Agrobiz sector to benefit from 9PSB digital services - NaijaAgroNet

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The 9 Payment Service Bank (9PSB) has committed to growing Nigeria’s agriculture value chain by supporting the payment needs of farmers, through accessible, easy and inclusive payment solutions.

The Chief Executive Officer, 9PSB, Branka Mracajac gave the assurance while speaking at the Vanguard Economic Forum Series, held on Thursday March 17, 2022 at The Civic Centre, Victoria Island, Lagos.

Brief history of Awba-Ofemili - NaijaAgroNet: ... Linking agrobiz, sustainable environs, people & technology

NaijaAgroNet:

Awba-Ofemili is a town in Awka North Local Government Area of Anambra State, Nigeria. The town has an estimated population of 15,978 according to the 2006 Nigerian Census. Awba-Ofemili has eight villages, each of which made up small communities of kindreds.

The eight villages in Awba-Ofemili today include Umuokpe, Umuchibu, Ezike, Akpana, Enugwu-Agu, Umuosite, Enugwu, Umuezeavu.

HRH Igwe Ezekwesili Maduagwuna,
Ofemili 1 of Awba-Ofemili

Awba-Ofemili is about 30kilometers (km) from Awka, the capital city of Anambra State. Like most towns in Awka-North, Awba-Ofemili’s climate and soil conditions are favorable to farming, especially for rice mass production.

AGCO to establish multi-million tractor factory in Nigeria

   A multi-million Naira assembly plant is being targeted by North American company, AGCO which specializes in manufacturing of agricultural equipments, in anticipation of Nigeria’s dream to grow the sector with 300,000 within the next three years.

AGCO offers a full product line including tractors, combines, hay tools, sprayers, forage equipment, groundscare and implements through more than 8,500 independent dealers and distributors around the world.

DigitalSENSE News investigation reveals that AGCO is likely to provide this number of tractors through its worldwide retail financing scheme known as Agricredit joint venture.

Experts at Investopedia says joint venture is the cooperation of two or more individuals or businesses in which each agrees to share profit, loss and control in a specific enterprise. Describing it as a good way for companies to partner without having to merge and are typically taxed as a partnership.

Making this disclosure recently, the Federal Minister in-charge of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr. Akinwunmi Ayo Adesina, noted that AGCO is the largest manufacturer of Marcy Ferguson tractors globally.

He also stressed that FG has advanced strategies for the establishment of assembly plants in the country following a discussion with the manufacturer in April.

“Nigeria needs at least 300,000 tractors, to enable our youth to get into agriculture as a business,” he declared.

Equally speaking in Abuja, Dr. Adesina reiterated the resolve of the Federal Government, pointing out that already the Nigerian government has concluded farmers’ census, while introducing an agric-wallet and employment of 36 agriculture directors, who have been deployed nationwide at the state capitals.

AGCO offers a full product line including tractors, combines, hay tools, sprayers, forage equipment, groundscare and implements through more than 8,500 independent dealers and distributors around the world. AGCO provides retail financing worldwide through its Agricredit joint venture.

DigitalSENSE News gathered that historically, AGCO Corporation has its roots in the North American farm equipment industry with its heritage reaching as far back as the mid 1800’s through many of its brands. However, its direct lineage is from the Allis-Chalmers brand name.

Also, in 1990 KHD sold its Deutz Allis division to AGCO and ever since, the company has become a world-wide farm machinery company through market growth and strategic acquisitions.

Today, AGCO prides itself with sales of approximately USD$7 billion, about N 1,104,949,957,275.39 trillion, and AGCO is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol AG.

 

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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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Agric, key to nation's survival- Tukur

Dr. Bamanga Tukur

Dr. Bamanga Tukur, the National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party has asserted agriculture to hold the key to the survival of Nigeria.

This he said at a grand reception held in his honour by the party in his home town, Jada, Adamawa State recently.

NaijaAgroNet learnt that Dr. Tukur said agriculture has the potentials for creating millions of jobs, eradicating poverty and arresting youth's restiveness.

"It is by massively investing in agriculture that we can truly eradicate poverty, create millions of jobs and reduce insecurity," he said that Nigeria is blessed with vast land and water.

He called on state governments in the nation to develop a minimum of 50, 000 hectare of arable land for round-the-year farming. "If we do that, youth's restiveness shall be a thing of the past." 

Source: DailyTimes

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No other sector creates jobs faster than agric - Adeshina

Dr. Akinwunmi Adesina, Agric & Rural Development Minister

Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development has described agriculture sector as the fastest in terms of employment generation.

The Minister, NaijaAgroNet learnt, said this in his remarks in Ekiti State at the Youth in Commercial Agribusiness Development Programme recently.

He also applauded the state governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi for involving the state's youth in agriculture.

"To unlock the potential of agriculture to create jobs, we must engage the energy, dynamism and entrepreneurship of the youth," Adesina said.

"We are no longer treating agriculture as a development programme," the Minister asserted, adding that the goal of the government is to treat agric as a business and to make the nation an agriculturally industrialised economy.

He also made known the goal of the Agricultural Transformation Agenda to add an additional 20 million tonnes of food to the domestic food supply with the creation of 3.5 millions jobs in all the agriculture value chains.

He remarked that subsistence farming is not viable to feed a nation, pointing out that there is the need to expand the level of use of tractors in the country, which could be done by small, medium and large scale farmers.

In a bid to raise the level of use of improved seeds, Adesina said that the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development financed the entire seed supply for the country which amounts to N2.7 billion for the 2012 season.

The finance, he said is not from the government but the use of guarantees for banks to lend to seed companies. 

He also affirmed that the Federal Government was able to secure financing for the supply of fertilizers for 2012, at the level of N27 billion from commercial banks using guarantees from the Ministry of Finance.

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