Saturday, 18 March 2017

Lifeline for entrepreneurs, as the cooperative warehouse opens


A section of the newly opened TCW outlet in Ikeja, Lagos
Leads Buy Made In Nigeria Campaign
In line with the resolve to diversify the country’s economy away from oil, the current administration has initiated different schemes and programmes aimed at supporting entrepreneurs and small business to boost production. While some come in form of grants, other come as loans, most times with one digit interest rate.
However, one of the greatest challenges faced by small businesses, especially in the consumer-products segment, is overcoming the existing brand loyalties in the marketplace. Large, entrenched competitors spend millions of dollars over many years to etch their brand identities in consumers’ minds, leading to self-reinforcing cycles of repeat purchase behavior that can be difficult to overcome. Therefore, convincing consumers to try new products, especially when they are made in Nigeria, is a key to overcoming this challenge.
In a bid to provide a viable platform for Nigerian entrepreneurs and small businesses to market their products, a group of young Nigerians have teamed up to set up The Cooperative Warehouse (TCW). Located in Alausa area of Ikeja, Lagos, the store, with online presence, creates opportunity for entrepreneurs to subscribe and display their products.
According to Deji Soyemi, a Director in the organisation, “the idea behind The Cooperative Warehouse, like the name implies, is bringing together entrepreneurs, people that have products to sell, people that are looking for a platform to display their products. Maybe you are farmer and you want to bring your product in a controlled environment, in a market place. So, it’s a cooperative of entrepreneurs that bring in their products to display,” he said.
Though TCW takes inventory as well, the approach is entirely different from that of a retail store like Shoprite and the rest.
“It’s a bit different from the retail that we normally know. For instance, in a retail environment like Shoprite or other ones you know, they are the ones that control their inventory, so, they order what they want and they are the ones that kind of own their store. But with TCW, we have people that actually subscribe to a space in the shop and have the right to bring in their products, so, they are kind of in partnership with us. So, they supply and we manage the products for them at obviously a controlled price; because we are getting wholesale, we pass that to our customers,” Soyemi hinted.
Arranged in different categories such as clothing, fashion and others, the store allows individuals or cooperatives to subscribe for a space in the shop and display their products, while TCW staff handles the actual sales and remit to the suppliers.
“The good thing is that this platform is not just for people here in Nigeria; people in diaspora can also take advantage of this platform. A lot of them are looking at business to do in Nigeria and they don’t want to be sending good to relations and family friends; we’ve heard stories of people mismanaging their funds. They don’t have a platform here because they stay abroad, but this is an opportunity for them to sell their products by partnering with us. We have a system here that notifies the supplier when a product goes off the counter; it’s very transparent,” he said.Aside from helping entrepreneurs market their products, the bigger picture for the platform is to help promote made in Nigeria brands.
“Of course, we want to promote made in Nigeria goods; that’s one of the ways to get our of the present economic situation. We’ve put in so much in IT cost; we’ve put in so much in getting the right location and right price. We’ve put in so much in marketing, digital and everything and we are just telling you, ‘look, you don’t have to worry, we will manage your products for you.’ You might be someone having a small farm in Ota, Ogun State, you do snails and you want to market it, you can speak with us,” he said.
Though the store is open to all entrepreneurs, there are rules and regulations for subscription.
“We obviously have rules and regulation; if you are bringing edible products, of course you need to have NAFDAC registration. But what we are saying is that we are going to give you a platform where you can display your goods and we do the marketing. I know the government is also empowering different cooperatives and team funding groups. As a unit, they may not be able to affords a store, but they can come together as a group and say, ‘we want to start selling garri in bulk. Now, we are talking about volumes; we are giving something back to the supplier in terms of volume and we are giving something back to the consumers,” he noted.

