Threats to food security in Nigeria

There is no gainsaying that Nigeria is seriously challenged. It is obvious, isn’t it? However, the greatest threat to national stability today is food security. By way of definition, food security is the state of having reliable access to a sufficient quantity of affordable, nutritious food.

The family menu is fast disappearing. Juju music icon, Chief Commander Ebenezer Obey, in one of his classic albums released in the late 1980s said Nigerians were using formula to eat.

He sang about various eating formula such as 0-0-1, 0-1-0, 1-0-0, 1-0-1 and many others. The 1 in those numerals represents the meals families eat per day out of the three they are supposed to eat.

True, in many homes, particularly, among the majority poor Nigerians, hardly will one see those who are having 1-1-1 which represents three square meals per day. Food is a serious matter. It is said that the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. Hunger and starvation had precipitated revolution in many countries. History has it that one of the causes of the French Revolution (1789 – 1790) was as a result of the increase in the price of bread.

 

I have been very worried about the increasing food insecurity in Nigeria. Workers are not being paid as and when due, both in the public and private sectors. High inflation, (now at 16.5 per cent), downsizing and rightsizing of workforce are now rife, so also is non-absorption of teeming unemployed youths in any meaningful and gainful employment.

Upon all, food prices have hit the rooftop. Expectedly, there is an exponential increase in crime rates. These are all threats to national security.

More directly, our agricultural sector which is primarily responsible for putting food on our table has been in the doldrums since the discovery of black gold which is crude oil in Oloibiri in the present day Bayelsa State about 1956. All the initiatives such as Operation Feed the Nation by the Olusegun Obasanjo military regime; the Green Revolution initiative of President Shehu Shagari, and similar ones by successive administrations have been more of lip service. As things stand, our choices are very limited as the crude oil which has been our mainstay since the 60s is no longer a money spinner as it used to be.

This is because of the low price the commodity now commands in the international market. Despite that, the sabotage on oil and gas pipelines by vandals and militants in the Niger Delta has ensured that our 2.2mbpd OPEC quota upon which the 2016 national budget is based can no longer be met. This has gone a long way to threaten the full implementation of the 2016 Appropriation Act.

The fiendish activities of the pipeline vandals apart from being an economic sabotage are also a menace to food security. This is because of the environmental degradation such acts engendered. The eco-system is destroyed as the water gets polluted by the toxic crude oil spill.

Concomitantly, the fishes, crabs, prawns and other aquatic lives get destroyed. Even the farmlands affected by oil spills become degraded and sterile for any agricultural cultivation. That is why I have been appealing to militant groups such as the Niger Delta Avengers to stop cutting their nose in order to spite their faces.

While it is true that by blowing up oil and gas pipelines, government will lose revenue, however, they are further impoverishing their kith and kins who are engaged in agric- business as they will also suffer collateral damage of losing their means of livelihood. They should imagine how long it took the Federal Government to kick-start the clean-up of the devastated Ogoniland.

Another potent threat to food security is the desertification being experienced in Northern Nigeria. Hundreds of kilometres of landmass have been lost to desert encroachment, largely as a result of draught and other human factor such as indiscriminate felling of trees.

This phenomenon largely precipitated the exodus of cattle herders from the core north to the Middle Belt and Southern Nigeria where they could get grass and water for their cattle. That migration has been a major source of conflict between farmers and cattle herders. 

There have been accusations and counter-accusations that cattle herders have been shepherding their cattle to graze on farmlands, a move the farmers have stoutly resisted. Disagreement over this issue has led to hundreds of deaths and destruction of property worth Billions of Naira in places like Benue and Enugu states.

The point being made here is that the face-off between these two groups of people constitutes a big threat to food security in Nigeria. Both farmers and cattle herders are food producers and a fight between the two groups does not augur well for the country.

Flooding is another threat to food security. In 2012, Nigeria witnessed flooding despite the early warning by the Nigerian Meteorological Agency. Available records show that 2012 flooding directly affected 30 states, killed 363 citizens, injured 5,851 and displaced 3,871,053 persons.

The total value of destroyed physical and durable assets caused by the floods in the most affected states was estimated to have reached N1.48tn. This year, NIMET had through its Seasonal Rainfall Prediction said about 16 states faced the danger of flooding in 2016.

