“Green Alternative: The Agriculture Promotion Policy 2016-2020.”

The Federal Government’s plan to diversify the economy received a boost on Monday with the launch of a four-year agricultural blueprint tagged “Green Alternative: The Agriculture Promotion Policy 2016-2020.”
Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, at the public presentation of the scheme, said it would involve the employment of 100,000 agricultural extension workers by the Federal Government, to provide support services to farmers. The extension workers will be taken from the 500,000 teachers currently being recruited by the Federal Government.
The Vice President explained that the government will address the problem of finance, which is the major hindrance to the development of the agricultural sector, by recapitalising the Bank of Agriculture (BOA) and mandating it to offer single digit loan to farmers. Current interest rates on loans available to farmers are double digit, which is not realistic for agricultural ventures.
In his remarks at the occasion, the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbeh, hinted that the Green Alternative is built on five major strategic thrusts. These include achievement of self-sufficiency in food production, reduction in import dependence, stimulation of agro export for foreign exchange earnings, enhancement of wealth and job creation, and achievement of economic diversification.
Ogbeh further explained that some of the government’s key targets within the planned period include:
Growing the agriculture sector between six and 12 per cent annually,
Doubling agricultural household income in six to 12 years,
Integrating agricultural commodity value chains into the broader supply chain,
Driving job and wealth growth, as well as
Enhancing capacity for foreign exchange earnings.
He said that government will work with state governments to put the over 200 dams across the country to use.
Interestingly, the minister made it clear that the new agric policy is not entirely new as it is built on the Agricultural Transformation Agenda (ATA) of the Goodluck Jonathan administration.
It is commendable that the government is shifting attention from oil and gas. This is quite understandable, considering the fall in the prices of these non-renewable products.
The beauty of the new policy is that it is a continuation of the previous regime’s agricultural policy, and will make low interest loans and agricultural extension workers available to farmers.
Like most previous agricultural policies in the country, this new policy looks good on paper. Nigeria has never been short of fanciful agricultural policies, our problem has always with their implementation.
We have had “Operation Feed the Nation (OFN)” and “Green Revolution”, but nothing much came out of them in terms of improved agriculture.
The high point of agriculture in the country was during the First Republic when there was massive production of groundnuts in the North, cocoa in the West and palm produce in the East and rubber in the Mid-West.
We, at that time, ranked among the world’s best in these agricultural products before the discovery of crude oil in commercial quantities in the country. With the oil boom, we ignored agriculture and became a net importer of food and other consumer products, including those food items that we can easily produce in the country.
Now that we are trying to diversify the economy through agriculture, all stakeholders must be carried along. All farmers, including subsistence, medium-scale and large-scale operators should be encouraged to be part of the new agricultural revolution.
Fortunately, we have enough arable land to grow the food we need and for export. We have the capacity to grow food and cash crops, as well as engage in fish and animal husbandry, to make us self-sufficient in food production.
Agriculture holds the key to the growth of the economy in terms of wealth and job creation. But, the type of agriculture that can fast-track our economic growth must be large-scale and mechanized. We should migrate from subsistent farming to large-scale and mechanized all-season farming.
Government should walk its talk and ensure that the single-digit agric loans are available for those who qualify for it. The relevant authorities should also ensure the availability of farm input such as improved seedlings, fertilizers, graders and other modern farm implements. All stakeholders, including states and local governments, should key into this new agric policy and make it work.

Economy could be Revived Through Agriculture - Ajimobi.

Oyo State Government is sets to restore the lost glory of the state as leader in agricultural production in the old Western regional government by Chief Obafemi Awolowo in the 60s, according to the state governor, Sen. Abiola Ajimobi.
Speaking at the first convocation of Oyo State College of Agriculture and Technology, Igboora and presentation of fellowship award to former President of Nigeria, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, the state governor and CEO, BOVAS Petroleum, Mrs. Victoria Agboola Samson and others, said the state government will provide more opportunity for re-engineering of agriculture in the state to restore its lost glory in the area of agriculture.
Represented by the commissioner for Education, Science and technology, Prof. Adeniyi Olowofela, the governor said: “you would recall that in the 60s, Oyo State under the old western region was known for its leading role in agriculture which was then the mainstay of the nation’s economy.
“And in the view of the economic challenges facing the country, occasioned by the fall in the oil prices of crude oil in the world market, and several years of neglect of agriculture, the current reality as of today is that the economy could be revived through agriculture and technological advancement.”
He congratulated the school management and the graduants for successful completion of their studies noting that, the kind of training that the institution provides exposes students to intensive practicals in various fields of agriculture.
He said as a result of this, the graduants had acquired the necessary skills in vocational training, skill acquisition and entrepreneurship development as prerequisite for self-reliance and job creation.
Ajimobi maintained that emphasis has shifted from white collar jobs which are no longer available to self employment, adding that, students must note that the quest for education is no longer geared towards white collar jobs but the current global reality that education should make its recipients to become self reliant, productive to be either gainfully employed or personal investment after graduation.
Also speaking at the event, the Provost of the college, Prof. Gbemiga Adewale said the graduands have been found worthy in learning and character saying that the products are not trained to be job seekers as they have received requisite knowledge to be self reliant to contribute to the nation’s economic development.
Speaking on the fellowship awards to the distinguished Nigerians, he said Former President Obasanjo was the major facilitator of the college and that the governor of the state had been a strong support to the institution whose in time the college was transformed from Monopoly to Polytechnics.

