Kaduna State farmers smile over N1bn funding facility

NaijaAgroNet 

The Kaduna State Government in collaboration with the Bank of Agriculture (BOA) has commenced the payout of N1bn as loans to farmers in the state, gathered NaijaAgroNet.

The State government, disclosed it paid the sum of N500m as well as the Bank of Agriculture (BOA), to limit the difficulties being encountered by farmers in accessing loans from financial institutions within its territory. 

Governor RamallanYero-led administration affirmed to NaijaAgroNet that Kaduna State profitably trained 7,650 youths and women under its SURE-P Skill Acquisition and Empowerment Programme.

Also NaijaAgroNetgathered that the government provided Starter Packs and take-off grants worth millions of Naira for the grandaunts from the training. For instance, NaijaAgroNet leant that those trained in poultry were given 100 two-week old chicks, N30,000 for housing, N10, 000 for treatment, N5000 for transport, 8 bags of feeds and N10,000 take-off grants which is sufficient for starters in poultry to commence successfully.

Micah Mailafiya who benefitted from the above scheme said "Before I got into this whole thing, I was very worried about getting into the university. I thought that was the only way to make it, until I heard about the government's training programme for young, determined people and I was listed as one of the nine young people from my ward. We were trained, but in my case, I threw myself into it. Today, thanks to the government, I am one of the success stories."

 

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Strengthen family farming, solve global agro puzzle - Sonnleitner

The United Nations (UN) Goodwill Ambassador of the International Year of Family Farming and World Farmers Organisation (WFO) Member, Mr Gerd Sonnleitner, has declared that strengthening family farming is the answer to global challenges in agriculture, reports NaijaAgroNet.

He made this known to NaijaAgroNet at the occasion of the 14^th Asian Farmers’ Group for Cooperation (AFGC), saying that as a family farmer himself, “It is a sustainable, flexible and resilient model, especially with regards to achieving food security.”

Sonnleitner said he could understand from his own experience the role family farmers play - not only for the development of domestic markets but also with regards to international trade.

“They need to be adequately supported, as the economic risk and the responsibility lie in their hands – especially through the development of policies which favour them,” he said.

The 2-day-event which ended at Saturday, March 1, 2014 was hosted by the Cooperative League of Thailand (CLT) in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

NaijaAgroNet gathered that it is co-organised by the Japanese farmers’ organization JA Zenchu which provides the permanent secretariat of the AFGC, offering opportunity to exchange information and experiences and to promote cooperation amongst the participating member organizations.

NaijaAgroNet recalls that AFGC is a platform for farmers organizations was established in 1999 in Tokyo. Members are national farmer and cooperative organizations from nine countries in the Asian monsoon region (India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam). Small-scale family farming is the main model in agriculture in these countries.

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FADAMA boosts 40,000 farmers in Anambra

NaijaAgroNet:

Over 40,000 farmers have benefited from the FADAMA III intervention in Anambra, just as they have increased saves by 70 per cent, according to the Project Coordinator, Mr. Emmanuel Muofunanya, reports NaijaAgroNet.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) report made available to correspondent, indicates that Mr. Muofunanya in Awka said that the programme also disbursed in excess of N600 million to 870 groups between 2009 and 2013.

The farmers, he said, witnessed an increase in their average income from N45,000 in 2009 to N80,000 in 2013, stressing that a survey conduct by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) in the state revealed that the beneficiaries had improved their savings and income by 70 per cent.

“The farmers have done well in Fadama Users Equity Fund, where farmers are encouraged to save 10 per cent of their income to sustain their projects as well as in technology adoption.

Emphasising that the project development objective has been to increase the income and livelihood of beneficiaries and in that regard, the project has done well, insisting that irrigation had remained a serious challenge to achieve more successes in the state.

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FG distributes 32,000 hybrid plantains/bananas to farmers

   

NaijaAgroNet

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.

