IFAD tasks youths to engage in farming

NaijaAgroNet:

The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) Director for West and Central Africa Ides v.d Does de Willebois has called on African youths in the rural communities to stay in their localities and engage in agriculture.

Willebois made the plea during a chat with NaijaAgroNet, and stressed the need for the continent's youths to venture into farming and produce the food required for consumption in their respective countries.

"What I have seen in Africa for the past 30 years is that many farmers are old and young ones are not taking farming like their forefathers. I don't see the younger ones coming in, and if that continues, we will only be importing food,” Willebois said.

The IFAD official also stressed the need for the rural youths to be enticed to stay and farm in their communities, noting that some of them are ready to do so but are lacking support technically and financially.

He also used the opportunity to inform NaijaAgroNet on the relevance of the Earth Observation Technology which is being piloted in the Gambia and said that the Earth Observation tools is an explanatory tool for policy makers to know what is happening and to check the patterns of the crop, while it gives implementers and farmers the opportunity to see what happens to their environment, farms and so on for over a period of time.

"IFAD became very keen in promoting the tool and over the years, it is fortunate that the technology has become very affordable. That is why together with European Earth Space Agency (EESA) we are trying to see how best we can work in countries in West and Central Africa using this technology to develop base line data. Gambia is the first country to benefit from the technology which  is being piloted in Jarumeh village, Sami District, Central River Region (CRR) north,” he said.

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AfDB boosts ATA in Nigeria with N24bn

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The African Development Bank Group (AfDB) has approved an African Development Fund (ADF) loan of $ 152.12 million, about N24 billion and an ADF grant of $ 0.38 million, about N60 million, to finance Nigeria's Agricultural Transformation Agenda (ATA) Support Programme Phase 1 (ATASP-1).

This approval was made known in a report issued by the bank and sighted by NaijaAgroNet  which stated that ATASP-1 was to promote employment generation and shared wealth creation along the commodity value chains, food and nutrition security and sustainably increase the income of smallholder farmers and rural entrepreneurs engaged in the production, processing, storage and marketing of the selected commodity value chains.

According to AfDB estimates, Nigeria has a huge potential in agriculture with 84 million hectares of arable land, abundant labour, untapped water resources and a market of 167 million people.

Reports from the  bank funded projects indicate that ATASP-1 is mainly an infrastructure restoration intervention that will rehabilitate 1,300 kms of irrigation water conveyance canals; 39,777 ha of existing crop production schemes; 1,330 kms of feeder roads; 1,007 units of hydraulic structures; 14 community markets; 35 primary schools; and 14 community health centres.

It will also provide 63 potable water and sanitation systems and establish seven technology demonstration centres in four Staple Crops Processing Zones in seven States covering 194,426 km2 of land and 32,121,944 inhabitants (50.93 per cent males and 49.07 per cent females) who are predominantly farmers and small scale commodity processors.

NaijaAgroNet recorded that the program, to be implemented in five years is estimated at $ 175 million ( about  N27 billion) as the  Bank's financing will account for 87.0 per cent of the overall costs, federal government and seven States located in the four Processing Zones will contribute 12.2 per cent, while the beneficiaries will contribute 0.6 per cent of total program costs.

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‘Africa’s agriculture achieves 4% growth rate’

NaijaAgroNet:

Agriculture in Africa has experienced an average of 4 per cent annual Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth in the last 10 years far above what obtained in the previous decades.

The Technical Adviser and Team Leader of the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme   (CAADP)  , Mr. Keizire Boaz made this clarification at the just concluded two-day CAADP partnership platform business meeting in Abuja.

“Over the last decade, through the instrumentality of CAADP, African agriculture and food security concerns remain high on the policy agenda at national, regional, continental and global levels. This includes development partners, Civil Society, Regional Economic Communities (RECs), farmers and the private sector,” Boaz said.

He explained that the performance of African agriculture has been encouraging with annual GDP growth, and stressed that it is absolutely necessary to sustain the momentum of such positive change and development taking place in Africa well into the next decade.

Stakeholders in the implementation of CAADP framework, NaijaAgroNet confirmed gave their progress report, highlighting lessons learnt, prospects, challenges and future plan, especially for 2014 which the African leaders at their 19th ordinary session in Ethiopia last year declared as the Year of Agriculture and Food Security in Africa.

