Agri-Times: Friday, 1st October, 2021

 

On today's agricultural news update:

1.3% Agriculture Growth Not Sufficient For Food Security Attainment: NIGERIA’S agricultural productivity which is currently growing at 1.3 percent is insufficient to meet food and raw materials demands, Chairman, Board of Directors, Sterling Bank Plc, Mr Asue Ighodalo has said. Ighodalo made this known at the 4th Agriculture Summit Africa (ASA) 2021 organized by Sterling Bank in Lagos.

Themed: “Building the New Agri Order”, the Sterling Bank boss noted that it was unacceptable and an ironic paradox to have raw materials shortages and food insecurity amidst so many fertile and arable lands across Africa. In his words, “In the last three years, our bank has paid attention to and concentrated resources on the health, agriculture, renewable energy, education and transportation sectors. These when put together represent the heart of Sterling, and right in the middle of our strategy is the agriculture sector. “With millions at risk of being deprived of their means of livelihoods occasioning major concerns around food security and with an estimated population of over 200 million growing at an annual rate of three percent.

“Regardless of recent interventions, agricultural productivity in Nigeria growing at about 1.3 percent is insufficient to meet our food and raw materials demand” Ighodalo cautioned. The Chairman emphasized that Nigeria’s agriculture deficit continues to widen despite government interventions and a wide range of opportunities in the sector. He identified low yields per hectare due to shortages in quality of inputs, climate changes, among others as inhibiting factors to the growth of the sector. Ighodalo, however, revealed the bank’s commitments to changing the narrative by catalyzing revenue growth to rev the continent into equal level with the developed world which he added was in the middle of the 4th industrial revolution.

NALDA Inaugurates 30,000 Birds Capacity Integrated Farm Estate In Yobe: SENATE President, Senator Ahmed Lawan, has inuagurated an integrated farm estate in Yobe state built by the National Agricultural Land Development Authority (NALDA). The farm estate which houses 10 poultry pens that contain 30,000 old layers and an incubation centre is sitting on 20 hectares of land, and is expected to produce about 250,000 noilers annually for sales. Located at Gasamu, Jakusko local government in Yobe State, the farm estate has 30 youth who are the beneficiaries, to manage the birds in a one person for 1000 birds arrangement. Speaking at the inauguration at the weekend, the Executive Secretary of NALDA, Prince Paul Ikonne, said,” we are here today for the commissioning of this 30,000 bird capacity farm estate which is specially made to produce noilers.

“This centre is like a reproduction centre that will be producing our locally improved birds that will be distributed across the country in order to encourage our local breeds and maintain our old stocks”.

He said the farm estate which commenced production immediately is expected to generate N1.1 million daily from sales of birds alone and N400 million annually for the farmers.

“This farm has a capacity of generating 850 eggs daily and generating N1.1 million daily from the sales of birds only. “And these eggs will also be incubated as we have an incubation centre here in order to produce day-old chicks that will be sent to other poultry houses across the country. Annually, we are expecting to have not less than N400 million generated from this farm”, Prince Ikonne noted.

He explained that the incubation centre will produce the parent stock which will lay eggs the production of day old noilers for sales, with the production capacity of 250,000 annually.

While the 30,000 birds will be used for egg and meat production for the 30 benefiting farmers.

“The youths from this immediate community are the first set of beneficiaries which we believe will engage them meaningfully as they will be making their money from this centre.

“We believe that it will reduce unemployment and this community has been enjoying peaceful coexistence within themselves, that this farm will increase that peace within them.

“I want to thank the host community, especially the President of the Senate for his support and the Governor of the state for providing us the enabling environment to see that the desire of Mr President is achieved. “NALDA integrated farm estates are meant to empower the community, to develop the land within the community, empower the youth, create employment and reduce hunger in our land”, Ikonne added. On the sustainability of the farm estate, the NALDA boss said that the Authority has engaged Prime Farm to manage the farm estate, while Jaiz Bank and other banks will be its financial partner.

Ogun Govt, Agric Firm Train 100 Young Graduates On Fish Farming: 100 young graduates have been trained on fish farming by the Ogun State Government through the State Agricultural and Multipurpose Credit Agency (OSAMCA) in collaboration with an agriculture firm, Al-Amin Aqua Farm. The gesture is part of government determination to reduce the challenge of unemployment among school leavers in the state, in order to make them self-dependent. The Commissioner for Industry, Trade and Investment, Mrs Kikelomo Longe, while speaking during a programme tagged ‘Dapo Abiodun Acquisition and Empowerment Programme (DAAEP), held in Ijebu-Ode, hinted  that the training would promote fish farming culture among graduates, to enable them be self-reliant and be employers of labour. Longe noted that the initiative would further upgrade the status of participants for higher quality output, towards achieving food sufficiency, saying the Prince Dapo Abiodun-led administration remained committed to improving the living standard of the people, as well as providing a favourable environment for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to thrive.

