Agriculture with Jimoh

ABUJA- THE Food and Agriculture Organisation, FAO, and Africa Rice Centre (AfricaRice),have commenced training of 300 community based rice farmers on quality rice seeds production to boost yield and consumption. This was disclosed by the FAO Deputy Representative to Nigeria, Nourou Macki, who said it has become necessary to build the capacity of farmers on production of quality rice seed, which will be for youths and women, and also rice seeds producers. According to Macki the training being conducted was under the Partnership for Sustainable Rice Systems Development in Sub-Saharan Africa agreement between FAO and AfricaRice. The trainees are drawn from six states, which include Ekiti, Edo, Anambra, Abia, Nassarawa and Jigawa for the project, which 50 participants will benefit from the training in each state and also demonstration plots and backstopping mission established as part of sustaining the project. It will facilitate the emergence of efficient rice productio...

An agriculturalist, Mr Michael Nasamu, has urged rice farmers to cultivate of quality paddy rice so as to boost the nation’s efforts to attain self-sufficiency in rice production. Nasamu, who is the Regional Consultant, Coalition for African Rice Development, made the call on Tuesday in an interview with News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja. He said that massive rice production in the country could only be achieved through the cultivation of quality paddy and grading standardisation. “Paddy grading standard is important to control the quality of paddy traded in the Nigeria market. “‘All things being equal, quality paddy will lead to quality milled rice which can compete well with imported rice,’’ he said. Nasamu said that if the farmers were able to cultivate quality paddy, they would garner attract the increased patronage of millers, adding that this would also boost the famers’ income. He, however, called for the organisation of practical sensitisation campa...

ABUJA- THE Food and Agriculture Organisation, FAO, has raised alarm that food insecurity will affect 9 million people in 16 northern states in Nigeria. This was contained in United Nation Food and Agriculture Cadre Harmonisé report, which stated that the food insecurity will last between the period of March-August 2017. According to the report the 16 states include Bauchi, Yobe, Kastina, Kebbi, Sokoto, Gombe, Bauchi, Kano, Kaduna, Plateau, Niger, Taraba, Zamfara, Benue, and Jigawa. The report explained 7 million people, representing seven per cent of the population in the 16 states would be food insecure between March-May while 9million people would be affected between June-August. The report admitted that though the level of food insecurity has largely improved since last Cadre Harmonisé analysis in the country, however, food insecurity is still alarming in Northern Nigeria and humanitarian assistance needs to be escalated in Adamawa, Borno and Yobe States to ...

Mr Simon Abua, Special Adviser to Gov. Samuel Ortom of Benue on Agribusiness, on Wednesday assured farmers of distribution of farm inputs before the commencement of this year’s cropping season. Abua, who gave the assurance while responding to journalists’ questions in Makurdi, said that the inputs would be distributed to farmers before April. “The move is to enable farmers to have bumper harvest; I, therefore, want to encourage our farmers to form cooperative societies in order to benefit from the good intentions of the government. “It is only by forming cooperative societies that the farmers can benefit from government loans when the exercise commences. “Government will only deal with cooperatives and not individuals, regardless of their social status,’’ he said. Abua said that the state government would not renege on its promise of providing different agricultural machines for farmers as a way of encouraging the citizens to take to agriculture. He said tha...

The Kano State Government has earmarked over N200 million in the recently approved 2017 budget to boost rice farming in the state. Mohammed Garba, the Commissioner of Information, disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday in Kano. He said this was part of the state government’s efforts to boost the agricultural sector in the state to complement President Muhammadu Buhari’s efforts to reduce over dependence on crude oil. “Rice and wheat farmers were given N150 million loan in 2016 to boost production in the Sector, while in 2017 we are planning to increase the loan. “All necessary measures will be taken to ensure that the ordinary farmers in the state benefit more from the gesture,” the commissioner said. Garba said that in 2016, the state government contributed to the production of 1.3 million tonnes of rice, saying that it hopes to increase it to over 2 million tonnes in 2017. He said, “the state government has c...

Benue Government has advised farmers in the state to form cooperative societies in order to benefit from the N3 billion loan accessed by the state. Mr Adzer Abya, Special Adviser to Gov. Samuel Ortom on Rural Development and Cooperative, gave this advice while interacting with newsmen in Makurdi on Thursday. According to him, they can only benefit from the loan when they form and register their cooperative societies. “Form yourselves into group to form a cooperative society, then register with the Bureau for Rural Development and Cooperatives; that registration was one of the steps that could aid them to access loans easily. “After the registration, I advise you to open accounts with Bank of Agriculture (BoA) because, it was the only medium that could issue out loans to farmers on behalf of government.” The governor’s aide said that Gov. Samuel Ortom in his usual manner of magnanimity had decided to wave five per cent interest. Abya stressed that inste...

