The newly-elected National President of the University of Nigeria Alumni Association (UNAA), Mrs. Linda Agua-Onyekwelu, has called on Nigerians to invest in agriculture.

A statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Emeka Nwuzor, said Agua-Onyekwelu, an expert in integrated agro-allied businesses, gave the advice during the recently held national convention of the association to elect new national leaders to run its affairs for the next two years. Others were Deputy National President, Bar. Okonkwo Douglas; National Secretary, Chimobi Nwabuko; Financial Secretary, Dim Emeka Obasi; Treasurer, Tonia Uzor, etc.

Ex –officio members are Emeka Nwanevu; Dr. Nwaomiko Udo-Nwokocha; Elder George Akintola; Zonal Vice President (South East), Dr. (Mrs.) Christy Obi-Keguna; Zonal Vice President (South-South), Princess Ngozi Dabrinze; Zonal Vice President (South West), Comrade Kunle Afolabi; Zonal Vice President (North East), Dr. (Mrs.) Patricia Ekennia; Zonal Vice President (North West), Ichie George Nwolisa; Zonal Vice President (North Central), Dr. Chuks Onah; Legal Adviser, Louis Alozie (SAN); National Auditor, Uche Obasi and others.

Source: The Guardian

Olam has been recognised for making a difference in farmers’ lives through its Olam Direct platform at Innovation Leader’s 2020 Impact Awards.

Now in its third year, Innovation Leader’s Impact Awards honour companies with corporate innovation initiatives that have run for at least a year and delivered extraordinary outcomes with measurable business results.

Olam’s entry for ‘Olam Direct’ emerged as a winner in the Impact Award category, having earned the recognition of an esteemed judging panel from organisations including Verizon, Philips Healthcare, Vertex Pharmaceuticals, CME Group, Dover Corporation, Duke Energy and Cambia Health Solutions.

Powered by apps, a portal and an analytics dashboard, Olam Direct is a holistic platform connecting farmers with Olam to ensure a fair and transparent sourcing process for all.
“The app empowers farmers to get prices and transact directly with the company rather than going through intermediaries, which yields not only higher prices for farmers but cost savings on their expenses, as Olam manages ‘last mile’ collection.

“The highlights of Olam Direct include that the initiative registered and benefited over 70,000 farmers across 12 countries, allowing them to transact with or without internet; each transaction is geo-tagged and time stamped allowing for traceability and consistency; unique value proposition provides traceability, allowing customers to get greater transparency on farmer activities and created new employment opportunities for rural communities by appointing former intermediaries as micro-collectors for Olam Direct,” a statement explained.

The Group Head of Digital, Olam International, Siddharth Satpute said: “We are honoured by this recognition. Our aim is to bring transparency and traceability to the agriculture supply chain. Many under-estimate how difficult it can be to establish direct buying relationships with farmers in very rural areas; and, equally, for farmers to connect to large exporters.

“Through our Indonesia pilot in 2017, we understood that a farmer’s’ greatest needs are: ‘How can I get a better price?’ and ‘Who can collect and pay me on time?’ Olam Direct is the resulting model, although we continue to learn and improve with every new supply chain and country’s specific circumstances. Crucially, the platform’s reach and flexibility has proved invaluable during COVID-19 as we have been able to issue health advisories and raise awareness about the virus through in-app notifications and news in the farmers’ local language.”

Source: This Day

The Minister of Science and Technology, Ogbonnaya Onu, has said that the Federal Government is set to mechanise agricultural production so as to make it attractive to Nigerian youths.

Onu stated involvement of youths in Agriculture will ensure food security, create jobs and increase foreign exchange earnings for the country considering their population.

He said that the deployment of Science, Technology and Innovation is vital to the development of agriculture in Nigeria. In his words: “Many aspects of farming is dependent on Science and Technology: from selection of seeds that are high yielding to drought and pest resistant seeds”.

Onu bemoaned the misfortune of post-harvest losses in the country’s agricultural sector, adding that the Ministry will support the sector by deploying relevant technology to ensure significant reduction in post-harvest losses and achieve food security.