“Our focus is to help MSMEs in the State, increase the higher protein intake level of the people, generate employment and position OSAMCA to perform better at realising the policy of the State government and given out loans to successful entrepreneurs who applied”, she said.

The Commissioner stated that the present administration was also helping businesses through the Ogun State Government-Bank of Industry Joint N1bn Fund Scheme, which provides loans to cooperative societies and SMEs at subsidised rate of seven percent per annum. “Process your fish, think big, dream big and be ready to export your fish to the world. See yourself as big-time producer of fish as the State government and other supporting partners are committed to the growth of your businesses”, Longe assured. OSAMCA Chairman, Mr. Abayomi Hunye, said the programme was targeted at encouraging youths and young graduates in aquaculture farming and management, to reduce rate of unemployment in the country. Hunye pointed out that they would also build their capacity on process of breeding and harvesting of aquatic creatures, which include fish, shell fish, algae, among others, saying fish farming is easy to set up and would continue to generate employment for the people.

Flood: NEMA distributes relief farm materials to 1,331 farmers in Ondo: The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) yesterday distributed relief farm materials to 1,331 rice and maize farmers, who are victims of floods that ravaged their farms in 2020. The distributed materials worth millions of naira include water pumps, insecticides, sprayers, rice and maize seedlings, bags of fertilizer among others. Distributing the materials in Akure the state capital, the Director-General of the agency, Mr Ahmed Habib said the gesture was to assist the farmers whose farms were destroyed by flood in 2020. Represented by the Area Head of NEMA in Ekiti, Ondo and Osun States, Mr Afolayan Olusegun, the DG explained that the beneficiaries were from Akure South and Akure North Local Governments. ”This is a gesture from the federal government to the farmers that are victims of natural disaster nationwide and the agricultural inputs you saw there are to be distributed. Sometimes ago, we came for the enumeration and profiling of the affected farmers and the items have been brought to them to cushion the impact of the loss made as a result of the disaster.

Santuscom secures over $1.2m facilities from CBN, BoI, others: An agribusiness giant, Santuscom Agro Investment Company Limited, Tuesday, disclosed securing $1.2 million facilities from Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Bank of Industry, BoI, SunTrust Bank, and Nigeria Incentive-Based Risk Sharing system for Agricultural Lending, NIRSAL, to boost food production.This was made known in a statement signed by the Managing Director, Santuscom Agro Investment Company Limited, Chief Paul Ofana. According to him, the BoI/SunTrust facility is for procurement of equipment, plant and accessories for complete rice milling plant of 60 tonnes per day, which is put to the tune of over N300 million. He said: “Santuscom Agro Investment Company Limited, the producers of our popular Ogoja Rice have secured and signed an investment deal with the Bank of Industry (BoI) and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) through the Anchor Borrowers Programme to the tune of $1.2 million, which is equivalent of over N761.9 million.

“The investment from Bank of Industry through the SunTrust Bank Nigeria Limited is to upscale our rice processing factory to package and process a 60 tonnes per day and five tonnes per hour per boiling mill.

“While the N460 million is secured from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Anchor Borrowers Programme through the NIRSAL Microfinance Bank to finance 2,000 hectares  rice field in Okpoma, Yala Local Government Area of Cross River State. He also expressed optimism that, “These facilities are not just going to impact in few months but the facilities that will impact positively in the agri industrialization of the President Muhammadu Buhari administration and also help support the food security initiative of the government.” Meanwhile, the Santuscom boss assured that, “It will create employment and wealth for our teeming youths, because a lot of them are going to be engaged in activities in our farm and in the entire value chain.

Yobe flood victims get farm input: EMERGENCY Agricultural Intervention Programme has begun distribution of farm input to 6,573 farmers affected by flood disaster in Yobe. Abdulkadir Ibrahim, NEMA’s principal Information officer in Northeast spoke yesterday in Damaturu, the state capital. Ibrahim said the exercise was under the ‘Federal Government Emergency Agricultural Intervention Fund’ for farmers affected by the 2020 flood disaster in Yobe, in collaboration with the state and other stakeholders. ”About 6,573 farmers in 11 local governments are expected to benefit from this distribution, which includes pumping machines, seeds, pesticides, herbicides and fertiliser,” he said. Also speaking, Miss Wagami Lydia, head of NEMA in Yobe Agricultural Intervention said the distribution would boost food security.

These and more on the next Agri-News Update.