It also learnt that the year will mark ten years since the adoption of CAADP, which is an African Union initiative to accelerate agricultural growth, improve food security and strengthening the resilience of the environment in Africa.

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Farmers could cut emissions while boosting production- FAO

 

NaijaAgroNet:

UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has said that farmers could earn more and protect the environment by using technologies and practices that reduce the global warming gases that livestock emit.

This statement was issued by the FAO in its report of five case studies which suggested that the potential for mitigation is greatest among low-productivity ruminant producers in South Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America and the Caribbean.

NaijaAgroNet gathered from the report of the study that raising livestock such as pigs, cattle and poultry generates climate-altering gases with an impact equivalent to 7.1 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide per year, representing 14.5 per cent of all human-caused greenhouse gas (GHC) emissions.

According to the report the challenge stem from reducing emissions while meeting the soaring demand for livestock products which is a demand that is projected to rise by more than 70 per cent between 2005 and 2050.

The FAO's Assistant Director-General for Agriculture and Consumer Protection, Ren Wang said that “only 10 per cent of producers currently use technologies which could, if taken up more widely, cut the emissions from all livestock species by up to 30 per cent while boosting production. Currently, the majority of the livestock sector's emissions originate from cattle, with beef production contributing 41 per cent and cattle milk production contributing 20 per cent.

“In terms of activities, the worst culprit is feed production and processing, which accounts for 45 per cent of emissions from livestock-related practices. This is followed by manure storage and processing, which is responsible for ten per cent of these emissions. In the case of ruminants, such as cattle, buffalo, sheep and goats, using better quality feeds would lower the amount of methane they emit during digestion as well as the quantity of nitrous oxide and carbon dioxide released by their decomposing manure.”

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12m South African households may go hungry- President Zuma

NaijaAgroNet:

The South African President Jacob Zuma   has said that some 12 million households in South Africa are vulnerable to food insecurity and may go hungry.

President  Zuma  made this disclosure  in his annual address to the National Council of Provinces in Soshanguve, Pretori, monitored by NaijaAgroNet and assured that in line with the country's the National Development Plan (NDP), the government will take a number of steps to improve food security.

“These steps include the expanded use of irrigation, security of land tenure, especially for women and youths, and the promotion of nutrition education,’’ Zuma said.

The NDP, which is the country’s economic blueprint, has set out various methods and targets to get rid of poverty, reduce unemployment and abolish inequality by 2030, while the government
launched the Fetsa Tlala food production programme to eradicate hunger and promote food security.

The government has also provided two billion rand (about N31 billion) for this financial year for farmer support programmes while 72 per cent of it will be used for food production to support Fetsa Tlala.

Under this arrangement, NaijaAgroNet  noted that about 100,000 hectares of land will be put into production through the programme to be supervised by the departments of agriculture in the provinces.

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Pix:South African President Jacob Zuma

IFC, Diamond Bank increase agric finance by N5tn

NaijaAgroNet:

International Finance Corporation,(IFC) a member of the World Bank Group  has said it will provide advisory services to Diamond Bank Plc to help the lender increase access to finance in Nigeria’s agricultural sector by up to $33million (about N5 trillion )over two years.

This was made known in a statement issued by the corporation, sighted by NaijaAgroNet which explained that the projected lending would be extended to small and medium enterprises across the sector, including livestock farmers, producer groups, distributors, processors, traders and retailers.

 “It will also target almost 2,000 small holder farmers.  IFC will provide Diamond Bank with advisory services on strategy, product development and risk management, and help develop a financing model to viably lend to small and medium agribusinesses,” the statement said.

The Group Managing Director/CEO, Diamond Bank, Mr. Alex Otti said the bank has always demonstrated market leadership in the provision of innovative financial services and solutions to all segments of the society and stressing that  partnership with IFC, the bank will serve the Nigeria’s newly emerging bankable population in the agricultural sector better, and create more growth opportunities for the players as well as the economy.

IFC Financial Markets Manager in Sub-saharan Africa, Mr. Ian Weetman, said increasing growth and employment in the agricultural sector was a critical objective for IFC in Nigeria and sub-Saharan Africa; hence the corporation’s advisory services geared towards increasing access to finance throughout the agricultural and food supply chain.

