Foreign rice is in danger

Nigerians love eating rice at Christmas. But the prices of imported brands of rice have skyrocketed. Although some cheaper brands have recently emerged, scary reports about plastic rice being sold in some markets in parts of the country have dampened the people’s spirits, ANNA OKON writes

Among the popular videos circulating in the social media is one that features somebody boiling rice. The rice gets dry, starts burning and instead of turning to charcoal-like rice and other starch-based food, it turns to flames rising from the base of the pot to a high level.

This Christmas is unique in the sense that it is ‘recession Christmas.’ For the first time in about two decades, the prices of food items including rice have hit the roof.

From N7,000 for a 50kg bag that rice was sold in December 2015, it has risen to N22,000. Along with the hike also comes the increase in prices of associated condiments such as vegetable oil used in preparing stew. From N550 for 5kg of vegetable oil, it has risen to N3,500.

Unfortunately, while the prices of food items have gone up, the incomes of most Nigerians have remained the same; and in some cases, they have been slashed.

The year 2016 has been marked by job losses and company closures. More than 2,000 firms reportedly shut down between January and November while there have been over 400,000 job losses recorded across all sectors.

Purchasing power has gone down to the lowest level and it is at this critical time that cheap rice has gained a wide appeal among consumers.

A rice dealer in one of the markets in Lagos promotes two types of the popular staple. One sells for N22,000 for 50kg bag while the other has a low price tag of N9,000.

“The one for N9,000 does not have taste; if you cook it, it will swell up and fill the whole pot but it does not have taste. The only taste you can derive from it is from the stew you eat it with,” the eager seller tells the consumer who is already calculating how much gain she stands to make between N9,000 and N22, 000.

A housewife, Ogechi Mathew, takes one look at the N9,000 rice and swears she will never buy but does not forget to add that even as she will not buy, there are countless people who will rush for that rice, for crowd feeding during the Christmas celebrations, to entertain guests.

“As long as the stew is tasty, I am sure mamy Nigerians will not even know the difference,” she says.
Apart from the lack of taste, one shudders to think what could constitute a bag of 50kg foreign rice that sells for as low as N9,000 in an economy where the dollar exchange rate is N470.

Recently, there have been concerns about genetically modified rice.  Videos have surfaced of people injecting plants with some sort of chemicals that make them grow faster and mature overnight.

They are also said to be injecting the rice plants with chemicals that make them retain their fresh and shiny look; and the scariest of all, the rumours of plastic pellets inserted into bags of rice by some merchants, to add volume and make profit.

While consumers have expressed fears about the situation, some experts have offered tips on how to detect the plastic rice. In one of the tips, consumers are asked to do a water test by putting the rice in the water and stirring it, if the rice floats on top of the water, then it is definitely plastic rice, but if stays down, it is real rice.

While discussing this theory with a rice dealer, Mr. Udonkwa Akang, he says it is not a proper method of identifying the plastic rice. “If rice stays inside the bag longer than necessary, you put the grains inside water, they are bound to float, especially the ones that have been exposed to moisture; so that is not a very reliable way of testing for plastic rice.

“I believe the regulatory agencies should deploy scientific methods for the verification. There are laboratories that should be used in carrying out such tests,” he said.

The rumours must have informed a recent ban by the government of Ebonyi State of the sale and consumption of foreign rice in the state.

The governor of the state, Mr. David Umahi, while on a visit to the Punch in Lagos, confirmed that the rumours had informed the ban, adding that although the ban was not permanent, it was to enable the state to verify the veracity of the rumours.

Speaking on behalf of the governor, the Commissioner for Information and State Orientation, Ebonyi State, Dr. Emma Onwe, said that while on one of his trips to Asia, he discovered that the type of rice consumed there was different from the type being imported into Africa.

He said, “On further inquiry, I was told that the rice that is consumed in Nigeria is preserved for a period of seven to 10 years and the aroma and taste of the rice come from the strong chemicals used in preserving it for such a long period of time.”

According to him, the Basmati rice that the Asians consume tastes and smells different from the one preserved and laced with chemicals to be imported into Nigeria and other African countries.
Also, the Lagos State Government recently partnered with the Kebbi State Government to produce rice which is sold at subsidised rate of N13,000 per 50 kg bag.

