Opinion: No option but to innovate for business of agriculture

Opinion@NaijaAgroNet:

Of all the challenges that Africa faces, there is one that transcends and embraces all the others: I mean agriculture. Our continent today runs the risk of missing a unique opportunity to develop and offer its youth the jobs it has the obligation to provide if it wants to avoid social implosion.

Agriculture, which employs or provides livelihoods to 60% of the population while contributing 20-30% to Africa’s GDP, is the sector that could by itself enable to save the greatest number of Africans from extreme poverty while giving them their dignity back.

And yet, it typically attracts less than 5% of lending from financial institutions on the continent, leaving farmers and agricultural enterprises starved of the capital they need to operate and grow their businesses.

The scope for growth is all the more important that the situation is highly paradoxical: Africa imports the equivalent of $ 50 billion of food every year. Yet more than half of the arable land unexploited in the world are on the continent!

The 12th CAADP PP taking place in Ghana this week is organised around the theme “Accelerating Implementation of CAADP through Innovative Financing and Renewed Partnership”. The theme reflects the urgency being placed on implementation by the African Union and its members.

To solve the agricultural equation, we must join forces and continue our efforts to define a common agricultural policy. In 2003, in Maputo, we really started to turn the corner in laying the foundations for pan-African agricultural initiatives. The Heads of State and Government of the African Union then decided to devote 10% of their national budgets to agriculture. In 2014, in Malabo, they reiterated their commitment to further increase investment, both public and private, in agriculture.

Innovative financing will be key in unlocking Africa’s Green Revolution. Innovative financing is a means of mobilizing additional resources for investment in agriculture or solving long-running market failures that can unlock private investment. Now we should aim at a growth model that is public-sector enabled, and private sector scaled.

Because of the rural and dispersed nature of agricultural production, where banks and formal financial institutions often lack a presence, mobile technology provides a convenient and low-cost distribution channel to reach farmers and agro-enterprises with electronic payments and information products, as well as savings, credit, and insurance products, among others. It can also help to transfer targeted financial support for small farmers and agribusiness.

Investments in infrastructure will also help drive increased private investment and production in the agriculture sector. Often resulting in public goods that benefit a broad base of economic activity, investments in irrigation, transport and market infrastructure in particular are critical to improving economic returns and productivity in the agriculture sector.

The next step is to put in place a system that ensures the prices and the flow (or storage) of production, combined with a system of variable levies at the external borders of Africa (taxes on imports) protecting productions potential competition from products from outside. This will require innovative financial mechanisms and technologies as well.

A proactive agricultural policy should be common because it requires us to share not only our resources, but also our minds and our wills. It should be common because it cannot be implemented without regional infrastructure, energy and logistics in particular, that will allow our farmers to compete and enter into a process of value creation. We should harness the latest innovations and technologies because Africa has no other option but to leapfrog if it wants to realize its tremendous potential.

*A contribution by Ibrahim Assane Mayaki is CEO of the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD).

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Olam invests $159m on animal feed, poultry breeding in Nigeria

NaijaAgroNet:

Olam International, a leading agri-business operating across the value chain in 70 countries, has revealed it invested estimated US$150.0 million, about N30 billion to set up two state-of-the-art animal feed mills, poultry breeding farms and a hatchery for day-old-chicks in Nigeria, reports NaijaAgroNet.

This was disclosed at the commencement of works on the project site in Kaduna State by Olam’s CEO for Africa, Mr Venkataramani Srivathsan, of the US$150.0 million in total investments, approximately US$100.0 million has been committed to building and operating the facilities in Kaduna State, while US$50.0 million is for a second phase of the investment in integrated poultry and fish feed mill located in Kwara State.

"This is the latest investment by Olam in Nigeria’s domestic food and agricultural production sector after our recent investments in wheat milling assets and the ongoing development of our 10,000-hectare rice farm and mill in Nasarawa State," he said.

The event which was co-hosted in Kaduna State by Olamide Group Nigeria and Governor of Kaduna State, H.E. Malam Nasir el-Rufai, played host to the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu Innocent Ogbeh who represented President Muhammadu Buhari. 

The Olam boss also said that the new venture into animal feed is a win-win for his company and Nigeria. 

"Domestically produced meat is being hampered by a lack of good quality feed, support for farmers and availability of young stock, but consumption is set to increase. By investing in poultry and fish feed, we can utilize the wheat bran from our wheat milling operations, as well as maximize our sourcing networks to buy corn and soy from local farmers.  Our investment in the hatchery will help boost poultry production and, in the long run, help reduce the country’s reliance on imports. This development underlines the continued confidence we share in Nigeria’s ambition for self-sufficiency," he said.

A press statement made available to NaijaAgroNet by the Head Corporate and Government Relations at OLAM Nigeria, Ade Adefeko, noted that with full capacity, both feed mills are expected to produce in excess of 600,000 tonnes per annum of high-quality poultry and fish feed, with the Kaduna facility supplying mainly to the Northern markets and the Kwara facility to the South-west region. 

