Farmers

Abuja, Dec. 8, 2023: The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) and the World Bank have targeted to provide grant to 12,283 farmers under the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Fadama Covid 19 Action Recovery and Economic Stimulus (FCT CARES) Programme.

The Minister of State for the FCT, Dr Mariya Mahmoud said this on Thursday in Gwagwala at the commencement of disbursement of grant to beneficiaries of the third batch of FCT Fadama CARES.

She said the target of the FCTA and the World Bank was also, to upgrade 17 wet markets across the FCT.

Mahmoud said the disbursement was for the 2023/2024 dry season farming adding that the FCTA had supported the attainment of food and nutritional security in the territory.

She said FCT CARES Programme was a World Bank support targeted at recovery activities of existing and newly emerging vulnerable and poor households that had been negatively impacted by the Covid 19 pandemic.

The minister of state said the objective of the FCT CARES programme was to increase food security and safe functioning of food supply chain in the FCT.

“It is gratifying to note that the FCTA has allocated the sum of 4.5 million dollars to the FCT Fadama CARES Programme to implement three Disbursement Linked Indicators.

“This amount is out of a total allocation of 15 million dollars made available to the FCTA by the World Bank for the implementation of the FCT CARES programme.

“Sequel to this, the FCTA and World Bank have set a target for the FCT Fadama CARES programme to provide grants support to 12,283 farmers and ungrade 17 Wet Markets in the FCT,” he said.

Mahmoud said the grants being provided to the beneficiaries cut across several agricultural value chains, crops, Livestock,  aquaculture production as well as small scale processing and value addition.

In his remark, the Mandate Secretary, Agriculture and Rural Development Secretariat of the FCTA, Mr Lawan Geidam said 3,707 poor and vulnerable individuals  would benefit from the third batch of disbursement.

He said the beneficiaries were drawn from 39 Farmers Community Association across the six Area Councils of the FCT.

Geidam said the 4,233 farmers that benefited from the first and second batch of the programme were drawn from 64 farmers’ community associations across the FCT.

According to him, with the third batch disbursement,  a total of 7,940 farmers had benefited from the programme in the FCT.

Geidam said the items to distributed were fertilisers, seeds and agrochemicals, sprayers and personal protective equipment for crop farmers, day old chick’s and feeds for poultry farmers.

He said others were juveniles and feeds for fish farmers, goats for Livestock farmers and grinding machines for women processors.

Ibadan, Oct. 4, 2023: Netherlands’ ambassador to Nigeria, Mr Wouter Plomp, says his country will train thousands of Oyo State farmers in agriculture production, processing and other opportunities in agribusiness.

Plomp said this during a courtesy visit to the office of Gov. Seyi Makinde, in Ibadan on Tuesday.

He said his country delegation was in the state to discuss bilateral issues, particularly in promoting agriculture, food security and trade.

He commended the achievements of Makinde’s administration in the agriculture sector as the state had lots of potential, adding that Netherlands acknowledged it as a valuable strategic partner in agribusiness.

In his response, Makinde said the government would always be opened to partnerships that could aid the state in achieving its vision of expanding its economy through agribusiness, solid mineral development, tourism and infrastructure development.

He said that his government had, since 2019, embarked on massive infrastructure development, inter-connecting the zones of the state and linking the zones to agriculture belt.

According to him, the efforts are aimed at achieving its objective of growing the economy of the state through agribusiness.

The governor said that the state, under his leadership would continue to encourage agribusiness development, adding, ”because agriculture has always been a forte for Oyo State since the days of the Western region government.”

He further said the state had continue to maintain the lead in agriculture and agribusiness and promised that his administration would do everything possible to ensure the sector thrives.

Makinde said his government had added solid mineral development and tourism to the areas of focus through which the economy of the state could be further expanded.

Ibadan, June 17, 2023: The All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN), Oyo State chapter has expressed readiness to partner with the State government in addressing various challenges facing grassroots farmers in the state.

The Oyo State Chairman of the association, Mr John Olateru, who led other representatives of the association disclosed this during a courtesy visit to the resident of the governor at Ikolaba area in Ibadan on Saturday.

Olateru said the essence of the visit was to identify with the government and to get the government to know that there were some farmers that are grassroots farmers.

He said the government had been doing various notable projects in the agricultural sector, worthy of commendation as their impacts could not be disputed at all.

“But there are some areas where we are just pleading to him and his government to please to help us look into the grassroots farmers.

“We appreciate our children that are being trained, we appreciate what the agri-businesses are doing, bringing the multinationals to come, but what happen to the farmers that are feeding us; that is where there is a missing link.

“Those of us that you are seeing today are here to remind the governor that we are here for him and we are ready to partner with him and provide more than enough food for the state and outside the state,” Olateru said.

