Stakeholders at IFAD’s Country Strategic Opportunities Programme(COSOP) Design Regional Technical Consultations Workshop for 2024-2029, held on Monday in Asaba, Delta pix by NAN

Members of the Committee on Critiquing and Production of training manuals for Nomadic Youth on Skills acquisition and sustainable livelihoods.

By Ahmed Ubandoma

The Federal Government has expressed its commitment to partner with the National Commission for Nomadic Education (NCNE) to empower and strengthen the capacity of nomads in the country.

Dr. Sani Gwarzo, the Permanent Secretary Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Afftairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, said this in a statement by the Information Officer of the Ministry, Mrs Rhoda Iliya, in Abuja.

Gwarzo was speaking during submission of concept note by NCNE for Critiquing and Production of training manuals for Nomadic Youth on Skills acquisition and sustainable livelihoods.

He underscored the need for the Commission to partner with the relevant agencies towards building the capacity of nomads through education, training and empowerment in various skills.

” We both have a lot to do in terms of training and empowerment of nomads,” he said.

The permanent secretary urged the executives of NCNE to use its radio services to intensify campaign towards reorientation of nomadic communities against any act of indiscipline.

Gwarzo also urged the commission to use their existing radio service to create awareness by airing the programmes of the Humanitarian Ministry.

In his response, the Executive Secretary of NCNE, Prof. Bashir Usman, said the commission had widened its scope to accommodate new realities occasioned by the devastating impact of climate change.

Usman said, the commission was initially established 1989 with the mandate to cater for the education of nomads, pastoralists, migrants and fish farmers.

He, however, said there was changes in their mode of operation due to the impact of climate change and insecurity which necessitated a review of the commission’s establishment act.

The NCNE boss also said, the review was necessary to respond to the emerging issues affecting the nomads in the country.

According to him, three different new Skill Acquisition Centres were established in addition to extra-moral classes for the educational advancement of the nomads.

He, therefore, seek to partner with the ministry to support the humanitarian needs of the nomads in Nigeria(NAN)(www.nannews.ng).

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Edited by Isaac Aregbesola

By Gami Tadanyigbe

The Director, Heinrich Boll Foundation Nigeria, Mr Jochen Luckscheiter, has urged farmers to exercise caution when administering pesticides to crops for healthy living and to help save the environment.

Luckscheiter made the call at a Two-Day Engagement Workshop of Social Media Influencers/Journalists on the Nigeria Pesticide Atlas at agro forestry Project farm in Kwali, FCT.

The director said the essence of the workshop was to increase public awareness on the impact of high use of toxic pesticides by farmers in the agricultural sector.

He said pesticides were designed to prevent yield losses in farming system, but it also gives rise to new problems on health and soil degradation which was harmful to ecosystem.

“The idea is to reduce the use of pesticides and farm more relying on organic input as the use of pesticides over the years in Nigeria has not necessarily increased productivity.

“You can increase crop productivity without using pesticides and artificial fertiliser.

“There is lots of knowledge out there that doesn’t rely on artificial input to increase productivity,” he said.

According to him, a significant number of pesticides are no longer authorised or are banned in the European Union (EU) due to their harmful effects on health and the ecosystem.

However, he cautioned farmers on the safe use of pesticides, stressing that it was highly dangerous to health, though it was aimed at empowering workers on farm production while in active service.

The Executive Director, Chen Education and Development Empowerment (CEDE), Anaele Cynthia, said there was the need to enlighten Nigerians on the dangerous effect of hazardous pesticides imported into the country.

Cynthia said the toxic chemical contents in pesticides had increased from four to 40 per cent with adverse effects on the soil and environment.

According to her, there is the need to enact stiffer laws to prohibit use of toxic and hazardous pesticides by farmers to ensure healthy living and safer farming system in the country.

She stressed the need for the government and stakeholders to be concerned about the health of farmers, saying, “pesticides may cause acute and variety of adverse health effects.”

She said that the workshop was aimed at sensitising participants on the need to draw the public’s attention to toxic pesticides and what could be done to regulate pesticides and alternative usage.

The Chief Executive/Chief Farmer, Be The Help Foundation Agro forestry Project, Mr Samuel Robert-Kwasari, said there was the need to stop the use of pesticides and revert to the traditional system of farming.

Robert-Kwasari said as farmers struggle to fight the pests, it has emerged that some pesticides are not effective, while other crops suffer adverse effects and soil degradation on the farm.

He said that agriculturalists were also being asked not to spray during a high wind as the chemicals might blow on the person carrying out the spraying. (NAN)

Edited by Dorcas Jonah/Isaac Aregbesola

By Stephen Adeleye

A socio-cultural group, Ibaji Unity Forum (IUF), has distributed nine tonnes of certified rice seeds to 1,800 victims of the 2022 flood disaster in Ibaji Local Government Area of Kogi.