What are we doing to forestall that from happening? If we allow it through our accustomed negligence and nonchalant attitude, we should be rest assured that it will pose threat to food security as many farmlands will be washed off and farmers who are displaced will not be able to nurture their plants.

 

The activities of terrorist Boko Haram in the North-East have since 2009 posed a major threat to food production and security in Nigeria. As the group embarked on their destructive missions, many farmers have been killed and those who manage to escape have had to abandon their farmlands to live as Internally Displaced Persons in camps and host communities.

I recall that some years ago, some traders who sold foodstuffs at Bodija market in Ibadan were slaughtered by this insurgent group on their way to Borno State to buy farm produce.

I may have painted a gory picture about the food security situation in Nigeria. However, it is not a hopeless case. I have listened to the Minister of Agriculture, Chief Audu Ogbeh, at different fora and he sounds very convincing about how to deal with the daunting challenges being a practising farmer himself. Just on July 20, 2016, the Federal Executive Council met and approved the Agriculture Promotion Policy (2016-2019). According to Ogbeh, the policy outlined all that needed to be done to achieve self-sufficiency in agriculture.  He said: “The document is entitled, ‘The Green Alternative’ and it outlines virtually everything we need to do, every policy we need to undertake to achieve self-sufficiency in agriculture and also to become a major exporter of agricultural products.”

 

It is imperative we all know that we are stakeholders in tackling the issue of food security.  We can be smallholder farmers planting vegetables and fruits in our backyards. We can engage in small scale animal husbandry and poultry in our homes. We can also provide an enabling environment so that those who want to engage in agriculture can practise without fear of molestation.

It is gratifying that the Imo State Government has declared Thursday and Friday as farming days for its work force. I do hope the government will provide the needed incentives for the workers to engage in farming. Food security is the best security because, as the saying goes, an hungry man is an angry man.

‘Nigeria is the Second Highest Importer of Rice in the World’

The Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), says it has developed new standards for rice seeds, harvest, milling, drying and hygiene practice for processing and storage of rice in the country.

The Director-General of the organisation, Mr Osita Aboloma, said this in Abuja on Tuesday at the 3rd Nigeria Rice Investment Forum organised by the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD).

Represented by Dr Barth Ugwu, the Head, Federal Capital Territory (FCT) office of the organisation, Aboloma said the standards, developed in 2016 was to improve the quality of paddy and milled rice.

He said that total compliance with the standards would ensure zero rejection of the country’s agricultural products at the international markets.

The director-general listed some of the quality parameters embedded in the standards to include germination, husk less seed, pesticides, residues, packaging, labelling and storage.

The Chief Executive Officer, the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD), Business Group, Mrs Gloria Akobundu, said that increase in agricultural production was crucial to promoting the country’s economy.

Akobundu said that increasing in rice production in the country would guarantee economic growth.

According to her, an average Nigerian citizen consumes over 24.5 kilogrammes of rice annually, adding that the nation`s production level of 3.5 million tonnes of rice annually is insufficient.

She said that the theme of the forum entitled: “2018 Self Sufficiency in Rice Production: Opportunities, Challenges and Road Ahead’’, was in line with President Muhammadu Buhari’s plan to diversify the economy.

“Nigeria is the second highest importer of rice in the world and the highest in Africa,’’ she said.

Mr Hiroshi Kodama, the Senior Representative of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), said the agency had assisted Nigerian farmers in rice milling and processing in Niger and Nasarawa States.

He said the agency would extend its assistance to other states of the federation to boost rice production in the country.

CBN Hints on Plans to Restructure Commercial Agricultural Credit Scheme

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele has disclosed that the apex bank, under its Commercial Agricultural Credit Scheme (CACS) has over N250 billion which has not been fully disbursed as well as a N220 billion micro, small and medium enterprise development fund, with just N80billion utilised so far. ‎According to him, the central bank is interested in how small holder farmers can benefit from the Anchor Borrowers’ Programme (ABP), through the micro, small and medium enterprise.

