals and over-processing of foods, which makes them less nutritious and more harmful, it has also resulted in a major increase in zoonotic diseases - those caused by pathogens which jump from animals to humans (just like COVID-19).

Today, food security in countries around the world is increasingly tied to big industrial food production. Singapore, for example, imports some 90 percent of its food; Iraq, which used to be the breadbasket of the Middle East, also gets more than 80 percent of its food from abroad.

The dangers of this dependency on international food supply chains are now coming to the fore, as communities around the world are facing the prospect of hunger. The World Trade Organization (WTO) and the World Health Organization (WHO) have already warned of the risk of worldwide "food shortages".

The COVID-19 pandemic is pushing many to recognise the importance and urgency of food sovereignty - the right of people to determine their own food and agricultural systems and their right to produce and consume healthy and culturally appropriate food.

Countries like Nepal, Mali, Venezuela and several others have already recognised food sovereignty as a constitutional right of their people. Other states should follow suit. Food sovereignty of the people is the best defence against any economic shock.

It addresses the most urgent and pressing need of the people, which is to have healthy, nutritious and climatically appropriate food, grown in a locality or a neighbourhood, where they most likely know the people who produce it. Agroecological and localised peasant production of food respects and co-exists with our natural surroundings. It keeps away from harmful pesticides and chemical fertilisers.

The hard-wired competitive logic of a free market economy should stop defining international trade. Human principles of solidarity and camaraderie should determine global trade policies and networks. For countries where local production is impossible or gravely challenging due to climatic or other conditions, trade should rely on cooperation and not competition.

That is why, for years, peasant movements, such as La Via Campesina, around the world have campaigned and demanded to keep agriculture out of all free trade negotiations.

Any order that promotes life over profits must become the bedrock of human civilisation. We are not living in such a world now, but we surely can.

As the world reels under the fallout of a pandemic, now is the time to start building an equal, just and liberal society that embraces food sovereignty and solidarity.

Written by Jeongyeol Kim & Pramesh Pokharel

Sourced from AlJazeera.com

The food we produce is killing us and decimating biodiversity – Juan Lucas Restrepo and Elizabeth Maruma Mrema

Unless you don’t know where your next meal is coming from – which is the case for some 800 million people, a number that could increase during the Covid-19 fallout – you’ve probably not thought this much about food before. Going to the supermarket is an ordeal. Your favourite restaurant is closed. Produce is rotting in the fields while unprecedented lines form at food banks.

But once your local fast food joint reliably has meat for burgers again and you no longer fear contracting a lethal virus when going for groceries, food has every reason to stay on your mind. The pandemic has shown that our food systems are stressed to a breaking point. Fixing them will take long-term and global commitments that require us to completely rethink the way we feed ourselves and the planet.

Food production has skyrocketed in recent decades, at a tremendous cost to Earth’s natural environment and health. Agriculture is responsible for about 30 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions, and sucks up 80% of the fresh water we use. Synthetic fertilizers and agrochemicals pollute the air we breathe, water we drink and soils we farm, threatening both biodiversity and human health.

And for what? The food we produce is killing us. The flip side of the 800 million hungry is the roughly two billion people who are overweight or suffer from diet-related, non-communicable diseases like diabetes and high blood pressure – potentially life-threatening conditions. Today, about 11 million premature deaths per year are related to unhealthy diets.

Rice, wheat and maize provide more than 50% of the world’s plant-derived calories. Simply put, people are not consuming enough nutrient-rich foods such as fruits, nuts and seeds, vegetables and whole grains.

Furthermore, our global population is hurtling towards 10 billion people and if current trends continue, the day will come that our soils will be so unproductive, and our ecosystems so disrupted, that food and water will not be able to sustain a healthy population. Every business-as-usual day brings us closer to these critical tipping points. And once we get there, no one will be spared, be it poor or rich people.

This must change. Returning to diets based on agricultural biodiversity is a critical component to fixing our food systems.The good news is we know what do to about this.

A first step is improving efforts to safeguard, conserve and use again what is left of the world’s genetic diversity, including different varieties and wild relatives of crops and livestock.

Citizen science, driven by local knowledge, can help communities rediscover the potential of neglected and underutilized crops. These crops, once grown more widely, are falling into disuse for economic, institutional and cultural reasons – including the drive for more “westernised” diets. Some of these crops are stigmatized as food for the poor. But change is happening. Quinoa and fonio are growing in global popularity, and they both have better protein quality than most major cereals.

These are just two examples of underutilised crops. There are dozens, if not hundreds, more.

Diversified agricultural fields and landscapes must become the norm if we want to build more productive, resilient, and healthy food futures. This would contribute to reducing biodiversity loss, greenhouse gas emissions, water scarcity and contamination, ecosystems pollution and land degradation.

Yet, many farmers have few incentives to adopt this approach as they are driven by market demand for more common high yielding crop varieties. This leads us to a second step: increasing the adoption of nature-based solutions, by mainstreaming biodiversity in agricultural policies, and by incorporating biodiversity and traditional knowledge into countries’ dietary guidelines.

Because most of our food biodiversity is conserved by smallholders, we need to better link them to public procurement programmes in order to create additional market opportunities and demand for their products. Increasing consumers’ awareness on the benefits of diverse diets and leveraging peoples’ attachment to food cultures and traditions will also be important to increase demand for more nutrient-rich and diverse food. Reducing food waste is also critically important – about a third is lost at some point between farm and table.

Finally, we need to recognise that we all have a role to play in halting biodiversity loss. The negotiations of the post-2020 global biodiversity framework, an ambitious plan to implement broad-based action to bring about a transformation in society’s relationship with biodiversity, offer a unique opportunity for all of us to commit, mobilise, and join forces to transform agriculture and food systems to benefit people and the planet, through increased use and conservation of biodiversity.

Let’s commit to adopt a visionary post-2020 global biodiversity framework that recognises the links between agriculture, food systems and the environment. Let’s put aside individual interests and adopt a broader perspective that speaks to the needs of all humankind. Let’s fundamentally transform our relationship with nature and take the necessary actions needed for a sustainable future through sustainable agriculture and food systems that will benefit us all.

Culled from Independent Premium 

Africa needs $110billion to import food by 2025-IITA boss

Except Africa takes agriculture seriously, the continent may need about $110bn to import food by 2025, up from the current $35bn.
The Director General of the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, Dr. Nteranya Sanginga, said this while addressing members of the Board of Trustees of IITA and researchers during the 2016 Partnership for Development Week in Ibadan.

Sanginga emphasised that the neglect of agriculture would cost $110bn in terms of food imports by 2025 to feed Africa, up from the current $35bn.
“Besides, a failure to invest in agriculture would deprive the continent of necessary jobs and further fuel the spiralling rate of unemployment among the youth,” he warned. He acknowledged that though some African governments have come to the realisation that agriculture was one of the ways to save the continent from poverty, most countries were not investing enough in the sector. “Take, for instance, the commitment to invest at least 10 percent of national budgets on agriculture. Not many countries are meeting this goal,” Dr. Sanginga lamented. He commended the African Development Bank for the new initiative — Technologies for African Agricultural Transformation — to transform agriculture on the continent.