He further said that agricultural products are essential to the development of pharmaceuticals, as products such as cassava provide starch which is a major ingredient for the production of medicinal drugs.   

Onu advised the Nigerian Young Farmers Network to continue working as a team so as to achieve the objectives of their association.

Earlier, the Director General and National Coordinator of Nigeria Young Farmers Network Mr. Promise Amahah, said the network was seeking a working relationship with the Ministry to positively reposition agriculture in the country.

He said the network is a melting pot for key stakeholders and investors in the agricultural sector.  

He further said that the network, which is represented all over the country, is striving to develop a reliable and dependable data platform for agriculture in the country.

He said the network which has over 2 million members spread across the country and is focused on driving and accelerating agricultural development in the country. Stressing that Nigerian youths could be gainfully employed by pursuing agricultural enterprises.     

Source: Sunnewsonline

The Federal government says it is set to mechanize agricultural production because the involvement of youths in the sector will ensure food security, create jobs, and increase foreign exchange earnings for the country. The Minister of Science and Technology, Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu disclosed this when he received the Director-General and National Coordinator of Nigerian Young Farmers Network in his office on Tuesday in Abuja.

He said the targeted gains from youth involvement in agriculture will be possible considering their population, hence the move to make mechanized agriculture attractive to Nigerian youths.

He reiterated that the present administration placed a high premium on agriculture, adding that this was demonstrated by the massive attention given to rice production by Mr. President. He said that the deployment of Science, Technology, and Innovation is vital to the development of agriculture in Nigeria. His words: “Many aspects of farming is dependent on Science and Technology: from the selection of seeds that are high yielding to drought and pest resistant seeds”. The Minister, however, bemoaned the misfortune of post-harvest losses in the country’s agricultural sector, adding that the Ministry will support the sector by deploying relevant technology to ensure a significant reduction in post-harvest losses and achieve food security.

He further said that agricultural products are essential to the development of pharmaceuticals, as products such as cassava provide starch which is a major ingredient for the production of medicinal drugs. He advised the Nigerian Young Farmers Network to continue working as a team so as to achieve the objectives of their association. Earlier, the Director-General and National Coordinator of Nigeria Young Farmers Network Mr. Promise Amahah, said the network was seeking a working relationship with the Ministry to positively reposition agriculture in the country.

He described the network is a melting pot for key stakeholders and investors in the agricultural sector. He further said that the network, which is represented all over the country, is striving to develop a reliable and dependable data platform for agriculture in the country. He said the network which has over 2 million members spread across the country and is focused on driving and accelerating agricultural development in the country, stressing that those Nigerian youths could be gainfully employed by pursuing agricultural enterprises.

Source: Vanguard

Corporate farm investors have been enjoined to partner with Akwa Ibom State government to boost food production in the state.

Mr Amos Udom, Senior Adviser to the Governor on Project Monitoring, made the call when he paid a visit to Mr Arnold Smith, the Chief Operating Officer of Pandagric Novum Ltd, in Karu Local Government Area of Nasarawa State.

Pandagric has keyed into the Federal Government’s vision of large-scale maize production to reduce forex pressure and food self-sufficiency.

According to him, since agriculture is a viable venture, the state is open for partnership with the farm in line with the government’s vision to boost food production in the state.

He stressed the need for them to take advantage of arable agricultural land, security and steady electricity supply provided by the state government.  

The chief executive encouraged the corporate farmers to provide such inputs as an improved variety of seeds/seedlings, provide farming implements, training, and re-training of local farmers, perfect existing off-takers’ arrangements, and provide agronomists for demonstration farms.

Udom tasked the local farmers to avail themselves of the opportunities to be offered training in best management practise in order to form themselves into cooperative societies and to refrain from subsistence farming to a large scale by embracing the modern agricultural techniques.     

Mr Arnold Smith, Chief Operating Officer, said they decided to venture into agriculture in a bid to uplift the continent of Africa from poverty and hunger.

Source: The Guardian

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has persuaded commercial banks operating in the country to increase their lending rate to the agricultural sector from four percent to 10 percent over the next four years.

