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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FG distributes 32,000 hybrid plantains/bananas to farmers

   

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The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Dr Akinwumi Adesina has said that the ministry has distributed over 32,000 disease free improved varieties of Plantain/Banana suckers to about 1000 farmers in four pilot States in  the country.

Adesina who was represented by the Deputy Director, Horticulture Transformation Value Chain and the National Project Co-coordinator, Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO-UN) in the Ministry, Mr Michael Kanu dropped the hint at a six-day Train-the- Trainer Workshop for farmers in Umuahia, Abia State and said that the benefitting states include Abia, Delta, Oyo and Cross River.

NaijaAgroNet learnt from the Minister that the workshop was organised by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development  in collaboration with the FAO-UN under the Technical Cooperation Project, aimed at positioning horticulture in the nation as a channel of growth for economic diversity, poverty reduction, wealth and job creation.

Director of Information in the Ministry, Greyne Anosike, expressed Nigeria’s profound gratitude to FAO-UN Country Representative in Nigeria, Dr. Louise Sethswealo for supporting the campaign for global food security especially, in Nigeria and solicited for more support from FAO.

The Desk Officer, Technical Cooperation Project, FAO-UN, Adeola Akinrinlola who spoke on behalf of the FAO-UN Country Representative, explained that the workshop was organised to acquaint farmers in Umuahia, Abia State with the latest plantain/banana production techniques and post harvest technologies in order to make farming business a profitable venture.

He explained that in line with UN Agricultural support mandate to developing countries to improve in the technical skills of farmers, overcome production constraints and to establish pilot field planting nurseries/suckers as a source of tissue culture planting materials beyond the project life time, FAO-UN provided a funding grant of $477,000 Dollars (N77million] to the Ministry to compliment the shortfall in her budgetary provision of $1.4m (about N 222 million) towards funding this project.

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pix:Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Dr Akinwumi Adesina

Nigeria, first African country to develop e-wallet -Minister

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The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina has said that Nigeria is the first country in Africa to develop the e-wallet for input delivery to farmers which in turn generated  a total savings of N25 million in 2012 for the  federal government.

Adesina disclosed this at the second EU-Nigeria Business Forum that was held in Lagos, and explained the government was losing about N26.3 million annually to corruption before the introduction of the e-wallet scheme for distribution of fertilisers and seedlings to farmers.

NaijaAgro Net recalls from the minister that the federal government decided to reach farmers directly using mobile phones, which allow it to send farmers electronic vouchers to buy seeds and fertilisers, created the first national data base for farmers with identity cards and biometric information which allows the ministry to give their information to banks to open up the financial space.

"There is no reason why Nigeria is not self-sufficient in many of its food products and our goals are to achieve 20 million metric tonnes of domestic food supply by 2015, to create jobs and of course to create wealth,” Adesina said.

The Chairman of the EU-Nigerian Business forum, Mr. Andre Ronne described the forum as an exchange platform  to consolidate, leverage, improve, harness and deepen economic and business relations and opportunities that between Nigeria and EU member states.

The Trade Counselor for the EU trade delegation, Mr. Massimo De Luca said the Nigerian market was important to the region as conference was expected to create the enabler for viable engagements that will boost good services, quality products and effective operations within the country and EU members’ states.

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pix: Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina

We’re fixing hindrances in agric sector – Minister

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The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr. Akinwunmi Adesina, has said his ministry focus is in fixing key issues that has hampered the performance of the agricultural sector with a view to unlocking the potential of Nigeria’s agriculture.

This, he also said would move the sector from its ignoble status as one of the largest food importers in the world to a food self- sufficient country, in addition to expanding into export.

Adesina disclosed this recently in Asaba to NaijaAgroNet, stressing that his ministry is doing this through the rapid transformation of agricultural value chains by treating agriculture as a money-making business and not as a charitable development project.

The ministry, he said, mustered the courage to break the jinx that for decades made successive governments corrupt in Nigeria through the procurement and distribution of fertilizers to rich and powerful politician farmers to the detriment of the private sector and genuine farmers.