He said the TAAT programme is a new initiative of the AfDB in collaboration with the Consultative Group on International Agriculture Research, under the Feed Africa Initiative, to drive agriculture development on the continent. “Through the TAAT programme, the Bank aims to invest more than $800m in the agriculture sector. The funds would be
channelled into upscaling of proven innovations that will improve the fortunes of farmers and address the twin problem of food insecurity and unemployment,” Sanginga said.

He assured that IITA will continue to respond to the needs of Africa by developing innovations that will provide answers to Africa’s food insecurity. “To this end, IITA will be demonstrating its scientific leadership not only in terms of qualitative research in the lab, but also
impact in farmers’ fields,” he said.

Chair of IITA Board of Trustees, Prof. Bruce Coulman, commended Sanginga for the efforts in repositioning IITA for the challenges ahead, stressing that the Board was convinced that IITA is in safe hands.

The P4D Week is an annual event that brings together more than 200 international researchers working for IITA across the
world to review, share experiences and plan for the way forward.

Deputy Director General, Partnership for Delivery, Dr. Kenton Dashiell, said the P4D week’s emphasis for the year was not just on research but also on delivery at scale.

Source: http://punchng.com/iita-boss-warns-paying-lip-service-agriculture/

Pause: Seize the moment! Get into agriculture. By Strive Masiyiwa

Yesterday Friday 9th September was a very special day for smallholder farmers across Africa. A huge meeting was held in Nairobi to discuss how agriculture could be improved and increase food production across the continent.

Every two years, the African Green Revolution Forum brings together government leaders (including presidents and ministers), agriculture policy experts, banks, donors, business leaders, farmers' organizations, farmers, NGOs, and entrepreneurs. Also in attendance were former presidents such as president Obasanjo of Nigeria, and president Kikwete of Tanzania.

In this year's special agenda called "Seize the moment" focus was on ways to get more investment and financing (including bank loans) into agriculture. To this end, key players were invited to come to the meeting with actual financial commitments.

The leaders of several African countries were part of this important process, including Ethiopia, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Tanzania, and Zambia. Other countries have been asked to step forward and join this campaign.

Mr Strive Masiyiwa wrote on his Facebook timeline, "as some of you know, I personally traveled to see several leaders in my capacity as the Chairman of the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), which organized the Forum. I was well received in each country.

# The President of Kenya, HE Kenyatta, kicked off the process by pledging to invest an additional $250m to help support young farmers.

# President Kenyatta was followed by President Obama who, through one of his top Africa advisors, Gayle Smith, confirmed that his program (recently announced when I was in the US) now has full Congressional approvals to invest more than $6bn in the years to come, to secure livelihoods through agricultural development. US companies are also stepping up investment into African agri-business, as part of the President's strategy.

# Bill Gates said in a video that he would commit another $5bn to African development over the next five years, with some of it being used for agriculture.

# The Rockefeller Foundation, represented by its President, Dr Judith Rodin, and the great grandson of its founder, David Rockefeller Jr, put in another $180m.

# The Commercial Bank of Kenya (the country's largest bank) challenged all banks in the country to follow its lead of $400m.

# The World Food Program said it would buy $110m of produce from African farmers, every year, going forward.

# OCP, a big fertilizer company from Morocco, announced it will build fertilizer factories across the African continent over the next five years at an estimated $1bn.
But the night was still young, brothers and sisters!

# The African Development Bank, led by our own Dr Akin Adesina, coolly stepped forward and pledged $24bn over 10 years -- an increase of 400% on its current support for agriculture!

Later in the evening, one of Africa's greatest sons, Dr Kanayo Nwanze of Nigeria was honoured, a man who has dedicated his entire life to promoting African agricultural development.
Dr Nwanze was announced the inaugural winner of the Africa Food Prize! This is a new annual award for courageous and visionary leadership in the field of agriculture.

After receiving his award, Dr Nwanze stepped forward to make his acceptance speech. Then he announced that the organization which he heads, the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), would put an additional $3.6bn into African agriculture over the next six years!

Over $30bn was pledged.
Even if you’re not a farmer or in the agriculture industry, this type of investment will create millions of jobs and fuel economic growth. It's good for Africa! Even if you’re not in any of the participating countries right now, rejoice with those who would rejoice!

My colleagues and I on the board and management of AGRA, as well as our alliance partners, will continue our efforts to get more money into African agriculture.
I have now boldly called for the pledges to be driven to $100bn. I hope you’ll consider this business.
It's the future.
End.

Edited by Cornelius Eniola

FG to distribute 7,500 metric tons of maize to poultry farmers

The Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD) on Tuesday said the Federal Government was ready to distribute 7,500 metric tons of maize to poultry farmers across the country.
The Minister of State, FMARD, Sen. Heineken Lokpobiri, disclosed this at the 2016 Poultry Summit held in Lagos.
Lokpobiri said that this was part of government’s effort to lessen the lack of raw materials in the sector.

According to Lokpobiri, other areas of collaborating with the association and farmers in general like access and affordability of credit would be addressed soon. "Part of the support we are giving not only to poultry sector but to every sector of agriculture is to make credit affordable and very accessible. The present commercial interest rate is very high and nobody can survive under such. Government is trying to set up N750 billion agriculture funds for farmers."
“We are giving them all the support they need, the biggest challenge we know is raw materials that is why Federal Government is distributing 7,500 metric tons as support to poultry farmers. We know that is not enough but we have to start from somewhere. We do not even have enough in the Strategic Grain Reserves,’’ he said.
The minister urged poultry farmers to access the various farmers’ funds by the Federal Government through the Central Bank of Nigeria at a single digit interest rate of 9 per cent.
Lokpobiri said that the country is expected to be 450 million populations in the next 10 years and the cost of feeding would increase, so we needed to start investing in agriculture.
According to him, government is aware that smuggling is a major challenge and we are in talks with customs to create an enabling environment and curb smuggling.
“We know that this is one sector that can also create a huge number of jobs for our teeming youths,” the minister said.
The annual poultry summit holds every year to bring stakeholders in the sector to deliberate on the challenges faced in the sector and on the way forward.
Credited to NANS

Ogbeh Charges Boi to Increase Sector Lending

In its bid to move away from its monolithic source of income and accelerate the diversification of the economy, the Federal Government has called on the Bank of Industry to increase lending to the agriculture sector and its value chain. The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbeh, gave the charge, when the management team of BoI, led by the bank's Acting Managing Director, Mr. Waheed Olagunju, paid him a working visit in Abuja. Ogbe said there was the urgent need to boost productivity along the agricultural value chain, particularly, with the attention of the current administration focusing on diversification to non-oil areas.