These initiatives and the ban on importation of rice through the land borders had led to surplus of rice in Cotonou, according to reports which say about N3bn rice destined for Nigerian markets had been trapped in Benin Republic because of the decision of the Customs to tighten its borders ahead of the ban which takes effect from January 2017.

The Comptroller General of Customs, Hameed Ali, a strong advocate of total ban on importation of foreign rice by the year 2017, disclosed that 99 per cent of rice imported into Nigeria was poisonous.
He said, “First, the smugglers go for expired rice overseas, especially from China. The Chinese won’t eat that in their country so our people go and get them re-bagged and ferry them here.

“Secondly, the bags of rice are preserved with dangerous chemicals and reagents and when the goods arrive in neighbouring ports of Cotonou and Lome, they warehouse them poorly in dirty, dilapidated and disused facilities with leaking roofs and poor ventilation as they await the best time to move into Nigeria with their illegal consignments.”

For the Director-General, Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Mr. Muda Yusuf, the whole situation boils down to weak institutions.

He said, “We need to strengthen our institutions. Whether goods are imported or produced locally, they need to have quality control. We need to find out why our quality control institutions are not functioning and look for ways to make them function.”

The Acting Director-General, National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, Mrs. Yetunde Oni, said for the local rice, the agency had insisted on starting the quality control right from the farm where the rice was being planted.

“We have ensured that right from the outset; NAFDAC is a part of the farming. When you’re part of the farming, you will teach the farmers how to apply the pesticides; what to do at every particular point in time such that at the end of the day, you end up with the right product, not that we are waiting at the end to look at the quality of the products,” she said.

CBN, Heritage Bank Provide N2bn Loan for Aquaculture Project

In a bid to further support the real sector and unlock the nation’s food potential, Heritage Bank Plc in collaboration with the Central Bank of Nigeria has provided a N2 billion long term facility, under the Commercial Agriculture Credit Scheme, to Triton Aqua Africa Limited.

TAAL, known as Triton Farm accessed the CACS through Heritage Bank, which will be used to set up aquaculture businesses, including nursery/hatchery for the production of fingerlings and brood stock in Ikeja, and earthen ponds for catfish and tilapia in Asejire and Gambari in Oyo State as well as in Iwo, Osun State.

The company’s strategy is to embrace backward integration through production of fish locally to reduce importation of frozen fish and assist small scale farms by producing quality breed fingerlings.

According to a statement by TAAL, the Minister of State for Agriculture, Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, during a tour at Triton Farms commended the firm. He stated that the CBN and Heritage Bank’s financial support to the company was fundamental as investment in food security was the most profitable venture anyone could think of.

He, however pointed out that Nigeria had a deficit of over two million metric tonnes of poultry produce, and over three million metric tonnes deficit in fish farming products, adding that the agro-production deficits showed huge investment potential in the sector.

He further urged banks to finance more of Agricultural projects than trading, oil and gas etc., as the future was highly dependent on Agriculture.

The Group Head, Agriculture Finance of Heritage Bank, Olugbenga Awe, stated that the partnership between the bank and Triton Farms to boost local production would conserve scarce foreign exchange and enhance food security.

“Nigeria’s current demand capacity for fish is estimated at 2.7million metric tonnes and the country currently produces 800,000 metric tonnes. 

Triton is now producing 25,000 metric tonnes and with them on board, about 25,000 metric tonnes capacity will be added to our current production, the company’s projection is to reach 100,000 metric tonnes in 5 years,” he said.

Awe stressed that Heritage Bank’s support for small scale enterprises was well known, saying that most SMEs play in the agric sector.

According to him, the bank takes agriculture as one of its heritage that can empower individuals and communities in terms of creating wealth from the soil and through the entire value – chain using value addition and industrialization.

He further disclosed, “We have supported large corporates such as Triton in expanding their capacity and boosting import substitution, we have also supported exporters that export commodities or processed goods which ultimately conserve scarce FX and enhance our balance of trade.

“We are also focused on small holders’ farmers as we currently support thousands of farmers in Kaduna and Zamfara States in rice and soybeans production under the Anchor Borrowers Programme.

We are also targeting the youths that are interested in agriculture through our partnership with CBN on Youth Innovative Entrepreneurship Development Programme.”

In his remarks, the Chairman, Triton Group, Ashvin Samtani, said the farm was fully integrated in aquaculture, poultry and crop production and is a platform to create employment for the teeming youths.

