Agriculture boosts Nigeria Economy with N777 billion

NaijaAgroNet

Despite the austerity measures in Nigeria, the Federal Government has said the country’s economy has grown by N777bn, courtesy of the Agricultural Transformation Agenda (ATA), reports NaijaAgroNet.

Honourable Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, made this known at the inauguration of the African Development Bank-assisted Agricultural Transformation Agenda Support Programme Phase I, which held at the International Institute for Tropical Agriculture in Abuja.

The minister told NaijaAgroNet that the total agricultural GDP growth in a period of just three years within 2011-2013 surpass the total collective GDP for the eight-year period of 2000-2008.

“The Agricultural Transformation Agenda has added over N777bn in income to the economy. The agricultural GDP of Nigeria rose from N14tn in 2011 to N15.8tn in 2012 and N16.8tn in 2013. The total agricultural GDP in just three years (2011-2013) was N46.6tn, surpassing the total cumulative GDP for the eight-year period of 2000-2008 of N42tn,” he said.

According to Adesina, it was challenging for Africa to unlock all its capability to produce enough food to feed itself as well as feed the world even though the agriculture potential of Africa is vast.

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AfDB boosts ATA in Nigeria with N24bn

NaijaAgroNet:

The African Development Bank Group (AfDB) has approved an African Development Fund (ADF) loan of $ 152.12 million, about N24 billion and an ADF grant of $ 0.38 million, about N60 million, to finance Nigeria's Agricultural Transformation Agenda (ATA) Support Programme Phase 1 (ATASP-1).

This approval was made known in a report issued by the bank and sighted by NaijaAgroNet  which stated that ATASP-1 was to promote employment generation and shared wealth creation along the commodity value chains, food and nutrition security and sustainably increase the income of smallholder farmers and rural entrepreneurs engaged in the production, processing, storage and marketing of the selected commodity value chains.

According to AfDB estimates, Nigeria has a huge potential in agriculture with 84 million hectares of arable land, abundant labour, untapped water resources and a market of 167 million people.

Reports from the  bank funded projects indicate that ATASP-1 is mainly an infrastructure restoration intervention that will rehabilitate 1,300 kms of irrigation water conveyance canals; 39,777 ha of existing crop production schemes; 1,330 kms of feeder roads; 1,007 units of hydraulic structures; 14 community markets; 35 primary schools; and 14 community health centres.

It will also provide 63 potable water and sanitation systems and establish seven technology demonstration centres in four Staple Crops Processing Zones in seven States covering 194,426 km2 of land and 32,121,944 inhabitants (50.93 per cent males and 49.07 per cent females) who are predominantly farmers and small scale commodity processors.

NaijaAgroNet recorded that the program, to be implemented in five years is estimated at $ 175 million ( about  N27 billion) as the  Bank's financing will account for 87.0 per cent of the overall costs, federal government and seven States located in the four Processing Zones will contribute 12.2 per cent, while the beneficiaries will contribute 0.6 per cent of total program costs.

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Mainstreet Bank commits N10bn to fertiliser distribution

Anthony Nwakaegho/NaijaAgroNet

Mainstreet Bank plc has committed N10 billion to the funding of fertiliser distribution through agro dealers in Nigeria to complement the federal government’s Agricultural Transformation Agenda, NaijaAgroNet reports.

The Managing Director, Mainstreet Bank, Faith Tuedor-Matthews disclosed this to NaijaAgroNet at the 2013 Nigerian Economic Summit (NES) held in Abuja recently, revealing the bank’s successful intervention in the procurement and distribution of fertiliser had impacted about one million real farmers in Nigeria.

She said that her institution was developing a project initiative in partnership with willing state governments to support funding of primary production activities in some key crops, following the success achieved through the federal government’s Growth Enhancement Support Scheme (GESS).

The Mainstreet Bank boss acknowledged that GESS had been supportive of small farmers who are the ultimate drivers of food production and agricultural development in Nigeria.

Commenting on the use of seed production chain to boost the success of GESS, she said that there are four critical steps which all stakeholders should embrace, which includes: the need for greater investment in Research and Development (R&D) in the seeds sector, quality control of the seeds to ensure standards, deliberate branding of the seeds to achieve market differentiation as well as investing greater effort on general awareness.

