Maize

The Maize Association of Nigeria (MAN) has commenced nationwide strategic meeting with maize farmers and stakeholders on the Central Bank of Nigeria’s Anchor Borrowers loan recovery.

This is contained in a statement by Mr Bello Abubakar, the National President, MAN on Thursday in Abuja.

Abubakar said that the meeting would include those South-South and South-East geo-political zones in the country.

According to him, the meeting will hold in Port Harcourt, with the objective of reviewing the impact of the loan on food security,

“We will also deliberate on loan repayment strategies and the way forward for maize farmers,” he said.

He said that the association would ensure that all necessary actions and measures had been taken to compel the farmers who took the loans to pay.

Abubakar said that to this effect, the association decided to go round the 36 states of the federation starting with the South-South and South-East to come together and meet with our stakeholders.

“The meeting will discuss, deliberate and come up with concrete solution to the problem and ensure that farmers pay up their loans.

“We know there are some challenges but loan is a loan, loan is not a grant, loan is not subsidy, therefore we must follow this farmers to make sure they repay back the loan,”he said.

Abubakar said that the loan had encouraged farmers to produce more and encouraged more people to go into farming thereby enhancing food production.m

He said that the purchase and disbursement of hybrid seeds and other inputs and extension services made available to maize farmers’ through the loan had boosted yields per hectare to five metric tons.

Abubakar said that the programme had helped farmers to get quality inputs; right from seed, fertilizer, herbicides and other needed services which made the farmers increase their production.

The Managing Director, EcoBasic Seeds Company, Mr Brighton Karume, says the company has produced 10 varieties of hybrid maize seeds that can triple maize production in the country.

Karume made this known while addressing a press conference on Saturday in Kaduna to mark the company’s one year anniversary.

He said that it was time for Nigerian farmers reduce their concentration on Open Pollinated Varieties of Maize and embrace Hybrid varieties.

This, he said, would cut the current eight million tonnes maize deficit in the country.

“Hybrid varieties yield better and has the capacity of leap frogging Nigeria to the attainment of self-sufficiency in maize production,” he added.

According to him, the company will bridge the existing gap in early generation seeds production in Nigeria and drive the seed sector in West Africa with the production of high quality and pure seeds.

“Nigeria can double the size of its maize production, if 50 per cent of maize farmers across the country adopt hybrid maize varieties.

“Ninety per cent of farmers still focus on using the old methods of seeds while only 10 per cent of Nigerian farmers use hybrid seeds, which makes it impossible for the country to meet the national maize demand,” he added.

Karume said that the company had kept to its plan of bridging the wide gap between foundation and certified seed production in the country.

This, he said, was to give farmers the opportunity to maximize profit and expand their production with the availability of quality and 100% seed purity.

“We have been able to transform into an exciting organization working with Outgrowers to cultivate over 50 hectarage of maize and cowpeas (beans) foundation seeds across Nigeria.

“The company has so far established about 60 different demonstration sites across Kaduna, Niger and Kano states, with about 10 different varieties of hybrid maize including Sammaz 62, Sammaz 63 and Sammaz 68 drought tolerant and high yield.”

The managing director said the seed company has developed a business to business model, transacting directly with registered seed companies in Nigeria.

He said that the seed companies have committed to placing foundation seed orders of various hybrids produced by the company, including the new cowpea seed, ahead of the 2023 planting season.

“We are convinced that with sustained investment, Nigeria will be able to meet its annual maize deficit which currently stands at eight million metric tons

“In Africa today, Nigeria is not leading in maize production but grows the largest maize hectarage on the continent.

“This is hugely due to its inability to utilize the opportunities provided by the introduction of hybrid varieties which enable the farmer to produce more from the same old piece of land,” he said.

Karume said farmers must embrace technology which is playing very crucial role in agricultural productivity.

He added that hybrid technology brings about improved varieties, helping farmers in other countries in their quest for food and nutritional security.

“Nigeria cannot afford to miss out. As a new entrant to the seed sector in Nigeria we also get a lot of support from our local and international stakeholders and partners.”

EcoBasic Seed Company was established in Nigeria in 2021 to foster increased supply of high quality foundation seeds across West Africa.