 

Emefiele , a member of the Presidential Task Force on Agriculture, disclosed this while fielding questions from journalists at the Odeda Farm Institute, Odeda during the Task Force’s inspection of the facilities of the Institute and some farm centres in the state. The Presidential Task Force, which also included the Minister of Agriculture, Chief Audu Ogbeh and the Kebbi State governor, Abubakar Atiku Bagudu, were earlier conducted by the state governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, round Eriwe Fish Farm in Ijebu-Ode, Greenhouse Technology Centre, Kotopo in Abeokuta and Owowo Farm Settlement in Ewekoro local government area. Emefiele added: “When we find a state that is serious and ready to work with us, we burst the commercial agricultural credit scheme facility that we have because the President has mandated that those who are serious, we must support. That is the essence of this.” He added that the Bank of Agriculture (BoA) will be properly restructured by the Federal government towards assisting farmers to boost agricultural production in the country and ensure food sufficiency. Emefiele said that if the restructuring was eventually done, it would help the bank to perform its primary responsibilities well. The CBN governor explained that the team was mandated by the president to go round the entire federation on a fact-finding mission on how to resuscitate some of the age-long agricultural potentials of the country. He added that the President specifically tasked the team to locate how to ensure increase in the production of cassava, maize and resuscitate cocoa production in the southwest emphasising maize production will support the poultry productivity in the South Western part of the country. He said, “For us to go round the entire federation, not just about rice, tomatoes, millet but also about even coming down South. What can we do to resuscitate some of our age-long agricultural potential.”

How Youths Can Create Wealth & Income Trading Local Food Commodities

Nigerians spend as much as N25.2bn on feeding themselves on a daily basis according to a recent report released by NOI Polls.

The report stated that about 80% of Nigerians which is about 140 million of the nation’s population of 175 million spend at least $1 which is about N160 on food daily. This amounts to N22.4bn while the remaining 35 million people spend an average of half a dollar which is approximately N80 amounting to N2.8bn per day making a total average daily food spend of N25.2bn by the country’s general population.

Going by these figures, all the food consumed in the country in one year sums up to about N9.2tn, of which 14% of this which amounts to about N1.3tn is imported. This is an opportunity for massive investment for investors who are expected to seize the opportunities in food businesses.

The average Nigerian spends about 72.97% of his or her earnings on food

Out of this figure, more than 70% is expended daily on local food stuffs and commodities.

Among the most prominent of the local food stuffs and commodities daily consumed by Nigerians from all strata, age and tribe include;

• Rice
• Beans
• Egusi
• Ogbono
• Sea foods (Cray Fish, Dry Fish, Stock Fish, Smoked Fish)
• Palm Oil
• Vegetable Oil
• Vegetables
• Yam
• Garri
• Tomatoes
• Onions
• Pepper
• Plantain
• Semovita
• Wheat
• Local Soup and Stew Condiments (Cut Across Different Tribes in Nigeria)
• Local Vegetables (Oha, Bitter leaf, Ewedu leaf, Ugu, etc)

Most of these food stuffs and commodities are largely locally sourced and constitute more than 80% of the essential ingredients and condiments needed to make the average Nigerian day to day meals and dishes.

Most of these local food stuffs and commodities are largely purchased by Nigerians daily from the conventional traditional open air markets and neighbourhood stores.

A visit to any of these markets, readily found in neighbourhoods and within every estate will bring you to the shocking reality of the irresistible and helpless day to day rush by Nigerians from all classes and life strata (Mothers, working class, Men, Children etc) to lay their hands on one local food stuff or the other.

However, a close observation among the different food commodities vendors and local food stuffs shop owners would most clearly reveal to you that more than 95% of these traders and shop owners are actually aged and elderly women and in fewer cases men in their late 40s and early 50s.

The question that comes to minds are:

• Why are the youths missing in the trading action?

• Are the youths ignorant of the wealth and income potentials of these commodities and their trading?

The answer to above question mostly is yes.

To address this situation we need the government and indeed individuals and corporate bodies to join hands and help in the:

• Enlightenment of youths on how they can invest and create income trading in these identified highly sought for local food and food commodities.

• Enlightenment of Youths on how they can adopt technologically driven platforms and innovations to change the traditional open air market’s approach to food stuffs sales and trading.