FG launches agriculture roadmap, ”The Green Alternative”

The Federal Government on Monday inaugurated a roadmap for the agriculture sector, tagged: “The Green Alternative: Agriculture Promotion Policy, 2016-2020.’’
Audu Ogbeh
Speaking at the occasion, the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbeh, said the vision was to revive agric sector to boost food production in the country.
According to Ogbeh, the policy will serve as the new fulcrum for economic diversification, inclusive growth and sustainable development in agric sector.
“The launch of the `Green Alternative’ is an attestation that the change that the overwhelming majority of Nigerians canvassed for and openly welcomed by giving Muhammadu Buhari a resounding victory in the last presidential election is here.
“In this policy, you will see us navigating through the agricultural terrain, trucking on virtually every aspect, we launched on the human element.
“We will reflect on years of neglect where agriculture was seen as a refuge for the wretched and unsophisticated,’’ Ogbeh said.
The minister explained further that the emphasis on ‘’Green” would capture the essence, spirit and orientation of the new policy/strategy document.
“The emphasis on green is deliberate; it is to underscore, not only the imperative of building a strong, vibrant and resilient economy, but also a green refreshing, generating, transformative-agriculture-led economy.
“It is to ensure mutual complementary between efficient, effective and productive agricultural production, system and processes on one hand and environmental sustainability,’’ Ogbeh said.
He stated that the policy had five major strategic driving forces namely, achievement of self-sufficiency and sustainable food security, reduction in import dependence and economic losses, particularly through value addition.
Other, he said, were stimulation of agro-exports for enhanced foreign exchange earnings, enhancement of wealth and job creation, especially provision of employment opportunities for the teeming youths.
The minister also said achievement of economic diversification to make the economy less oil-dependent was among the driving forces of the green policy.
Ogbeh said that through the policy, farmers would have access to land, soil fertility, information and knowledge, inputs, production management, storage, processing, marketing and trade, including access to finance.
Others are promoting agribusiness and ensuring investment development, institutional setting and roles, youth and women, infrastructure, research and innovation and nutrition security.
Also, the Minister of State for Agriculture, Sen. Heineken Lokpobiri explained that agricultural policy over the years had focused on conventional paradigm of harnessing the sector’s potential to provide sufficient food for the growing population.
Lokpobiri, who was represented by Dr Shehu Ahmed, the Permanent Secretary of the ministry said effective implementation of the policy required a systematic collaboration among the stakeholders.
“One significant element of this desire is the relevance and suitability of support institutions as an integral process of facilitating the consultative, entrepreneurial, coordinating and regulatory roles in the nation’s development process.
“In this regard, government’s responsibility is to continuously put in place measures that will restructure, re-orientate and strengthen the relevant national institutions as well as utilise the opportunities offered by international cooperate bodies, “ he said
According to him, this is to embrace the challenges of intensifying the integration of the country’s development goals into the liberalisation principle of the world economy.
Mr kabir Ibrahim, President, All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN), commended the ministry for the policy, saying it would go a long way in assisting farmers to boost productivity.
“The Nigerian farmers are seeking more availability of fertiliser, timely application of the research finding, adoption of good science and technology, provision of good seeds and small irrigation facility for all-year-round farming, “ he said.
Ibrahim urged both states and local governments to key into the policy to enable the nation achieve self-reliance in food production. (NAN)

World Bank Pledged $50M Support Towards Restoration of Agricultural Livelihood in North East Nigeria.