Source: The Guardian

Wednesday, 8 March 2017

Agriculture beyond lip service

A buzzword is a word or expression that is fashionable to use at a certain time or place after which its usage diminishes. Buzzwords can be used to simplify concepts and ease understanding. But many people use buzzwords without knowing their meaning. For instance, many public officials use buzzwords not to convey factual meaning but to show-off their new knowledge, make their audiences feel on the same page and attract attention. If used in appropriate context and with knowledge of their meaning, buzzwords enrich presentations and help users connect with their audience.
Buzzwords are relished by the media and politicians. Michael Loughlin in his 2002 article ”On the buzzword approach to policy formation”, argues that buzzwords are used in contexts which “privileges rhetoric over reality, producing policies that are ‘operationalized’ first and only ‘conceptualized’ later” and the resulting political speech is always “eschewing reasoned debate and instead employing language exclusively for the purposes of control and manipulation”.Now how buzzwords are related to value chains?
Value chains refer to activities that bring a product from conception through the phases of production, delivery to final consumers and, disposal after use. Agrofood value chain development (VCD) engages stakeholders in promoting chain improvement. Successful VCD requires positive mindsets of stakeholders, creates a platform for activities’ co-ordination with a goal to create shared benefit. VCD is presently a trending buzzword because evidence suggests VCD alleviates poverty and improves food security. VCD is spearheaded by governments, private sector and non-profits. But, how is VCD connected to lip service?
Lip service is the verbal expression of agreement to something unsupported by real conviction or action. It is hypocritical, insincere support expressed for something without action. Since Nigeria realised that one day oil will stop being the backbone of her economy, politicians became fond of verbally expressing their support for agriculture as the route to avoiding impending financial Armageddon. However, this insincere support has never been backed by conviction or action. Now that the trending issue in agriculture is value chains, in their usual manner, politicians have started perfunctory use of value chains with intention to impress, not improve agriculture.
Some instances may help to buttress this point. In August 2015, President Muhammadu Buhari, while receiving the President of IFAD (International Fund for Agricultural Development) who was on a visit, urged Nigerians to stop paying lip service to agriculture and invest in the sector. He admitted that the All Progressives Congress (APC) campaigned heavily with agriculture and promised to use agriculture as alternative to dwindling oil revenue.
The question is:  Is it the first time such a statement would be made and no action taken? Certainly not! In November 2016, the House of Representatives in plenary warned the Federal Government of Nigeria to stop paying lip service to agriculture by theorising that agriculture is the way to diversify the nation’s economy. This happened as Rep Emmanuel Akpan of Akwa Ibom moved a motion for the revival of large-scale production of oil palm in the country. Other members hailed the motion as a wake-up call to the executive to implement aspects of the motion.
Celebrating the World Food Day in Port Harcourt in October 2016, the Rivers State Commissioner for Agriculture, Mrs.Onimim Jack, a law graduate, said the event was aimed at bringing together stakeholders in agriculture value chain to showcase and educate farmers and the public on agricultural procedures, technologies and best practices. I began to wonder what best practices can be taught to farmers in a single day’s event. Situations where politicians in the executive and the legislature advise the public to stop paying lip service to value chain development or just passing the buck are alarming. It means they are showing off a trending buzzword or lack ideas on what to do. The cost of their ignorance is huge to the economy.
In November 2016, Dr Sanginga, the DG of International Institute for Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Ibadan, while addressing the IITA Board said Africa should stop paying lip service to agriculture because it will cost Africa $110 billion in food imports by 2025. Nigeria has the largest population in Africa and is the continent’s top food importer. So, the warning applies to Nigeria more than any other African country.
Agriculture Minister, Mr. AuduOgbe, a French graduate, in July 2016 lamented Nigeria’s expenditure (I would say ‘waste’) of $20 billion USD annually on importing food items like rice, wheat, sugar, fish and others. At the present exchange rate of N500 to a USD, it means Nigeria wastes TEN TRILLION NAIRA. Besides high food import bills,  other effects of  lip service across the agriculture chain include poor consumer protection, poor support for agriculture research and uptake; no loans or loans with difficult hurdles for farmers; inconsistent agriculture sector policies; poor electricity supply, transportation system, storage facilities; weak market access and the like. We need solutions to problems.
The solution is multidimensional. First, we need agricultural professionals to oversee agriculture ministries. The good work of Dr Akinwumi Adesina an Agricultural Economics graduate, as the Minister of Agriculture under Dr. Goodluck Jonathan is self-evident. Ministerial advisers can only advise; but when the Minister is clueless, the wrong advice will be used.
We need a functional agrologistics system. Netherlands, one of the top countries in agrofood value chains development is also the top in agrologistics in the world. Nigeria needs serious upgrade of roads, rail, water, air transport and internet infrastructure, the backbone of logistics. Agricultural value chains cannot develop with underdeveloped agrologistics.
Private sector contribution to agrofood chains development cannot be ignored. In serious countries, agrofood chains are powered by private sector encouraged by government-enabled business environment like strong security; functional public infrastructure; strong legal system, currency and favourable ease of doing business.
The mentality that agrofood development means exposing unemployed youth and women to one-week training and providing them with double- digit thousands of naira to start agro-allied businesses in the name of empowering them for value chain development must change. To create high impact, big and tested entrepreneurs must be encouraged to invest in agriculture.
The rush for primary agricultural products’ export when local food demand is not yet satisfied is not in our best interest. A case in point is the recently celebrated demand by the Chinese for Nigeria’s yam. Nigeria should first develop value chains to provide food and income for Nigerians before going global. What is happening in the oil sector where crude oil is cheaply sold and value-added petroleum products are imported exorbitantly must be avoided in agriculture. Applying these solutions in sincerity and commitment would develop our agrofood value chains sector.
Source: The Nation

