Farmers call for involvement in cassava action plan

Pastor Segun Adewunmi

Nigerian farmers have call on the federal government to involved farmers in the cassava and other agricultural transformation agenda action plan for implementation purposes.

The national president of Nigeria Cassava Growers Association, Pastor Segun Adewunmi made the call recently at the ‘This Morning’ talk show on Television Continental.

The NCGAN president also commended the Lagos State government for its concern in the cassava sector with about 40 per cent subsidy on cassava input and 50 per cent off price of tractors used on cassava farms, stressing these are initiatives to encourage cassava producing in the state.

While applauding the federal government for the Cassava Transformation Agenda Action Plan which he said was organized in such a way that every farmer would be a beneficiary, asserting “The policy has to involve the farmers.”

The transformation agenda action plan during the Chief Olusegun Obasanjo’s regime, he said gave room for more use to cassava products for industrial uses as against the usual garri and starch only.

Pastor Adewunmi further said his association is working towards the eradication of unemployment among youths in the nation, which includes the recruitment of about 5 youths from each local government to be trained on agriculture extension services.

Over 5,000 youths, he said, are also to be involved monitor cassava growing in the nation with about one million farmers to grow cassava.

Women taking part in processing Garri

NaijaAgroNet learnt that cassava production cost in Nigeria surpasses any other cost of producing cassava anywhere in the world; hence this necessitated the proposal by the federal government to establish 18 large scale processing cassava plants for flour.

N300bn, Pastor Adewunmi said has been saved from flour importation as a result of the Cassava Transformation Agenda Action Plan which sees to the production of cassava flour. And increase of agricultural loan from about 1.03 per cent to about 3 per cent.

Part of the strategies by the association to improve cassava production, NaijaAgroNet further gathered is to ensure that every local government authority has a minimum of five extension officers who will supply agricultural inputs for their respective local government authority.

Uzo, a caller from Lagos affirmed that funds do not get to the right farmers as they are not part of the action plan, hence they cannot monitor the implementation process of the action plan.

Speaking in the same vein, the publicity secretary of Agbekoya Farmers Association, Chief Olatunji Bamidele affirmed the greatest challenge facing farmers in the nation to be lack of funds. The Agbekoya Farmers Association, he said had requested for loan from the federal government for months back which they are yet to receive any response as regards the loan. 

Chief Bamidele said any agricultural transformation agenda that excludes the farmers in the process have a very little chance of seeing the light of the day.

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FG targets 3.5m jobs in agric sector

Nigerian President, Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan

President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan has said the Federal Government has plans to create about 3.5million jobs in the agricultural sectors by 2015.

He revealed at a convocation ceremony of the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, Ogun State, that an initiative would be put in place to enable existing Universities of Agriculture in the country to establish Departments of Transfer and Acquisition.

NaijaAgroNet learnt that the president was represented by the Minister of Education, Mrs. Rukkayatu Rufai, who said the initiative would facilitate the development of appropriate technologies for eventual transfer to the farming communities of the nation.

“The federal government is putting an initiative in place to enable the three existing Universities of Agriculture in the country establish Departments of Technology Transfer and Acquisition as part of the curricula in their respective institutions,” she said, stressing that her ministry expects the university management and faculties to embark on innovative and creative means of complementing government are funding efforts. 

Source: ThisDay.

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SMEDAN, VSO sign women, young farmers’ deal

An agreement to establish and implement an agricultural development project was signed by Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) and Voluntary Services Overseas (VSO), reports DailyTrust.

The agreement, tagged SMEDAN-VSO Agro-Enterprise Project, NaijaAgroNet learnt is to engage women and youths between the ages of 18 and 35 years in agrobiz.

Alhaji Muhammad Nadada Umar, SMEDAN Director-General said at the signing session that the agreement combines expertise of both bodies would add tremendous value to the development of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises and the nation's economy.

The pilot programme as revealed would be established in four states; Nasarawa, Ondo, Kaduna and Cross Rivers states. 