“Triton Farms is designed to train youth in agriculture and create employment, as well as generate wealth. This is the only farm in the whole region that is fully integrated in aquaculture, poultry and crop production,” he affirmed

Cotton farming faces extinction

Cotton, one of the nation’s most valuable export tree crops before the oil boom of the 70s, is gradually becoming history in Nigeria despite the potential to have a share in the estimated $3 trillion global textile industry.

From the 1960s to late 1980s, about 176 textile companies were active in Nigeria when Kaduna, Kano and Katsina witnessed massive influx of graduates and unskilled labourers who sought and got jobs in the cotton dependent industries.

However, most of these companies are now dead; the ones still alive are crippled by importation of textile materials, government neglect and poor cotton policies and production.

Dr H. D. Ibrahim, Director-General, Raw Materials Research and Development Council, noted few months ago during presentation of cooton seeds to farmers in the North-west, that in 1980, cotton turnover in Nigeria was worth N8.9 billion, which represented 25% of the National Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Sadly, it slumped to only N300 million in 2012.

Similarly a report by International Cotton Advisory Committee (ICAC) (2006/2007) shows that Nigeria has 51 ginning companies but only 17 are fully operational with 33% ginning capacity utilization and approximately 250, 000 cotton farmers.

However, the ICAC 2016 data released December 1st says Nigeria now produces 51,000 metric tonnes of cotton on 253,000 hectares with average yield of 202kg per hectare only.

Again, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) in the Q1 GDP report for 2016 highlighted that the textile, apparel and footwear industries contributed only 2.10% in Q1 of 2016.

Anibe Achimugu, National President, National Cotton Association of Nigeria (NACOTAN) in a telephone interview with Daily Trust believed that failure of government to treat cotton as “a national asset” as done by top producers in the world, led to the collapse of many of the 176 industries that were active up to 1980s, which is also responsible for the continued decline of cotton production in Nigeria.

Arc. Bashir S. Haiba, who is a cotton farmer and does cotton business, from production to chain processing (ginning), told our reporter during an interview that cotton used to be part of the traditional cottage industry.

“In most of the cities in Hausa land, particularly cotton growing areas, you will always find ‘Masaka’ where traditional weaving and value addition takes place; weaving blankets, clothes and other things but over the years it is all gone,” he lamented.

“In Malumfashi now there are three functional ginneries but they are seasonal and operate below 50% of their capacity,” he said.


How $4bn (about N1.2 trillion) textile imports kill cotton production

The Director General of the Nigerian Textile Manufacturers Association (NTMA), Hamma Kwajaffa, while lamenting the state of the Nigerian cotton industry with journalists in Abuja recently said the country spends $4 billion (about N1.29 trillion) annually on import of textiles and ready made clothing, which makes it extremely difficult for the comatose industries in the country to operate and compete.

Most of these textiles materials come from the world’s largest producers of cotton – India, China, USA, Turkey and others.

Arc. Haiba also highlighted the issue of smuggling in the textile industries as a major challenge, adding that our borders are very porous thereby killing local production over the years.

With a total of 650,000 hectares available for cotton farming, only a third is currently exploited to produce less than 300,000 tonnes by an estimated 250,000 farmers in the major cotton producing states.

Even the federal government’s N100 billion for cotton, Textile and Garment Development Scheme “managed by the Bank of Industry (BOI), to revitalize the CTG Industry along the entire value chain at an interest rate of 6% per annum with tenor up to 5years,” did not make any significant impact.
Many farmers are now leaving cotton for other crops, a situation that call for concern.


FG policy on uniforms could be a game-changer

Currently, Nigeria does not have any National policy that protects the cotton industries – looking at the entire value chain.

Stakeholders like Mr. Achimugu and Kwajaffa believe that if government makes it a national policy that school uniforms of the estimated 40 million pupils, students and those of thousands of our military and para-military personnel are not allowed to be imported, that will go a long way in  changing the game as that figure alone will create the market that will resuscitate private sector investments in the cotton and textiles industries.

As it stands today, government does not have any legal instrument in place that regulates the industries making it extremely difficult for the sub-sector to come back to life.


Everything begins and ends with quality seeds

On production, Architect Haiba disclosed that the greatest problems are seeds which are grossly insufficient and not of best quality.

“Seedling nowadays doesn’t grow more than 2-3 feet, but before, a cotton plant could reach up to 5 feet with a lot of branches which you can harvest up to four times. For cotton you need long fibre, disease resistant seeds and ones that adjust properly to the vagaries of the weather,” he said.