Godwin Emefiele, governor of the apex bank, made the appeal on behalf of stakeholders in the agriculture sector while speaking at the 13th Annual Banking and Finance Conference organized by the Chartered Institute of Bankers (CIBN) in Abuja.

Emefiele, who bemoaned the dwindling income generated from the oil sector, noted that for the country to attain economic sustainability, it has become imperative to increase investments in non-oil sectors like agriculture that can enhance the resilience of the Nigerian economy in the face of external shocks.

“Over the next four years, the banking sector should consider ways it could increase its loans to the agricultural sector from 4% to 10% by 2024. With declining foreign exchange earnings from crude oil, banks should consider supporting agro-processing companies that are export-oriented,” he said.

Emefiele disclosed that the CBN is working towards improving access to loans through the use of information communication technology (ICT).

According to him, improving the use of ICT as an enabler for growth will help make for easier loan recovery processes.

The CBN governor also disclosed plans to establish an infrastructure company (Infra-Corp) to be led by the apex bank in partnership with the Africa Finance Corporation and the Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority. He explained that the facility will enable the central bank to improve key sectors of the Nigerian economy, which includes the agricultural sector.

Source: Business AM

The global coconut industry is worth $ 6.3 billion, a reason the Lagos State government is making efforts to get more Nigerians into the business, DANIEL ESSIET reports.

With about two million coconut trees, the Lagos State  government says the industry is worth N10 billion. But the Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, said the state has the potential of delivering over 10 million coconut trees with a yearly production of one billion husk nuts worth about N50 billion, adding that Lagos is the hub of coconut value chain, not only in Nigeria but also in the West African sub-region.

He made this known at the maiden edition of the International Coconut  Summit held at the Airport Hotel, Ikeja.

However, the government is not only positioning Lagos as a money spinner but also as a contributor to rural development, better market connectivity, and local agricultural value addition. It also aims to provide opportunities for low-income households who would participate in development.

The President, Federation of Agricultural Commodities Association of Nigeria (FACAN), Dr Victor Iyama, said there was the need for more states and entrepreneurs to join hands with Lagos to explore business opportunities in the coconut industry which he noted has the capacity to produce huge foreign exchange for the country. This is because the European market potential is huge with the commodity sold in many forms, fresh and processed for many uses in health food, cooking and cosmetic products.

Analysts said changing consumer health and wellness preferences have spurred a boom in global demand for products such as coconut water and oil.

Yet, many coconut farmers are not deriving a sustainable livelihood from the crop.

Inyama said FACAN was ready to partner the government and producers to get more Nigerians to invest in coconut production.

Hr said the association was working to help farmers and exporters connect to national, regional and international value chains. This would involve training entrepreneurs to enhance their capability to meet international standards, he added.

He said FACAN supporting farmers to diversify income streams across the value chain.

Meanwhile, the Lagos government is establishing a coconut processing factory in Badagry to further optimise the use of coconut and harness the economic potential in the value chain.

The state Acting Commissioner for Agriculture, Ms Abisola Olusanya, said the factory would be dedicated to processing coconut husk to coir, and coco peat, among others, under a Public-Private Partnership deal in the state’s 2021 Annual Work Plan and Budget.

She noted that these initiatives further reinforced the state’s position as the number one coconut producer in the country in addition to providing employment opportunities for the citizens.

She said the processing factory would also catalyse the industry, such that more people would come to the sub sector and create more business opportunities in the value chain, adding that Lagos is the largest coconut producing state in Nigeria, contributing over 70 per cent to national production.

Source: The Nation Online

The importance of smallholder farmers in society cannot be overstressed. Smallholder farmers put in so much work in order for us to eat quality and nutritious food, but at the end of the day have little or nothing to show. Smallholder farmers account for over 70% of the food produced in Africa, which emphasizes their relevance in fighting food insecurity in Africa.

Agrorite is a premiere digital agricultural platform that improves the livelihood of smallholder farmers by connecting them with Finance, Smart farming solutions, and Premium markets. Our mantra is to provide positive outcomes for farmers in order to tackle the challenge of food insecurity in Africa and our vision is to inspire the production of sustainable food for Africa.