According to him, the livestock industry is dying and there is no respite in sight we only need to wake up and solve it.

Also, the Oyo State Secretary of AFAN, Mr Adewunmi Abass said the visit was to create a partnership that would translate to better agricultural development and food security for the state.

Abass said “We are also here for all that the governor has been doing for the farmers since his inception as the governor of Oyo State. We also want to give him some hints about some problems that we are facing as farmers in Oyo State and the way out.

“We want to discuss how Oyo State will be a bedrock of farming activities in the whole southwest and in Nigeria as a whole, thereby bringing back the lost glory of the region without any challenges.”

Responding on behalf of Makinde, Mr Babalola Abiodun from Ibadan North East Constituency said the governor had a great interest in agriculture and would look into addressing the issues concerning the AFAN and its members.

Others who received AFAN members on behalf of the governor were Mrs Ramota Aderemi from Lagelu/ Akinyele Constituency, Mrs Oluwakemi Bello, National Ex-Officio, Abuja, Mr Babatunde Martins, PDP Youth leader among others.

Some local farmers in Bwari Area Council of the FCT have expressed concerns over rise in cost of farm inputs, following increase on the price of fuel nationwide.

The farmers said on Tuesday in Abuja that the situation may affect food production.

Mr Baba Musa, also known as sarkin noma in Baran-goni community of the district, said that he was worried about the multiplier effect of the increase in fuel price on the prices of goods and services.

According to him, cost of fertiliser, pesticides and herbicides are already rising and I fear it will skyrocket with this development because their prices have staggered consistently before now.

“We are in the farming season, already, the demand for these inputs will be high and suppliers usually increase their prices during this period.

“With this now, I’m afraid that the whole situation may impede farmers’ ability to produce more food because there are some inputs we cannot do without and what if we cannot afford them now.

“We need assistance from government at all levels to boost food security the Federal Government has continuously advocated for, we cannot do this all by ourselves, “Musa said.

Similarly, Mr Akuso Yakubu, another farmer, said that his two large farms were located along the Bwari-Jere road, near the Kaduna – FCT border and was already having a hard time going to the farms.

He decried the already increased cost of transportation for both short and long distance routes.

According to him, both producers and consumers will be negatively affected by the price increase on goods and services because of the cost of fuel.

This, he added may cause food inflation and cause more strain on consumers especially.

He urged stakeholders in the agricultural sector to come up with measures that would bring succour to farmers in the country, which he added, must include subsidy on farm inputs.

Also, Ms Esther Haruna, a poultry farmer decried the situation while praying for divine intervention on the economic situation of the country.

Haruna said that the prices for chicks and chicken feeds had initially increased since 2022 and have remained high in spite of adequate supply from the producers.

“In January 2022, we bought chicken feeds for as low as N4,000 to N4,500 per bag but you won’t believe that this same product was sold in December of the same year for N9,700 to N10,000.

“We were hoping that after Christmas it will come down but here we are battling another reason for its hike in price.

“Presently, many homes cannot afford three square meals not to talk of including protein like meat to the food.

“I know the demand for chicken may decrease in several households, except we get orders from food vendors and event planners.

“I seriously pray for a divine intervention in this country, “she said.

Haruna also said some of the producers of the chicken feeds had initially complained about insufficient supply of grains for production of the feeds from major farms.

She added that if the fuel price negatively affected farmers’ production, supply would be limited and it would hence affect animal feed production as well, leading to shortage and increase in the cost of feeds.

Abuja, May 16, 2023: The Federal Government, on Tuesday, assured farmers across the country of access to improved quality seeds with the newly inaugurated Revised National Agricultural Seed Policy 2022.

The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr Mohammed Abubakar, gave the assurance at the inauguration of the Policy in Abuja,

He said that the policy would ensure that farmers have unrestricted access to best genetics to enhance their productivity.

Abubakar listed a number of challenges militating against food production and food security in Nigeria.

He said that these factors included economic uncertainty, policy inconsistencies, rising oil prices, population explosion, insecurity and of recent the arm conflicts in many nations of the world.

He said it became imperative for the review of the 2015 National Seed Policy in order to bring about progressive and positive changes in the operations of the seed industry.

He said “It is expected that following the critical review of the 2015 National Seed Policy, the progressive and positive changes in the operations of the seed industry has necessitated the review exercise.

“The present seed policy document represents the concerted efforts of the National Agricultural Seed Council (NASC) and stakeholders,” he said.

The minister said the stakeholders have made valuable inputs and contributions, towards ensuring that farmers have unrestricted access to best genetics to enhance their productivity.