AN/EDop

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pix:Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Dr Akinwumi Adesina

Plateau trains farmers on vegetable production

NaijaAgroNet

The Agricultural Service Training Centre(ASTC)  in Plateau state has trained some farmers in the production of improved variety of vegetables preparatory to go into double season cropping to address increasing demand of vegetables in the state. 

The General Manager of ASTC Mr. Oren Shaked, who made this known, said that the ASTC, through its greenhouse project in the state has trained some farmers on the use of improved tomato and other vegetable varieties for production through the wet season using the greenhouse style.

 Shaked confirmed to NaijaAgroNet that one can grow anything in a greenhouse and at any time of the year, noting that if tomato is grown in the greenhouse during the rainy season it can sell at a very high price because it is scarce in the market. 

He said one can also reduce to a minimum the use of chemicals in the greenhouse because the plants are protected from insects thereby requiring very little insecticide or fungicide, adding that a lot of consumers today look for organic crops that are grown without the use of fertilizer and chemicals.

“The climate under the greenhouse is being controlled, crops grown in the house are better than those grown in the open field and during the harmattan or dry season, the nights are very cold but in the greenhouses it is hot, the temperature is being controlled so you can get better crops,” he said.

NaijaAgroNet gathered that even though greenhouses provide better and improved ways of crop production especially to local irrigation farmers whose vegetables are exposed to harsh climatic conditions as well as pests and diseases, some of the farmers nevertheless see this advanced system of farming as mere fancy which is incapable of upstaging the conventional farming system. 

“We also harvest all those strawberries, cherry tomatoes that the White people harvest in their greenhouse but we don’t cover the place because you will be putting a farmer in difficulty if you ask him to go into that system because he won’t be able to afford it,” a farmer said.

*With additional report from Daily Trust          

AN/GEE

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pix: Gov David Jang of Plateau state

Nutritionist advises farmers to invest in walnut cultivation

NaijaAgroNet:

A nutritionist, Mrs Veronica Ajayi of Global Foods Limited, Osogbo, Osun State, has called on farmers in Nigeria to invest more in the cultivation of walnut because of its nutritional values and medicinal benefits.

Mrs Ajayi gave her opinion in Osogbo and explained noting that the fruit otherwise known as ‘asala’ in Yoruba and ‘ukpa’ in Igbo languages are consumed by people without knowing its potential and valued nutrients.

NaijaAgroNet gathered from Ajayi’s statement that researchers have discovered that it contains vital nutrients that aid human growth while the leaves, nuts and trees could be used in the treatment of ailments such as dysentery, infertility and stress, among others.

 She implored farmers to invest in walnut that could fetch them more than N500, 000 annually cultivating on only one hectare land.

 With additional reports  from NAN

AN/GEE

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WAAPP to produce 250m fingerlings, brood stock

NaijaAgroNet

The West Africa Agricultural Productivity Programme (WAAPP) in Nigeria has declared that it will produce 250 million fast growing fingerlings as well as high quality brood stock in one year for farmers.

The WAAPP’s National Project Coordinator, Prof. Damian Chikwendu, gave this assurance while addressing newsmen on the sidelines of a stakeholders’ meeting in Abuja and stressed that the programme is focused  to promote some newly introduced agricultural technology among farmers.

“We have about 120 communities we are working with while the research institutes and colleges are working with some secondary schools as well. We are trying to promote interest in agriculture among students in secondary schools. We are also working with research institutes to multiply breeder seeds, improve foundation seeds as well as working with the private sector to multiply certified seeds. We are also working with the research institutes and universities to multiply fast growing fingerlings and high quality brood stock; our target for fingerlings for one year is to provide 250 million fingerlings. The seeds and fingerlings that are being produced are for farmers and they are getting them already. The programme is also working toward popularising all local genetic materials, “Prof. Chikwendu said.

He mentioned the `Shika brown’ as an example  of a layer breed of chicken developed by the National Animal Production Research Institute, and said  that the “brown parent stocks” of the new breed would be reproduced with the parent stock and day old chicks distributed to farmers for adoption.

