Agriculture with Jimoh

“Stunted children today will lead to stunted economies tomorrow” – Adesina African Union endorses African Leaders for Nutrition Initiative By Jimoh Babatunde The President of the African Development Bank, Akinwumi Adesina, has said that stunted children today will lead to stunted economies tomorrow, adding that the impact of stunting is irreversible but preventable. He spoke yesterday in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia as African leaders made a landmark commitment to remove nutrition-related barriers that prevent children and societies from realising their full potential. The leaders made the commitments at the launch of African Leaders for Nutrition (ALN) − an initiative championed by the African Development Bank and the African Union Commission – in Addis Ababa, where they agreed to jointly overcome malnutrition and elevate nutrition as the driver for economic growth and sustainable development. Adesina said poor nutrition is responsible for stunting children’s ...

The Institute for Agricultural Research (IAR), Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria says it has secured approval for the release of three new high-yielding nutrient maize varieties for planting in Nigeria. The Institute made this known in a statement made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday in Lagos. The institute said the approval was granted by the National Varietal Release Committee at the National Centre for Genetic Resources and Biotechnology in Ibadan. It said that the maize was developed by IAR in collaboration with the International Institute for Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Ibadan. The institute said that the maize varieties tagged: SAMMAZ 52, SAMMAZ 53 and SAMMAZ 54 were offshoots of extensive “on-station, multi-locational and on-farm’’ evaluations with strong farmer participation. It said that the varieties were desirable to many maize farmers, seed companies, and food processing entrepreneurs, agro-allied industries as well as ...

The World Band has commended the Federal Government for the successful implementation of FADAMA III programme, which has so far benefited 965,157 persons, including 582,099 males and 383,058 females. Dr Adetunji Oredipe, the World Bank FADAMA Team Leader, gave the commendation in Abuja while speaking with News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday. He said that this year alone, a total of 47,505 beneficiaries — 35,382 males and 12,123 females – had benefitted from the programme, under its additional financing phase. He said that that the Third National FADAMA Development Project (FADAMA III) had achieved its aims and objectives, particularly those relating to the sustainable increase of the incomes of FADAMA users. “This has been achieved by increasing the incomes of FADAMA users; the project has aided efforts to reduce rural poverty, boost food security and contribute to the achievement of a key objective of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). “The project has sustaina...

The International Fund for Agricultural Development assisted Value Chain Development Programme (IFAD-VCDP) will begin verification of farmers’ business plans for 2017 in Niger on Wednesday. Dr Mathew Ahmed, the State Programme Coordinator of IFAD-VCDP, disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday in Minna. “The verification will begin on Wednesday, April 19 to May 3 across the five participating Local Government Areas in Niger,’’ he said. Ahmed said that the exercise was to ascertain the readiness of the 640 participating VCDP farmers for the 2017 farming season. He said that the business plan would ensure effective management of the farm from land preparation to marketing of farm produce. “The size of the farm and soil texture will determine the implement and input to use,’’ he said. The coordinator explained that government and farmer organisations have made huge investment towards the 2017 wet season for rice and c...

Akinwumi Adesina, president of the African Development Bank (AfDB), says billionaire businessman, Aliko Dangote, may become the largest exporter of rice in the world by 2021 LAGOS, Nigeria, April 17, 2017/ -- Akinwumi Adesina, president of the African Development Bank (AfDB), says billionaire businessman, Aliko Dangote (www.Dangote.com), may become the largest exporter of rice in the world by 2021. Speaking at the Mo Ibrahim Forum in Morocco over the weekend, Adesina said Africa must focus on agriculture to drive growth and create jobs on the continent. “I remember when I was minister of Agriculture in Nigeria. Aliko Dangote was there, and he was our biggest importer at the time, and he and I used to have all the time to dialogue,” Adesina said. “One day, I was in my office, about 10 O’clock, Aliko walks in, Ngozi was minister of finance. Aliko bangs on my door and said ‘minister I came to see you’, and I said ‘what are we going to disagree on this time?’ “H...

The Kaduna State chapter of Rice Farmers Association of Nigeria (RIFAN) has appealed to Federal Government to maintain its ban on rice importation so as to boost local production. The State Secretary of RIFAN, Mr Ishaya Audu, made the appeal in an interview with News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday in Kaduna. Audu urged the government to ignore calls from various quarters to lift the ban on rice importation through the country’s land borders, saying that the ban should be sustained to encourage rice farmers to increase their productivity. “ Our farmers produce at a loss due to their lack of access to fertilisers, agro-chemicals, high-yield seeds, tractors and loan facilities to expand rice production in the state. “ We were among those who encouraged the Federal Government’s ban on importation of rice, although we cannot meet up with the current demand for the commodity due to these challenges. “ We still insist that the ban be sustained while all these challenges are ...