While commending the new management of the bank for the zeal with which it carries the mandate of the development finance institution, the minister noted that if the nation must increase the level of output of the sector, more funds should be channeled to the youth segment, who have the needed energy to drive it. According to him, there is a lot of disenchantment in the country as a result of the huge level of unemployment.

The minister said government would put in place adequate mechanism as well as the needed support to ensure that borrowers repay the loans. To achieve this, he said the ministry is planning to build an agro-processing park for young people, stressing that this would assist in reducing some of their operating costs. He said the park, to be modelled after the one built in China would have all the necessary infrastructure to support businesses. In his response, the BoI boss said the request by the minister was in line with the objective of the bank in reducing the level of poverty and unemployment in the country. Olagunju said, "we assure you that we are up to the task. We are ready to support the ministry and we will come up with business loan solution within the shortest time possible to fit your requests." The BoI boss also expressed the determination of the bank to further strengthen the existing collaboration between the bank and the ministry with a view to providing the needed funding to enable it play its catalytic role to the nation's economy. The meeting, which is aimed at further strengthening the existing relationship between the bank and the ministry, dates back to 2009 when both parties signed partnership agreement.

Culled from the Guardian Newspaper.

Bank of Agriculture’s performance deteriorates in 2015

The declining financial performance of the Bank of Agriculture deteriorated in 2015 as its losses shot up by 3,742 percent to N7.1 billion. Meanwhile financial performance of Nigeria Security Printing and Minting Company (NSPM) or The Mint, improved during the year as its losses dropped by 94 percent to N345 million in 2015. This was disclosed by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in its Consolidated and Separate Financial Statements for the year ended 2015 released last week.

The Bank of Agriculture (BoA) is one of the seven associates companies of the CBN. Others are Nigeria Interbank Settlement System (NIBSS), African Finance Corporate (AFC), National Economic Reconstruction Fund (NERFUND), Nigerian Export Import Bank (NEXIM), Bank of Industry, Financial market Dealers Quote OTC (Plc). The CBN statement revealed that all the associate companies made profit in 2015 except BoA and the Mint recorded losses.

Analysis of the financial performance of BoA revealed that total loss rose sharply from N185 million in 2014 to N7.108 billion in 2015. Though revenue rose by 50 percent to N1.8 billion from N1.2 billion, the bank went from gross income N3.2 billion in 2014 to gross loss of N2.5 billion in 2015, implying sharp increase in losses to bad loans Furthermore its total expenses jumped by 35 percent or N1.2 billion from N3.4 billion to N4.6 billion.

The Bank was incorporated on 24 November 1972 as Nigerian Agricultural Bank Limited, changed its name to the Nigerian Agricultural and Co-operative Bank Limited (NACB) in 1978 and later changed to Nigerian Agricultural Co-operative and Rural Development Bank Limited (NARCDB) on 29 December 2000. It enlarged it object clause to include the total development activities of the Peoples Bank of Nigeria and also acquired the risk assets of the Family Economic Advancement Program (FEAP).

On 6 October 2010, the Bank further changed to Bank of Agriculture Limited. The Bank is fully owned by the Federal Government of Nigeria through the Ministry of Finance Incorporated and the Central Bank of Nigeria. The Bank grants Micro and Macro loans for Agricultural production, processing and marketing and other financial services, but as from 1 April 2006, marketing ceased to be one of the Bank’s principal activities. It also engages in the business of stimulation of rural savings as well as provision of loans to small scale enterprises in order to develop the economic base of the low income populace.

Mint records N345m loss
The financial statement revealed that the Nigeria Security Printing and Minting Company (NSPM) or Mint recorded a loss of N345 million in 2015. This however represents 94 percent decline when compared with the N5.5 billion loss incurred in 2014. The Company’s revenue rose by N5.31 billion or 29.6 percent to N23.2 billion from N17.89 billion. Cost of sales rose 33.3 percent to N20.22 billion from N15.19 billion while administrative cost dropped by 37 percent to N2.96 billion from N4.7 billion. Though the company earned N275 million as finance income, up by 17 from N235 million in 2014, its finance cost, interest paid on loans, jumped by 269 percent to N1.22 billion from N33 million in 2014.
By Babajide Komolafe
The Vanguard Newspaper

Use us to achieve agric change agenda, ABU urges FG

The Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria has identified training of youth in agribusiness as one of the effective ways of addressing unemployment and diversification of Nigeria’s economy, which are cardinal goals of the present administration.

The Director of the ABU’s Division of Agricultural Colleges (DAC), Professor Muhammad Y. Fatihu made this known during the 32nd joint convocation ceremony of the division, saying that DAC has the mandate of training middle class agricultural personnel who are central to the development of agriculture at the grassroots.

Fatihu however said that lack of funding is relegating the activities of the institute to the background and that has made the achievement of its mandate difficult.
He said the removal of colleges of agriculture from the beneficiaries of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (Tetfund) grants is not only negatively affecting the colleges, but discouraging youths in participating in agriculture. He therefore called on the National Assembly to facilitate the review of that Act in favour of the agricultural colleges.

The 3,534 graduands were urged to contribute their quota in the
developmental process of the country by engaging in agric related entrepreneurial ventures.

This call was made by Professor Yahaya Shehu Abubakar of the Tafawa Balewa University, Bauchi in the convocation
lecture titled; “Colleges of agriculture and entrepreneurship development: A gateway to poverty alleviation.”
Culled from The Daily Trust.

FG urged to exploit livestock agric potentials

The Manager of Yobe Livestock Development Programme, Dr Mustapha Gaidam, on Sunday advised the Federal Government to exploit the potentials in livestock agriculture to reposition Nigeria’s economy and create employment.
Gaidam told journalists in Damaturu that the sub-sector has the capacity to raise the country’s Gross Domestic Product.

He urged federal and state governments to establish livestock skill acquisition centres to train youths in poultry, animal husbandry, fish farming, dairy and beef production.

“This will address the beef, dairy, poultry and fish needs of the country to guarantee food security, generate revenue and provide employment. To make this work, government should partner with financial institutions for credit scheme to beneficiaries, while technical experts are engaged to provide technical skills,” said the general manager.

Gaidam projected an annual employment of 6,000 youths under livestock production while the skill centres would serve as centres for research and data collection for national planning.

He said the economic crunch suffered by the country should serve as a wake up call towards diversifying the economy against over dependence on oil.

“Nigeria should see the fall in oil price as an opportunity to open up other sources of revenue that will develop the economy and provide employment to the citizenry.”

The general manager said: “There are rich unexploited potentials in livestock agriculture in every part of Nigeria with the capacity to improve the economy of the citizenry and to boost revenue base of the nation.” (NAN)

Culled from The Sun.

Agriculture best sector that offers continent escape from poverty -NEPAD

The CEO of the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD), Ibrahim Assane Mayaki, has said that agriculture still remains the best sector that offers the continent escape from poverty.

He said of all the challenges that Africa faces, agriculture is one that transcends and embraces all the other. "Agriculture, which employs or provides livelihoods to 60% of the population while contributing 20-30% to Africa’s GDP, is the sector that could by itself enable to save the greatest number of Africans from extreme poverty while giving them their dignity back."