Farmers and millers in Uganda are asking for the ban on the export of maize in order to retain the husks for the production of animal feeds.

Following the disruption of grain supplies from Ukraine and Russia in the wake of the Moscow invasion, countries in East Africa have been competing for the limited maize stock for consumption and producing animal feeds.

The government estimates the country will produce about 2.5 million tonnes of maize this year, down by half, due to poor rainfall.

Agriculture Minister Frank Tumwebaze said the farmers and processors want the government to only allow the exportation of maize flour. “Their argument is that this would bring in more value and also make animal feeds available and cheaper,” he said.

Mr Tumwebaze said the government would study the impact of such a ban.

Uganda is a major source market for Kenya, South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

TheEastAfrican

The Federal Government of Nigeria and the European Union (EU) Delegation to Nigeria and ECOWAS, on Friday presented a report on the value chain analysis study on maize.

The collaboration was done between the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the bloc through an organised stakeholders’ workshop to present the report of a value chain analysis on maize in Nigeria

It was undertaken in the framework of the EU-funded “Value chain analysis for development” (VCA4D) project.

According to the statement, the workshop was held in Kano and Abuja on July 12 and 14 respectively, following the completion of the study.

“The study was conducted by a team of national and international experts from Agrinatura – the Alliance of European Universities and Research Centres specialising in agricultural research for development.

“The study was between January 2020 and October 2021, the EU mandated Agrinatura to undertake a detailed overview of the maize value chain from the economic, social and environmental point of view.

“Nigeria is one of the world’s leading maize producers, especially of non-genetically modified white maize.

With a demand on the rise both as food and from the processing industry, the country is nonetheless still exposed to risks of supply shortfall.

“The study generated evidence-based knowledge, largely quantitative, to help policy makers underpin and fine-tune policy actions and interventions in the value chain, to enhance its sustainable and inclusive development.

The Value Chain Analysis for Development (VCA4D) analysis provides a baseline, useful to appreciate the evolution of the sector over time, also in contexts of investment (like the one promoted by EDFI AgriFi).

“The two workshops publicised the findings and recommendations of the VCA4D study to promote their use in relevant policy discussions and investment decisions.”

It said the workshops also contributed to build a platform for continued networking and advocacy on actions to strengthen the maize value chain.

It further added that a number of stakeholders from institutions, farmers’ organisations and the private sector actively participated in the workshops.

NAN reports that BCA4D is an EU funded project implemented by Agrinatura, the Alliance of European Universities and Research centres specialised in agricultural research for development with more than 35 members.

Mobilised at the request of the EU Delegations and their partner countries, VCA4D realises value chains analyses to produce evidence-based and inter-disciplinary knowledge about the growth, inclusiveness, social and environmental sustainability of a value chain.

Interested persons can check the VCA4D page or contact vca4d@agrinatura-eu.eu to be further informed.

The National Biotechnology Development Agency (NBDA) says a trial phase for the new TELA Maize is ongoing in some states to understudy the variety among farmers.

Dr Rose Gidado, the Deputy Director, NBDA, disclosed in Lagos that farmers would start planting the crop this year’s planting season.

Tela Maize is a Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO) crop variety designed to resist insect pests like fall armyworm and stem-borers and to tolerate moderate drought.

The Federal Government through the NBDA in 2021 granted environmental approval for evaluation and open cultivation of new maize variety crop.

The crop was developed by the Institute for Agricultural Research, (IAR), Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria in collaboration with African Agricultural Technology Foundation (AATF), Kenya and National Biotechnology Development Agency.

Gidado noted that the IAR in ABU which have the mandate for maize improvement had started distributing the seeds to farmers.

She said that the maize would undergo two trial cycles in 2022 and 2023 before it would be recommended for commercialisation.

According to her, investigation trials on the new Tela Maize is now ongoing in some states such as Adamawa, Kaduna, Kano and Jigawa.

“The planting season is just beginning and they are just distributing the seeds to farmers.

“The farmers will plant the maize alongside other varieties, and then at the end of the harvest, the farmers will know which seed is better.

“For now, we cannot determine the level of acceptability because it needs to undergo two trial cycles before it can be recommended for possible commercialisation.

“We want the farmers to speak for themselves, we don’t want to put words in their mouth and the trials will do justice to it,” he said.