• Assist interested youths in forming and registering food commodities trading cooperatives in batches of 10 members (Each member providing an appropriate surety).

• These cooperatives will be made up of members from different areas and roles shared across sourcing, trading, retailing, accounts etc

This will also directly boost the MSME sector of the Nigerian Economy, thus creating wealth.

Plantain Plantation Basics

What is a Plantain?
 
Plantains are a member of the banana family. They are a starchy, low in sugar variety that is cooked before serving as it is unsuitable raw.
Unlike starting other tree farms, starting a plantain farm and growing plantain are easier and less complicated.
Although growing plantain still requires ones attention, the level of skill required is not as intensive as other trees.
Here are a few guidelines in growing plantain and starting a plantain farm.

Step 1. LAND PROCUREMENT.
The first thing to consider in starting a plantain farm is looking for the right climate. Plantain cannot thrive in an environment that is too hot or too cold. The proposed land/soil for your plantain farm must be a well drain land that is rich and naturally fertilized but If such is not available, you can create compost and add chicken manure to your existing land.
Now that you have the land what next?

Step 2. LAND CLEARING.

The next thing after land procurement is land clearing:
Land clearing is the process of removing trees, stumps, brush, stones and other obstacles from an area as required to increase the size of the crop producing land base of an existing farm or to provide land for a new farm operation.
You can do manual or mechanized land clearing depending on the size of the proposed plantain farm

Step 3; LAND PREPARATION.

When establishing a new plantain farm, certain actions need to be implemented to ensure the long term success of the plantation. One of these actions involve the initial land preparation which should be done prior to transplanting of the plant material suckers.
The purpose of land preparation is to provide the necessary soil conditions which will enhance the successful establishment of the young suckers.
Considering the nature of plantain one can not “save” on this operation and hope for long term of the plantation.
The aim is to enable the planter to plan and structure the implementation process in advance, ensuring the successful establishment of the plantain farm. Planning forms part of the initial preparation and will help to limiting unnecessary stoppages during the implementation phase.

Critical factors to consider during this planning exercise are summarised as follows:
– Availability and quality of irrigation water;
– Field selection;
– Mechanical actions to be implemented;
– Chemical needs for pre-plant soil improvement;
– Tools and equipment needed for plantain cultivation;
– Labour needs;
– Irrigation design and installation;
– Leaching schedule;
– Hole preparation;
– Financial requirements and
– Time schedule.

Step 4; PLANTAIN SUCKER PROCUREMENT.

Plantains are vegetatively propagated, most often from suckers (shoots that grow from a bud at the base of the plant) or from corms (underground bulbs known as rhizomes). The use of whole corms is very laborious so it is more common to grow from small pieces of corm.
Please note: There are three different types of plantain suckers which are produced by the mother plant namely; maidenheads, sword suckers and water suckers.
Maidenheads have a large pseudostem which does not produce fruit.
Sword suckers have a narrow base, short pseudostem and narrow, blade-like leaves. They produce healthy, fruitful pseudostems when they mature Water suckers have short pseudostems and broad leaves.
Water suckers are not strongly attached to the rhizome and generally produce weaker plants and less fruit. Maidenheads and large sword suckers are preferred over water suckers.
You need to buy your suckers from reputable farm. There is no stable price for suckers, you can get conventional sucker between N50-N100 and hybrid between N120-N200 depending on your source.

Step 5; PLANTING.

If you are planting for fruit production it should be spaced about 8 to 10 feet.
Please note weed and grass competition should be eliminated prior to planting.
Mulching is useful to prevent weed regrowth, but turf grass may need to be controlled by hoeing or with herbicides.
Irrigation should be applied periodically to thoroughly wet the soil. Avoid standing water, as plantains do not tolerate overly wet conditions

Step 6 A&B; ORGANIC & IN-ORGANIC FERTILIZER APPLICATION.

This is the next step after planting
Manuring plantains with a combination of poultry manure, household waste and woodash improved plantain growth, yield and establishment and greatly reduced infestation by borer weevils and nematodes.
The organic manures also maintained soil acidity, regulated soil temperature and conserved soil moisture.
I advise that you water and fertilize Plantain at the same time using any type of balanced fertilizer to help grow Plantain. Plantain are heavy feeders so i suggest that you fertilize very lightly each time that you water with the exception being that you do not fertilize if you are not seeing active growth.( Balanced fertilizer means – a fertilizer that has three numbers on the label like NPK.

