Nigerians must eat what we produce to create wealth - Adesina

r-l chairman of the occasion, Olakunle  K. Bello watching as guest speaker,

Dr. Adesina represented by Mrs. Ibukun Odusote being congratulated

by special adviser on regional integration, who represented  Gov. Babs Fashola, 

 after her address at Wilson Badejo Foundation annual lecture 2013.

To change the increasing unemployment rate in the country, Nigerians must eat food produced locally, in order to create jobs for the youths whose figure has continued to grow, according to the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Dr. Akinwumi Adesina.

Speaking as a special guest at the annual lecture of Wilson Badejo Foundation in Lagos, entitled ‘Unlocking wealth for Nigerian farmers’ Adesina, who was represented at the occasion by the Permanent Secretary, Mrs. Ibukun Odusote, told NaijaAgroNet that for this to change and add the creation of jobs for teeming youths in the country, Nigerians must eat what is produced by local farmers.

“We must produce what we eat and eat what we produce,” he declared.

Adesina also said at the occasion chaired by Deacon Olatunji K. Bello of Multiplex Limited, that his mission in the ministry of Agriculture is not to manage or maintain poverty in the rural areas, but to create wealth, lamenting that millions of Nigerian farmers, who for decades have toiled in hope but have been unable to get out of crushing poverty traps, hence he sees agriculture as a tool for creating wealth for millions of poor farmers.

He reiterated that creating wealth is what is at the heart of a major revolution underway in agriculture in Nigeria and in harnessing the power of the private sector, government needs to get out of certain aspects of agriculture and turn this over to the private sector in order to improve efficiency. 

“We need to focus on agricultural value chains and not just on increasing production,” he advised, wondering what will happen to the increase if there are no markets and no agro processing firms that will help mop up the increased yields?

Nigerian agriculture sector, Adesina said, has potential, but no one can eat potential except if transformed into food supply to deliver nutritious food and wealth to the growing population.

To reverse this trend, Adesina urged Nigerians to buy into the current government’s vision to make Nigeria an agriculturally industrialized economy; to create wealth, jobs and markets for farmers, and revive the rural economy.

“We plan to grow the size of the agricultural sector from the present level of $99 billion per year today to about $300 billion per year by 2030. We envision a Nigeria without oil. For nobody drinks oil and nobody smokes gas,” he said.

The minister further commended the leadership of Wilson Badejo Foundation (WBF) for sustained effort in engaging the youths and offering them the opportunity to become better enlightened and second chance to contribute to the society at large.

In her remarks, the Executive Secretary, WBF, Dr. Mrs. Kenny Kemabonta, commended those who have supported the foundation in past and urged for more support because the foundation has identified more societal challenges to tackle including how to rehabilitate the so-called ‘area boys’ who now have a kingdom of their own.

Key to achieving this, she said, is more investment in youth’s development via educational scholarship, which has risen over the years, even as the foundation needs more partnership.

So far, she said about 40 indigent students have been assisted with tuition fees for this year alone.

Welcoming guest to the event, the chairman, Deacon Olatunji K. Bello of Multiplex Ltd shared his experience on investing in agriculture, which created job for over 50 youths and urged more Nigerians to invest in agriculture.

“I want to encourage us to invest in agriculture to create more jobs, especially for the youths,” he said, citing investment in trees for instance, Bello noted that yes, it may take a while to grow, but it create jobs eventually.

Nigerian agriculture graduates, he said, do have degrees, but not work experience, because there is no place conducive enough for them to work, insisting that the youth must be assisted if the Nigerian society must be a better one.

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GEF Looking Forward tackles ‘Managing the Planet’

George Mason University and the Woodrow Wilson Center’s of Brazil Institute and Environmental Change and Security Programme have teamed up for a dialogue on “Managing the Planet” on “The GEF Looking Forward.”