Gidado noted that Tela maize was a hybrid crop, drought tolerant and resistant to pest like fall armyworm, stem borers.

She said that the maize has yield advantage, insect protection advantage and water usage advantage unlike other varieties.

Gidado said that Nigeria and six other African countries namely Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Mozambique and South Africa had adopted the Tela Maize to improve farmer’s production in the continent.

“Tela Maize will revolutionise the agricultural sector when it is commercialised because it will have impact on farmer’s production.

“The farmers will see the benefit, nobody will tell them because they will experience it themselves. The maize is drought tolerant and that means it is climate smart already.

“Maize is a rain fed crop but because of the climate change, you cannot predict the weather, it may be too much rain or too little rain but this seed is different.

“Whatever happens, the Tela Maize can withstand any condition because it is resilient and that is what the global community is looking for now.

“Seeds that are resilient and can withstand any condition, weather and climate are what we really need,” she said.

Speaking on the commercialisation process, Gidado said that once the cycles were completed and confirmed that the farmers accepted it, the process would begin.

She said that the National Variety Release Committee in charge of approval would then approve it for commercialisation.

The Federal Government on Thursday unveiled the 2nd National Maize Pyramids in Kaduna.

In his keynote address at the ceremony, President Muhammadu Buhari said the gesture is part of the objective of his Administration for the country to be food and nutritional secured.

President Buhari, represented by the Minister of Agriculture, Dr Mohammed Abubakar, said the unveiling of the pyramid would tell the good story about the Nigerian maize farmer with the support of various support programmes like the Anchor borrowers’ programme of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

The CBN’s programme has helped in  closing the gap between supply of maize grains and its demand by domestic and industrial users.

He said the relentless efforts and support of the administration to diversify the economy through the Agricultural sector, which contributes almost 30 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), are being manifested.

He also noted that Nigeria is the largest producer of Maize in Africa and occupies the 11th position in the world with large volumes of the tonnage emanating from small-holder farmers (such as members of the Maize association of Nigeria) that cultivates 1-5 hectares.

The president also said Kaduna State is the highest producer of maize grains in Nigeria, adding that holding the unveiling event in Kaduna is the right choice and believed it will spur the state to perform better not only in maize production but other crops of importanc,” he said.

“The Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD) will also continue to support small-holder farmers as they have been identified as the engine room for the achievement of sufficient food Production in Nigeria,” he said.

He said the Federal Ministry of Agriculture has strengthened the sector via different programmes, among which are subsidizing the price of farm inputs such as seeds, chemicals, organic fertilizers, storage facilities as low as 10 per cent, enhancing the technical knowledge of farmers.

“It should be recalled that before the advent of this administration, Nigeria was not self-sufficient in Maize production and had demand and supply gap of over 5 million metric tons.

“However, with the support and intervention programme of this present administration, Nigeria is able to close this gap and gradually pave the way for the export of Maize to international markets.

He noted that there is unprecedented influx of investors, processors and marketers into the Maize industry.

He explained “to achieve food and nutrition security in Nigeria, all concerned stakeholders must support the government in its efforts to revolutionize the Agricultural sector.

In his remarks, the president, Maize Farmers Association of Nigeria (MAAN), Dr Bello Abubakar, said this demonstrates the capacity of MAAN in mobilizing Nigerian farmers to produce what can sustain Nigeria and  export over a period of time.

He also said the gesture shows that the MAAN is not just supporting food security but food and nutrition security with the collaboration of Harvest Plus to promote the production and consumption of nutritious vitamin A maize in Nigeria.

In his remarks, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Godwin Emefiele, said in 2021 the 1st maize pyramids in Katsina with a total of 300MT (displayed in 12 pyramids), the produce was strategically released to the market through allocation to major feed mills and large-scale poultry farms.

The CBN Governor, represented by Mr. Philip Yusuf, Director, Development Finance Department, said the yield prior to 2016/2017 in Nigeria was as low as 1.8MT/Ha, considered as the lowest among the top 10 maize producers in Africa, behind countries such as Egypt and South Africa where the yields are 7.7 MT/Ha and 5.3MT/Ha, respectively.