No famine in Nigeria- Audu Ogbeh

The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbeh, has reassured Nigerians that there will be no famine due to the massive food production in the country.

Ogbeh said this in Abuja while addressing newsmen on the sidelines of the three-day 11th African Economic Conference which began on Monday.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the conference was organised by the African Development Bank (AfDB), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and UN Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA).

“How can there be famine when there is so much food production?’’ he asked.

He, however, noted that the cost of food would be high for now and would fall in the next few months because farmers were planting again.

“The problem with those of us in the cities is that we do not even estimate the amount of labour and pain that the peasants go through to produce what they produce.

“If you visit the farm for one day you will not even sell the grains they are selling now at twice the price they are selling and that is why we are pushing machinery to agriculture.

“The prices will fall, but let production reach a level where those who want to exploit can no longer do so because there is so much available everywhere.

“If you start to impose price restrictions now, you will demoralise the farmer but I assure you that we are worried about the cost but the answer is for us to stimulate more production.

“Let us have at least three harvests a year on essential grains, once we do that, if anybody is hoarding, he will be caught by the new harvest.’’

On the issue of repackaging local rice in foreign bags, the minister said that it was unnecessary considering that locally produced rice was superior to the foreign one and tastier.

He also said that the price of rice would soon crash because there were 110 rice mills in the country now and that those mills were going to be pushed into villages to support women in particular.

“Those who are smuggling, adulterating or repackaging in foreign bags do not know what they are doing and in another year, they will be out of business.’’

Ogbeh also said that the issue of herdsmen and farmers’ clashes would soon be over because the government had set up a wing of the army headed by a major-general to tackle it.

He said that there were plans to first disarm herdsmen carrying weapons and hunt down rustlers.

Dangote flour; How price of bread will crash-Yakassai

In a twist of events Nigeria’s indigenous multinational, Dangote Group, bought back a subsidiary it had built and sold off. In this interview, the Managing Director of one of the foremost flour, noodles and pasta producer, Dangote Flour Mills, Alh. Ahmed Yakassai, explained what happened, the results and impacts.

Dangote flour mills journey

We are Nigerian company and we are grass rooted and know the environment, people and culture and we know what it takes to succeed in this environment. We are managing it in the Nigeria way and are succeeding. Dangote Flour Mill came as a result of industrialization policy of the Group dated back to 1997, when we moved from trading business to manufacturing business. It was at that time that the Group President, Aliko Dangote, said enough is enough, and whatever they (foreign manufacturers) can do we can do it here. And we changed the concept and idea of the business from an import based trading company to a manufacturing company. And Dangote Flour Mill happens to be one of the pioneer companies.

Ahmed Yakassai Ahmed Yakassai By 2001, the first mill was ready at Apapa, Lagos with a capacity of 500 metric tons per day. And today we are in Kano, Ilorin, Calabar with a combined capacity of over 7000metric tons of flour per day, and pasta and noodles also came in. In the journey, we sold Dangote Flour business to a South African company for few years. But expectations of the shareholders were not met. They were not making money, and so Dangote Industries had to buy it back. We took it over in January this year. I will say that today the result is there for everybody to see. It is on the papers, stock exchange. We have moved from a loss making company to a profit company.

Internationalisation of Dangote Flour 

We have got requests from our partners to come and set up in other countries. But internally, we have a lot of gaps to fill. Food security is our number one priority and so we feel that in the time being we would meet the local needs in all its entirety and then we would move out to set up plants outside the country. But now, the local demand needs to be met.

Competition 

We are not bothered about competition because as a priority, quality products and customer service, are top on our agenda. We are producing the best quality. We are servicing our customers very well, we deliver to them at their door steps.

Jump in Income 

We have moved the revenue in terms of production capacities and we have more than doubled our capacities in the last 6months, so naturally the revenue will increase. We are grass root rooted company, so we are there with our products before any other wakes up.