Speaking at the occasion on Friday in Ibaji, National President of IUF, Mr Stephen Uchola, said the gesture was in fulfilment of the forum’s mandate of alleviating the sufferings of the farmers, occasioned by the 2022 flood distaster.

Uchola, who was represented by the IUF Public Relations Officer, Mr Orjoh Mathias, said that the items would be distributed to 1,800 Ibaji indigenes.

He said that the nine tonnes (9000kg) of Faro 44 rice seeds, with three months maturity, was worth N8.1 million.

According to him, the initiative is part of IUF’s post-flood relief programmes, aimed at cushioning the effects of the flood disaster that ravaged and submerged the entire council area last year.

Uchola said that the effects flooding was devastating, adding , however, that not much had been done by governments at all levels to help the citizens.

“In spite all the efforts to showcase the prevalent effects of this natural disaster to the world, government has left the citizens of Ibaji to their fate.

“IUF, in its own wisdom and as part of its aims and objectives, cried out to the public for assistance and the result is what people are witnessing today,” Uchola said.

He appreciated the donors for their faith in IUF and for committing their resources to the course of alleviating the sufferings of Ibaji citizens.

The forum’s president enjoined all Ibaji sons and daughters to join the forum, saying, ”there is strength in unity.”

He also urged the beneficiaries to effectively utilise the rice seeds for maximum yields, for their own benefits and those of their families, the state and the country at large.

In his remarks, the Chairman, Board of Trustee (BoT) of IUF, Mr David Ameh, thanked the God and the donors for the gesture.

Represented by Mr Simon Achimugwu, a BoT member, Ameh noted that IUF remained an apolitical group and as such, whatever it was giving out should not be attributed to any political party.

Responding, one of beneficiaries from Onedega ward, Mrs Grace Ameh, a widow, who spoke on behalf of others, thanked the forum for its intervention to alleviating their sufferings.

She noted that the 2022 flood had affected them so much that to even feed their families had become a problem, thus making them more vulnerable.

”No matter how little this rice seeds could be, it means a lot to us because we believe that this will later translate into something big before the end of this year,” she said. (NAN) (www.nannews.ng)

Edited by Ayodeji Alabi and ‘Wale Sadeeq

By Aminu Garko

HarvestPlus Nigeria, an agric development project, has introduced two improved millet varieties to accelerate cereal crop production in the country.

The Country Director, HarvestPlus Nigeria, Dr Yusuf Dollah said this at the investiture of the improved seeds on Thursday in Kano.

He said the seeds had been developed in collaboration with the International Crop Research Institute (ICRISAT) and Lake Chad Research Institute (LCRI) to champion food transformation initiative in Africa.

Dollah said the seeds tagged: Jirano and Chakti were the pioneer pearl millet varieties released in Africa.

“The first biofortified varieties initiative build on scaling efforts in India, where the number of farming households growing iron pearl millet jumped 395 per cent since 2021.

“HarvestPlus developed and promote biofortified food crops that are rich in vitamins and minerals thereby providing leadership on biofortification evidence and technology.

According to him, climate votality in northern Nigeria has led to decreased crop yields and nutrients in some of the staples, adding that increased food prices and heightened food insecurity worsened cases of malnutrition.

“Smallholder farmers are also looking for opportunities to bridge production yield gap brought about by climate stress through improved agricultural technologies like nutrient enriched seeds,” he said.

He said the new millet varieties would improve nutrition for millions of farming households providing up to 80 per cent of daily iron needs when eating regularly.

Earlier, the Country Representative, LCRI, Prof. Baba Gana-Jugudum, expressed optimism that the varieties would add value to end users.

He said the institute would soon released more seed varieties to enhance specific food system transformation. (NAN)www.nannews.ng)

Edited by Rabiu Sani-Ali

By Felicia Imohimi

The Federal Government and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD/FG), on Wednesday launched the design of new Country Strategic Opportunities Programme, 2024-2029, (COSOP) for transformation of Nigeria’s agriculture food systems.

Mrs Dede Ekoue, Country Director, IFAD-Nigeria, identified COSOP as a roadmap for the implementation of IFAD’s mandate for inclusive and sustainable rural transformation focusing on small holders farmers in line with food system approach.

The Country Director said this during the National Technical Launch of Nigeria-IFAD COSOP Formulation in Abuja.

According to her, the 2024 to 2029 COSOP design process adopts a highly consultative participatory and inclusive process that solicits the views of broad range of stakeholders from the government, small-scale farmer representatives, farmer organisations, private sector and development partners.

Ekoue said the measure was to ensure that COSOP is alive to the needs and aspirations of the people and cognisant of the prevailing challenges, opportunities, resources and technological requirements to meet the people’s expectations.