The World Bank Regional Task Team Leader in West Africa Dr Abdoulaye Toure, said the idea of the programme was to share innovations among countries to help develop the sector as well as food security and reduce poverty among West African countries, and urged countries to ensure speedy adoption of technologies and new approaches to development.

NaijaAgroNet recalls  that WAAPP is an Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS)  initiative coordinated at the sub-regional level by the West and Central African Council for Agricultural Research and Development, but  in Nigeria, it was approved by the World Bank and is being coordinated by the Agricultural Research Council of Nigeria (ARCN), an agency of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to cooperate with the West African sub-region in technology generation and dissemination.

The ARCN Executive Secretary, Prof. Baba-Yusuf Abubakar, also said that WAAPP programmes were in line with the federal government  Agricultural Transformation Agenda (ATA), as it has supported some of the research institutes to produce the foundation seeds that eventually go to the National Seeds Council and then finally to the farmers.

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WTO: G33 reopen talks on subsidies in December

Anthony Nwakaegho /NaijaAgroNet

A group of developing countries known as G33 plans to re-open World Trade Organization, (WTO) discussions on limits to support for farmers at the WTO Ministerial Conference in Bali, Indonesia in December.

The group said that the combined effects of the global economic slowdown and increasing climatic shocks are threatening food security in developing countries and want to exceed their agreed domestic support limits when they buy, stock and supply cereals and other food to boost food security among the poor, devoid of any legal challenge.

NaijaAgroNet learnt that the WTO rules do not prescribe limits on the amount of food that can be bought at market prices for food stocks, and it does not limit the amount of food that can be provided as domestic food aid at subsidized prices, except that WTO only disciplines buying cereals at administered prices.

However, developed countries and some developing countries are concerned that the G33 proposal which is backed by India, China and Indonesia could affect food security in neighbouring countries as these measures could lead to surpluses in stocks, which the G33 members might dump in the global market thereby disrupting global prices.

Chairman of India's Commission for Agriculture Cost and Prices (CACP), Ashok Gulati, said that India wants more leeway to provide support for its farmers and consumers because the government is launching a massive subsidized food scheme through a public distribution system that will reach two-thirds of its population of nearly 800 million people.

 He explained that a situation where India would be in a position to dump excess stocks could arise "once in 10 years as the larger distortion will be domestic."

NaijaAgroNet noted that a representative from one of the G33 countries at the WTO, who preferred not to be named, said not all the members of the group were supportive of the proposal and stressed that “India is already the largest exporter of rice in the world... Small exporters will lose their competitiveness because of Indian subsidies... Rice prices are already going down, and with further subsidies it can lead to a price crash.”

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Thailand expands global rice supply

  

Anthony Nwakaegho/NaijaAgroNet

Thailand, once the world’s biggest rice exporter has added to the global supply glut as a result of rice stockpiles following government programme to buy production and the efforts of the farmers planting most crop ever.

According to the data compiled by Bloomberg from United State Department of Agriculture (USDA) estimates and sighted by NaijaAgroNet,  the country’s 15.5 million-ton stockpile would be sufficient to cover annual imports by China, Nigeria, Iran and the next five biggest buyers in 2013-2014.

“Reserves in Thailand will increase 24 per cent to 15.5 million metric tons in 2013-2014 as global output rises 1.7 per cent to an all-time high of 476.8 million tons, the U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates. The price of 5per cent broken Thai white rice, an Asian benchmark, will drop 12 percent to $390, about N 62,438.94 a ton by April, a five-year low,” according to the median of eight trader and analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg.

“Thailand spent $21.6 billion, about N 3,454,012,106,673.96 since October 2011 buying at above-market prices to shore up growers’ incomes, creating a stockpile large enough to meet annual demand from the eight biggest importers and still have grain to spare. The global supply of rice, a staple for half the world, is expanding just as farmers reap record amounts of everything from corn to wheat, driving global food costs to a three-year low.