Anibe Achimugu, like NACOTAN’s Kwajaffa and Arc. Haiba, also stressed that lack of quality cotton seed (and quantity) to address the needs of farmers for seed and to achieve higher yields, must be addressed.

He also emphasised the need for adequate financial support for farmers, research and development (R&D) on the part of government for the Institute for Agricultural Research (IAR), which will ensure seed production programmes are implemented to produce breeder and foundation seeds for the industry’s needs.

Achimugu, who is also the MD/CEO of Arewa Cotton, said there was need to facilitate the establishment of a world class seed processing plant in the first instance.

“Government’s help is needed as it will not become commercially viable for some years but it is needed to play a developmental role in the short to medium term to address lack of properly treated and certified cotton planting seed,” he said.


Other issues with cotton production in Nigeria

Architect Bashir Haiba further lamented the situation of herdsmen going into fields and destroying plants, adding that the real problem of cotton production begins after production.

He further lamented the sharp practices of middlemen whom, he said, added water, sand or even stones so that when you weighed the cotton you had more tonnage thereby creating problems for the cotton ginneries.

“Even the countries where we export the cotton to some years back banned cotton from Nigeria, particularly because of the amount of sand and debris in it, especially in Europe,” he added.

Professor Salihu A. Dadari, Programme Leader of Cotton Programme, Department of Agronomy, Institute for Agricultural Research, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, recalled that cotton marketing boards organised and coordinated the sale of cotton and also the export of the commodity.

The don revealed that with the marketing boards, farmers received fair prices for their produce.
He blamed the decline in cotton production on low seeds release to farmers, lack of adequate inputs, poor pricing policy, activities of middlemen, poor roads infrastructure and lack of security.

“At a time Nigeria was producing up to one million tonnes of cotton lint that goes to the textiles but nowadays the percentage has reduced drastically,” he said.

Prof. Dadari asserted that it was a mistake to dismantle the Cotton Marketing Boards adding that no sustainable substitute was created afterwards.

He stated that although there were allegations of corruption and fraudulent activities, it was still better then, because now you can’t hold anybody responsible for how many tonnes we have acquired or where we are taking them to or who is buying what.


Experts say government should act now

Speaking on the way government can revitalize the sector, Architect Bashir Haiba, said government should critically look into input supply for production and allocate at least 15% of the budget to agricultural production.

He said Nigeria should engage in technology shopping, particularly from other countries, adding that fertiliser, herbicides, pesticides, agricultural extension workers should also be strengthened.

“The technology attachés in embassies should look for the most rugged and simplest form of technology and see how we can bring it into Nigeria and replicate it. India has a lot to offer Nigeria,” he said.

Prof. Dadari on his part called on government to as a matter of urgency  render deliberate and targeted support for the stakeholders in the cotton value chain.

“Professionals must be trained and sent to the field to give farmers technical advice and improved seeds that have long fibres, are pest resistant and compatible with various soils and weather at affordable prices,” he suggested.

Mr. Achimugu, the MD of Arewa Cotton, Abuja, however appealed to the federal government to set up a National Cotton Council where stakeholders could deliberate on all issues pertaining to the cotton industry, and to identify interventions and implement actions.

He also wants “government to facilitate the establishment of a High Volume Instrument (HVI) testing centre.

Alongside this, introduce through the instrumentality of the Federal Government of Nigeria, the Nigerian Cotton Standards (NCS) and selling types, thereby creating a Nigerian standard in the international market place.”

But the question now is: would N1.6 billion earmarked for cotton production in the 2017 budget revive the trend?

Cassava growers demands flexible Agricultural policies to increase Production in 2017

The Nigeria Cassava Growers Association (NCGA) has appealed to the Federal Government to encourage flexible agricultural policies to boost cassava production in the country by 2017.

Mr Segun Adewumi, the National President of the association, made the appeal while speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Monday.

Adewumi said that such flexible policies should eradicate the non-acceptance of agricultural lands as collateral security for loans by Nigerian banks to encourage more farmers in the business.

According to him, the refusal has denied both foreign and local investments in the cassava value chain.
The national president emphasised that agricultural commodities, which required industrial use, needed to cost less for its products to be accepted at the international market, hence the need for the policies.

“We need to devote five million of the 84 million hectares of the arable land in Nigeria to cassava development and that will yield 200 million tonnes of cassava.

