3 BIG THINGS TODAY, MARCH 28

SOYBEAN FUTURES LOWER IN OVERNIGHT TRADING; EXPORT SALES JUMP FOR GRAINS, BEANS

1. SOYBEANS DECLINE OVERNIGHT ON RISING U.S. ACRES, BRAZIL WEATHER

Soybeans were lower overnight on prospects for increased acreage in the U.S. and favorable weather in South America.

U.S. producers are expected to increase acreage of soybeans this year. The Department of Agriculture last month said growers will plant 88 million acres with the oilseeds this year, up from last year’s record of 83.4 million. Corn area will drop by 4 million acre to about 90 million.

Rainfall in parts of Mato Grosso and Goias, major growing states in Brazil, for the next few days will boost prospects in the South American country, weather forecasters have said. Growers in Brazil are expected by the USDA to produce a record 108 million metric tons of soybeans this year.

Soybean futures fell 6 ¼ cents to $9.84 ¾ a bushel on the Chicago Board of Trade. Soymeal lost $1.10 to $319.60 a short ton and soy oil declined 0.36 cent to 32.86 cents a pound.

Corn futures fell ½ cent to $3.56 ¼ a bushel on the CBOT.

Wheat futures rose as rain that was expected to fall in the southern Plains barely materialized. In the Oklahoma panhandle, for example, there’s little chance of precipitation today, and only an 18% chance Saturday and 24% chance Sunday of rain.

Forecasters had given the region, which has been extremely dry for the past month, a slim chance of seeing rain yesterday and today.

Wheat futures for May delivery rose 2 cents to $4.32 a bushel in Chicago, and Kansas City wheat was up 2 cents to $4.30 a bushel.

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2. EXPORT SALES OF GRAINS, SOYBEANS ALL JUMP WEEK-OVER-WEEK

Export sales of corn, beans and wheat all jumped from the prior week as low prices attracted myriad customers to U.S. supplies.

Corn sales in the week that ended on March 16 totaled 1.35 million metric tons, up 11% from the prior week and 59% from the previous four-week average, the Department of Agriculture said in a report.

South Korea was the biggest buyer at 593,700 tons, Japan was next at 297,000 tons and Mexico bought 162,700 tons. Saudi Arabia purchased 113,100 tons and Morocco took 103,100 tons of corn.

Soybean sales for delivery before the end of the marketing year on Aug. 31 came in at 738,200 metric tons, up 57% week-to-week and 72% from the prior average.

China was the biggest buyer at 194,200 tons, followed by the Netherlands at 143,300 tons. Unknown buyers were next on the list at 119,700 tons, Mexico bought 107,400 tons and Japan took 66,200 tons from U.S. supplies.

Wheat sales were reported at 418,500 tons, up 58% from the prior week and 17% from the four-week average, the USDA said.

Japan was the biggest buyer at 122, 400 tons, Algeria bought 120,000 tons, Mexico took 69,100 tons, China was in for 66,000 tons and Saudi Arabia purchased 60,000 tons of U.S. wheat, according to the USDA.

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3. SEVERE MIDWEST THUNDERSTORMS FORECAST TO ROLL INTO MISSISSIPPI VALLEY

Severe thunderstorms that developed in the central Plains today, bringing strong winds and hail to the region, will shift to the  Mississippi Valley this afternoon.

The storm was reportedly fairly widespread through Missouri into southern Illinois, but will shift east from there.

Behind that storm is a dry region with parts of south-central Kansas, central Oklahoma and parts of Texas in a red flag warning in which burns are banned due to extremely dry weather. In the southern Plains, where rain was expected, high winds and fire risks showed up instead, according to the NWS.

BRAZIL TO DOUBLE CORN-BASED ETHANOL PRODUCTION IN 2018

ETHANOL PROFITS ARE FANTASTIC.

Because Brazil’s number one raw material for ethanol production faces seasonal issues, biofuel producers are turning to corn as a more reliable source.

Sugarcane plants historically face a major problem: a shortage of raw material to produce biofuel during the off-season for sugarcane. During this period, the sugar energy sector would lay essentially dormant for four months. The main producing region called the Mid-South, for example, has downtime from December to April, whereas for sugarcane producers in the Northeast region, the off-season runs from May to September. However, in the past five years, plants have found a solution in corn, given that it can produce ethanol uninterruptedly all year-round.

Since 2011, Usimat has bet on this alternative, producing corn ethanol in the city of Campos de Júlio, Mato Grosso state.  This was only possible because Usimat invested R$ 25 million ($8.3 million) to adapt its infrastructure and become a flex plant (able to process both sugarcane and corn). Operating during the off-season, the company ensures extra income of R$ 70.2 million ($23.4 million). This alternative was so attractive that Unimat did not stop producing corn ethanol and became a source of inspiration for other plants in the state. Using corn, in 2015, Usimat produced 42,000 liters of ethanol during the sugarcane off-season.

