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Showing posts with label Federal Ministry. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Federal Ministry. Show all posts

Thursday, April 14, 2016

Nigeria, Arla Foods in talks to develop dairy sector

As part of the follow up to the recent meeting between the Prime Minister of Denmark, Mr. Lars Loekke Rasmussen and President Muhammadu Buhari, a high-powered Nigerian delegation from the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development on Wednesday held talks in Denmark with Arla Foods on the development of the dairy sector in Nigeria, reports NaijaAgroNet.

Arla Foods, NaijaAgroNet notes, is one of the world’s largest dairy companies. The visit is Arla’s second milestone in its declared commitment to invest in local production in Nigeria and help create a more sustainable local dairy industry, following the presentation of it's signed letter of intent to Nigeria’s Minister for Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbeh. Arla's Letter of Intent was presented in February 2016 at the same meeting where Denmark’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Kristian Jensen signed a letter of Intent with the Nigerian Minister of Agriculture to cooperate on the development of the local agriculture sector in Nigeria.

The Nigerian delegation was made up of the key line departments responsible for the dairy development comprising Dr. Gideon Mshelbwala, Director, Veterinary Services and Pest Control; Dr. Mrs. Egejuru Eze, Director. Animal Production and Husbandry as well as Senior Technical Adviser to the Minister, Dr. Andrew Kwasari and Hon. Saleh Hassan, Member, House of Representatives’ Committee on Agriculture.

Welcoming the delegation to one of Arla’s dairy farms, Steen Hadsbjerg, Senior Vice President and Head of Arla Foods for Sub-Saharan Africa, stated that, Nigeria is key to Arla’s ability to sell its farmer owners’ milk in West Africa in the future. 

Hadsbejerg declared, “we understand that developing the Nigerian local dairy industry to create a sustainable value chain that contributes to food security, local jobs and prosperity are important issues for the government. The Nigerian government welcomes companies and initiative that will help this development.”

"The purpose of this visit is for Arla to understand the challenges in developing a sustainable dairy sector in Nigeria and how Arla can most effectively contribute to the solution. It is also for Arla to share our knowledge and experience about how our farmer owners have organised and developed their value chain. The result will benefit Arla’s opportunities whilst ensuring the good development of the dairy market in Nigeria for the benefit of all parties,” Hadsbjerg further said.

Senior Technical Adviser to the Minister, Dr. Andrew Kwasari, said, “this visit has been an eye opener for me. Arla is an organised cooperative that has done very well and work in a sustainable manner. Arla is run by the farmers themselves and to protect the interest of their farmer colleagues and ensure better returns on their milk, they set a higher standard for their milk quality than expected by the government.”

“We hope for a partnership with Arla and knowledge sharing that will help us empower Nigerian farmers who face multiple challenges with logistics, infrastructure, organisation, quality and productivity. We could definitely see Arla as a partner to help build a sustainable dairy industry in Nigeria from the very beginning based on its globally proven concept of 'Dairy enterprise of the farmers, for the farmers by the farmers,” he said.

Speaking during a tour of the Arla facility in Copehangen, Member, House of Representatives’ Committee on Agriculture, Hon. Hassan Saleh, commended Arla Foods for its high production standard saying, “Arla Foods has demonstrated it is a very organised company and their processes are impeccable resulting in high quality products. I am very impressed with what I have seen and I believe that Arla will be a good partner to help us improve our milk production and make it more sustainable.” 

Saleh also said, “Nigeria will need both local farmers and imported products, so there will be a market for both in the future and I see a strong future for Arla in Nigeria. We will not be self-sufficient for some years to come.”

In continuation of their visit to Denmark, members of the Nigerian delegation also attended round table discussions with Arla and Danish food and agriculture companies where they shared knowledge about farm and dairy technology solutions and discussed potential partnerships to help develop the Nigerian dairy industry.

Nigeria spends $1.3b dollars on dairy imports. The Nigerian government’s target is to double the milk production over the next three to four years so as to meet up with domestic consumption and export. 

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Pix: L-R: Mr. Kasper Thormod Nielson,  Director, Trade Policy, Arla Foods, Mr.Steen Hadsberg, Head of Sub-Saharan Africa, Arla International, Dr. Andrew Kwasari, Senior Technical Assistant to the Minister for Agriculture and Mrs. Heather Akanni,Technical Assistant to the Minister, Quality Control and Standardization during a visit of the Federal government delegation to Arla Foods' Slagelse Dairy farm in Denmark on Wednesday 13, April 2016.

Wednesday, October 21, 2015

Women cornerstone of agricultural production in Nigeria



The Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Sunny Echono, said women are the cornerstone of agricultural production, processing, marketing and utilisation in the country, NaijaAgroNet reports.

He added that Nigeria’s agriculture could never achieve any meaningful development without mainstreaming concern into the nation’s policy and programme.

“Women supply 70 per cent of agricultural labour; 50 per cent of animal husbandry related activities and 60 per cent of food processing, yet they have access to only 20 per cent of available agricultural resources They play vital roles in the maintenance of our families, investing as much as 90 per cent of their income.”