If you check the numbers, you can look at the volume that was produced in the previous year, compared to what we’ve produced today, and you can look at the revenue that we have gathered within this period compared to last year. So it is basically having to bring to the table some wealth of experience in Nigeria where we are rooted, trusted and we are a known first consumer goods company and we will continue to give them the best of our products and services.

Profitability

Yes it is as a result of this. As at September we moved from a loss of over N2 billion last year to a profit of over N5 billion. If you look at the Dangote Flour group it comprises of the flour, pasta and noodles. Some aspects of the group are just coming up the ladder and they are not exactly where we want them to be. 

Sometimes you allow this kind of things to happen so that you can reposition them and we are in the process of repositioning all the businesses to turn into good numbers, and that will happen; soon you will see it in the results.

Costs 

We are doing everything possible to control cost as a challenge to management but this is basically related to other sectors of the economy. Increases in input due to exchange rate, it is really out of control in some cases, but we are doing our best at all times to make sure that we bring it to reasonable limit. It is also not limited to us and we are not all in all because we depend on other sectors.

Group support

I must say the support from the group has been tremendous and it is the support that has made us succeed beyond our expectations. They are there come rain come shine and they are making sure that we attain whatever level that we are today. If I take you a little back, those numbers, if you look at our distribution cost, energy cost.

When we started the year, we had a budget of N90 to a liter of diesel, but today a liter is over N200 and so you can imagine the impact. It is beyond what we can do. So while the Group sometimes goes with an import, some other times we have to go into the open market like any other company. Some of the cost is as a result of the activities in the economy that are beyond us. And when those costs are controlled the profitability will be higher. Of course the product would have landed to the consumers at lower price than what it is now. I have to buy the dollar at the market price and not my own price and that translates to the selling price of my product.

Forex challenges

Despite everything I think the CBN and the government are doing very well in managing the situation. Of course it could be better. Definitely it is a difficult situation and you can see from all corners that they are doing everything possible to help industries and that is what should be the right thing to do. For a long time we have been import based, but by the time everybody settle to the fact that we are a big country with such a huge market size, people would come and start to produce here. Even the spare parts and other things that we import are going to be produced here in Nigeria.

Government should invest in research and development and they should help people to grow wheat all over the country because wheat is 80% of our raw material. We have the land, water and human resources. Government should provide the right infrastructure and people will produce what we consume and even export.

Dangote Group backward integration

Within Dangote Group, for example, the sugar refinery, we are investing in plantations in Adamawa, Jigawa and other states, we are investing in sugar-cane production so that we would have enough raw materials to produce our sugar.

The cement is an old history that we know very well that everything is now local. For the flour, through the wheat growers association all the flour mills in the country are investing money so that the association would be encouraged to grow more wheat. Along the line we will substitute the imported with local wheat. It is going to take some time, because it is not rooted in the people to grow more wheat.

Price of bread

As I said earlier, once we are able to address exchange rate, then what we are paying for the wheat import would be less and that would translate in the selling price of flour and by extension the price of bread in the market. The second factor is that once we are able to grow enough wheat here in the country, it is not going to be 100 percent, maybe we need to blend with the imported higher quality to get the best quality, and naturally the cost of flour would come down and bread as well.

Competition from imports

Today officially there is no importation of pasta. But if you go round you would see it in the supermarkets, border towns gradually and slowly, it is getting into the market. It is an open secret. But officially it is not allowed. So we are encouraged and we feel that at a certain point in time, there will be a big stick that will say, you can’t even display it in the supermarket. We put our case to the government through the right channel and we know the government is listening and are doing something about it.

Message to stakeholders

It is a public knowledge that we have moved from a loss making company to a profit making one. At the last Annual General Meeting, the Chairman had told the shareholders what we are doing towards improving their lot. We are following through on this. In the stock exchange, everybody knew we were down to N1.00, but today we are over N4.00.

Next five years 

In the next five years, Dangote Flour would be the number one flour mill in Nigeria. And not just in the baked flour business, but in all other sectors of bankable products, because in 2017 we are going to introduce three new products. We would come up with innovations that help their diet and already we are expanding our scope and we would be the number one.