“This low yield resulted in the country’s inability to meet the domestic and industrial maize demand,” he said.

He noted also that a total of 245,913MT was aggregated from the 2020 wet and dry season harvests from selected Prime Anchors, out of which a total of 232,898.55MT have been released.

“The volume of maize in these pyramids before us today is intended to serve as stock for the Strategic Maize Reserve (SMR) to be released immediately to major millers.

He noted that the nation’s maize production as at today is 12.2 million metric tonnes from 10.5 million metric tonnes in 2015 when the anchor borrowers’ programme commenced.

“This increased production was taken from the farmers as repayment for the loans and put in a strategic maize reserve,” he added.

“As we prepare for another wet season programme, the Central Bank of Nigeria is committed to financing over 600,000 hectares. Our strategy is hinged on improving productivity by providing more funding for the anchors to enable them to utilize high quality inputs and good agronomic practices to boost output.

“Bringing recent happenings globally into perspective, two of the top 10 exporters of maize (Argentina and Brazil) experienced droughts in 2021, while another two (Ukraine and Russia) are at war. This will certainly impact on maize supply globally and drive prices northwards.

“Consequently, we have planned a more robust and timely wet season to commence in April 2022 for maize and other key commodities like rice, wheat, cassava, sorghum and soyabeans to mitigate the impending food crisis occasioned by the crisis in Russia and Ukraine,” he said.

Also speaking, the Governor of Kaduna state, Nasir El-rufai, said the state is the largest producer of maize in Nigeria, adding that agriculture is the only way Nigeria would achieve food security, create jobs, social inclusion and enhance livelihood.

Gov. El-rufai, represented by the state commissioner for Agriculture, Alhaji Ibrahim Hussaini, said that the programme would change the narrative for producers, suppliers, service providers and consumers towards strengthening commercial agriculture

“Kaduna State has studied the revised guidelines for the anchor borrowers programme which is private sector driven and we are ready to participate in the facilitation and implementation of the programme through revived guidelines.

He assured that the state would continue to support all the efforts towards enhancing productivity, livelihood, food security, value addition and inclusiveness in the transformation of the agriculture sector in Nigeria.

Maize Farmers Association of Nigeria on Monday, in Katsina, said that Nigeria has produced no fewer than 20 million tonnes of maize in the year 2021.

The National President of the Association, Alhaji Bello Abubakar, disclosed this when he led its members on a courtesy visit to the Emir of Katsina, Alhaji Abdulmumin Kabir.

According to him, before he resumed office as the National President of the association in 2015, Nigerian maize farmers were producing only eight million tons.

“After my election in 2015, within that period to date, the production had increased with about 12 million tonnes, making it 20 million tonnes.

“With this development, the maize production in Nigeria has increased, saying that this was achieved through the effort of the association for introducing the farmers to the modern farming system.

“They have learned what is called mechanisation, from the beginning to cultivation through the use of machines,” he said.

He explained that no fewer than 500,000 maize farmers have benefited from the Anchor Borrower Support nationwide, adding that in Katsina, about 80,000 benefited.

According to him, the aim of their visit to the palace was to seek more support from the Emir, and also engage traditional leaders in the anchor borrower programme, so that farmers at the grassroot level can benefit.

In his response, the Emir commended their efforts towards supporting the farmers in Nigeria, calling on them to be formidable and not to allow politicians to spoil the programme.

He also called on them to try not to allow the corrupted people to have access to the association to avoid politicising the programme.

According to him, if such happened, the right farmers may not benefit with anything, especially now that insecurity has become a great threat to farmers in the Northeast.

He added that, “the issue of insecurity has become a serious threat to the agricultural sector, but notwithstanding, we have to eat. Therefore, we have to work hard.”

The  Maize Growers, Farmers and Manufacturers Association (MAGFAMAN), has commended Federal Government (FG)  for initiating the Anchor Borrowers’ Programme (ABP) and appealed for its sustainability.

Alhaji Ibrahim Zubairu, the Bauchi Chairman of the Association, made the appeal on Sunday in Bauchi.

He commended the ABP initiative, implemented through the Central Bank of Nigeria, (CBN),  which had helped smallholder maize farmers to attain quality and high production.