Nigerian youths take to agriculture amidst prospects and challenges


Agriculture
By Gbenga Akinfenwa

The recent decision by the Federal Government to set up a task force on food security appears to be a welcome development in the light of daily astronomical increase in price of food commodities.
But the initiative specifically aimed at curbing the rising cost of food items, appears to be a fire-brigade approach, considering the failure of government to live up to its billings in developing the agricultural sector before now.
Since the present administration assumed office, it has been making endless promises of introducing measures to diversify the economy, by devoting more resources to agriculture, especially in the 2017 budget. One of the major challenges facing farmers in the country, according to stakeholders, is lack of support from government, in terms of funds and information.

Government, through the Bank of Industry (BoI) and Bank of Agriculture (BoA), has constantly announced provision of loan facilities to farmers, but when it comes to accessing the funds, the criteria is always stringent. This has not only discouraged farmers, who toil day and night, with little or nothing to show for their labour, especially with the issue of wastages leaving tons of produce rotten. It has also discouraged most youths, who studied agriculture to seek money-spinning vocations, as alternatives.
But at a time when young Nigerians, especially graduates are running from taking on agriculture as a vocation, some have taken exception to this, adding innovation and modern agricultural practices to the system.
Despite lack of support from government, they have been able to weather the storm and are really making impact. One of them is Ahmed Adedire, a graduate of Industrial Chemistry from University of Ilorin, Kwara State, who presently cultivates an acre of tomato farm in Wasimi, Ewekoro Local Council of Ogun State.
Though the appearance of the Osun State born farmer doesn’t portray him as one, but the fact is that he owns more than the tomato plantation. He is into Integrated Farming-he cultivates cucumber, pepper, rice and also operates poultry and fish farms.
One of the advantages of the system is that through it, farmers can make enormous profit, because the season and climate change always determine their profits. He noted that if the season doesn’t favour pepper, it will favour cucumber, if it doesn’t favour cucumber, it would favour rice.
“The reason for integrated farming is that the output of one, will be the input of others. Like the poultry, the wastes are used for the tomatoes, peppers, cucumber and rice farms. The water from the fish ponds section can be used to wet the plantations, when it is dry season. That gives us the advantage.”
He told The Guardian that he enjoys patronage from market women, who travels from Lagos and neighbouring communities to buy his farm produce, noting that the demand is always higher than supply.
For his tomato farm, he said: “There has never been a time when we harvest and we don’t get market for the produce. The problem we are facing is pricing. If the harvest time falls within the period when there are no too many tomatoes in market, we would get good pricing and good profit but if it is otherwise, we always record losses. That is why we always target a period when the price will be good, a period when tomatoes from the North will not be available.
“The North is good in cultivating tomatoes, we cannot compete with them because we don’t produce en masse. Besides they also enjoy government’s support, which makes them to always beat down their price,” he said.
Adedire, who claimed he has no agric background, but just decided to do something on his own after working in I.T and a real estate company in Lekki, Lagos, said one of the challenges of tomato cultivation is the fact that it is susceptible to diseases because of its moisture, adding that the climate in this part of the country doesn’t really support tomato like the North.
“We always watch out for pests and diseases that can come at anytime.”Mr. Owoeye Olusoji, is a student of Engineering at the Yaba College of Technology, Yaba, Lagos. He is into piggery business and is a member of the Zion Farmers Multipurpose Cooperative Society, Gudugba, located along the Lagos/Abeokuta expressway, Ewekoro Council Area, Ogun State. He has been operating the farm in the last five years
He is one of the pig farmers who stayed back during the outbreak of the dreaded plague-African Swine Fever (ASF), which ravaged pig farms in some parts of the country in 2007. Those who abandoned the business, due to the setback never looked back.
According to him, now, that demand is increasing due to influx of buyers from neighbouring countries of Togo and Benin Republic, pig breeders are struggling to meet up with supply.
He noted that one of their major challenges is the rising cost of feed and other inputs. According to the pig breeder, a ton of feed, which sold for N20, 000 is now N38, 000, while a bag of the feed formerly N800 is now N2,000.
Mr. Dayo Anjorin, is a young cucumber farmer, who has made the fruit readily available to sellers and consumers in Epe area of Lagos State. Relating his experience, which spans over four years, Anjorin said he ventured into cucumber farming, because cucumber has potentials of high yield in a short duration, noting that nonetheless, passion, knowledge, close monitoring and tenacity is essential to achieving great results, just as of any business.
According to the crop farmer, cultivation of the fruit requires lots of soil nutrients to achieve a bountiful harvest.“I always ensure the soil is adequately nourished. However, many farmers lack the technical-know how, hence they harvest below their potential. Presently, we harvest 536 bags from eight plots of land, which is still below our expectation.”
‘Government Is Not Doing Enough To Motivate Youths Into Agriculture Before Now’ 