Ondo farmers urge Akeredolu to prioritize agriculture

Farmers in Ondo state have called on the Governor-elect, Rotimi Akeredolu (SAN) of the All Progressive Congress (APC) to accord agriculture a rightful position in the incoming administration as it is the only way to ensure food security.

The Chairman of the Ondo State Agricultural Commodities Association (OSACA), Pastor Akin Olotu who made the call in Akure, the state capital said “the farther we are away from the land, the greater our insecurity” adding that there must be good blueprint for the agric sector as it could create millions of self-sustaining jobs directly and indirectly every year.

He lamented that we are causing extinction of many species when we talk about bio-diversity (life on earth) while the sea level have risen due to thermal expansion and it’s continuous.

According to him, some species of yam that existed some years ago and some other crops have since disappeared.

He also warned that the desert is travelling down south in Nigeria at an alarming rate of 600 metres per year.

“As a nation, a state and stakeholders in the agric sector which is the bedrock of life something must be done,” Olotu said.

He said further: “Meeting the nutritional needs of our people in an economy that is in recession, the climate that has become increasingly unfriendly with the extremes of drought and food coupled with irregular rainfall pattern, is an uphill task”

“It is indeed a daunting task that requires a new in-depth analysis and intervention, suggesting the concept of ‘FARM-ACY ‘rather than the pharmacy that we used to know.”

However, he said as a matter of urgency, everything about agriculture need a review especially in the areas of neglect.

These, according to him, include improvement in deplorable conditions of farm roads, power supply, security, research and technology for better yields and a law to determine cattle grazing.

Why we banned foreign rice in Ebonyi— Commissioner

The Ebonyi State Commissioner for Information, Senator Emmanuel Onwe has justified the banning of the sale and consumption of foreign rice as part of the state government’s moves to uphold the health and well being of the populace.

 

Speaking during a courtesy visit to Vanguard Headquarters in Lagos, the commissioner also clarified issues concerning the purchase price of the locally produced rice even as he said that projected agriculture is one of the measures adopted by the Dave Umahi administration to ensure the viability of the state. Emmanuel Onwe Speaking to Vanguard Editors, Onwe also appealed to the Federal Government to release the grain silos located in the state to the state administration to enable the state administration store grains.

 

Affirming the determination of the Umahi administration to ensure the wellbeing of the populace, Onwe said that locally cultivated rice does not have the kind of chemicals used in cultivating and preserving foreign rice before they are exported to countries like Nigeria. Saying that Ebonyi Rice lacks such, he said: “our contribution will be to make local rice available and easily affordable. People also need to be rest assured that Ebonyi rice is not heavily chemicalised as other rice.”

 

Noting recent disclosures on social media about how plastics were added to foreign rice, he said “it is a welcome development that Ebonyi government has banned the sale and consumption of foreign rice in the state.” According to the commissioner, part of the governor’s responsibilities as the chief security officer of the state is that the health and wellbeing of the populace are not compromised by such additives in foreign made rice.

 

The commissioner also clarified issues on the pricing of Ebonyi rice. According to him, the paddy rice sells for N8,000 per bag while the processed rice which he boasted has no stones sells from N14,000.

Mushroom production tips from a Boland farmer

For small-scale mushroom farmers in South Africa, production can be a challenge. But Wilmaré Lotz of Boland Mushrooms succeeded in doubling production in her first year as manager. Specialising in button mushrooms, the business employs 36 members of the local community and produces approximately 6,5t of mushrooms a week. 

Wilmaré Lotz grew up helping her father on his mushroom farm near Rawsonville at weekends and in school holidays. Yet despite this exposure, she was never particularly interested in mushroom farming as a youngster.

All this changed, however, while she was working on her master’s dissertation on anaerobic composting. This was slightly ironic, she says, as anaerobic composting is in fact the exact opposite of the composting used in mushroom farming!

After completing her studies, Wilmaré worked on mushroom farms locally and abroad to gain experience.

Learning by trial and error

Then, as now, there were few courses available on mushroom growing in South Africa and this made it challenging for an aspiring mushroom farmer. It was also a ‘closed’ industry: producers were not that keen to share their knowledge with potential competitors.

Therefore, when Wilmaré started working for the family business, Boland Mushrooms, in 2002, she had to learn everything by trial and error.