Speaking at the opening of the 12th CAADP PP which took place in Accra, he said regrettably, agriculture attracts less than 5% of lending from financial institutions in the continent, leaving farmers and agricultural enterprises starved of the capital they need to operate and grow their businesses. "Our continent today runs the risk of missing a unique opportunity to develop and offer its youth the jobs it has the obligation to provide if it wants to avoid social implosion."

The Meeting was organised around the theme “Accelerating Implementation of CAADP through Innovative Financing and Renewed Partnership."

Africa imports the equivalent of $ 50 billion of food every year. Yet more than half of the arable land unexploited in the world are on the continent!

He said to solve the agricultural equation, we must join forces and continue our efforts to define a common agricultural policy. "In 2003, in Maputo, we really started to turn the corner in laying the foundations for pan-African agricultural initiatives. The Heads of State and Government of the African Union then decided to devote 10% of their national budgets to agriculture."

He added that in 2014, in Malabo, they reiterated their commitment to further increase investment, both public and private, in agriculture. So, he said innovative financing will be key in unlocking Africa’s Green Revolution.

Innovative financing is a means of mobilising additional resources for investment in agriculture or solving long-running market failures that can unlock private investment. Now we should aim at a growth model that is public-sector enabled, and private sector scaled. Because of the rural and dispersed nature of agricultural production, where banks and formal financial institutions often lack a presence, mobile technology provides a convenient and low-cost distribution channel to reach farmers and agro-enterprises with electronic payments and information products, as well as savings, credit, and insurance products, among others. It can also help to transfer targeted financial support for small farmers and agribusiness.

Mayaki noted that investments in infrastructure will also help drive increased private investment and production in the agriculture sector. Often resulting in public goods that benefit a broad base of economic activity, investments in irrigation, transport and market infrastructure in particular are critical to improving economic returns and productivity in the agriculture sector.

The next step is to put in place a system that ensures the prices and the flow (or storage) of production, combined with a system of variable levies at the external borders of Africa (taxes on imports) protecting productions potential competition from products from outside. This will require innovative financial mechanisms and technologies as well.

He added "a proactive agricultural policy should be common because it requires us to share not only our resources, but also our minds and our wills. It should be common because it cannot be implemented without regional infrastructure, energy and logistics in particular, that will allow our farmers to compete and enter into a process of value creation. We should harness the latest innovations and technologies because Africa has no other option but to leapfrog if it wants to realize its tremendous potential.

In her opening remarks at the CAADP PP meeting, Ms Tumusiime Rhoda Peace, Commissioner for Rural Economy and Agriculture of the African Union Commission said, the only way to sustainably deliver on African agricultural commitments is to mobilize our own continental human and financial resources. “We need to build strong partnerships for an accountable and efficient implementation of the CAADP Agenda since investment in agriculture makes good economic sense,” she said.

Culled from The Vanguard Newspaper.

ABU Agric College Graduates 3,534 Students.

The Division of Agricultural Colleges (DAC), Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria on Saturday graduated a total of 3,534 students.

Speaking at the 32nd joint convocation ceremony held at ABU main campus, the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Ibrahim Garba, expressed appreciation over the growth of the college in size and scope. He observed that the college was running different courses to cater for the technical manpower needs of not only the northern region, but Nigeria at large.

Garba said that the college and the university had continued to discharge their mandate of teaching, research and community services.

The Vice-Chancellor urged the graduating students to use the skills, knowledge and training they acquired to meet new challenges in the bigger society. In his address, the Director, DAC, Prof. Mohammed Fatihu, said efforts were being made in the college to address the evolving needs of the people through the introduction of new programmes.
According to him, low funding has often delayed the progress and completion of approved projects in the college.

The director said that the removal of the college from TETFUND grants by an act of the National Assembly had also negatively affected the college.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that some of the graduating students who spoke expressed joy that they had been able to conclude their studies in the school successfully.

Culled from The Leadership Newspaper

Greenhouse tech can fill tomatoes production gap in Nigeria – Walumnbe

The gap in tomatoes production in the country currently put at about 1.4 million tonnes can be filled by the greenhouse technological concept which is capable of creating huge employment opportunity for Nigerians.

The Integrated Project Manager – Sustainable Livelihoods, Dizengoff Nigeria, Mr. Oscar Walumbe said that Nigeria consumes over 2.3 million tonnes of tomatoes annually, while it currently produces about 1.8 million tonnes locally.
Speaking at a media field day in Lagos, he said only 50% (0.9 million tonnes) of the produce makes it from farm to fork, thereby, creating an immediate gap of 1.4 million tonnes to be filled.

Walumbe said the gap is essentially filled via importation, a scenario which puts more pressure on the demand for the already scarce US dollars. He said Nigerians can now leverage on the immense opportunity offered by the Dizengoff Farmers’ Kits which can limit the foreign exchange spent on importing tomatoes annually while also providing employment for the country’s teeming but unemployed youths.

He explained that the Dizengoff farmers Kit (DFK) is a technology which was specifically developed to enable farmers produce high quality, fresh tomatoes all year round anywhere in Nigeria. The kit yields up to 4 tonnes of tomatoes in a 6-month season from a single (8m x 24m or 192m2) greenhouse; in comparison, the traditional open field tomato cultivation with best agricultural practices yields a maximum of 7 tonnes per hectare (10,000m2).

While re-iterating the commitment of the company to bridge the gap in the production of tomatoes in Nigeria with its greenhouse technological concept, he said the DFK replicated over one hectare yields 19 times more tomatoes than the traditional open field cultivation.

According to Walumbe “our greenhouse is essentially a controlled environment limiting the devastating effects of insect pests and diseases that ravage vegetables including tomatoes. It is not rain-fed but brain-fed, as it comes complete with a customised drip irrigation system. With little amount of land space and water, you are sure to get a yield far higher than your traditional open field production."

Also speaking at the media field day, the Marketing Communications Manager, Humphrey Otalor, said “as a company, we see the huge employment opportunity the greenhouse has created for Nigerians, both directly and indirectly and we believe that with participation from both the private and public sectors, the DFK will create about 1000 jobs directly and indirectly in the next 2 years”.

He added “our strategy in bridging the gap in tomatoes production is to ensure that farming is made attractive even amongst our youths, through modern technology with the greenhouse farming concept and access to quality inputs and technical support. We know that there are readily available markets for the quality of tomatoes produced in our greenhouses”.

“Nigeria is blessed with an abundance arable land which very few countries can boast of, it has the potential of not only feeding Africa but the world. Over the years, too much reliance on the now dwindling oil sector for economic growth has been the bane of the agricultural sector. However, this is the best time to start resuscitating the agricultural sector, beginning with the vegetable crops such as tomatoes, pepper, cucumber, water melon, sweet melon and the likes.

Culled from The Vanguard Newspaper.