“About 200 million tonnes of cassava will produce 50 million tonnes of starch and this will sell for N350, 000 per tonne and that will generate N17.5 trillion for the country,’’ he said.

The national president listed some cassava derivatives to include garri, fufu, tapioca, starch, tapioca and its industrial products as ethanol, industrial starch, cassava flour, glucose syrup and sweetener.

Adewumi suggested the re-organisation and support from the Bank of Agriculture (BOA) to enable it to draw monies from foreign and local money market to boost agricultural production in the country.

He, however, applauded the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for its anchor borrowers’ scheme, saying it would boost food production and ensure food security in the country.

(NAN)

GM crops: Between Golden Harvest and Risks

Nigeria is set to introduce genetically modified crops into the country’s farming system starting 2017 with the commercial release of the home-grown genetically modified cowpea (beans), which Institute for Agricultural Research, ABU, Zaria worked on in the last 13 years.

Also next year, the country is expecting the research on Bt. Corn and Cotton for which research arrangements was conducted following the permit granted to Monsanto to collaborate with local research institutions to commence the introgression of the Bt. gene variety into local farmers preferred varieties.

Some believed the introduction of these sets of crops will assist farmers save money which they hitherto spent on insecticides to keep insects and other pests away.

Prof. Bamidele Solomon, former Director General/CEO, National Biotechnology Development Agency (NABDA) recently said “experience and data show that crops improved through biotechnology provide significant benefits for farmers, and restrictions on biotech crops slow the growth of agricultural productivity.

“This is particularly acute in low-income nations where farmers have less ability to mechanize production and where biotech-improved seeds offer a low-priced way to boost yields and rural incomes.”

But proponents said those campaigning against it are group of Nigerians who have no knowledge of molecular biology or genetic engineering but playing out script of multi-million dollar chemical companies who want to keep farmers in perpetual poverty.

Prof. Mohammed Ishiyaku, a plant breeder and Pod-borer Resistant Cowpea Project Principal Investigator, at the Institute for Agricultural Research, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, in a presentation at the open demonstration to the public at the site of the cowpea confined multi-locational trial in Bakura Local Government Area of Zamfara State, said that the decision to go into the genetic modification of beans was for the overall benefits of the nation.

“Over the years, we have witnessed a situation where farmers tried so hard to increase their harvest but the more they tried the less result they get. But science has availed us the opportunity to change the situation. We have succeeded in last few years in introducing a gene into the cowpea to make it resistant to the insect that have devastated it.

“When NGICA approached AATF to assist with accessing the rights to the ‘Bt’ gene (cry1Ab) from Monsanto company to be used in developing a ‘Maruca’ resistant cowpea, I started to see hope for our farmers. Today, I see that hope coming closer to reality and I look forward to the day when I will actually be able to share the ‘Maruca’-resistant cowpea seed with farmers,” Prof Ishiyaku said.

According to Edel Quinn Agbaegbu, the Executive Director, Every Woman Hope Centre: “Today in Nigeria, the media is awash with reports of rising food prices and many now go to bed each day without food.

The path to food security as an aspect of the global panacea to socio-economic development begins by exploring the challenges and developing solutions which science presents.

“We support the harnessing of the potentials of modern biotechnology and its derivatives for the benefit of Nigerians while maintaining regulatory standards.”

However, there have been campaigns by some anti-GMO activists against the introduction of modern biotechnology in Nigeria, which created fears in the minds of some Nigerians.

The groups are opposed to biotechnological development in agriculture and have repeatedly denied what opponents called “highly verifiable evidence that foods developed through biotechnology are bio-fortified to enhance nutrition and ensure food security.”

According to Dr Rufus Ebegba, Director General, National Biosafety Management Agency (NBMA), “It is wrong to play unnecessary politics with issues about need to adequately feed our nation and fight raging poverty by enhancing availability, affordability and quality. Biosafety regulation of modern biotechnology and GMOs is very crucial for safety assurance and confidence building.

Science and technology are some of the drivers of change and Nigeria as a country cannot continue to look backward for obsolete technologies to drive her socioeconomic survival. The opportunities in the adoption of safe technologies are endless and their borders seamless.

This is therefore not the time to get bogged down with fears, or inconsistencies or lethargy. Nigeria cannot afford to stand aloof or left behind in this fast growing world,” Ebegba added.