At that stage, 3t of mushrooms – kept in eight growing rooms – were harvested per week.
In 2009, after the death of her father, Theo Griessel, Wilmaré faced a difficult decision: should she try to continue in the business on her own? Her doubts were soon dispelled by her success: after just a year at the helm of the business, she managed to double the farm’s production.

The heart of the business

The growing cycle of mushrooms starts with compost, and it is therefore important to ensure that this has the right ingredients and is treated optimally from the beginning.

“Compost is the heart of your business. If the composition isn’t correct, it can affect your crop and your yield,” she stresses.

Boland Mushrooms’ main production line, button mushrooms (Agaricus bisporus), require highly specialised compost.  Wilmaré produces her own compost, which involves mixing wheat straw, chicken manure, gypsum and water, on site. It takes three weeks for these raw materials to ferment, and the compost is aired daily to prevent unpleasant odours developing.

“If there’s a bad smell in the air, there’s something wrong with your compost,” she says.

After three weeks, the fermented compost is moved from the yard to a closed room – the pasteurisation room – where it undergoes three developmental phases. The first consists of steadying the temperature of the compost. The second comprises raising its temperature to 58°C for eight hours, thereby getting rid of weeds and insects.

In the third phase, the ammonia and nitrogen content is converted to protein to act as a growth medium for the mushrooms.

According to Wilmaré, mushroom farming in South Africa is different to that in other countries.
“All mushroom farms in South Africa have their own compost yards and growing facilities. Overseas, compost is produced by specialised companies, making it very easy to grow mushrooms.”

Putting down roots

Once the compost is ready, recyclable mushroom cultivation bags are filled with compost and incubated with mushroom spawn. Wilmaré uses sterile grains inoculated with mushroom spores. The bags are placed in growing rooms in which the compost temperature is maintained between 25°C and 27°C.
The oxygen level in the rooms is also kept low so that the spawn can grow, producing a thread-like network of mycelium throughout the compost. All heating and temperature regulation at Boland Mushrooms is done manually.
When a bag of compost is fully colonised with mycelium, a casing layer is added.

“This is very important, as it provides moisture for the mushrooms,” explains Wilmaré.
Most mushroom growers use peat moss, but since last year she has used a sugar cane pith product called Mabu. Pith is a by-product of the process of manufacturing paper from sugar cane bagasse.

“Peat moss is very expensive because we have to import it. Using locally produced pith is substantially cheaper and also reduces our carbon footprint significantly,” she explains.

Optimal thickness for the casing layer is 5cm. This allows for a sufficient moisture content, which creates a favourable microclimate for mushroom growth.

Once the mycelium has grown to its full extent in the casing phase, the temperature in the compost is lowered to 21°C and fresh air is introduced to the room. This temperature shock and gaseous exchange is a sign for the mycelium to start sprouting mushroom initials (pins).

Harvesting

A mushroom doubles in size every 24 hours, so it is imperative that the mushrooms be checked daily. Harvesting, which is done by hand, is highly labour- intensive and involves twisting the mushrooms off at the base.
“This guarantees that they will be removed from the beds undamaged. We want to leave the casing soil in the bag intact as it’s needed for the subsequent flushes of mushrooms,” she explains.
Picking fresh mushrooms cannot be delayed. “You can’t leave a mushroom till the next day. They’ll start to cup or open fully. This makes them B-grade mushrooms, which means less profit,” says Wilmaré.

Training is key

Training is taken seriously at Boland Mushrooms.
“We do in-house training on mushroom picking, which improves our employees’ productivity and efficiency. We developed course material for the training that specifically applies to Boland Mushrooms’ operation,” says Wilmaré.
Despite doubling production, the number of employees has remained more or less the same due to improved productivity.

Bulk market

Boland Mushrooms sells mainly fresh mushrooms in bulk (5kg boxes) to restaurants in the greater Cape Town area, and delivers a small quantity to the Breede River Valley and faraway Upington. Some punnets are also sold off the farm. Deliveries are done daily with three vans.
“We are dedicated to delivering the freshest, highest-quality mushrooms and providing good customer service to our clients,” Wilmaré says.