She canvassed that government, seed companies, farmers and the researchers to work together to improve the quality of hybrid seeds available to farmers and  crops such as rice, sorghum, cassava, cotton, soya beans, and Maize should be provided to the small farmers who have major buyers or Agro processors.

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ATA is govt- enabled private sector agenda to grow agriculture

 

Anthony Nwakaegho/NaijaAgroNet

 

The Agricultural Transformation Agenda (ATA) has been described as the largest ever government-enabled private sector-led effort to grow agriculture in Nigeria.

 

The Acting Director, Communication, Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development , Greyne Anosike made this remark,  stressing that ATA is a comprehensive effort aim at increasing domestic food production, reduce dependence on food imports and expand value addition to locally produced agricultural products.

 

Anosike noted that through de-regulation, attractive financing, concentrated infrastructure investments, and competitive policies, the sector will be more productive, efficient and competitive.

Findings by NaijaAgroNet revealed that the ATA has the capacity to create 3. 5 million jobs and add 20 million tons to the domestic food supply by 2015.

 

According to the Agriculture Minister Dr Akinwunmi Adesina, “shifting focus towards farming is justifiable and a task that must be accomplished in his time as the nation is facing stiff competition from neighbouring African countries in crude oil sales and the United States of America recent oil discovery, and in neighbouring countries such as Ghana, Angola, among others.”

 

The Agriculture Minister said it has been his dream that attention be shifted from the oil sector to agriculture for it to be driven as a form of business and not just as a mode of life for the old.

 

NaijaAgroNet recalls that since the Agriculture Minister came on board, he had introduced policies that have been favourable to farmers which have changed their orientation of hitherto not being seen as stakeholders in the sector, especially in fertiliser’s distribution.

 

NaijaAgroNet recounts that his laudable achievement is seen in the mode of fertiliser distribution that had destroyed the corrupt middlemen and saving the nation a whooping N25 billion in 2012, while the Growth Enhancement Scheme (GES) allows the farmers key into the e-wallet system, allowing the farmers get seeds in a defined mode and the usage of technology in driving the ATA.

 

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Adesina applauds GEJ over 2013 agric budget

Adesina, Agric Minister

The Nigerian Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr Akinwumi Adesina, has applauded the proposed 2013 budget for agriculture, presented recently to the joint session of the National Assembly by President Goodluck Jonathan.

This is coming as there will be a five-year tax holiday for sugarcane and sugar value chain investors, reports the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).

NaijaAgroNet recalls that President Jonathan had proposed the sum of N81.41 billion for agriculture in the 2013 budget.

Speaking on the budget to his ministry, Dr. Adesina said that the amount allocated showed that President Goodluck Jonathan was confident that the sector could once again be the driving force of the economy.

NAN reports that allocation increased by less than three per cent over the current appropriation which stood at N78.9 billion.

The Federal Government also announced a number of measures aimed at boosting the Agricultural Transformation Agenda.

Jonathan, while presenting the budget to a joint session of the National Assembly, said that there would be a five-year tax holiday for sugarcane and sugar value chain investors.

The president added that the machinery and spare parts imported for local sugar manufacturing industries would attract zero per cent import duty starting from January 2013.

He also said that the import duty for rice would be increased to encourage local rice production.

Adesina, however, said that the issue of budget was all about how the allocation was utilised.

He explained that a total of 7.8-billion-dollar private sector funding had been injected into the sector.

“In addition to that we have been able to get so many local companies to process agriculture produce.”

Through the Federal Government’s initiatives on cassava, rice, maize and soya beans, he said that  about 8.1 million metric tonnes of food would be added to domestic supply.

He recalled that President Jonathan had promised that his administration would add 20 million tonnes of food to domestic supply by 2015, adding that this was only the first year.

``That is about 41 per cent of what we are targeting for in 2015. So we are working very hard.’’ Adesina said.

He promised that the ministry under his leadership and that of  Alhaji Bukar Tijani, would ensure that Agriculture Transformation Agenda achieved its aim.

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