From Alemma-Ozioruva Aliu, Benin City
As the federal government continues to push for interests and investment in agriculture sector of the economy, the government of Godwin Obaseki has earmarked not less than 2,500 hectres of land to be given to people for agricultural purposes. Majority of the target participants are youths that would be gainfully engaged before the end of his first term in office.
Among the youths who before now believed in agriculture and keyed into it is an activist advocating for good governance and youth empowerment, Osaro Iyamu Culture, a graduate of Mathematics from the University of Benin. He calls himself and “agropreneur” and believes there is hope for young farmers in the present administration.
“What we have been seeing in Edo state is individual efforts, government has not really invested in agriculture until the present government came into office. From our own investigations, the governor is willing to invest in agriculture owing to the fact that as we speak, he has already mapped out about 2,500 hectares of land for youths. We hope that they will release these lands for young people. He has also said that he would release soft loans to those who will use those hectares of land and will give them tractors, farming implements and tractors and seedlings. As we speak we are already in touch with the state government through the office of the Secretary to State Government (SSG) who has also assured us that the government will open the door of opportunity for young people to come so that they could be engaged in agriculture.”

 
He said he believes in an egalitarian society that is achievable with huge contribution from the agric sector.He, however, called for governments at all levels to create conducive environment for them to thrive
“First, the environment must be attractive for young people to go into agriculture, there must be steady power supply and there must be good road network. Government must endeavour to release loans or grants to farmers so that they can be encouraged to engage in agriculture, because is the life wire of any economy.
“Let us for instance use Niger Delta as a case study, there is a shortfall of food supply in the region, but if you go to the northern part of the country, they are not complaining of hunger. The only problem they are facing there is over-population. The governments there (both state and local governments) are working in partnership to provide land, to till land for farmers, give them soft loans and even encourage financial institutions to support their efforts, but here in South-South, South-East, the governors have not been responsive to our calls.
“Over the time, we called them to fix these problems. Even though, we know it is their responsibility to provide power, it is also the responsibility of the state to at least complement the efforts of financial institutions so that they can release soft loans, provide land, tractors, farm machineries needed by farmers and seedlings to encourage young people to farm.”