Rural poverty in Nigeria

The Federal Republic of Nigeria has a population of more than 160 million – the largest in Africa – and a fast-growing economy. Agriculture is the mainstay of the economy, contributing about 40 per cent of GDP.

The agriculture sector employs approximately two-thirds of the country's total labour force and provides a livelihood for about 90 per cent of the rural population. Nigeria is the world's largest producer of cassava, yam and cowpea – all staple foods in sub-Saharan Africa. It is also a major producer of fish. Yet it is a food-deficit nation and imports large amounts of grain, livestock products and fish.

Nigeria's huge agricultural resource base offers great potential for growth. Recent government policies have started to show results: The agricultural sector reportedly grew by 7 per cent a year between 2003 and 2007, and at a slightly lower rate in recent years. Still, the area of land under cultivation could be doubled. Of an estimated 71 million hectares of arable land, only about half is presently under production. And there is substantial scope for an increase in irrigation, which now covers only 7 per cent of irrigable land.

Irrigation and other inputs would substantially increase average yields for major staple crops, which are below those in other developing countries.
Despite Nigeria's plentiful agricultural resources and oil wealth, poverty is widespread in the country and has increased since the late 1990s. Some 70 per cent of Nigerians live on less than US$1.25 a day.

Poverty is especially severe in rural areas, where up to 80 per cent of the population lives below the poverty line, and social services and infrastructure are limited. The country's poor rural women and men depend on agriculture for food and income. About 90 per cent of Nigeria's food is produced by small-scale farmers who cultivate small plots of land and depend on rainfall rather than irrigation systems.

The poorest groups eke out a subsistence living but often go short of food, particularly during the pre-harvest period. The productivity of the rural population is also hindered by ill health, particularly HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria.

Women play a major role in the production, processing and marketing of food crops. Yet women and households headed solely by women are often the most chronically poor members of rural communities. Men have higher social status and, as a result, more access to schooling and training.

In recent decades, the number of men migrating from rural areas in search of employment has increased, and the number of households headed solely by women has grown substantially.

Rural infrastructure in Nigeria has long been neglected. Investments in health, education and water supply have been focused largely on the cities. As a result, the rural population has extremely limited access to services such as schools and health centres, and about half of the population lacks access to safe drinking water.

Neglect of rural infrastructure affects the profitability of agricultural production. The lack of rural roads impedes the marketing of agricultural commodities, prevents farmers from selling their produce at reasonable prices, and leads to spoilage. Limited accessibility cuts small-scale farmers off from sources of inputs, equipment and new technology, and this keeps yields low.

As the population swells and puts pressure on diminishing resources, escalating environmental problems further threaten food production. Land degradation as a result of extensive agriculture, deforestation and overgrazing are already severe in many parts of the country. Drought has become common in the north, and erosion caused by heavy rains, floods and oil pollution is a major problem in the south and south-east.

Civil unrest also aggravates poverty. Religious and ethnic tensions continue to brew in different parts of Nigeria, erupting into outbreaks of violence and leading, in turn, to escalating poverty and malnutrition.

Source: International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD)

Nigeria faces risk of dying rural life, ageing rural population

A University Don and expert in Rural Development Communication, Professor Kolawole Adebayo has warned that Nigeria faces the risk of dying rural life, ageing rural population, increasing rural dependence on urban incomes, among other things should it continues to neglect rural development.

Prof Kolawole Adebayo, a First Class degree alumnus and lecturer in the College of Agricultural Management and Rural Development (COLAMRUD), who gave the warning while delivering the 52nd Inaugural Lecture of the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta (FUNAAB), Ogun State on Wednesday April 20, 2016 at the University’s Ceremonial Building, also warned that continuing neglect of rural areas may lead to implosion in urban areas, placing heavy toll on urban infrastructure, aggravating the prevalence of urban slums.

In his lecture titled, “Mercenaries and Merchants: The Dialectics of Rural Development in Nigeria, “ Prof Adebayo, who is also the University’s Director, Grants of Management, explaining that “a nation can attain agricultural development without rural development, but it is difficult to achieve rural development without agricultural development,” said available statistics show that since 1964 Nigeria has been witnessing a steady decline in rural populations and a steady rise in urban populations.

Culled from The Vanguard Newspaper

Professor Adebayo to Deliver 52 nd Inaugural Lecture

An alumnus of the University and Director, Grants of Management, Professor Kolawole Adebayo, would deliver the 52nd Inaugural Lecture of the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta. The lecture is titled, “Mercenaries and Merchants: The Dialectics of Rural Development in Nigeria", and would hold on Wednesday, April 20, 2016, at the FUNAAB Ceremonial Building, beginning at 2pm. The Vice - Chancellor, Professor Olusola Oyewole, is expected to be the Chairman and Chief Host at the event.

An expert in Rural Development Communication in the College of Agricultural Management and Rural Development (COLAMRUD), Professor Adebayo' s research interest covers the uptake and dissemination of agricultural innovations in smallholder farming systems, management and sustainable funding of rural development as well as rural livelihoods and management of the environment. Professor Adebayo's lecture is expected to x - ray the historical perspective of funding the Nigerian Agricultural Development Programmes (ADPs) from the era of World Bank support to their full transfer to state government funding and recommending the options to take in sustaining these public extension organisations.

According to him, when a country takes a loan from the World Bank, it is best to use it as an income-making venture, because the bank expects a return in its investments. Unfortunately, when a nation like Nigeria, takes a World Bank loan and it is eventually stashed away in foreign accounts, those responsible have simply mortgaged the future of the country. Therefore, to be an equal partner and a net beneficiary with other merchants in the rural development business, Nigeria needs to invest more than it borrows, use borrowed funds to create wealth for the nation and be firm in handling cases of stolen monies.

Professor Adebayo bagged a Diploma in Agriculture with distinction from the School of Agriculture, Akure, now known as the Federal College of Agriculture, Akure, in 1986 before proceeding, through Direct Entry admission, into the University of Agriculture, Abeokuta (UNAAB) in 1989, where graduated with a First Class Degree during the 1992/93 Academic Session, as the Best All- Round Graduating Student.

After his National Service at the Ekori High School, Ekori, Yakurr local council of Cross River State, Professor Adebayo was employed in the University in 1995 as a Graduate Assistant and commenced his Master of Agriculture (M. Agric) studies in 1996 under both UNAAB and the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) postgraduate scholarships. He obtained his PhD in Agricultural Extension and Rural Development in 2002 with a split-site doctoral scholarship from the Commonwealth Commission in the United Kingdom, which he utilised at the University of Reading, United Kingdom.

Professor Kola Adebayo is well recognised as a rural and international development expert, having won three consecutive research grants from the International Foundation for Science (IFS), between 2004 and 2014; the Junior Chambers International (JCI) Outstanding Young Persons Award in 2006 as well as the World Bank Development Marketplace Competitive Grant in 2008. He is an External Assessor for the University of Ghana and a Visiting Professor at the University of Greenwich, United Kingdom. He has also consulted for the United States Agency for International Development (USAID ), the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), the Federal Ministry of Environment (Nigeria) and the National Fadama Development Programme (FADAMA III).