“Thailand will spend 270 billion baht ($8.6 billion) about N 8,600,000,000.00 buying rice from the harvest that started this month, reversing an earlier plan to cut prices after farmers threatened to protest. The ruling Pheu Thai party won a majority in 2011 elections with support from poorer rural residents who make up 87 per cent of the population. Thai output will gain 4.5 per cent to 21.1 million tons in 2013-2014,” the USDA said.

“I’ve rented more land, expanding farms by more than double, to reap the benefit of good prices from selling paddy to the government. My friends also boosted plantings as we earn more, “said Uthai Thongsaensuk, a 45-year-old farmer in the north-eastern Thai province of Udon Thani.

Darren Cooper, a senior economist at the London-based International Grains Council said  the stockpiles in India, Vietnam, Thailand, the U.S. and Pakistan, the five largest shippers, will expand 6.8 per cent to a record 42.6 million tons in 2013-2014,

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FCTA boosts farmers with N500m agric loans

The Minister of State for Federal Capital Territory, (FCT), Mrs Olajumoke Akinjide said that the administration  has disbursed over N500 million to farmers under the agriculture loan scheme of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) as part of measures to boost agriculture development and food supply in the territory.

Akinjide made this known to NaijaAgroNet during a visit by the management team of Bank of Agriculture (BOA) led by the Managing Director /Chief Executive Officer, Mohammed Santuraki, to her office in Abuja and stressed that Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has entered into a public private partnership (PPP) agreement with an Israeli Firm, SEC Equipment, to build an Agriculture Services and Training Centre in Abuja.

She informed the BOA boss, that in line with President Goodluck Jonathan’s Agricultural Transformation Agenda, the FCTA is committed to the development of viable agricultural entrepreneurship through provision of free technical expertise and farm subsidies and to also make the sector attractive to youths and women.

NaijaAgroNet noted that FCTA would partner with the Bank of Agriculture to grow the agriculture sector and ensured that the Agriculture Services and Training Centre, when completed and operational, would become a one-stop agriculture centre in Nigeria.

Santuraki, explained that the visit by the management team was to strengthen the partnership between the bank and the FCT Administration in the areas of agricultural financing for the benefit of farmers and agribusiness entrepreneurs in the capital territory.

“We have noted the giant strides that the Administration is taking to build a virile economy in FCT using agriculture as the foundation. Your effort is most appropriate at this time in the history of Nigeria when agriculture is occupying an important place in the Federal Government’s Transformation Agenda,” Santuraki said.

He explained that BOA had granted agriculture loans of over N50 billion to support the agribusiness in the last 10 years, created 6,000 enterprises, six million direct and indirect jobs and added that the bank  is in a better position to manage funds earmarked by FCTA for agricultural development and poverty alleviation in the FCT.

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Cross River, FG distribute 40,000 oil palm seedlings to farmers

Anthony Nwakaegho/NaijaAgroNet

Cross River State government in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Agriculture has commenced the distribution of over 40,000 oil palm seedlings to farmers in Nsan Oil Palm site in Akamkpa Local Government and Igoli in Ogoja Local Government areas in the state.

The State Commissioner for Agriculture, Mr James Aniyom, said the oil palm transformation value chain was being supported by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development in pursuance of the Federal Government Agricultural Transformation Agenda (ATA)

Aniyom informed NaijaAgroNet that the objective of the programme is to increase vegetable oil production through increase of oil palm production and processing in order to achieve import substitution and cancel deficit of 300,00mt, which was annually met through import.

It will be recalled that under GES allocation, registered oil palm growers are entitled to 50 oil palm seedlings, which will be given to them free while other inputs like 1½ bags of NPK 12: 12; 17 fertiliser; ¼ bundle of wire collar and 2 litres of touch-down herbicide have been subsidised at 50 percent rate by both the federal and state government.