NaijaAgroNet gathered that the event slated for Monday, May 20th, 2013 at Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, 6th Floor Auditorium would have an introductory remarks: Blair Ruble, Director, Global Sustainability and Resilience Programme, Wilson Center

Also the dialogue would feature Naoko Ishii, the CEO and chairperson, Global Environment Facility, while the moderator would be Prof. Thomas E. Lovejoy, Professor of Environmental Science and Policy, George Mason University, member of the Brazil Institute Advisory Board, and Chair of the Scientific and Technical Advisory Panel of the GEF.

The largest funder of biodiversity and climate change related projects, the Global Environmental Facility was created to assist developing countries to meet obligations under global environmental agreements initiated at the 1992 Earth Summit held in Rio de Janeiro, including the (U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC), Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), and the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPS).

The GEF is the largest funder of projects in developing countries to protect the global environment. Since 1991, the GEF has provided $11.5 billion in grants to 3,215 projects in 165 countries, leveraging an additional $57 billion in co-financing.

Dr. Naoko Ishii, who was appointed as the new GEF CEO and Chairperson over the summer, will share her thoughts on where the GEF is headed under her leadership. Before taking over the GEF, Dr. Ishii was Japan’s Deputy Vice Minister of Finance and the Executive Assistant to the Prime Minister for Global Environmental Finance. Dr. Ishii will bring new ideas and approaches to international development.

NaijaAgroNet recalls that the “Managing the Planet” seminar series – developed jointly by George Mason University and the Wilson Center’s Brazil Institute and Environmental Change and Security Programme – addresses planetary-scale problems and solutions.

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Uganda’s vision aligns with CAADP investment plans, says Minister

Delegates at the workshop (Ugandan Minister of State for Animal Industry 

and Fisheries  Hon. Bright  Rwamirama, second from the left

The Ugandan Minister of State for Animal Industry, Mr. Bright Rwamirama, has said that his country’s vision for national development aligns with the investment plans of Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP).

Speaking Monday, in Kampala, Uganda, at the opening of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) workshop on integrating agriculture and food security risk management in CAADP investment plans, he reassured that Uganda vision is in tandem with CAADP strategies.

“The vision of CAADP is in line with, and supported by Uganda’s own vision for national development,” he declared, stressing that agriculture remains the key driver of both growth and poverty reduction.

NaijaAgroNet recalls that at their Maputo Summit in 2003, African Heads of State and Government adopted CAADP as Africa’s overall vision to achieve food security.

Also, CAADP was endorsed to boost economic growth through agricultural transformation in order to eradicate poverty, and hence build the foundations for sustainable broad-based economic development on the continent.

In her remarks, Principal Food Security Analyst at NEPAD, Ms Mariam Soumare, emphasised that recurrent agriculture and food crises are undermining the chances of achieving the recommended 6 per cent productivity growth through sustainable investment in agriculture.

NEPAD, she disclosed intends to support regional economic communities and countries in mainstreaming agriculture and food security risk management into CAADP investment plans.

NaijaAgroNet notes that the overall goal of the workshop and follow up process is to ensure that risk management interventions are planned, coordinated, budgeted and implemented as part of Regional and National Agriculture and Food Security Investment Plans.

Equally, a press statement made available to NaijaAgroNet on behalf of the Ugandan Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries, Uganda reiterated readiness to collaborate on CAADP.

“The issue of risk management in the agricultural sector is very timely, at least for Uganda because of late we have had seriously unexpected climate change effects with very devastating results on crops and livestock. We hope that the expertise at this workshop will come up with practical solutions to address the challenge of agricultural risks and make agriculture attractive to all,” part of the statement read.

For Mr. Alhaji Jallow of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the three day workshop focused on integrating price and food security risk management policies and tools in CAADP. 

He pointed out that some of the risks identified in agriculture include price risks, as prices could be volatile and variable; production risks, brought on largely by weather and biological instabilities; and institutional risks such as unexpected changes in legal and policy guidelines, which are exacerbated by lack of adequate information.

In addition, he said, production variability in Africa is high, due to erratic rainfall and few risk management strategies.

NEPAD convened the workshop in collaboration with the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) and the East African Community (EAC), FAO, the European Union, the Platform for Agriculture Risk Management (PARM), and other partners including the World Bank.

 
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