By Victor Nwachukwu

The Federal Government has distributed 30 bags of NPK fertilisers and 20 cartons of herbicides to 60 farmers in Imo.

The Director, Department of Agricultural Extension Services, Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, Mr Brooks Michael, supervised the distribution in Owerri on Wednesday.

Michael, represented by Mrs Dorothy Botar, a senior staff member of the ministry, said that each of the farmers would get half of the 50kg bag of fertilisers and four litres of pre and post emergence herbicides.

This, she said, was part of efforts by the Federal Government to ensure increased productivity and food security for Nigerians.

“The aim of this intervention is to increase farmers’ productivity and income as well as make food available to all Nigerians,” he said.

The ministry’s Director in Imo, Mr Chris Iwuchukwu, said the beneficiaries of the agricultural empowerment were drawn from all Local Government Areas of the state and urged the farmers to make judicious use of the inputs.

“The farm inputs are not for sale but for use by the farmers. We expect the beneficiaries to properly apply the inputs on their farms for optimal results,” he said.

One of the beneficiaries, Mrs Justina Njoku, a cassava farmer who hails from Aboh Mbaise Local Government Area, thanked the Federal Government for the initiative and expressed the hope of increased harvest.

Another farmer, Mr Silas Nwachukwu of Ikeduru Council Area, advised young persons to embrace farming, rather than continue to wait for white collar jobs.

“We can create jobs ourselves through farming and I can confirm that there is money in agriculture,“ he said. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

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Edited by Dorcas Jonah/Idris Abdulrahman

By Patricia Amogu

The National Cashew Association of Nigeria (NCAN), on Tuesday urged the Federal Government to prevent foreigners from going directly to farmers to buy up cashews.

The National President of the association, Prince Ojo Ajanaku who gave the advice in a keynote address he delivered during a one-day stakeholders’ consultative meeting in Lagos, said the advice became necessary because the practice had led to premature harvest of the crop.

He said that the premature harvest of the crop and direct purchase of the same by foreigners were detrimental to the development of the cashew value chain.

Ajanaku acknowledged the outstanding position of cashew as one of the National Strategic Export Products in Nigeria, saying adequate measures are being put in place to ensure quality control at the farm gate.

He stressed the need for synergy along the cashew value chain in order to ensure increased production of the crop in Nigeria.

“When our investors go directly to our farm gates, there is an interference leading to a crash in the business and the reduction of the purchasing power of Nigerian local middlemen and farmers.

“This not only causes distractions for local farmers, it has also led to low quality of the produce, trade distortions, reduced value of the crop at the international market, and in the long run, putting the farmer at a disadvantage.

“The cashew business has been bastardised these days. Farmers are no longer patient.

“They don’t want to wait for the crop to fall off its tree when they become ripe. They are in a hurry to sell to foreign buyers.

“What legacy are we then leaving for the future generations?” he said.

Also speaking during the meeting, the Managing Director of Starlink Global, Murtala Adeniji, said that the cashew business “is capable of generating 15 billion dollars for the country annually and can create jobs.

“The investors should have their warehouses in Lagos. They can trust us and give us the money to deal for them.

“One of the ways the cashew business in Nigeria can grow tremendously is by backward integration,” he said.

He encouraged cashew farmers to see the cultivation of the crop as a viable job opportunity for youths as it can attract huge foreign exchange for the country (NAN)

Edited by Emmanuel Yashim

By Joy Akinsanya
The Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security  has trained beekeepers in Ogun on how to rear queen bees for pollination services.

The farmers were also trained on the use of pollination equipment in fruit and vegetable farms for effective crop yield and increase in fruit and vegetable production.

The Director, Federal Department of Agriculture, Abubakar Abdullahi, said the training was meant to guide farmers on the best practice to manage bee collonies, which serve as agent of pollination service in crop yield.

Abdullahi spoke on Wednesday at a one-day workshop in Abeokuta.

He was represented at the training by the Deputy Director, Horticulture, Mrs Omotosho Agbani.

He said that the capacity development for the farmers was a key component activity towards achieving the goal of food and nutrition security and import substitution of the Federal Government.

He described honeybee as one of the most economically important insects in agricultural economy that renders pollination services, producing honey and other hive products.

He said that honeybees, which are small but mighty creature, play an indispensable role in pollination that directly impacts our food systems, biodiversity, enhancing sustainable livelihood and overall environmental health.

“Proper pollination, via bees activities, improves the quantity and quality of fruits, vegetables, nuts, oil and other crops it also produces.

“This leads to the promotion of honeybee pollination service value chain in order to aid increase in yield and quality of crops of our farmers,” Abdullahi said.