NaijaAgroNet learnt that Echono was represented by the ministry’s Deputy Director, Extension, Dele Onorunfemi at the launch of African women in agriculture report titled: “Economic empowerment of African women through equitable participation in agricultural value chains’’ on Monday in Abuja.

Also speaking at the occasion, the Nigeria Country Director, African Development Bank, Ousmane Dore, said Nigerian women contribute close to 70 per cent of agricultural workforce yet get less of accruing returns.

He said the report aimed at contributing to the economic empowerment of African women in agriculture, through identification and proffering of possible solutions to hindrances to women’s active participation in agricultural value chains.

 “Lack of ownership of land and other productive assets due to existing social norms has created a significant negative impact on the family income and the nation’s GDP at large,’’ Mr. Dore said.

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Tuesday, September 1, 2015

Germany doles out N2.39b to assist eight countries

Germany through its Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety has doled out $12 million, about N2.39billion to assist eight developing countries, NaijaAgroNet reports.

Under a new United Nations (UN) programme called “Integrating Agriculture in National Adaptation Plans programme”, Germany will through funding collaborate with Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and United Nation Development Programme (UNDP) to work with ministries of agriculture in Nepal, Kenya, the Philippines, Thailand, Uganda, Uruguay, Viet Nam and Zambia to incorporate agricultural sectors into National Adaptation Plans.

An FAO press release made available to NaijaAgroNet, said under the four-year initiative, countries will receive various types of support. FAO will offer policy advice and technical support to ensure that climate change adaptation priorities in the agriculture, forestry, and fisheries sectors are incorporated in this planning process. UNDP will engage with countries in managing climate risk, in planning and budgeting, and help them strengthen information systems, project formulation, and coordination between government institutions.

The initiative, NaijaAgroNet gathered, has immediate potential to link with and amplify existing programmes in the target countries and improve their prospects for accessing global funds for climate finance, such as the Global Environment Fund and the Green Climate Fund.

The Executive Coordinator UNDP Global Environment Finance Unit, Adriana Dinu, said, "Our food security in the decades to come depends on our collective ability to innovate and adapt to climate change. The agriculture sector is critical to every nation and is a lifeline for livelihoods. Therefore, FAO and UNDP have joined forces to support partner countries to integrate agriculture into National Adaptation Planning (NAP) processes."

While the Director of FAO's Climate, Energy and Tenure Division, Martin Frick, added ,"Ministries of agriculture, fisheries and forestry need to be at the table when countries develop and implement domestic policies to address climate change,"

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Saturday, August 15, 2015

Echono hails NABG’s $1.8b agric investment


The Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Sonny Echono, has commended the Nigeria Agribusiness Group (NABG) for their projected $1.8 billion, about N358.2billion investment to assist smallholder farmers in 22 states of Nigeria, NaijaAgroNet reports.

“Your recognition that smallholder farmers are the largest private sector group in Nigeria has helped to foster economic growth in rural Nigeria as you provide guaranteed take-off markets for millions of smallholder farmers across the country.

“Sixteen of you have committed to invest in agriculture and agribusiness across 22 states of Nigeria a total $1.8 billion. Turning these commitments into real investments will undoubtedly help to create jobs for our teeming youth population and women and help to lift millions of farmers out of poverty”.

According to Worldstageonline, Echono stated this while addressing the first annual general meeting of the NABG in Lagos. He added that the group had helped to foster economic growth in Nigeria through the provision of take-off grants for smallholder farmers, NaijaAgroNet gathered.

“We are better positioned for inclusive growth where small, medium and large farmer groups will co-exist to generate wealth for millions of Nigeria and the unemployed youths and women. We have ended the dominance of government and I am optimistic that the private sector will lead Nigeria in restoring its past glory in agriculture,” He said.

 “I am confident that the group will continue to attract viable local and foreign direct investments into agriculture and agribusiness together with our Development Partners and other Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs).” 

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Pix:Sonny Echono,

Sunday, October 26, 2014

Nigerians walk for 2014 World Food Day



The Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development on October 13, 2014 commemorated this year's World Food Day beginning with a sensitization walk around the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), reports NaijaAgroNet.

The exercise in collaboration with the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) commenced with a walk sensitization to commemorate the activities lined up for this year’s World Food Day in Nigeria began from Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA) to Federal Secretariat, Abuja.

The Director, Planning and Policy Coordination at the Ministry, Mrs. Rabi Idi Adamu, who stood in for the Honourable Minister, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, told NaijaAgroNet the theme of this year’s World Food Day is “Family Farming: Feeding the World, Caring for the Earth.”

Also, Dr. Akinwumi said that the theme of this year’s World Food Day is apt, because of the roles families play in food production and Agricultural Transformations world over to facilitate food production and Animal Husbandry, especially for the Agricultural Transformation Agenda (ATA) which has recorded tremendous strides.

NaijaAgroNet recalls that the time table for the activities of this year include a walk sensitization of staff of the Ministry and FAO officials, Ministerial Press briefing, School Debate, Photo/ Book Exhibition, Symposium and Novelty Football March between ATA Bombers and GES Attackers.

 
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