Young Farmer Laments Government Abandonment Of Farm Land In Ikorodu 
By Tobi Awodipe
ONE of the Lagos State government’s farm centres is situated at Odogunyan in Ikorodu, few kilometers away from the heart of the town. Popularly called Fish Farm, it was initially created as an Inputs Supply Authority, an arm of the Ministry of Agriculture to serve as a one-stop for agricultural and farming produce, but sadly, the purpose has been lost over the years.
Spanning several acres, the farm boasts of fish ponds, piggeries, poultries, farmlands and so on.Though the place is still very much in use, it is not optimally utilised, as a good portion of the land is not in use and resources, equipment and workers are scarce and far in between.
The Guardian was taken round the farm by one of the second-generation owners and he was full of lamentations. Speaking on the condition of anonymity, one of the owners disclosed that the land originally belonged to the state government but has been leased to several families, one of which he belongs to. His father is the original leaser, but due to his age, he (the son) took over operations some years ago. He revealed that he grows vegetables and runs a poultry, but the state and federal governments are frustrating them daily.
According to him, farming is a lucrative venture once the farmer was passionate about it. He added that most people were usually interested in short term crops that bring quick returns and neglected long term farming and this was responsible for the high cost of food items like yam and rice. He admitted that the dry season was extremely profitable for them as most people did not plant and the few that planted could fix prices as they liked. When asked why most people refused to plant during the dry season, he revealed water was a problem for them, which discouraged many.
Speaking further, he revealed that though there was a government office right on the farm, they did next to nothing for them. “They don’t provide us with seedlings, feed, machines, equipment, chemicals, fertilizer or manure, in fact, we get nothing from them. No provision has ever been made for us; the families dug the boreholes you see here. We are forced to buy seedlings and other things outside and this is more expensive, so we pass the cost onto the consumers. We are not even asking them to give us these things free, they can lease out machines and sell the seedlings, fertilizer and manure at subsidized costs, which is what we need from them. But are the machines even available? They collect all kinds of dues from us and give us nothing in return.”
Revealing that they do not have any issues with security as the place was usually well guarded, he sadly revealed that the government was only paying lip service with the issue of farming, as the most basic framework- food security- was not yet in place.
“By now, we are supposed to be planning ahead and having 3-4 years supply of food stored in silos and preservation should be common place. The government is just going round in circles. We need over 10, 000 tractors presently, other equipment that farmers in other countries take for granted. When are we going to have plane sprayers that spray entire farms at once? We are still using the old methods of farming our fathers used and we are talking about export and food security. There are no means of preservation available, lots of produce waste daily.”
According to him, the farm had no hatchery and they have to travel to Ibadan to get them, where many die due to heat before arriving the farm. He implored the federal and state governments to make better working plans for agriculture and put in place people that knew what they were doing. “The people in charge of these farms don’t know what they’re doing. They are supposed to visit us and help with our issues but I can tell you confidently that I haven’t seen them at all this year and we are in March. Government has no plans for farmers and agriculture and it pains me to see that things are not working the way they should because we have become lazy and over-dependent on importation. No nation can grow when you import everything.”
‘Lack Of Govt Support, Impatience Major impediment To Youths’ Involvement In Farming’
By Daniel Anazia
AKEEM Feyistan is one of the new generation farmers and agro-entrepreneur. A graduate of Agriculture from the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta (FUNAAB), Ogun State and one of the first beneficiaries of Agriculture Youth Empowerment Scheme (Agric-YES).
 
According to Feyistan, the initiative by Lagos State government is aimed at empowering youths within the state, who have passion for farming, irrespective of their state of origin. He stated there is still wide gap in the agricultural sector of the Nigerian economy, which has large market and can contribute sufficiently to the nation’s gross domestic product (GDP).
  
With 10 years experience, Feyistan noted that prior to the discovery of oil in Nigeria, unemployment was not a major macroeconomic threat as anyone who was agile had no reason to be idle; food was sufficient and youths were gainfully employed as they engaged in farming. But the oil boom era despite the goodies associated, also came with a plague that resulted in the decline of the agriculture sector share of the nation’s GDP, as everyone abandoned farming for oil.   
  