Also speaking, the Ogun  coordinator, Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, Mrs Patience Ayo-Ajayi, said that bee farmers play a vital role in the lives of so many people in terms of production of quality honey in place of artificial sugar and also bee products.

Ayo-Ajayi also spoke on the importance of honeybee pollination in agriculture, saying that bee pollination has played a successful role on crops, particularly on fruits and vegetables crops, which help the crops to flourish and yield bountifully.

According to her, the Federal Government, through the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, has made food security a major agenda that must be achieved.

She, therefore, described the training as being in line with the food security agenda of the present administration.

She urged the participants to seize the opportunity offered by the training to ensure they apply all they were taught in their farming practices to ensure a brighter and more productive future of fruit and vegetable and also increase their incomes.

The Chairman Federation of Beekeepers Association of Nigeria, Mr Elijah Asade, in Ogun, commended the federal government for building their capacity on honeybee queen rearing and pollination service.

Asade said that the training would help to boost production and increase the income of the farmers.

“The honeybee queen rearing and pollination service is one training we have been eager to learn.

“This is the right time for us to key into it because a lot of us don’t practice it.

“We only practice the conventional way of rearing bees,” he said.

He admonished his fellow members to key into the training and reflect it on their farmland.

He promised that they would make proper use of the skills and knowledge gathered at the training to boost food production and security in the country.

The resource person, Mr Samuel Agboola, said the purpose of the training was to enable beekeepers to use honeybee to achieve the success in agricultural economy, through bee pollination of crops.

Abgboola further spoke on the importance of bee pollination to crops.

He defined honeybee queen rearing as the controlled process of raising queen bees from selected larvae.

He  explained that effective bee pollination on crops would result in healthier crops, larger yield and higher quality produce.

He said that most fruit crops and vegetables depend on bee pollination for survival and fruitful yield.

Speaking on behalf of the participants, Mr Oreyemi Adenola and Mr Lateef Sanni, thanked the federal government for the training.

They described the training as an eye-opener and promised to effectively make use of all they learnt to make impact on their farms.

They also assured the federal government that they would see positive result in crop yield and other productions. (NAN)

Edited by Sam Oditah

By Philip Daniel Yatai

The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has expressed optimism that the Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zones (SAPZ) programme would revitalise and transform the agricultural sector in the territory, particularly livestock.

Mr Lawan Geidam, Mandate Secretary, Agriculture and Rural Development Secretariat, FCTA, stated this at the opening of a 5-day workshop for members of the Programme Implementation Committee in Abuja on Saturday.

According to him, the programme will not only generate significant revenue for the FCT but also create employment opportunities and infrastructural development in host communities.

Geidam affirmed the commitment of the FCT Administration to support the implementation of the programme to achieve the desired outcome.

He urged the committee members to work in ensuring that the objectives of the programme were achieved.

Also, an agricultural consultant, Dr Adesola Oyebanji, while providing an overview of the programme, said that the workshop was designed to equip the committee members with project management skills.

This, according to him, will enable them to overcome both anticipated and unforeseen challenges.

Oyebanji called on the FCT Administration to address all the challenges at the proposed Paikon Kore Grazing Reserve, which could become the hub of livestock production, processing, and marketing in the FCT.

According to him, resolving the issues promptly will facilitate the smooth commencement of the programme.

Earlier, the Programme Coordinator in FCT, Hajiya Umma Abubakar, thanked the Africa Development Bank (AfDB) and the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) for supporting the programme.

She assured the banks of the Programme Implementation Committee preparedness to transform the livestock sector in the federal capital.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the first phase of the programme being supported by AfDB would be implemented in Cross River, Imo, Kaduna, Kano, Kwara, Ogun Oyo and the FCT.

The programme seeks to support inclusive and sustainable agro-industrial development in Nigeria.

The four components of the programme aim to support the development of enabling climate adaptive infrastructure for agro-industrial hubs, and improve agricultural productivity and enterprise development to enhance agricultural value chain as well as job creation.

Others are to support agro-industrial zone policy and institutional development, and programme coordination and management.

The programme is expected to be implemented between 2022 and 2026. (NAN)

Edited by Rabiu Sani-Ali

By Adebola Adegoke

Mr Adekoya Oluwagbemiga, Chief Executive Officer, Adbond, Nigeria’s pioneering Agro-to-Home Development Company, has emphasised the need to reawaken the interest of agriculture among youths to boost food production.

Oluwagbemiga said the call became pertinent to ensure food security and food sufficiency in the country.

He said this during a press conference to mark the company’s seventh year anniversary on Friday in Lagos.

Oluwagbemiga said Nigerians needed to embrace the fact that we were first farmers before any profession.

“We all should go back to promoting agriculture as our backbone in Nigeria.