Scientists from different parts of the world have started work on the genetic improvement of yam species to boost yam yield in Africa. The Project Leader, Dr Patrick Adebola, made this known at the Africa Yam Annual Progress Review, Technical Advisory Committee and Work Planning Meeting, at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Ibadan, on Monday. He said that the project – Africa Yam — which was initiated in 2015, would use the latest technologies in plant breeding to develop high-yielding varieties of white yam (Dioscorea rotundata) and water yam (D. alata). “These species will show great promise in resisting infestation by nematodes, viruses, and anthracnose, known to greatly limit productivity in West Africa’s most preferred staple crop. “Every year, sub-Saharan Africa produces no less than 54 million tonnes of yams from about 4.6 million hectares of land but this output is only 40 per cent, compared with cassava production on the continent. “Farm...

The Federal Government on Tuesday says it will restructure the Bank of Agriculture (BOA), to support the diversification programme of the present administration. The Minister of Agriculture, Chief Audu Ogbe gave the hint at the launch of Capacity Building and Institutional Strengthening of Bank of Agriculture in Kaduna. Represented by Mr. Godwin Obinna-Opara, an official of the ministry, Ogbe said the present administration had approved the restructuring aimed at strengthening the bank for optimal service delivery to farmers. According to the minister, restructuring, re-capitalising and repositioning of BOA is one of such programmes President Muhammadu Buhari has given his approval. He said the bank remains key instrument required for funding agricultural activities to help diversify the economy and move away from over reliance on oil. “At no other time in the history of Nigeria that government had taken such interest and time to assess the operations of BO...

Empowerment of rural women is fundamental for achieving 2030 Agenda  Rome - Leaders from the three UN Rome-based agencies today marked International Women's Day by reinforcing their commitments to step up efforts to invest in the capacities of rural women as key agents of change in building a world without hunger. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the World Food Programme (WFP) reminded the world that women and girls play a crucial role in achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, in particular, the goal of eradicating hunger and extreme poverty. "Women play a critical role in agriculture and food systems - not just as farmers, but also as food producers, traders and managers," said FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva on the occasion of the Day. "However, women still face major constraints in rural labour markets and in agricultural value chains. They are more...

NEWS ANALYSIS African Heads of States at the 23rd Ordinary Session of the African Union (AU) in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, in June 2014 adopted the “Malabo Declaration’’ to accelerate agricultural growth and transformation to lift Africa out of poverty. The 2014 declaration was a formal commitment by AU Heads of States and Governments to provide effective leadership for efforts to achieve some specific goals by the year 2025. The goals include ending hunger on the continent and tripling intra-African trade in agricultural goods, among others. The African Union Commission (AUC), in collaboration with other international stakeholders in agriculture, recently converged on Abuja to deliberate on the ways forward in domesticating and implementing the initiatives of the Malabo Declaration to boost Nigeria’s economy via agriculture. The efforts are particularly aimed at aligning Nigeria’s National Agriculture Investment Plan (NAIP) with the commitments of the 2014 Malabo Declarat...

The African Union Commission agricultural stakeholders has assured the Federal Government of economic growth if Malabo declaration initiative is implemented in Nigeria. The stakeholders gave the assurance in Abuja at the workshop on the National Agricultural Investment Plan (NAIP) for Nigeria. Prof. Adeolu Ayanwale, a facilitator called for adoption of an inclusive process involving all relevant stakeholders to develop strategies and technologies to achieve NAIP objectives. According to him, provision of incentives for constructive engagement of private sectors, civil society groups and establishment of needed capacities will go a long way to achieve it. Ayanwale said that one of the cardinal objectives of the workshop was to establish a roadmap toward the domestication of the Malabo commitments. He said the workshop would also deliberate on ways of implementation of the AUC NAIP plan in Nigeria. According to him, there will be a definite working docu...

FG begins domestication of ‘Malabo Declaration’ in agric sector ABUJA- THE Federal Government yesterday, disclosed yesterday, that domestication of ‘Malabo Declaration’ in the agricultural sector has started in line with the ‘Green Alternative’ policy. This was made known by a representative from the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and a Deputy Director, Policy Implementation Department, Baye Sylvester, at the 3-day meeting organised by the African Union, AU, and New Partnership for Africa Development, NEPAD, on ‘Expert Panel to Draft New Plan for Achieving Economic Diversity through Major Investments in Agriculture’ in Abuja. The key purpose of the meeting was on review of the plan for making crop, livestock and fisheries the centrepiece of Nigeria’s economic development agenda. The effort also will ensure Nigeria’s National Agriculture Investment Plan, NAIP, is aligned with commitments contained in the AU’s 2014 ‘Malabo Declaration’, which seeks to cut ...

Mr Kola Adeniji, the Managing Director of Niji Group, says his company is collaborating with USAID to process and produce animal feeds from cassava peels in the country. Niji Group is a conglomerate that engages in sales and fabrication of farm equipment, farming, agro-allied services and food processing, while United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is the U.S. government agency that is primarily responsible for administering civilian foreign aid. Adeniji disclosed on Tuesday that the partnership would help to reduce the over-dependence on cassava for animal feeds and guarantee sufficient production of the crop for human consumption. He said that the company was also collaborating with All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN) to set up three processing centres to facilitate the processing of cassava peels into both poultry and animal feeds. According to him, a farm, owned by Niji Group, generates between 20, 000 and 25,000 tonnes of cassava wast...