The Federal Government has procured no fewer than 500 rice harvesters and threshers to reduce post harvest losses and achieve self sufficiency in rice production by 2018. Chief Audu Ogbeh, the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, made this known while speaking with newsmen in Abuja on Thursday. Ogbeh said that the government had only taken delivery of 80 of the harvesters, adding that the remaining 420 would be delivered before April. He said the harvesters that would cost about N1.7 million each, would be manned by trained personnel in states. Ogbeh also noted that the rice threshers which were produced locally would cost between N800, 000 and N900, 000 each. The minister, who said that Kebbi have procured some of the machines, noted that Ebonyi and Jigawa States have also indicated interest to acquire the machines. According to him, if we have these machines in rice and wheat farms, the cost and stress of rice farming will reduce by 80 per cent. ...

A lawmaker, Sen. Abubakar Yusuf, representing Taraba Central Senatorial District, said Nigeria had the capacity to meet the tea and coffee demands of the country if it had the right policies. The lawmaker said this at a news conference in Jalingo on Wednesday to mark his one year at the Senate. Yusuf said a bill to ensure tea and coffee policy for the country was in the pipeline. According to him, tea and coffee potential of the Mambilla plateau of Taraba will comfortably meet the national demand for the products and even earn the nation foreign exchange. He explained that the country’s current demand for tea was about 10 million tonnes per annum and it currently produced 1.2 million tonnes, which was a far cry from the requirement and huge potential. “The Mambilla plateau in Taraba has the best tea and coffee potential in the world, but as I speak, the country has not yet taken advantage of the opportunity to turn around its economy,” he said. Yusu...

Potential beneficiaries of Federal Government’s Anchor Borrowers Programme (ABP) in Bauchi State have decried the slow pace of processing of their accounts by some banks involved in the programme. They told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Bauchi on Monday that unnecessary delay by some of the banks in opening accounts for them, which is a pre-condition for participation in the programme, was frustrating and diminishing their enthusiasm to participate in the ABP. The interested participants, mostly farmers and civil servants, noted that the Project Management Team (PMT) set up by the state government, had done a lot to generate interest in the programme but the hiccup being experienced in some of the participating banks, was discouraging. According to them, the inbuilt incentives in the programme are so tempting that they initially doubted the possibility of actual implementation. “Apart from providing the capital for farming, all the inputs needed such as f...

 The All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN) in Jigawa has cautioned farmers against hasty sale of their entire farm produce at harvest. The AFAN Chairman, Alhaji Idris Maiunguwa, gave the advice in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Hadejia on Thursday. He said that the advice became necessary to guard against hike in the prices of grains and exposing their families to hunger. ``It is disheartening to see farmers who have nothing to eat few months after harvest,” he said. The AFAN chairman also urged farmers to imbibe good preservation culture by ensuring proper application of chemicals on farm produce. He added that the association had commenced sensitisation of its members on the need for them to preserve farm produce. NAN recalls that farmers recorded high yields, following appreciable rain recorded in this cropping season in the state. The chairman called on farmers to report pest infestation to extension workers to control the problem. He, howev...

ABUJA- THE Federal Government, yesterday, disclosed that it will annually produce 7 million tonnes of rice from 2017 with new technological approach to actualise it. This was stated by the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Audu Ogbeh, during a visit by the Japan International Corporation Agency, JICA, in his office. The Minister also said the government has expressed determination to buy some rice milling machines from Japan which would be proposed in the 2017 budget, and added that possibly rice chaffs would be converted to briquettes for household use. While lauding the Rice Post- Harvest Processing and Marketing Pilot Project, RIPMAPP, developed by JICA, especially the new technology for small scale rice processors, he said rice production which was three tonnes per hectare has increased to seven tonnes per hectare in some states following the new technology in producing the commodity based on the new formula of fertiliser production, soil mapping and textur...

The Olam group has signed a tripartite Memorandum of Understanding, MOU, with Benue rice farmers and the International Fund for Agricultural Development, IFAD, to invest about N1billion in quality rice production and repurchase from farmers in the state.