“The truth is that agriculture from inception is the core profession of Africans and our forefathers that have been the source of our national, corporation, and individual prosperity .

“You can be a medical doctor, you can still own a farm, as a legal practitioner you can still own a farm, as a tech giant owning a farm doesn’t leave you out.

“Owning a farm is a simple task every generation of Africa needs to be part of starting from Nigeria in fulfilling the Nigeria purpose to aid its gross domestic product.

“No farm goes big without starting small and note you don’t have to buy it from Adbond, all you need is just start from where you are,” he said.

He said the company, since its inception, had embarked on initiatives to woo youths to agriculture.

He said the company had sensitised 50 people on gardening and global approach in solving food insecurity through its green wealth summit event where they gave out seeds to encourage people.

“Also, we have 2,000 youths employed both directly and indirectly as virtual staff, who work passionately to realise the vision and they remain the backbone of our success.

“We have also successfully awarded 10 outstanding students with lands through our academic excellence award programme, a platform for nurturing talents,learning and encouraging quality education.

“We have successfully empowered the lives of 600 corps members as landowners, which we call villa owners.

“By integrating agriculture and residential development, we not only redefine comfortable living but also pave the way for sustainable and prosperous communities in Africa,” he said.

According to him, the company’s vision and purpose is to promote wealth and unity from Nigeria and Africa.

“Our impact over the years cut across also fulfilling some sustainable development goals in the areas of zero hunger, no poverty, gender equality, quality education and economic growth and empowerment,” Oluwagbemiga added.

On his part, Mr Steven Awoyemi, Director of Agriculture for Adbond, called on governments to support farmers with grants to enable them venture into mechanised farming.

Awoyemi also urged the government to provide farmers with resources to market their produce to avoid wastage and loss. (NAN) (www.nannews.ng)

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Edited by Chinyere Joel-Nwokeoma

By Bukola Adewumi

By Hajara Leman

Gombe State government has commended women farmers in the state over their contributions to boosting food security in the state and country.

Mr Barnabas Malle, the state’s Commissioner of Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and Cooperatives, gave the commendation while speaking in Gombe on Wednesday at an event to commemorate the 2023 World Food Day in the state.

Malle said that small-scale women farmers had made immense contributions to both the federal and the state government’s efforts at boosting food security and ensuring availability of food in the country.

He said women were critical stakeholders in agricultural value chain and had been helping to process harvested crops to improve the nutrition of households in the state.

The commissioner said that it was in view of such contributions that the state government regarded them as partners in the sector, adding that without women in agriculture, the success so far recorded would not have been possible.

“As you are aware, Gov. Inuwa Yahaya’s administration has prioritised agriculture sector and women are major stakeholders in this administration because of their contributions to the sector.

“Huge sums of money have been allocated and expended on the purchase and distribution of assorted fertilisers, improved seedlings and agro-chemicals and other equipment annually in order to achieve sustainable food availability in the state.

“Women and youths are major partners in progress to this government whose contributions cannot be over emphasised.

“We are aware that the Small- Holder women farmers Organisation in Nigeria (SWOFON) is one of the associations that empowers women farmer groups.

“The increase of budgetary allocation to smallholder women farmers from N40 million in 2022 to N70 million in 2023 was not a coincidence but a deliberate action to ensure that SWOFON has carried out its mandate conveniently and successfully,” he said.

Malle urged women farmers in the state to continue to put in their best by embracing modern farming techniques and ensure use of improved seedlings in efforts to sustain the successes so far recorded by the government.

Speaking earlier, Mrs Airudia Mamman, the state coordinator of SWOFON, Gombe State chapter, commended the Gov. Yahaya-led administration for prioritising agriculture through the state government’s deliberate intervention in providing farm inputs to farmers annually.

Mamman said that members of SWOFON had played key roles in boosting food production in the state and had been alleviating poverty amongst women in rural areas.

She, however, urged the government to ensure timely release of funds allocated to smallholder farmers in the state annual budget to SWOFON to enable it implement its work plan towards boosting food security and reducing poverty.

According to her, there is the need for the government to increase allocation to agriculture sector and ensure timely release of the budget to meet the 10 per cent Maputo Declaration Commitment on Agriculture and Food Security.

She also urged the government to constitute a gender steering committee which will include SWOFON for the implementation of the Gender Policy in the agriculture sector in a bid to offer equal access and gender- sensitive approaches towards food security.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the theme of the 2023 World Food Day which was marked on Monday is, “Water is Life, Water is Food: Leave no One Behind.’’

The event to commemorate the day in the state was organised by the Gombe State chapter of SWOFON, Hope Foundation for the Lonely in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Husbandry with support from ActionAid Nigeria.(NAN)

Edited by Chijioke Okoronkwo