"The poultry breeding farm in Kaduna is expected to produce over one million hatching eggs every week for the hatchery," he said, even as the feed mills will procure most of their corn and soybean requirements locally, spurring growth of these domestic crops.

For this, Olam will create over 100,000 metric tonnes of in-house storage capacity, which will also help support food security.

Isaac Oyimah/GEE

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PIX: Governor, Kaduna State, Malam Nasir Ahmad el-Rufai discussing a point of interest with MD/CEO, Africa and Middle East Olam International,  Venkataramani Srivathsan, after performing the groundbreaking ceremony of Nigeria’s largest N20billion integrated  Animal feed mill Poultry breeding farms and hatchery held at Chikpiri Gabas Village Chikun LGA, in Kaduna State Friday 8th April, 2016 while the Deputy Governor, Kaduna State Architect Barnabas Bala Bantex looks on

UN General Assembly proclaims Decade of Action on Nutrition

NaijaAgroNet:

The United Nations General Assembly has proclaimed a UN Decade of Action on Nutrition that will run from 2016 to 2025, reports NaijaAgroNet.

Welcoming the decision, the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) described it as a major step towards mobilising action around reducing hunger and improving nutrition around the world.

NaijaAgroNet recalls that nearly 800 million people remain chronically undernourished and over two billion people suffer from micronutrient deficiencies.

Meanwhile FAO noted that some 159 million children under 5 years of age are stunted - meaning they are too short for their age. While approximately 50 million children in the same age bracket are wasted - meaning they have low weight for their height. Even as another 1.9 billion people are overweight -- 600 million of these are obese, as well as prevalence of people who are overweight or obese is increasing in nearly all countries.

FAO also said that this resolution recognises the need to eradicate hunger and prevent all forms of malnutrition worldwide. The Decade of Action on Nutrition will provide an umbrella for a wide group of actors to work together to address these and other pressing nutrition issues.

NaijaAgroNet equally reports that the resolution calls upon FAO and World Health Organisation (WHO) to lead the implementation of the Decade of Action on Nutrition in collaboration with the World Food Programme (WFP), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), and involving coordination mechanisms such as the United Nations System Standing Committee on Nutrition (UNSCN) and multi-stakeholder platforms such as the Committee on World Food Security (CFS).

It also invites national governments and other stakeholders, including international and regional organizations, civil society, the private sector and academia to actively participate.

Reacting, FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva said "This resolution places nutrition at the heart of sustainable development and recognizes improving food security and nutrition are essential to achieving the entire 2030 Agenda.

"Children can't fully reap the benefits of schooling if they don't get the nutrients they need; and emerging economies won't reach their full potential if their workers are chronically tired because their diets are unbalanced. That's why we welcome the Decade of Action on Nutrition and look forward to helping make it a success," he said.

Introducing the resolution, which was co-sponsored by 30 Members, Ambassador Antonio de Aguiar Patriota, Brazil's Permanent Representative to the United Nations, said they considered the United Nations Decade of Action on Nutrition a great opportunity to bring together initiatives and efforts to eradicate hunger and prevent all forms of malnutrition, crucial elements of the 2030 Agenda.

“We encourage UN agencies, Member States, civil society and private sector to join in this collective effort. We look forward to engage in this process, sharing information on our national policies and learning from other experiences," he said.

NaijaAgroNet further reports that the resolution also endorsed the Rome Declaration on Nutrition and the Framework for Action adopted during the Second International Conference on Nutrition (ICN2) co-hosted by FAO and WHO in November 2014.

Isaac Oyimah/GEE

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Cuba joins forces with global anti-rogue fishing effort

NaijaAgroNet:

 The Cuban Ambassador to the United Nations agencies in Rome, Alba Soto Pimentel, has formally presented FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva with Cuba's instrument of accession to the Agreement on Port State Measures to Prevent, Deter and Eliminate Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing, reports NaijaAgroNet.

Ambassador Soto Pimentel said Cuba's accession to this international treaty is a sign of the political will of the Government of Cuba to contribute in an effective and concrete way in support of measures for the protection and sustainability of ecosystems and the preservation of marine biodiversity.

For his part, the FAO Director-General, Graziano da Silva, strongly welcomed Cuba's accession, saying "I am sure it is an example which will be followed by many other countries in the Caribbean region."

The Agreement, NaijaAgroNet gathered will create binding obligations, comes into force when 25 countries or regional economic blocs have deposited their instrument of adherence with the FAO Director-General. With Cuba's adherence 23 countries and the European Union, on behalf of its members, have deposited 24 instruments of adherence. Among the latest are Barbados, Guyana, Republic of Korea, South Africa and the United States.

Graziano da Silva has expressed confidence that the target of 25 could be reached by July this year.

NaijaAgroNet gathered that Illicit fishing, which includes operating without authorization, harvesting protected species, using outlawed fishing gear and violating quota limits, may account for up to 26 million tonnes a year, or more than 15 percent, of the world's total annual capture fisheries output.

Besides economic damage, such practices can threaten local biodiversity and food security in many countries.