He urged the government to sustain the ABP project and the value chain strategy to improve maize production, saying that over 5,000 maize farmers benefited from the ABP in 2020 and had  produced enough to meet the demand for maize.

“The Anchor Borrowers’ Programme was initiated in the first instance to help link smallholder farmers to processors, thereby creating viable and sustainable money,” he said, adding that the programme had also created large scale farmers.

He stressed that under the scheme, farmers were provided with fertilizers, seedlings, water pumping machines, insecticides, sprayers and herbicides, through a revolving loan.

“We have received support from the Federal Government’s ABP scheme,  we are still receiving support and expecting more of the inputs.

“Farmers became comfortable while cultivating their crops, because there was a market at the end of the day.

“A farmer will not have to struggle to look for who will either buy his products or the pricing, which was also considered in the ABP,” he said.

He urged farmers to embrace the ABP scheme for small-scale, individual and cooperative farmers to boost food production, while appealing to them to pay up their revolving loans so that others could also benefit.

The Maize Association of Nigeria (MAAN) says it was erecting a maize pyramid in Kaduna state, as part of its loan repayment under the Anchor Borrowers Programme (ABP).

The maize, which was sourced from across the country was the second pyramid erected by the association since the commencement of the ABP in 2015.

Speaking with journalists in Kaduna on Wednesday, the National President of MAAN, Dr Abubakar Bello, said the pyramid was to showcase the successes of the Anchor Borrowers Programme.

He said that the pyramid, the first of its kind in Nigeria, was part of the loan repayment by maize farmers to the Central Bank of Nigeria in the 2021 wet season farming.

“We want to set up this pyramid in order to showcase the success and the achievement of the Anchor Borrowers Programme, under President Muhammadu Buhari.

“Also, we want to showcase what we have done and to acknowledge what Mr President has done for maize farmers in Nigeria, as well as to show the efforts and appreciation of all maize farmers in Nigeria.

“I want to appreciate the efforts and support of the Kaduna state governor, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, who embraced this programme and promised to support us, we have seen the reality.

“The number of pyramids to be erected would be determined by the space we have here. The loan repayment is for the 2021 wet season,” he said.

Speaking on the high cost of maize, Dr Bello said, COVID-19 pandemic was a contributory factor because input production companies were unable to produce, due to movement restriction.

He said that maize production increased to 20 million metric tons in 2020, as against 8 million metric tons that was being produced as at 2015, before the introduction of the ABP.

“The issue of high price of food is something that is not only for maize, because if you look at the statistics of FAO, there will be food shortage by the end of 2021, hence this would bring about high price of other commodities.

“The price of maize is even better than the price of other commodities, it is a global issue, it is not only in Nigeria.

“Another factor that contributed to the high cost of maize is COVID-19 in 2019 and 2020, because the inputs that is being produced across many countries in the world were not produced in 2019 and 2020.

“There was scarcity of inputs that farmers will use on their farms, even the mechanization equipment were very scarce due to the pandemic, as a tool formally sold for N1,500 is now N4000, thereby bringing about increases in the cost of production.

“Before the Advent of this administration in 2015, we only had 8 million tons of maize, but by the end of 2020, it has increased to 20 million tons.

“Apart from that, farmers now have access to inputs without their money, but as a loan, they get the technology under the ABP.

“Where farmers are getting 20 tons of maize, has increase to 50 tons, there is a new technology of farming, there are extension services under the ABP.

“Mechanization, monitoring and evaluation, the farmers are benefiting and they have increased their production.

“The maize mills we have in the country have increased, the processors have more companies and are now employing more people, these are the success stories of the ABP.

“In one season, more than one million people got jobs under ABP,” he said.

Engr. Joseph Bamidele, the Coordinator of the Anchor Borrowers Programme under MAAN of Nigeria and Assistant Secretary General of MAAN, said the maize pyramid would showcase the successes farmers had achieved in their mass production in this country.

Today, we are here to start the formation of the second national pyramid in Nigeria, and probably in Africa.

The Commissioner for Agriculture, Kaduna State, Ibrahim Hussaini, said the pyramid was symbolic, but would go a long way in convincing Nigerians that the CBN’s ABP  programme and the association were ensuring that Nigeria achieved self-sufficiency in food production.