Lack of access to quality, nutritious agricultural commodities by premium processing companies was another major gap we spotted in the sector, which we are tackling by enabling smallholder farmers to meet up with the growing demands by these processing companies. We have also opened agricultural participation for all through partnerships with Cooperate and Institutional Funders. Individuals are not left behind as they can sponsor farming activities via crowdfunding to earn decent profits.

Not only are we well received in Nigeria, but our service is also acknowledged in the investment and agricultural sector. Consequently, we seat on over 8200 farmers network that spans across Nigeria, cultivated on 5,830 hectares of farmland, and produce well over 86340 metrics tones of crop production for local consumption and export. Commodities such as Peanut, Sesame, Cashew, Shea Butter, etc are some of the commodities we trade on.

Innovation and Technology is an essential component of Agrorite. With our in house developed farm management system (Agrorite Bookie), farmers will now be better equipped to efficiently and smartly manage their farms, get real-time updates on crop performance, and make a projection on the farm inputs required to successfully deliver on the expected output by off-takers.

Our value addition, over the last year, has earned us award recognition from the Federal Republic of Nigeria, The UK Government, GIZ, and UAE. We are currently in partnership with AirBus, GoGlobal Africa, and most recently won the African Most Innovative Digital Agricultural Platform 2020 by the African Brands Award.

More so, aligning with our vision in fighting the global food crisis, we have identified the importance of agricultural product processing and storage hence our cause for embarking on setting up a processing plant that will enable ready food production in Nigeria which in turn creates decent job opportunities in the agricultural value chain. We believe Processing adds value to the Agric produce and creates room for commercial agriculture, thereby promoting agricultural activities.

Onboarding farmers and convincing them to do things in a modern and organized manner is usually challenging, hence, our constant training and workshops in measuring their Progress. Likewise, funding – which can help improve volumes of both production and trade. Through a partnership with government and other cooperate bodies we can achieve even more in closing these gaps, that’s why we are open to collaboration.

When partnering with Agrorite be best assured of a decent return on investment. Another interesting thing about Agrorite is our readily available off-takers both locally and internationally to buy off produce at harvest. The security of investment is guaranteed as we provide extensive insurance coverage on all our farms and commodity on transit. It will interest you to know that Investors are not left in the dark; they are carried along the investment or farming circle with regular updates on progress made and we are easily accessible through our 24/7 customer support service.

Our partnership with you will largely improve the livelihood of smallholder farmers as well as beat food insecurity in Nigeria and beyond.

Source: Nairmetrics

The Agricultural Credit Guarantee Scheme (ACGSF) Amendment Act assented to by President Muhammadu Buhari increased the share capital of the fund from N3 billion to N50 billion. The new scheme is in line with Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN’s) move to increase lending to the agricultural sector and support increased food production. The fund provides a guarantee for bank loans for agriculture and boost lending to agriculture. Financing of production farm machinery, production equipment, processing, storage and transportation are now allowed under the amended ACGSF Act, writes COLLINS NWEZE.

Before now, farmers were the least that banks would consider for loans. Such loans, if approved, were deemed lost from the outset, especially when advanced to smallholder farmers.

Today, the story is different. Both the smallholder farmers and established ones can take a shot at bank loans. Also, lenders, which previously saw agricultural loans as high risk, are now seeing the potential of how much a well-priced credit can add to their balance sheets and profitability. The amendment of the Agricultural Credit Guarantee Scheme (ACGSF) Bill raised share capital of the fund from N3 billion to N50 billion, a step that allowed more farmers to access agricultural loans.

A breakdown of the ACGSF Amendment Act 2019 shows that the sharing ratio is Federal Ministry of Finance (60 per cent) and Central Bank of Nigeria (40 per cent). The maximum for a non-collaterised loan under the scheme is now N100,000.00, the maximum amount for collaterised loan granted to individuals, cooperative societies and corporate entities is now N50 million, up from N10 million.

Also, complete Agricultural Value Chain financing is now allowed as well as the financing of production farm machinery, production equipment, processing, storage and transportation.