Dangote Rice, a subsidiary of Dangote Group is set to launch a 25,000 hectares of rice outgrower scheme with a prospect of creating employment opportunities for rural communities in Sokoto. A statement issued by Mr Francis Awowole-Browne, the Head of Media, Dangote Rice, said President of the Group, Aliko Dangote would on Wednesday inaugurate the pilot project of 500 hectres at Gonroyo Dam, in Goronyo community. Awowole said that the inauguration which would be performed by Governor Aminu Tambuwa would witness seedlings being distributed to both primary local farmers. According to him, the company plans to purchase harvested rice from the farmers under the Outgrower’s programme for milling and final processing at Dangote Rice mills. The head of media noted that through the Dangote Rice Outgrower Scheme, the company would partner with smallholder rice farmers to cultivate and grow rice paddy. “ The company will provide inputs, technical assistance, extension services and...

The FAO Food Price Index rose notably in January, led by sugar and cereals, even as global markets remain well supplied. The FAO Food Price Index averaged 173.8 percent in January, its highest value in almost two years, marking a 2.1 percent increase from its revised December value and 16.4 percent above its 2016 January level. The FAO Sugar Price Index surged 9.9 percent in the month, driven by expectations of protracted supply tightness in Brazil, India and Thailand. The FAO Cereal Price Index rose 3.4 percent from December to a six-month high, with wheat, maize and rice values all increasing. Wheat markets reacted to unfavourable weather conditions hampering this season's crops as well as reduced plantings in the United States of America, while higher maize prices mostly reflected strong demand and uncertain crop prospects across South America. International prices of rice also rose, in part due to India's ongoing state procurement programme, reducing the quantit...

An agriculturist, Prof. Godfrey Nzamujo, on Thursday urged the three tiers of government in the country to adopt the Songhai model of agriculture to boost food security and fight poverty. Nzamujo, speaking in Abuja, said that the Songhai model, which involved integrated farming, should be adopted because of its capacity to boost agricultural productivity considerably. He said that the government should change its approach in its efforts to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), adding that it should adopt the Songhai model, which relied on the use of God-given resources, to accomplish this target. He said that the Songhai model had demonstrated that with deliberate investment in agriculture, Nigeria would be able to increase its revenue and reduce its dependence on petroleum as its sole foreign exchange earner. Nzamujo said that the Songhai model was an innovative approach that could be used to tackle challenges, such as food insecurity and poverty, enviro...

The Federal Government has set up a 21-man steering committee to restructure and recapitalise the Bank of Agriculture (BOA). Inaugurating the committee in Abuja on Monday, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, urged the committee to work within a record time to actualise the goal. He said the restructuring was aimed at revitalising the operations of the Bank to make it more responsive to its mandate. Osinbajo, represented by Chief Audu Ogbeh, the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, said the restructuring, would strengthen the bank as a platform for providing loans to Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) farmers and cooperatives among others. He said the approach was a pre-privitisation strategy preferred by the Federal Government to pave way for the injection of financial and other requisite resources into the Bank. “It is noteworthy that in its over 20 years of existence, the BoA has faced myriad of challenges which include, poor funding, poor stakeholder...

Bird flu claims 3.5 million birds in 26 states, FCT- FG ... Summons State agric commissioners ABUJA- THE Federal Government yesterday, disclosed that bird flu has claimed 3.5 million birds in 26 states and the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, so far. The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbeh, made the disclosure in his address of welcome during a consultative meeting with commissioners of Agriculture/Livestock, state directors of veterinary services and major stakeholders in the poultry industry in Abuja. Ogbeh who described the situation as threat to the poultry industry and said losses in the industry unacceptable as he personally feels the pain of affected farmers. He said: “Our meeting today is necessary in order to restore the poultry industry to its past glory as a major source of livelihood of our people, diversify the economy and avert food security crisis and possible spill over to humans. “You may recall that the first outbreak of bir...

Gov. Udom Emmanuel of Akwa Ibom said on Wednesday that the state’s proposed 10,000 hectares of rice plantation to be inaugurated by the second quarter of 2017 would employ 2,000 youths. Emmanuel, while addressing youths in Nsit Ubium, said that both the plantation and a processing mill would be located in Ini Local Government Area. According to the governor, a 7.5-kilometre of road is being constructed to the plantation ahead of the inauguration. “We are set to inaugurate 10,000 hectares of rice plantation with the entire value chain going to be in Ini Local Government Area of the state. “We need to construct a road to the rice plantation. “If you go there, the 7.5 km of road we are constructing will be commissioned by the second quarter of next year so that we can go ahead with the inauguration. “The rice plantation, when inaugurated, will employ 2,000 youths and women in the state,’’ he said. Besides, he said the coconut plantation establishe...