He has bagged the FUNAAB Research Productivity Award (Senior Category) in 2014, 2015 Times Higher Education Award, as part of the cassava development team at the University of Greenwich, United Kingdom and the 2016 Queens Anniversary Award for development of the cassava sector, as part of the team, at the University of Greenwich, United Kingdom.

Professor Adebayo has held several key positions within and outside the University such as the Project Director of the second phase of the multi- million dollar, multinational CAVA II Project and Pioneer President, UNAAB Alumni Association. He has authored and co-authored more than 38 journal articles, four books, seven chapters in books, 17 published conference proceedings, four video documentaries and eight published technical reports.

Professor Adebayo' s community service efforts include the establishment of a non-governmental organisation (NGO) that focuses on livelihoods enhancement, formal education and rural development (SLIDEN AFRICA) in 2000 and the implementation of development projects such as: Trade liberalisation and sustainable environment in the export crop sector in Nigeria sponsored by UNEP in 1999-2000; commercialisation of traditional foods and sustainable rural livelihoods, sponsored by UK's DfID 1999-2000; and the development of small and medium scale enterprise sector producing cassava based products to meet emerging urban demand in West Africa, as sponsored by the European Union in 2003-2006.

Other achievements include researching into rural-urban migration, poverty and sustainable environment, as sponsored by the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 2003-2005; dynamics of the technology adoption process in rural-based cassava processing systems in Southwest, Nigeria, as sponsored by International Foundation for Science (IFS), Sweden in 2004-2006; Adding Value to Waste in the Cassava Processing-Goat Keeping Systems in Nigeria for the World Bank, 2009-2011 and Cassava: Adding Value for Africa (C:AVA), on secondment to the Natural Resources Institute, University of Greenwich, Chatham, Kent, United Kingdom and sponsored by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, 2008-2013, among others.

Culled from funaab.edu.ng

We settled claims in excess of N300m in 2014 —NAIC

Since his assumption of office in March 2014, the Managing Director of Nigerian Agricultural Insurance Corporation [NAIC) Bode Opadokun has been carrying out various structural reforms in the Federal Government owned agricultural insurance company. In this interview the NAIC boss spoke on a wide range of issues including the deployment of ICT to drive the Corporation, settlement of claims and generation of premiums under the new regime, among other sundry issues in the insurance sector. CHRIS EBONG was there. Excerpts: I want to start with the computerisation of your operations in NAIC. It was one of your mandates on assumption of office. How far have you gone in this regard?

Thank you. What we believe is that a journey of one thousand miles starts with a step. It is one thing to conceive an idea; it is another thing to implement it. The good thing about us is that we don’t just conceive an idea, we also execute it. If there is anything that has really worked for us, it is that we are doing as much as we talk. And that is a good thing that is different from what happens sometimes in an organisation.

In the area of the ICT, we have advanced. We started from the understanding of the business process. We brought in a consultant to handle things for us. l always say, we are the users of products, we are not technical persons. We don’t have the expertise to determine this software and other equipment that are okay for us. What has been happening in the past is that people make use of what is available and not what they want, for they don’t have the technical knowledge. For us not to be embarrassed or do a wrong investment, we decided to take the pain to bring in a consultant, who really understands the technicality of software usage. It started from understanding our business process, we now invited different vendors who made presentations. So, we identified the best software that offers solutions based on our own business process. The consultant is not a seller of any software. His responsibility is to serve as a consultant, as he guides us to get what we actually needed.

Though, he did not do it single-handedly, he worked with the executive committee for the ICT project as well as users. One thing is for the executive to select a software, what happens often is that people that make use of this software are the users. So, the main users were part of the selection process. We have about 28 staffs who were involved, who were users, including six executive committee members. I was the chairman of the committee. We went through the process and have a clear understanding of what we wanted before we got the software. Another good thing about the selection; it gave the users the opportunity to have a say which has helped us to get their buy-in of the usage of the software.
The implementation is fully on ground. In the next couple of months, we believe we would have finished data transfer. Data transfer is just what we started. They have done the installation. The necessary security software we need to put in place is being reviewed. The training on the part of the staff will start in a couple of weeks. We have selected about 10 staffs. For the data transfer, that one just started and it is an on-going thing. As time goes on, in the course of its usage, we will be able to see some of the things to amend and correct. But before the end of this year, it will be ready for use.

In practical terms, how does this deployment of ICT impact on the well-being and welfare of Nigerian farmers?

Yes, if there is anything that is expected of us, it is not just to settle claims. It is to settle claims and settle them promptly. The essence of bringing software is to enhance turn-around time. And also to have an error-free kind of data. There is no way you can compare things done manually and things done with the use of technology. It is going to provide accuracy of data. This will also help us as an institution to analyse the portfolios we are managing. It will impact positively when we are designing other future products that will meet the farmers needs.

And we also believe that in this age of technology, it is not even a selling point to say that your systems are computerised. It is taking for granted that your systems should be ICT driven. Don’t forget the fact that in terms of the number of farmers, we are dealing with a lot of people in micro insurance products. In signing policy, the sum assured could be N5million. This single policy could have about 200–500 farmers under the cooperative scheme. What we have been doing is to maintain a single document. But going forward by the time, we have put ICT into use, the list of all cooperative members will be identified. Whether we want to know the kind of crops that these farmers do, their locations, what is the term ratio, we will know and it will help us to do a proper analysis of our portfolios.

Have you started the implementation of the insurance component of Growth Enhancement Support [GES] Scheme? If yes, how has it been?

Yes, we have started. This is a very good question. It is something that gives me joy. We are not just conceiving ideas but we are also implementing such ideas. The good news is that we are able to do a pilot scheme of the GES insurance scheme in nine States. We are doing it with “Planting with Peace Programme[PPP]. Nine States actually participated during the dry season. The projected number of farmers who participated would have been about one million. I think, the figure we have is about 450,000 farmers participated in that pilot scheme. Out of which, about 8 per cent of these farmers bought our policy. About two weeks ago, we had 31, 000 farmers that bought our policy. We are still doing the analysis. I am sure that at the end of our analysis, it will not be less than 10 per cent of the farmers.

What do farmers stand to benefit under the scheme?

As I mentioned before, it is crop insurance that we sold. We sold it via the cell phones. That is, we attach our insurance policy to each of the bag of fertilizer the farmers buy. We made it voluntary for farmers. It is not compulsory for them. We just sensitised each of these farmers in each of the State of the Federation in conjunction with the States Ministry of Agriculture and Directors of Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Coordinators of GES in each of these States.
We educated farmers and agro-dealers on the importance of what we are doing. Thereafter, we used radio jingles in local languages to educate farmers. We explained to them what insurance is all about. We cover the risks of flood, fire, lightening, pests and diseases on the farm land. So for this planting season, any farmer that incurs loss arising from what I have mentioned will get a minimum of N20,000 compensation upon the payment of N500 as premium for each bag of fertilizer.