He said: “While we as a nation busied ourselves relishing the crude oil largesse, we failed to take into consideration the end results and ripple effects of oil on the other sectors of the economy, in particular agriculture. This as you know was the genesis of unemployment in Nigeria.”
On why most Nigerian youths are not taking to farming, the youth activist said the reason is not far-fetched, hinging his answer on impatience.
“A lot of youths don’t have patience, and farming requires patience as it take a lot of process.
 
“Despite my background as a graduate of Agriculture, I still subject myself to further training, by enrolling for the Lagos State Agriculture Youth Empowerment Scheme (Agric YES). I must say that I’m lucky to be among the pioneers of the scheme. Foreign experts from Israel trained us in various aspects of farming such as fishery, poultry and vegetable.
“After the training, we were made to undergo internship in well-developed farms, before being settled by the Lagos State government in Poka Araga, Epe. Because poultry has the quickest level of return on investment (ROI), is the reason virtually everyone of us are into poultry.”
To him, farming has always been his passion; reason he chosen to be part of the pioneer set of the Lagos Agric YES. Asked how he has been able to manage the challenges associated with poultry farming, the Ogun State native said: “Farming requires daily field experience, stressing that there is a wide gap between theories taught in the classroom and field assessment.’

‘FADAMA Projects Have Helped Young Farmers’
By Shakirah Adunola
Speaking to The Guardian, a FADAMA consultant, Tunde Abdulsalam said that FADAMA projects have assisted farmers in the area of acquisition of right technologies, improved varieties of planting materials and other inputs.
He said: “It also provides ancillary services like farm mechanisation support, free on farm mechanization support, consultancy as well as market guarantee through linkage to off taker.
It encourages the youth to embrace Agro processing in which they get 100% grant. With this, many agropreneurs have been raised and they are being positioned to be the next generation of nation’s feeders.
“Government should relax some of the preconditions for accessing benefits, especially at the state level such as provision of land, free registration as cooperative societies, provision of modern machinery to clusters of farmer groups etc. Local council could assist with provision of beneficiaries’ equity contributions to access grants.”

Credit: The Guardian

FG Returns Federal Agric Universities to the Ministry of Agriculture

Nigeria’s Federal Universities of Agriculture have been returned from the supervision of the Ministry of Education to the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.
Minister of Agriculture and Rural development – Chief Audu Ogbeh who made the disclosure at a recent stakeholders meeting with Vice Chancellors and Governing Boards of the universities in Abuja, said returning the universities to their original supervisory ministry was aimed at refocusing the institutions to fulfil their core mandates. Describing the move as one informed by sound reasoning and logic, the minster stated that the universities are expected to train Nigerian youths in agriculture, help to move agriculture forward and proffer solutions to the challenges faced in the sector especially in the area of research.
Chief Ogbeh regretted the long departure of the universities from agricultural disciplines to non-agriculture courses such as accounting, engineering and medicine etc. which were being thought in the schools and directed that only agriculture-related disciplines be thought, assuring of government’s provision of funds and grants for research.
“Your return will effectively help us to reposition the three universities of agriculture as centres of excellence for the rapid development of the agriculture sector. There is no place where the competence and capacity to drive agriculture resides outside the Universities of Agriculture. We need to achieve a hunger-free Nigeria. Henceforth, students who are not interested in becoming farmers should be made to seek admission elsewhere. We are determined to offer you the necessary support for your transformation, for research for a healthier realm of discovery and self-actualisation’’ Chief Ogbeh said.
Chairman, House Committee on Agricultural Production and Services – Hon. Mohammed Munguno pledged the support of the National Assembly through relevant amendments to ensure proper domiciliation of the institutions in the ministry of Agriculture.
Vice-Chancellor, Micheal Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike, Abia – Prof. Anya O. Anya, who spoke on behalf of  his colleagues applauded the Federal Government’s decision and expressed the hope that the domiciliation of the universities in the ministry would help revamp the agricultural sector.
fmard

Source: 