NaijaAgroNet confirmed that IFC and Diamond Bank have been longstanding partners that have seen agriculture as the main activity of the majority of Nigerians,  accounting for 40 per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and 60 per cent of employment, but presently only receives 1.4 per cent of total commercial bank lending in the country. 

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Delta boosts agriculture, SMEs with N158bn

NaijaAgroNet:

Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan of Delta State has said that his administration, as part of measures under the Delta beyond oil initiative has set aside $1billion (about N158 billion) market intervention fund for the growth of the agricultural sector and Small and Medium Enterprises development in the state.

The Governor who was represented by his Deputy, Prof. Amos Utuama at Delta State Trade Fair 2013, in Osubi, near Warri made this disclosure, while explaining that advanced countries of the world grew by developing their SMEs and agricultural sector which served as a springboard for industrialisation and called for concerted efforts towards the growth of the agricultural sector and SMEs development in the state.

He said that efforts should be geared towards Nigeria harnessing and channelling production in industrial sector towards non-oil products backed by local materials and stressed that trade fairs provide the needed platform to expose locally-made goods and afford local entrepreneurs the opportunity to interface with their counterparts from other parts of the world.

NaijaAgroNet gathered  from  the governor that the theme of the fair, ‘Trade Beyond Oil,’ was apt as it is set out to address the economic revival both of the state and the country as a whole as the consciousness is beginning to dawn on all Nigerians that sole dependence on oil has been counter-productive.

He asserted that state government policy of ‘Delta Beyond Oil’ is being pursued vigorously with all machinery been put  in place to ensure that the state became an industrial and commercial haven through various investment friendly policies, programmes  and windows of opportunities designed by the private sector operators to grow businesses.

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Pix: Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan of Delta State

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.

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pix:Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Dr Akinwumi Adesina

Over 2 million Zimbabwe under threat of hunger next year-UN

NaijaAgroNet:

United Nations agency has warned that food security in the southern African country has continued to deteriorate making over two million people in Zimbabwe vulnerable for food assistance by early next year.

World Food Programme (WFP) spokesperson Elisabeth Byrs made this statement while briefing  reporters in Geneva, and insisted that the food security situation is at its worst since 2009, with the national maize harvest being less than last year’s 1 million metric tons, and less than the country’s requirement of 2.1 million metric tons.

The Government of Zimbabwe, NaijaAgroNet was informed has requested international support for food assistance to meet the growing needs to which WFP is launching a relief programme in the worst-affected areas and gradually scale up assistance over coming months.

“WFP and partners will begin food distributions and will expand its operations until the end of March when the next harvest comes. Three distributions will start in three districts of Midlands and Matabeleland North provinces, and will be scaled up to 19 districts in November, 38 in December, and 41 districts from January to March,” Byrs said.

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54m kids under 5-yrs in Africa go hungry-AUC

NaijaAgroNet:

The African Union Commission (AUC) has said that over 54 million kids in Africa under the age of five years go hungry and urged leaders in Africa  to work together to tackle malnutrition and under-development on the continent, NaijaAgroNet reports.

The AUC made this disclosure as the African leaders, agriculture and nutrition experts from the private and public sector marked this year’s Africa Food and Nutrition Security Day in Niamey, Niger, to tackle malnutrition and under-development on the continent.

The AUC Commissioner for Rural Economy and Agriculture, H.E Tumusiime Rhoda Peace, said “The African Union Commission accords special importance to this year’s day as a prelude to 2014 the AU declared Year of Agriculture and Food and Nutrition Security and also marking the 10th anniversary of the comprehensive Africa agriculture development programme. 

Peace said that the day remains an opportunity for all AU member states, governments and partners to heighten awareness and reinforce commitment to accelerating the collective efforts towards a food and nutrition secure Africa, while the Africa Agenda 2063 will be considered for adoption by AU heads of state and government at their summit to be held in January next year.

The Chief Executive Officer of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development Agency, Dr Ibrahim Mayaki, said “Proven solutions for food and nutrition security challenges already exist and needed to be replicated. The era of pilot projects is long gone and it is now time to take action.  The private sector is a valuable partner in the fight against malnutrition whereas civil society remains our most important voice of conscience”.

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