When do you intend to extend it to all states in the federation?

Our spread is dependent on the GES wet season implementation. Since the scheme was tailored along the redemption of fertilizer via the GES, what we are going to do is that for every season that the GES Scheme will take effect, our insurance products will always come in. As soon as the time table for the wet season is in place, we will start. That is why we will continue to do sensitisation in all the six geo-political zones in the country in their local languages. It is not a product that we are forcing down the throats of farmers, rather it is a voluntary cover we are providing for farmers who are interested. If we make them to understand the benefits, they will embrace it.

The Minister of Agriculture said he had directed NAIC management to carry out crop insurance for five million farmers across the country in 2015. What are the measures you have put in place in a bid to realise this onerous task?

What we are doing currently is crop insurance. The target is something that is doable based on the level of work that is on ground. In the last wet season farming, 8.5million famers participated under the GES programme. Unfortunately, there was no form of risk management or insurance for them at that time because it was still at the conceptualisation stage at that time. This idea of selling insurance along with fertilizer was conceived in the early part of last year. I assumed office in March 2014. The idea came up in May/June. So most of the things we were able to do, we did them before the start of dry season farming. But the mandate that was given to us is that at least 50 per cent of farmers, which today is in excess of N10million to register in the scheme. That is why I said, for the next season, we are going to sensitise farmers about this available product. Such that when they are taking their fertilizers, they are also taking their insurance policy which will guarantee them a compensation of N20,000 upon the payment of N500 for any loss arising from flood, fire, lightening, pests and diseases.

In the last one year, from January to December, how much were you able to rake in as premiums and how much did you pay as claims?

You know that our audited accounts are not ready yet. But from the records we have, we grew by about 18 per cent in terms of premiums. The total premium generated in 2014, we have surpassed it by the first quarter of this year.
In 2014, we were above N1billion premium income, what we did was in excess of N1billion. In 2013, all that we did was N878million. In the settlement of claims, we don’t have the figure yet. But we have done the excess of N300million in terms of settlement of claims in 2014.

Following the recent outbreak of Avian Influenza in some States of the Federation, you had discussions with Poultry Association of Nigeria [PAN]. What was the outcome of such meetings?

Yes, the Avian Influenza was an unfortunate incident. It caught many people unawares, considering the fact that we witnessed such outbreak not more than five years ago. Unfortunately, most of the people that were affected did not have insurance in place. Some people that have, do not have Bird Flu extension in their policies. Because Bird Flu is not something that was really available before. Following its outbreak, we have been able to approach some insurance organisations which have agreed to extend the scope of cover to bird flu with payment of additional premium. What we do in the course of selling our insurance policy, is to educate these farmers on the available products that we have. We have the standard cover for poultry. We also have one that extends the scope to take care of Avian Influenza with the payment of additional premium.
This informed our going out to educate poultry farmers because of what we experienced in recent time during the outbreak of bird flu. One thing that we did in terms of settlement of compensation, because we were part of those that designed the compensations for each of the affected famers. It is based on our own experience in the settlement of claims. We were able to do analysis taking into consideration of the type of chickens that were involved, the age, as well as the location.

Lastly, by the end of 2015, what should the Nigerian farmers expect from you in terms of achievements?

First of all, what we set out to achieve this year is to increase the level of our penetration. We intend to cover a lot of farmers. It will be further more than what have currently.

Currently, less than five per cent of farmers are assured? How do intend to scale this figure?

Yes, we are targeting about five million farmers under the GES programme. By this, we would have exceeded 20 per cent. We also take cognizance of the fact that not every farmer registered under the GES. There are some that are just operating on their own. Under the registered ones, we have over 10 million farmers. We will reach about 50 per cent of them with our insurance policy. If we are able to do this, we would have achieved 20 per cent of those who involved in one form of farming or the other. We will then say this is an achievement, we have been able to do this. In terms of micro-insurance development, we would have added to the growth of insurance industry. We will use the avenue to make people to be insurance literate. By so doing, we would have made them to understand how insurance works. By this, we would have developed the awareness of insurance culture in the country.

Culled from Champion Newspaper

Expert wants Nigeria to focus on cassava flour production

Dr Alfred Dixon, the Head, Cassava Weed Management Project, International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Ibadan, has called on Nigeria to focus more on high quality cassava flour production.

Dixon gave the advice in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Ibadan. He said cassava flour could generate enough income for the country as the price of crude oil continues to fall in the international market, stressing that “this is the right time for Nigeria to diversify its economy to agriculture.

“Cassava is one of the crops that should be considered because Nigeria is a global leader in its production; the country needs to increase its production.’’

The IITA official also advised the Federal Government to concentrate on starch production “because of its added value and its high demand for both native and modified starch in Nigeria.’’

Dixon said for the country to improve cassava flour export, it should work on the value chain. He added that “to work along the value chain from production to market, one has to consider productivity and adding values. To add value to a product that is desired in the market, one has to be competitive and being competitive means that one has to lower the cost of production. Lowering the production cost will ensure that the product sells at a price where one can take care of the production cost and also have good profit.’’

He said the cost of cassava production was currently high in Nigeria.

He noted that “there were plans to export cassava chips to China but it was realised that the cost of production was higher than the price Chinese offered for the chips.
“But with training and improved agronomic practices now, our farmers can get at least 25 to 30 tonnes per hectare and add value during processing and I think we can now export cassava.’’ (NAN)

Culled from The Peoples Daily.

Nigeria can compete with the rest of the world in rice production – JICA Rep

Mr Nakamura Hirotaka, Chief Representative of Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), says Nigeria with its rich environment, has potential to compete with other countries of the world in rice production.
Hirotaka made the assertion in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja.

He stressed the importance of Rice Post-Harvest and Marketing Pilot Project (RIPMAPP) technology in boosting rice production in the country.

NAN reports that JICA, in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD) recently concluded a workshop on RIPMAPP technology to upgrade the knowledge of local farmers in rice production.

According to the JICA official, the post-harvest system consists of a set of operations which cover the period from harvest through to consumption.
He stated further that an efficient post-harvest system was necessary to minimise losses and maintain the quality of the crop until it reaches the final consumer.

‘’When food losses are minimised, both food security and income increase, and this is of vital importance for small and medium farmers, particularly in developing countries.’’

Hirotaka said as Nigeria continued in its rice self sufficiency plan, RIPMAPP technology, under its integrated rice farming project has unveiled techniques to increase local farmers’ prospect and strategist of other developed societies.

‘’What the workshop has done is enormous, and it is my belief that if FMARD will continue to put the local farmers through with the emergence of this technology, there will be great harvest in rice production. In addition, the country will compete favourably with other agriculturally developed countries of the world in rice production, following its rich environment."

‘’In few years time, Nigeria will be able to bridge the demand and supply gap with the pursuit in its self-sufficiency in rice production, ‘’ he said.