Nigeria yet to adopt GMOs, genetic technology in agriculture – Ogbeh

The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Audu Ogbeh, says Nigeria has not adopted Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) or genetic technology in agriculture and food production.
The minister said this when he appeared on a News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) Forum in Abuja.
Ogbeh said that although genetic modifications had been taking place in America, Nigeria had yet to adopt the technology to boost its food production.
He said that the Federal Government was, however, repositioning its research institutes and universities of agriculture across the country to conduct research on how to boost agricultural production and attain food security.
“I am aware there is skepticism, not to say fear.
“But the Americans will say that the Europeans are simply jealous, that as far as they are concerned, genetic modification is permanently taking place; that is what they say.
“Bees carry pollen from one plant to another and transfer characters; so, the Americans are at ease with it (GMOs). The Europeans say no, they will rather settle for hybrid seeds.
“We officially have not yet embraced GMOs, we are watching.
“This is why the research institutes and the universities have to concentrate on agriculture. That is their job: checking these things and making sure they find solutions to it,’’ he said.
Ogbeh expressed concern over the ageing farming population in the country.
He said that the Federal Government had been encouraging youths as well as women to engage in agriculture to boost food production in the country.
On the Federal Government’s Growth Enhancement Support (GES) scheme, the minister said that the N30 billion, which the government owed agro-dealers, would soon be defrayed.
Describing the scheme as a good initiative, Ogbeh, nonetheless, said that it was marred by corruption and abuses by the dealers.
He said that claims for seeds alone in the GES scheme totaled over N9 billion.
The minister said that the government was restructuring the Bank of Agriculture (BoA) to ensure the reduction of interest rates on loans to seven per cent.
According to him, if this happens, the GES scheme will no longer be necessary.
He, however, assured farmers of the Federal Government’s support via the provision of improved seeds and modern equipment to make farming easier.

Source: BusinessDay

Nigeria poultry farmers experience increased sale, commend govt ban on importation

Poultry farm

Poultry farmers in Ilorin have commended the Federal Government for banning importation of poultry products.
The farmers, who spoke in separate interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria in Ilorin on Sunday expressed their delight as demand for chicken and other poultry products increased following the ban.
A poultry farmer, Samuel Ishola, whose farm is located in Olunlade, a suburb of Ilorin, said that he witnessed a rise in demand of broilers unlike few years back when he resulted into begging people to buy.
Mr. Ishola said the government had done well to encourage poultry farmers as the ban on importation of chicken had forced a huge number of customers to patronise them.
“Since the ban on importation of turkey, I now witness a huge crowd that is now interested in my broilers every day.
“We the poultry farmers benefit a lot from that government policy as we feel encouraged and enjoy the way our customers now settle for the domestic chicken instead of opting for the imported,’’ he said.
Another farmer, Leke Ayoola, described the ban on imported chicken as a blessing as every poultry farmer now had a market as demand increased for the livestock product.
Ayoola said he was forced to increase his poultry pen due to high patronage by the customers, adding that he extended his poultry farm to meet up with customers’ demand.
“Before, I use to raise like 200 to 300 broilers; but now I’m happy that I have like 400 to 500 broilers inside my poultry pen and I have customers that always come for it.
“I sell to hotels, restaurants, private individuals as they now prefer to buy the home- raised boilers. They have come to appreciate freshness,” he said.
Another farmer, Iyabo Ahmed, in Kangu area said most poultry farmers in the country were encouraged to do more, as they commended the initiative of the government in prohibiting importation of chicken.
“Though there are some financial challenges but we still try to make things work for our customers,” she said.
Ahmed said the harsh weather was one of the major challenges faced by farmers during the hot season because the poultry birds did not adapt easily to heat.
She, however, called on the government to encourage students, unemployed graduates at all levels on agricultural practice.
Ms. Ahmed said agriculture would rescue Nigeria from recession.
(NAN)

Source: Premium Times

Cassava chips can replace cereals in poultry, livestock feeds —AFEX boss •Targets 300 million metric tons cassava production for chips




Ayodeji Balogun, Country Manager of AFEX Commodities Exchange Limited. A commodity exchange firm known for connecting small holders farmers to financial and commodity markets, AFEX Commodities Exchange Limited, has said cassava chips can replace a good proportion of cereals used in the composition of poultry and livestock feeds, adding that it is also targeting a volume of 300million metric per ton per annum for cassava chips production in Nigeria.