The World Bank has pledged to support Nigeria’s agricultural sector with 50 million dollars towards the restoration of agricultural livelihood of Fadama beneficiaries in the North East.
Dr Adetunji Oredipe, Task Team Leader of the Fadama III project, disclosed on Thursday in an interview with News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that the programme would last up till December 2019.
He said the programme had begun in Adamawa, Bauchi, Borno, Taraba, Gombe and Yobe states.
Oredipe disclosed that Borno, Yobe and Taraba had released their N20 million counterpart fund, while the three other states had given approval for payment.
He said that the bank had launched a special programme of Fadama for the North East towards actualising the programme.
Oredipe said that actualising the programme had become imperative because the bank was determined to help to restore livelihood in the region.
``We want to reach out to 24,000 households and we have the package for them as you know most of them have lost everything.
He said that the programme would be done in stages and there is budget for every community where the bank is intervening.
``The third leg is that we are giving food assistance to farmers that we are going to work with because if you don’t provide food assistance the tendency that when you bring seedlings or fertilisers they will sell it.
Oredipe noted that it is inimical to health and food production when farmers cooked seeds instead of normal grains.
He said in this regard, Fadama would support every family with a small quantity worth 200 dollars, just to help them within the period while they were waiting for their harvest.
The coordinator revealed that damaged irrigation facilities, abandoned roads that might have lost shape would be upgraded by supporting them with water lifting devices.
Oredipe said that there was adequate budget for every household while the bank facilitators were on the field working with NGOs who are familiar with the terrain to map out farms and other facilities.
``We are not engaging in trial and error, we are working with experts who are familiar with environment so we can move quickly as the sense of urgency is there.
``Every community will prepare a community action plan for the team to work with, since we have a budget,’’ he said.
Oredipe disclosed further that 25,000 dollars had been set aside for each community as intervention fund.
``In that community they will have to sit together and put facilities that are relevant but are not functioning we have roads to fix, we have irrigation facilities.
``So, based on the consensus, they have all agreed on and identify 40 households with farmlands.
``It is a straightforward package that we have learnt from the earlier phase of the project to be able to make quick intervention that can yield very good result,’’ he said.
He said that the main objective of the project for the North East was to increase the incomes for users of rural lands and water resources within the Fadama areas in a sustainable manner throughout the recipient's territory.
Oredipe explained that the programme would also focus on improving farm productivity and performance of clusters of farmers engaged in priority food staples. (NAN)

Agricultural Promotion Policy will focus on closing demand Supply gaps – Ogbeh

Speaking ahead of the the official launch and public presentation of the Agricultural Sector Roadmap (the Green Alternative), Agricultural Promotion Policy (2016 – 2020), earlier scheduled for Monday in Abuja, The Minister of Agriculture & Rural Development, Audu Ogbeh, revealed that inability to meet domestic food requirements and inability to export at quality levels required for market success are two major gaps in the country’s agriculture today.

Ogbeh said it has become imperative to “refresh our strategy” to tackle these two issues head on.

The minister explained that the policy of the past government , Agricultural Transformation Agenda (ATA) focused on how to make Nigeria’s agriculture more productive, efficient and effective.
“It set a target of creating 3.5 million jobs by 2015; generating foreign exchange, and reducing spending on food imports. Among its key achievements was a restructuring of the federal fertilizer procurement system.
“ATA, however, also faced challenges and did not deliver on all the targets identified. For example, Nigeria still imports about $3 to $5 billion worth of food annually, especially wheat, rice, fish and sundry items, including fresh fruits.
“As a result, Nigeria is not food secure. Wastage levels remain high in production areas, reducing supply of feedstock to processing factories, requiring them to keep importing supplies. The net effect is limited job growth across the agricultural value chain from input production to market systems, and continued use of limited foreign currency earnings to import vast quantities of food.
The Minister said the policy and strategic focus is now on how to build on the initial progress made, and transition Nigeria to a new plane in terms of agribusiness performance.
“That will be the focus of the proposed new policy regime. That new policy’s primary focus will be on closing the demand – supply gaps between crop and livestock production. Gap closing will also include tackling related input, financing, storage, transport and market access issues present in key value chains.
“Nigeria is facing two key gaps in agriculture today: an inability to meet domestic food requirements, and an inability to export at quality levels required for market success. The former problem is a productivity challenge driven by an input system and farming model that is largely inefficient. As a result, an ageing population of farmers do not have enough seeds, fertilizers, irrigation, crop protection and related support to be successful.
“The latter challenge is driven by an equally inefficient system for setting and enforcing food quality standards, as well as poor knowledge of target markets. Insufficient food testing facilities, a weak inspectorate system in the ministry, and poor coordination among relevant federal agencies serve to compound early stage problems such as poor knowledge of permissible contaminant levels.”
Audu Ogbeh added that as productivity improves domestically and standards are raised for all Nigerian food production, he said export markets will also benefit impacting positively on Nigeria’s balance of payments.
He explained that the Federal Ministry of Agriculture & Rural Development (FMARD) in consultation with partners has identified an initial pool of crops and related activities that will be Nigeria’s path to tackling the identified gaps.
“First, the ministry will prioritize improving productivity into a number of domestically focused crops and activities. These are rice, wheat, maize, fish (aquaculture), dairy milk, soya beans, poultry, horticulture (fruits and vegetables), and sugar.
“Nigeria believes that the gap can be closed by partnering closely with private investors across farmer groups and companies to develop end to end value chain solutions. These chains will receive facilitated government support as they make deep commitments to engaging a new generation of farmers, improving supply of specialized fertilizers and protection chemicals, as well as wider scale use of high yielding seeds.
He said the country will work with investors to sharply improve the distribution system for fresh foods so as to reduce time to table, reduce post-harvest losses, and overall improve nutritional outcomes by lowering of diabetic risk and stunting risk among others.
As the minister looks forward to the launching of the policy document by the Vice President, Yomi Osinbajo, next week, the Minister of Agriculture , Audu Ogbeh, said the ministry will prioritize for export markets the production of the following crops and activities: cowpeas, cocoa, cashew, cassava (starch, chips and ethanol), ginger, sesame, oil palm, yams, horticulture (fruits and vegetables), beef and cotton.
“The ministry will also work with a network of investors, farmers, processors and other stakeholders to deepen the supporting infrastructure to ensure that quality standards are defined and maintained across the value chain.
“That will involve adding more testing laboratories, improving traceability of crops, disseminating intelligence on export markets and consumer preferences, etc. Our goal is to build a high quality brand for Nigerian foods based on rigorous data and processes that protect food safety for both domestic and export market consumers.”
While promising that the ministry will use its convening and related powers to ensure that the enabling system is in place to support agribusiness, Audu Ogbeh said will periodically publish metrics to track performance against the strategy like tonnage of rice paddy produced, or yields/milking cow.
“The systems will collect accurate data and integrate these into policy making, as well as investor planning will be refined over the next few months as part of this next wave of reform. We anticipate that if successful, key gaps such as Nigeria’s continued imports of rice will disappear, while Nigerian produce like beans and cocoa will once again become a quality benchmark across the globe.
“Reaching that point will require significant investments in people, processes and systems. Nigeria is committed to taking the necessary steps in order to move Nigerian agriculture from “a business” to a commercial ecosystem that can produce the capabilities necessary to create sustainable jobs and wealth.”