“in this regards the launch today therefore marks a key milestone toward meeting these objectives and signals the start of the engagement process.’’

She said the programme, as a transformative approach for sustainability and scale up results, will enable the rural poor and smallholders farmers to pull themselves out of poverty.

“COSOP is a cooperation strategy between IFAD and a member country which identifies the key objectives and development results to be pursued during a timeframe of five to nine years.

“It takes into consideration country’s fragility and vulnerability to natural and man-made shocks, or weak governance structures, mainstream gender, youth, nutrition and climate resilience.

“Partnerships strategy with private sector for empowerment of the rural poor and the small holders and agrifood system transformation.”

She noted that the current COSOP, 2016 to 2023, whose goal was to have a rural economy in which the targeted population can derive prosperity and equal benefits from economic growth have had huge successes.

She assured stakeholders that COSOP would have adequate salient features that focuses on smallholder farmers, enhances innovation, builds in transparency, assesses fragility and vulnerability.

“It also identifies the right targets and builds partnership strategies with development partners and private sector actors.

Ekoue said “COSOP will assess risks and purpose mitigation strategies and learn across board through the south-south and triangular cooperation in order to create an enabling environment for the development of inclusive and profitable agricultural value chains.

Dr Faniran Sanjo, Convener, UN Food System Transformation Pathway for Nigeria, said COSOP was informed based on the call by the United Nation Secretary General António Guterres in 2020 on all countries.

He quoted the Secretary General as calling on all countries to look inward and come up with issues that are affecting food systems and to change the narrative.

Sanjo, also the Director Social Development Department, Federal Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning, said Nigeria joined other countries and held dialogue across all the length and breadth of the country cutting across geopolitical zones.

He said “three levels of dialogue were held one for policies makers, one across the zones and we crown it up with national consultative dialogue that brought about all the issues that are affecting food system.’’

“We came up with recommended solutions presented by President Muhammad Buhari at the 2021 UN Food System Summit in New York.

He revealed that at the moment, implementation of the programme has commenced with the involvement of one state as coordinator of each of the six geopolitical zones.

He also identified Lagos State as coordinating for South west, Kwara coordinating for North Central, Kano state coordinating for North West, Enugu coordinating for south east, Akwa-Ibom coordinating for south south, while Borno state is coordinating for north east.

“Each of the states have set up machinery to ensure that the coordination cut across all the areas.

“We have also constituted a stirring committee, Permanent Secretaries of Ministry of Agriculture, six states being chaired by the Minister of State, Budget and National Planning, and Co-Chaired by Country Director FAO, IFAD and World Food Programme (WFP),’’ (NAN) (www.nannews.ng)

FUA/MAM/VAO

Edited by Modupe Adeloye/Vincent Obi

By Mercy Omoike

Stakeholders in the Nigerian fertiliser industry have scored the sector’s productivity and performance very high.

The experts gave the commendations in separate interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday in Lagos.

The Executive Secretary, West African Fertiliser Association (WAFA), Mr Innocent Ikuku, said Nigeria is the highest producer of urea in the whole of West Africa.

Ikuku said that the industry had recorded tremendous improvement in the last five years.

“The Nigerian fertiliser industry is one that has transformed significantly over the last five years.

“From having only a single manufacturer of urea, which was Notore in about 10 years ago, we come to a place now where we have three fertilisers manufacturers.

“Nigeria presently has capacity for more than five million tonnes of urea production annually. So, Nigeria is producing urea beyond what is able to consume.

“So, it means in terms of urea, there is enough supply for the market,” Ikuku told NAN.

He, however, noted that the other inputs required to make fertiliser balance, namely phosphate and potash, were still imported.

He said that the gap must be bridged for further growth and development of the sector.

Ikuku said: “Nigeria is gradually becoming the hub for fertiliser production and distribution for the whole of West Africa.

“This is because Nigeria is where you have excess nitrogen that can be supplied to other countries in West Africa.

“And we have installed capacity for blending that is far beyond what the country needs.

“So, Nigerian fertiliser sector is basically just taking off and if the environment remains friendly and we allow private sector to keep investing as they should, the sector is going to boom in the near future.

“And by implication this affects West African countries and that will improve access to fertiliser and consumption,” Ikuku said.

On his part, Mr Moses Negedu, analyst, Fertilizer Producers & Suppliers Association of Nigeria, commended the growth of the sector.

Negedu, however, said that the sector would experience more growth with the right policies.

“The Nigerian fertiliser sector is a green industry and we believe that since it is growing, there is potential for more growth.

“If we harness the government and private sector coalition then, the fertiliser industry has great potential for growth both for the domestic and international market.

“We must put in place the right policies to steer more growth in the Nigerian fertiliser industry,” Negedu said. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng).

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Edited by Chinyere Joel-Nwokeoma