This was disclosed by the Country Manager of AFEX Commodities Exchange Limited, Ayodeji Balogun, in statement issued at the end of a day business meeting organised in partnership with Agribusiness Supplier Development Programme (ASDP), held at the Kankanfo Inn, Ring road, Ibadan.
The partner, ASDP, is a regional initiative of the UNDP with a mandate to promote the development of the supply chains of rice and cassava in Nigeria. ASDP Nigeria is being implemented jointly by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD), Nigeria Incentive-based Risk Sharing Systems for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
The event themed “inclusive Business Acceleration for Cassava Value Chain in Nigeria,” brought about over 50 farmers and other agriculture stakeholders to discuss the development of cassava value chain in Nigeria.
Balogun said “a lot more still needs to be done to ensure that the extra productions [of cassava] are fully utilised.”
He added that “the goal of the collaboration is to jointly work together to bring about an inclusive business acceleration for cassava value chain in Nigeria. AFEX has the market reach and contact, as a major private sector concern in commodity marketing in Nigeria and beyond.
“AFEX also see cassava as a strategic crop and value chain that has immense potentials for inclusive growth, job creation and poverty eradication across Nigeria. The ASDP project is bringing on a specialized approach to commodities value chains development”.
“It is our hope that accelerating the growth of the cassava value chain will help extend the benefit of cassava industrialisation to major sectors in Nigeria. Cassava chips can replace a good proportion of cereals used in the composition of poultry and livestock feeds. Work on this has gone beyond experimentation, as we now have well established standards for the inclusion of cassava chips or peels in animal feeds. The current target for cassava chips production in Nigeria is in the range of 300 million metric ton per annum.”
The meeting saw the participants going through different sessions by various facilitators like: cassava value chain acceleration- ASDP involvement and the need to expand and accelerate other cassava derivatives, among others.
the idea of the cassava chips markets, how to process cassava chips, making cassava chips processing profitable and identifying and pairing willing mentor and protege.
Earlier in his address, the Director, Planning and Policy coordination, Federal Ministry of Agriculture and rural development, Auwal A. Maidabino, noted that the government believed that cassava is strategic for food security and for foreign exchange earnings.
He said to attain the objectives; the Federal Government has put in place an institutional framework to promote agribusiness and investment while it is also working with some key stakeholders in the sector.
His words: “ASDP is focusing on production of cassava chips because of Nigeria’s insignificant market share of the dry chips global trade. In 2012, Nigeria secured orders from China for dry chips totalling 2.2 million metric tons and the first shipment to China of Nigeria’s dry chips took place in August that year.
“Efforts are now under way to link cassava farmers and processors to the export trade on chips, hence the need to urgently improve cassava chips production and supply chain system to meet demands from other countries.”

Credit: Tribune

Country Faces No Threat of Famine - Agriculture Minister Ogbeh

The Federal Government has denied the reports by some United Nations (UN) agencies of imminent famine in Nigeria, saying there is no threat of starvation in the whole country.
The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Audu Ogbeh, made the denial when he featured at a News Agency of Nigeria Forum in Abuja.
NAN reports that three UN agencies -- Food and Agriculture Organisation, World Food Programme and International Fund for Agricultural Development - reported that Nigeria would suffer famine, food shortage and malnutrition.
Mr. Ogbeh stressed that it was virtually impossible for Nigeria to face famine or starvation because the country remained a major source of food for other African countries such as Algeria and Libya.
"I think there's a danger of mixing the situation in the North-East with the situation nationwide; I have seen that on CNN, starvation in Somalia and Nigeria, and then they go on to talk about the civil commotion in the North-East
"I don't think that the rest of Nigeria is facing any threat of famine. That is not true and I think these agencies have to be a little more careful in their prognoses.
"I think there are challenges in the North-East because this is a huge part of Nigeria which for five years has not engaged in food production.
Audu Ogbeh, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development
"That's not the same in the North-West or North-Central or South-West or South-South.
"So, I think there is some degree of exaggeration and a mixture of situations, there's no threat of starvation because we have been feeding Africa.
"People come down from Algeria to buy food in Nigeria, they come from Libya, they come from Sudan and they come from Chad.
"So, to suggest that this country that is feeding the rest of Africa is almost to go totally hungry is not true. "

Credit: Premium Times