Invest More in Agriculture to Reduce mMalnutrition - CISLAC

The Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre, CISLAC, has called on President Muhammed Buhari to invest more in agricultural production with a view to reducing the high rate of malnutrition among Nigerian children and women of reproductive age in the country.
The stakeholders also raised alarm that government has not significantly contributed to the reduction of undernutrition at the rate needed to meet the national development goals. Making these calls in Lagos at a one –day Media Capacity Building Workshop in Lagos, the group maintained that agriculture has remained at a small-scale at subsistence level and largely dependent on rainfall in Nigeria.
“The food distribution system in Nigeria remains largely inefficient due to crop seasonality, inadequate storage technology and facilities, transport and distribution systems and market information. All of these result in considerable spatial and seasonal variation in food production and availability, and are responsible for the considerable variations in food prices across the country. ”
In a 10 –point communiqué issued at the end of the workshop, participants noted that while adequate food and optimum nutrition status are the foundation for building healthy and secured society, Nigeria is confronted with high level of malnutrition burden arising from food insecurity, inadequate care, and outrageous socio-cultural practices.
They called for urgent attention to the increasing level of malnutrition in the country as malnutrition reduces economic advancement of a nation by at least 8 percent. “As malnutrition remains the major cause of under-five deaths, children from the poorest economic quartile are the most vulnerable to high level malnutrition burden at all levels.
They further called for implementation of the National Health Act, adding that “So far, various introduced national and international programmes and policies on health have witnessed poor implementation leading to inadequate access to healthcare across the country.
“Delay in the domestication and implementation of the 2014 National Health Act, inadequate budgetary allocation to health sector, over-concentration of healthcare facility in urban areas at the expense of rural counterparts, poor monitoring and lack of judicious utilisation of the existing funds has hampered accountability, and effective provision and distribution of health facilities across the country,” they added.

Made in Nigeria Rice Hits the Market.

The President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration under the banner of the All Progressives Congress has achieved a milestone in the local production of rice. 

 

According to a social media user who shared the photos, 'Made in Nigeria' rice has hit the Nigerian market and it is expectedly selling at lower prices compared to the imported ones.

 

 

The social media went ahead to provide price tags for the most popular staple food in the country produced in Kebbi, and Niger States.

"Made in Nigeria rice from Niger State at N7,000 only. And by the time the Enugu and Kebbi Rice hit the market next month, expect a price crash".

"Labana Rice from Kebbi state also in the market 50kg bag sells for N13, 000 This one is proudlyNigerian".

"This is a welcome development. Let us be self-reliant as a country."