According to him, rice production through adopting RIPMAPP technology, will drastically reduce foreign exchange spending on rice importation.
Hirotaka, however, reiterated JICA’s commitment to assist Nigeria in ensuring that the country sustains the RIPMAPP technology to boost rice production. (NAN)

Culled from The Peoples Daily.

Averting economic recession in Nigeria via agriculture

Nigeria’s economy has been forecast to be amongst the top 20 largest in the world by 2030, according to a recent report of Bloomberg — one of the world’s leading financial services firms — on the new world economic order.

Nigeria is ranked 19th, just above Netherlands, which is graded 20th in the recent forecast report.
Recent global economy reports have placed Nigeria as one of the fastest growing economies in the world; reports which tallied with 2014 re-based Gross Domestic Product (GDP) figures that placed Nigeria as the largest economy in Africa, pushing South Africa to the second position.
Cheering as the Bloomberg’s survey may look; leading economic indicators suggest that the Nigerian economy may be heading for an economic recession, unless urgent steps are taken to avert a repeat of the1980 recession.

Economic experts say that an economic recession implies a fall in real GDP, adding that it also connotes a period of negative economic growth for two consecutive quarters in an economy. They say that economic recession is primarily caused by a fall in aggregate demand — total spending on goods and services — due to several factors such as financial crisis, rise in interest rates or fall in asset prices, among others.

The experts maintain that the main features of a recessive economy include higher interest rates, which reduce borrowing and investment; falling real wages and falling consumer confidence.

It is also a period of deflation with falling prices, which often encourages people to delay spending, while causing deflation to increase the real value of debt; thus, making debtors to be worse off. Although this development causes appreciation in currency exchange rates, it often makes imports expensive, while reducing demand for exports.

Mr Suleiman Muhammed, a Lokoja-based economic analyst, said that although the Nigerian economy could not be said to have gone into recession per se, it was very necessary to introduce some proactive measures to forestall the development.

This is not to suggest that President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration is not mindful of the repercussions of the imminent economic recession, as it is taking the necessary steps to avert it. For instance, the Vice-President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, said that plans were underway to create a 25-billion-dollar fund with public and private financing to modernise the country’s infrastructure and avoid an economic recession.

The situation has provoked the government and enlightened observers to ponder on practical ways of saving the nation from the looming economic recession. For instance, President Buhari, in his address at the conference of the Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA), called for more private investments in the agricultural sector of the economy.

He said that increased investments in the agricultural sector remained the best way to unlock the country’s economic potential and curb its excessive dependence on oil revenues. “Growing our own food, processing what we produce, becoming competitive in export markets and creating jobs all across the economy are crucial for our national security,” he said.

Buhari, who noted that the agricultural sector was the largest contributor to the country’s GDP, pledged that his administration planned to make Nigeria self-sufficient in rice production within the next two years.

The president said that since Nigeria was one of the world’s largest producers of agricultural products like cassava, improved investments in agriculture would boost the country’s exports and lessen its dependence on proceeds from petroleum.

Buhari said that enhanced private-sector investments in agriculture would also facilitate the fulfilment of government’s efforts to diversify the economy, adding that Nigeria had immense agricultural potential.
His words: “Nigeria has huge agricultural potential with over 84 million hectares of arable land, of which only 40 per cent is currently cultivated. The country also has some of the richest natural resources for agricultural production in the world. The urgency of unlocking our agricultural potential is even more pertinent because Africa spends about 35billion U.S. dollars annually on food imports. Agriculture should no longer be treated as a development programme; agriculture must henceforth be treated as a business.’’

However, Dr Tunde Arosanyin, the National Technical Adviser, All Farmers Association (AFAN), underscored the need for increased investments in the agricultural sector, saying that Nigeria was facing several economic challenges which included decline in oil prices and over-dependence on imports.

He said that the other challenges were poor infrastructural facilities such as electricity, roads and water, which inhibited secondary production and industrial growth, as well as corruption and insecurity.

He stressed the wisdom in addressing the challenges pragmatically, insisting that at the moment; Nigeria ought not to be importing products like textiles, biscuits, fruit juice, rice and sugar.

Arosanyin added that considering the vast agricultural potential of the country, it should be able to produce these products, among others, locally. “It is unfortunate that the Nigerian economy is driven by proceeds from crude oil in the last 40 years.
“The way forward is for the present administration in the country to tackle the problems head-on by focusing its attention on the structured development of agriculture, solid minerals and tourism sectors.
“In driving this policy, the Federal Government should invite technocrats and tested professionals with proven track record to generate a blueprint on how to develop and diversify the economy,’’ he said.

Arosanyin, however, emphasised that the government’s agricultural policy include immediate, medium-term and long-term actions and programmes.
He said that if agriculture sector was well-funded and properly developed, the government’s efforts to avert any economic recession would be fruitful.
He argued that agriculture, apart from solving hunger and food security problems, was also capable of generating over millions of job opportunities; thus reducing the menace of unemployment.

Sharing similar sentiments, Mr Devakumar Edwin, the Group Executive Director of Dangote Group of Companies, said that tangible efforts should be made to reduce the effects of the collapse of crude oil prices in the international market on the nation’s economy. He stressed the salvation of the Nigerian economy would largely depend on increased agricultural production and local manufacturing.

Edwin underscored the need to fully exploit the vast agricultural potential of Nigeria in efforts to restructure the national economy. He called on entrepreneurs to invest in agricultural and manufacturing projects to speed up the country’s economic growth.

All in all, analysts believe that increased investments in Nigeria’s agricultural sector will spur the country’s development, while ensuring its economic revival and guarding against any economic recession. NAN

Culled from Peoples Daily.

FG to distribute 73 motorised harvesters to oil palm farmers – Official

The Minister of State for Agriculture and Rural Development, Sen. Heineken Lokpobori, said the Federal Government will provide 73 motorised harvesters for farmers to boost oil palm production in the country.

This is contained in a statement signed by the Director, Information and Protocol in the ministry, Mr Tony Ohaeri and was made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja.

The statement stated that the minister made the pledge when he received a delegation of the Oil Palm Growers Association (OPGAN) in his office.
“The Federal Government has procured 73 motorised oil palm harvesters to ease the suffering and loss that the farmers experience while harvesting and also to help in providing quality and world standard palm oil.
“The motorised harvester will be given to the farmers at a subsidised price and that farmers will be trained on how the harvester will be operated,’’ he said.

The minister said government was committed to helping the farmers’ access single digit loan from the CBN; Bank of Agriculture and Bank of Industry to boost production and attain food security.
On land tenure and site clearing, Lokpobori said the Federal Government would partner with states and the communities to achieve the required result.

He said that state governments would be sensitised and encouraged to key in to the programme to support farmers as food security had become everybody’s concern.

Earlier, the National President of the Association, Mr. Hilary Uche, commended the Federal Government for responding to the plight of oil palm producers.

He urged the government to further assist farmers with high yielding seeds, pointing out about nine million high yielding seeds were needed by the group to meet national demand. (NAN)

Culled from The Peoples Daily.