The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Mr Akinwunni Adesina, represented by Cross River State Director, Federal Ministry Of Agriculture, Asibopong Bassey, said Nigeria produces about 1.3mt of oil palm and imports 300,000mt annually, amounting to $500 million in foreign exchange which the federal government has set out to bridge through ATA.

In his remark, the chairman of oil palm growers association, Cross River State, Owali Ilem, advised the Federal Government to show commitments to the agricultural sector by complying with AU Maputo declaration by allocating 10 percent of its annual budget to agriculture.

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pix: Cross River State Gov. Liyel Imoke

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

Anthony Nwakaegho/NaijaAgroNet

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

CABI says 40% food lost to diseases annually, establishes plant clinics

Anthony Nwakaegho/NaijaAgroNet

United Kindgom-based Center for Agriculture and Biosciences International (CABI) has said that despite the advances made in science and technology, crop disease continues to plague farmers everywhere as 40 per cent of the food grown worldwide is lost to pests and diseases before it could be consumed. 

This postulation was made by CABI while trying to change the trend through a crop protection programme called Plantwise, maintaining, there are about 90 of these clinics in Uganda, while this year donors spent $290,000 about N46, 907,501.64 training plant doctors and expanding the system in the country.

                                                  

NaijaAgroNet learnt from CABI that it has trained nearly a thousand plant doctors in 24 countries, including one near Kampala, Uganda since 2010  and set up Plantwise clinics in 12 African countries - nine in East Africa and  three in West Africa.

One of the trained plant Doctors, according to a press statement from the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), Daniel Lyazi on arrival in Mukono, a village about 15 kilometers from Kampala to set up a clinic discovered that there is no remedy for the diseased plant samples that people bring to the clinic while the farmers have been using the wrong insecticide.

“I’m recommending the use of another insecticide called Fenkill, and in another planting season they should plant with onions. Onions can repel the caterpillar and so they can get income,” he said.
 

The head of a local farmers’ group, Erifazi Mayanja, said that they are really benefiting from the twice-a-month clinic, which started last year as Lyazi’s recommendations may save the next season’s crop by inter-planting onions between the rows of cabbages as an additional protection measure.

The Coordinator the Plantwise program in Uganda and Zambia, Joseph Mulema opined that plant clinics are far more effective model for getting advice to farmers than the traditional one where agricultural extension workers, in theory, visit farms. 

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Nwanze advocates farmers train on new agro-tech

Anthony Nwakaegho/NaijaAgroNet

President, International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), Dr Kanayo Nwanze has canvassed for training of farmers on agriculture technology.

He made this call during his recent working visit to IFAD-assisted Community-Based Natural Resource Management Programme (CBNRMP) in Asaba, Delta State, saying that training of Nigerian farmers on agro technology would avail them better chance to use fertiliser and water harvesting techniques in farming.

Nwanze lamented the role agriculture played in the history of the nation’s gross domestic product (GDP) which was put between 70 to 80 per cent before it nose-dived to abysmal less than 10 per cent and said that the discovery of crude oil resulted in the neglect of agriculture leading to the decline in the production of groundnut, cocoa, rice and many other crops.

NaijaAgroNet noted that CBNRMP is being implemented in the nine Niger Delta states of  Abia, Bayelsa, Cross River, Delta, Edo, Imo, Ondo and Rivers aimed at improving the standard of living and quality of life of or at least 400,000 poor rural households with emphasis on women and youths.

He explained that the ongoing agricultural transformation agenda of the Federal Government has come to restore the country’s lost glory in agriculture and urged Nigerians to embrace all aspects of agriculture because crude oil would one day finish while agriculture would continue to be renewed by nature.

In their remarks, the IFAD Country Programme Manager in Nigeria, Ms Atsuko Toda, urged the state programme officers to utilise the two-year extension of the programme to ensure the achievement of the goals of the programme, while the CBNRMP National Coordinator Jumbo-Ibeakuzie commended IFAD for cutting down the counterpart funding of the participating local governments from 40 per cent to 20 per cent, to make them more committed to the programme.

*with additional report from NAN

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