“Let me reiterate that this Revised Policy has removed the ambiguous areas in the esthwhile 2015 National Seed Policy.

” It will strengthened the identified weaknesses and introduced innovations that optimised the regulatory, promotional and protection roles of NASC,  in ensuring that our esteemed farmers have access to improved quality seeds.

“Some of these include the introduction of SEEDCODEX as a quality authentication tool and traceability aimed at curbing adulteration, participation of third party seed inspectors in the quality assurance process,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Minister recognised contributions of stakeholders at both the public and private sectors in enriching the contents of the New Policy document.

He described it as the Ministry’s investment to build a better future for Nigeria’s agriculture based on the importance of seed towards enhancing farmers’ productivity.

Earlier, the Director- General, National Agricultural Seeds Council, (NASC), Dr Philip Ojo, said that policy has leverage on the advent of technology and innovations in the seed industry.

He expressed hope that the policy unveiled, would further enhance government efforts at ensuring that Nigeria is not only food secured, but a net exporter of agricultural produce among the committee of nations.

” The NASC will be committed to the full implementation of the policy,” he said.

In  a remark, the Chief of Party, Mr Olumide Ojo, USAID, Feed-the -Future Nigeria Agribusiness Investment Activity, assured that the Activity remained committed to strengthening the Nigeria’s agribusiness enabling environment.

Ojo said that this is an important precondition for private sector investment in agriculture.

Ojo was represented by Mrs Onomen Isikhuemen.

The All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN) has appealed to the President-elect to consider re-introduction of Gross Enhancement Scheme (GES) for better empowerment of farmers across the country.

Alhaji Nuhu Aminu, the Kaduna State Chapter of Chairman of the association, made the appeal during the North-West meeting of the association in Zaria on Friday.

Aminu said the scheme was a support not loan to farmers; therefore, its reintroduction would empower peasant farmers and enhance food security in Nigeria.

He noted that the anchor borrowers scheme has not meet the desired results as the scheme was politicised, hence the low recovery of the loans and less enrolment of farmers.

According to him, the GES works with the Agricultural Extension Agents who links the target groups to the scheme while the anchor borrowers tilted towards empowering agro-dealers than the farmers.

Aminu said the purpose of the meeting was to discuss issues that can benefit farmers and strengthen the association.

Earlier, the Executive Director, Institute for Agricultural Research (IAR), Prof. Muhammad Ishiyaku, restated the commitment of the institute to develop improved seed varieties that would meet the needs of farmers.

He added that the institute has developed improved cowpea, maize, cotton and sorghum seed varieties, which are high yielding, pest resistant and drought tolerant.

The executive director said the institute operate an open door policy for farmers and remain committed to share good agronomic practices with the farmers.

The Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) has advised famers to focus their energy on the production of economic crops and trees to tap from the huge potential of export to  international market.

The Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer of the council, Dr Ezra Yakusak, gave the advice while interacting with Southern Kaduna Journalist Forum who visited him in his office in Abuja.

Yakusak said that cultivation of economic trees like cashew and palm trees has a huge export potential and urged farmers to key-in and reap the benefits.

He said that the council would provide the needed awareness, technical support, capacity building and tips on how to access the international market through export.

According to him, with economic crops and trees, farmers will make more money through export and use part of the profit to buy food with so much change in the bank.

“Farmers can pool their small farmlands into clusters covering 10 to 20 hectres of land to either cultivate cashew or palm trees to be able to access technical and input supports.

“If the farmers can come together, we will support them with improved seedlings, train them on how to plant, the spacing and provide other technical support to ensure success.

“After that, we will sensitise the famers on how the product will be exported to other countries to earn more money and foreign exchange for the country.”

He commended the journalists for partnering with NEPC to create the needed awareness on how to tap from the available opportunities through the export of economic crops.

Earlier, the Chairman of the Forum, Mr Ango Bally, explained that the visit was to congratulate the executive director on his appointment as the head of the council and to offer their support.

Bally explained that the members of the forum were drawn from different local government areas of southern part of Kaduna State, working in reputable media organisations in different parts of the country.

He added that members were working across print, electronics, and online media platforms owned by both government and private individuals or groups.

According to him, the Southern Kaduna Journalists Forum would partner with the council to sensitize farmers on how they can cultivate economic crops for export.

“We will also sensitise and mobilise farmers and Nigerians to key into the lucrative export business.”

The chairman added that Southern Kaduna was producing one of the best ginger species in the world.

He, however, said that middlemen from other parts of the country reap more of the benefits at the expense of the farmers through exports of the products to other parts of the world.

He stressed the need for the farmers to be enlightened on how they can make more money in the ginger value chain with focus on export, adding that the journalist forum would help significantly in that regard.