“Our organizations both share the same values in respect of assisting disadvantaged people. SMEDAN, as a gender-sensitive organization, with our high level of professionalism, has a lot to offer to this nation,” SMEDAN DG affirmed.

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Youths' involvement in agric, key to sustainable development – Rhoda

Young Farmers

Commissioner for Rural Economy and Agriculture at the African Union Commission, Ms Rhoda Peace Tumusiime had said that involving youth in agricultural development and decision making processes is key to ensuring sustainable development in Africa.

She said this at Addis Ababa, Ethiopia while officiating a workshop on youth, ICT and entrepreneurship in agriculture co-organised by Technical Centre for Agriculture and Rural Co-operation (CTA) and NEPAD E-Africa Programme.

In her address, the AU commissioner said that African's population has over 60 per cent youths and 40 per cent of the 70 per cent people in the rural areas are also youths.

The continent, she noted can leverage on the youths available as the current youths are more educated and learned, enterprising and ambitious.

"We can therefore reap the benefits of the demographic dividend and create a virtuous cycle from a healthier, better-educated and more economically productive and focused workforce, if this potential is well harnessed,” she said.

She also said there is urgent need for the expansion of access to secondary and tertiary education, creating and expansion of rural job opportunities and building capacity and promoting entrepreneurship among the youth.

Ms Rhoda Peace Tumusiime

CTA Director, Mr. Michael Hailu affirmed Africa's unemployment standing at 50 per cent, adding that most of the unemployed are young people and females.

He said CTA would not relent in its effort to support activities that encourage youth in ACP countries to consider agriculture as a viable career path, including seizing ICT chances in that framework. "Modern information and communication technologies provide opportunities for creating jobs and entrepreneurship for the youth."

Acting Head, NEPAD e-Africa Programme, Dr. Edmund Katiti insisted that African development and youth employment could be strengthened through the promotion of e-applications and e-services, the promotion of mobile payment systems, agricultural information systems, open software development and adequate capacity building.

The workshop, NaijaAgroNet gathered involved 30 youths and experts from diverse disciplines, countries and international organizations in Africa, and aimed at exchanging ideas about the use of ICT in agrobiz by African Youths.

The workshop also sees to strategies to strengthen their opportunities in agricultural sector. 

Better promotion of successes in agrobusiness was part of the recommendations from participants, other recommendations include improving opportunities for youth in rural areas using ICTs, providing funding arrangements and policies that support youth business in agriculture and youth companies engaged in the development of ICT solutions for agriculture.

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FCT Secretary urges youths to take hold of Fadama III

Secretary to the Agriculture and Rural Development of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Mrs. Olvadi Madayi has urged youths in the FCT to embrace Fadama III project, repots Leadership.

Highlighting some reasons for the project, Madayi said the project was designed to assist in the alleviation of poverty and to also improve the living standards of the people.

The projects, NaijaAgroNet learnt has touched lives of people at the grassroots and the Agriculture and Rural Development secretary had promised that the FCT administration would not relent in its effort to pay its counterpart funding which she also urged area councils’ chairmen to do same so that the project would be sustained.

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Agricultural loan scheme for Kwara youths

Sen. Bukola Saraki

Serving senator of the Federal Republic and former governor of Kwara State, Sen. Bukola Saraki has expressed resolve to introduce a revolving loan scheme for Kwara youths, reports DailyTrust.

Sen. Saraki said that the loan for youths in the state is to enable them embark on agriculture.

NaijaAgroNet learnt that the former Governor said that taking up agriculture production as a way of guaranteeing food security in the state and country at large, would assist in eradication of unemployment among the youths.

“If all the youths  coming  out of  Nigerian  institutions  of higher learning are properly incorporated into agricultural production within a short period of time,  the country  will  stop  importing certain items  and in turn start  exporting,” he said. 

He also said, there is need for proper implementation of agriculture as it has more capacity to increase the nation’s Gross Domestic Products (GDP) than oil and other mineral resources.

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