Port State measures set standards for inspection of foreign vessels that seek to enter the port of another State. Importantly, the measures allow a country to block ships it suspects of having engaged in illicit fishing and thereby prevent illegal catches from entering local and international markets.

To assist countries in building their capacity to implement the Agreement, FAO has convened a series of regional workshops around the world, with participation from over 100 countries.

By becoming party to and implementing the Agreement, States will be in a position to better achieve the objectives of the voluntary 1995 FAO Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries, which seeks to promote the long-term sustainability of the sector.

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Pix: (r) Cuban Ambassador to the United Nations agencies in Rome, Alba Soto Pimentel, presenting FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva with Cuba's instrument of accession to the Agreement on Port State Measures to Prevent, Deter and Eliminate Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing, recently.

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Graziano da Silva emphasizes fight against hunger, boosts resilient rural livelihoods

NaijaAgroNet:

The Director-General of Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), Dr.José Graziano da Silva has empahised the agency fight against hunger, just as they plan to boost resilient  of rural livelihoods, NaijaAgroNet reports.

Speaking to members of the United Nations Security Council, Jose Graziano da Silva stressed that actions to promote food security could help prevent a crisis, mitigate its impacts and promote post-crisis recovery and healing.

He pointed out that conflicts are a key driver of protracted crises, where hunger is three times more likely than in the rest of the developing world, while the countries with the highest levels of food insecurity are also those most affected by conflict.

According to him, that is borne out in cases ranging from Syria and Yemen to South Sudan and Somalia.

He also cited post-conflict Angola and Nicaragua, post-genocide Rwanda and post-independence Timor-Leste as cases where peace and food security were mutually reinforcing.

The opposite, he said, could equally prove true, leading to a relapse into violence. 

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Four new organisations admitted into GEO

NaijaAgroNet:

The Executive Committee of the intergovernmental Group on Earth Observations (GEO) has admitted four new organisations into its fold, reports NaijaAgroNet.

The Committee during its 36^th meeting recently in Geneva welcomed new participating organizations, namely the European Association of Remote Sensing Companies (EARSC); Joint Board of Geospatial Information Societies (JBGIS); Mountain Research Initiative (MRI); and a new Observer, the Asia-Pacific Regional Space Agency Forum (APRSAF).

The Communications Manager, Group on Earth Observations, Ms Katherine Anderson in a press statement made available to NaijaAgroNet quoted the co-chair of GEO, Dr. Kathryn Sullivan, as disclosing this.

She also noted that the Executive Committee Co-Chairs including Hejun Yin, Vice-Minister, Ministry of Science and Technology (China); Rudolf Strohmeier, Assistant Director-General, Directorate-General for Research and Innovation (European Commission); and Philemon Mjwara, Director-General, Department of Science and Technology (South Africa) were in attendance.

GEO, NaijaAgroNet before now comprised of 102 Member states, including the European Commission, and 95 participating organizations, even as it strives to improve the world’s observation systems and provide policy makers and scientists with accurate and useful data to make informed decisions on issues affecting the planet. 

NaijaAgroNet further gathered that with headquarters in Switzerland, GEO’s primary focus since establishment in 2005 has been to develop a Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS) to enhance the ability of end-users to discover and access Earth observation data and convert it to useable and useful information.

 
Isaac Oyimah/GEE 
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Food insecurity: GEO launches Early Warning Crop Monitoring tool

NaijaAgroNet:

Arising from its 36^th Executive Meeting held in Geneva the Group on Earth Observations (GEO) has launched a new tool to fight food insecurity tagged the Early Warning Crop Monitor (EWCM), reports NaijaAgroNet.

The GEO’s United States (US) Co-Chair, Dr Kathryn Sullivan, affirmed this at the end of the meeting held between March 8 and 9, disclosing that this tool was developed by the group’s Global Agricultural Monitoring Initiative (GEOGLAM), established by the G-20 Agriculture Ministers, under the Early Warning Crop Monitor (ECWM) which provides consensus reports on crop conditions in countries at risk of food insecurity in Central and South America, Africa, the Middle East, and Central and East Asia. 

NaijaAgroNet gathered that the March edition of EWCM bulletin reports that countries in Southeast Asia, and even more so in Southern Africa, face severe droughts attributed to the on-going El Niño.

Also, NaijaAgroNet gathered that Dr. Sullivan who doubles as the Administrator of the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) pointed that EWCM, together with the GEOGLAM Crop Monitor for the Agricultural Market Information Service (AMIS), will ultimately monitor crop development in 124 countries, totalling about 94 per cent of the world’s agricultural area. GEO noted that both reports synthesize remote sensing data, field observations and environmental modelling conducted by more than 40 international, regional and national organizations; whereas the monthly reports are made available to decision-makers across the food security community and to the commodities markets.

She said that concerns over food and water security are rising globally, pointing out that "Ensuring that agricultural industries around the world have access to the best science, data, tools and resources is essential as we work to increase food security and mitigate the effects of droughts and floods. The GEOGLAM Early Warning Crop Monitor provides decision-makers with essential information, gathered from satellites, buoys and other observational tools, to be ready, responsive and resilient against extreme weather and water events."

 
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