This Act amends the ACGS Fund Act Cpa. A11, Laws of the Federation Nigeria 2004, to enhance capital base, expand coverage of the scheme, increase the size of the loanable fund, increase membership and give more powers to the board.

Further details of the ACGSF showed that the amended section 2 of the Principal Act enacted by the National Assembly of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, now requires that the Minister shall appoint a chairman, a representative of the Nigerian farmers, a representative of the Federal Ministry of Finance, and a representative of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture. The fund was increased from N100 million to N50 billion, which may be increased by such amount the Board may determine and that amount shall be contributed in a proportion as the board may prescribe. President Buhari signed and certified the ACGSF Bill into law.

CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele identified agriculture financing as the way forward for the economy. He explained that part of its developmental role, the CBN has in collaboration with the Federal Government established the ACGSF for promoting agricultural enterprises in Nigeria.

The fund, he added, will complement other special initiatives of the apex bank in providing concessionary funding for agriculture.

According to Emefiele, “there was no need to allocate scarce forex to rice importers when vast amounts of paddy rice of comparable quality produced by poor hard-working local farmers across the rice belts of Nigeria are wasted, and farmers are falling deeper into poverty at a time the government exports their jobs and income to rice-producing in overseas countries.

“A few decades ago, Nigeria was one of the world’s largest producers of palm oil but, today, we import nearly 600,000 metric tonnes while Indonesia and Malaysia combine to export over 90 per cent of global demand.

“Under these circumstances, I believe it is appropriate, and in fact, expected, that the CBN contributes to protecting the jobs and incomes of local farmers, using some of the same principles Western economies use to justify the protection of their farmers through huge subsidies.”

Noting that agriculture remained the largest employer of labour, the CBN chief said the sector contributes about 24.2 per cent of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

Emefiele described as unacceptable that the greatest share of the demand for forex goes directly to importing agricultural produce.

He said: “So, the CBN has both a direct and indirect rationale to ensure that this sector is revived in a significant way. In this regard, we are gratified that the CBN’s Anchor Borrowers’ Programme (ABP), together with other initiatives like the CACS and Nigeria Incentive-based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL), are proving to be successful in several states.”

He explained that in Kebbi State alone, over 78,000 smallholder farmers cultivate about 100,000 hectares of rice farms. It is expected that over one million metric tonnes of rice will be produced in that state alone this year.

Source: www.salaamgateway.com

In northeast Nigeria, where agriculture forms the backbone of rural communities and livelihoods, the militant group Boko Haram has forced millions to flee their homes and take refuge in crowded settlements on the outskirts of the region’s largest cities and towns. They’re leaving behind not just their homes, but their ways of life.

In the region’s largest city, Maiduguri, an estimated 130,000 displaced people have settled into urban and peri-urban camps – part of more than 1.4 million displaced people living in camps throughout Borno State alone.

Many in the camps are farmers, cut off from their lands and communities and unsure of when they will be able to return home, get back to their fields and earn a living again. And a significant portion of these farmers are women, many of whom face obstacles because of their gender.

“We’re now trying to educate them, trying to explain to them that both women and men are equal in terms of whatever they are doing, so they shouldn’t be denigrated.”

Kachalla Kyari Mala

Amid these dire circumstances, a program is helping displaced Nigerian farmers create income opportunities and plan for the future by providing gender-responsive training, education about best agronomic practices, access to land and seed, and marketing opportunities.

“The idea is for them to have the knowledge, for them to know what they are doing when they go back to their homes, so that they will be self-reliant,” says program leader Kachalla Kyari Mala, a researcher at the Lake Chad Research Institute, part of the Agricultural Research Council of Nigeria.

The institute initiated the training program in 2018 to assist displaced wheat farmers living in the camps. The project launched after Mala and his team received training in gender-responsive agriculture research methods starting in 2017 through the Gender-responsive Researchers Equipped for Agricultural Transformation (GREAT) project, a joint effort between Cornell’s Department of Global Development and Makerere University in Kampala, Uganda.

Read more at https://news.cornell.edu/