“Corruption was incipient, as sand was mixed with fertilizers and sold to government, payments were made for fertilizers not supplied and subsidized fertilizers were resold back to government with a lot more sold off to neighbouring countries. To put it bluntly, government was not subsidizing farmers; instead it was subsidizing corruption. Farmers’ powerlessness worsened as high quality of seeds and fertilizers they need to raise their farm productivity were taken over by the elite, the rich and politically powerful.

“But we have changed all that. Within the first 90 days of this administration; we ended the forty year-old fertilizer sector racket and corruption. The old system of government buying and selling fertilizers was scrapped, and all fertilizer companies were required to sell directly to farmers and not government warehouses,” he said.

NaijaAgroNet learnt that the introduction of the Growth Enhancement Scheme (GES) Electronic Wallet System which has seen over 3.4 million farmers receiving their subsidized inputs via the GES programme and Electronic Wallet Scheme has greatly improved the sector which now target close to five million farmers by the end of the dry season.

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Pix: Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr. Akinwunmi Adesina

Adesina says Nigeria has potentials to play big in EU fresh produce market

L-r Massimo De Luca, First Secretary- Trade Counsellor Delegation of the

European Union to Nigeria, Dirk Verheyen, Ambassador of the Kingdom

 of Belgium, Patrick Fay, Ambassador of Ireland and Head of the EU to Nigeria,

Hon. Minister of Agriculture, Dr Akinwunmi Adesina, Tajuddeen Dantata,

President AFGEAN, Akin Sawyerr, Executive Secretary AFGEAN and Dr. (Mrs) 
Nike Olufolaji, Executive Director of the Nigerian Horticultural Research 
Institute (NIHORT), Ibadan.

Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr. Akinwunmi Adesina has expressed optimism about Nigeria’s ability to play big in the European Union (EU) fresh produce market.

Welcoming a delegation of EU and Agricultural Fresh Produce Growers and Exporters’ Association of Nigeria (AFGEAN) to his office in Abuja, Dr. Adesina said that the country has the potential to do this, requesting, however, that a national strategy and investment plan must be put in place to pave way for this to be achieved.

He noted that a multi-stakeholder approach is needed in putting the plan and strategy in place.

As said by him the need for a research and development service as well as an institutional arrangement comparable to what obtains in Kenya, which is now a major horticultural product exporter in Africa is necessary.

The minister further told NaijaAgroNet Nigeria is closer to Europe than Kenya and could compete better than Kenya in the European market, adding that fresh produce economy in Nigeria would require activities beyond his ministry alone.

He, therefore, promised that an inter-ministerial meeting would be convened to include relevant ministries, states, financial institutions, AFGEAN, NGOs and other concerned groups to discuss cross-cutting issues.

The Horticulture value chain group of his ministry, he said, would work with DFID and EU to identify experts to evolve a comprehensive and detailed strategy that would help move from words to action.

The minister disclosed that that $380,000 has been included for AFGEAN and another $4 million for the development of horticulture.

Belgian Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr. Dirk Verheyen said, that they are concerned over promotion of exports from Nigeria.

“We are here because we want to promote not only the export from Belgium to Nigeria but also the opposite. We are here because there are airplanes coming from Belgium with freight. They are full when they are coming to Nigeria, but when they are going out of Nigeria, they are completely empty. So, I think there is a big opportunity for Nigeria to increase the export from Nigeria towards Europe,” he said.

The ambassador also spoke about agriculture in general, and also about fresh produce in particular, saying “there are concrete plans to develop and the Belgian Embassy and Belgian official institutions will try to support as much as possible.”

Decrying the lost opportunities in the past, President, Agricultural Fresh Produce Growers and Exporters’ Association of Nigeria (AFGEAN), Alhaji Tajudeen Aminu Dantata, said Nigeria is seriously lagging behind in the export of vegetables whereas other nations are making a headway.

Dantata, who was in company of AFGEAN executive secretary, Akin Sawyerr, noted there are socio-economic benefits that can accrue to Nigeria through production and export of fresh produce from Nigeria to Europe.

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