OUTPUT CAN BE DOUBLED

Currently, there are 10 plants processing sugarcane in Mato Grosso. Of these, three are flex, i.e., they can also use corn to produce biofuel. Akin to Usimat, Libra plants, located in São José do Rio Claro and Porto Seguro in Jaciara, are operating at full capacity. Combined, the three plants have a production capacity of 150 million liters per year.

For comparison, in the period from the start of the current sugarcane harvest up to October 16, the plants produced 21.2 billion liters of sugarcane ethanol, according to data from the Sugarcane Industry Union. Thus, it is clear that, relatively, the volume of ethanol produced from corn is tiny.

However, experts predict that this segment will grow at a rapid pace. According to Glauber Silveira, president of the Sector Committee for Soybeans, a body affiliated to the Ministry of Agriculture, there are two new plants being built in the state, and production is expected to double next harvest. “With these two new processing plants coming online in the 2017/2018 season, production will exceed 300 million liters of ethanol,” stated Glauber.

Boosting corn ethanol production will be feasible with projects such as that of FS Bioenergy. This is a joint venture between Fiagril, suppliers of grain used to produce biodiesel, headquartered in Lucas do Rio Verde, and the North American group Summit, a farm management and agricultural investments company based in Iowa. The building of the plant has reached the final stages, with inauguration scheduled for June 2017.

According to the director-general of the Summit group in Brazil, Rafael Abud, the enterprise will help meet the growing demand for ethanol that cannot be supplied by sugarcane. “The focus of FS Bioenergia is to produce corn ethanol and its coproducts using the latest technology available on the market, which we believe to be the most lucrative move for the region,” he states.

FS Bioenergia is investing R$ 372 million ($124 million) in the plant, which shall have the capacity to produce 220 million liters of ethanol annually. The processing capacity for corn and sorghum will be 1 million tons per year. “Besides ethanol, we will also produce 6,000 tons of corn oil and 60,000 megawatts of electricity to feed the grid,” said Abud.

Another plant under construction is one by Cevital, an Algerian multinational with interests in the food processing, mining, and steel industries. Cevital is investing around R$ 2.5 billion ($0.83 billion) in building its plant in the city of Vera, close to the centers of soybean and corn production in Mato Grosso state, at the cities of Sorriso and Lucas do Rio Verde.

THE PLAN IS TO RAISE PROFITABILITY

According to Glauber Silveira, corn ethanol is here to stay in Mato Grosso and Brazil. “Corn ethanol solves two major historical problems: the idle time of plants during the sugarcane off-season and the need to add value to corn, given that the grain produced in the Mid-West, particularly in the northern part of Mato Grosso, is one of the cheapest in the world,” stated Glauber.

To understand how corn ethanol adds value to the grain, Silveira cites production in Mato Grosso as an example. From January to October this year, the state exported around 10 million tons of grain, generating revenues of approximately R$ 3 billion ($1 billion), according to data from the Mato Grosso Institute of Crops and Livestock Economy (Imea). According to Silveira, if this volume of corn were to be processed for ethanol production, it would result in 4 billion liters of fuel.

Calculating overall income, including profit from the ethanol, electricity production, and the sale of DDG (dried distillers’ grain, a high-protein by-product of corn highly valued as livestock fodder), the sector would have made R$ 13 billion ($4.3 billion). “The profits from corn ethanol are fantastic. On top of this, we have growing demand because Brazil is not self-sufficient in fuel and has to import gasoline,” said Silveira. Also according to Silveira, corn ethanol production does not compete with the animal nutrition sector. “For the coming year, Brazilian corn production should be around 85 million tons and consumption about 55 million tons. In other words, we have a surplus of 30 million tons, and we´ll produce ethanol with this excess corn,” said Silveira.

“With yield gains every harvest, Brazil is sure to remain one of the biggest corn producers in the world,” said Ângelo Luís Ozelame, market analysis manager of Imea.

”The profits from corn ethanol are fantastic. On top of this, we have growing demand because Brazil is not self-sufficient in fuel and has to import gasoline,” says Glauber Silveira, president of the Sector Committee for Soybeans.
Brazil’s corn stocks for ethanol usage can grow and still not compete with the needs of the animal sector.

WON´T THERE BE A CORN SHORTAGE?

With the climate problems and loss of the second 2015/2016 corn harvest, Brazil experienced an atypical situation: There was a 17-million-ton decrease in production, falling from 84 million tons of grain in the 2014/2015 harvest to 67 million tons in the 2015/2016 harvest, according to a survey by the National Food Supply Company (Conab).

Mato Grosso, Brazil’s highest corn-producing state, saw a decline in production of 5.5 million tons, producing 15.2 million in the 2015/2016 harvest. According to Glauber Silveira, despite this, the corn ethanol plants have no cause for concern. “Even with the loss of harvest this year, we still had surplus corn for ethanol production and also managed to export 12 million tons up to October, a significant volume,” said Silveira. “Also, for the coming year, a high yield harvest is forecast.”

According to Ângelo Luis Ozelame, market analysis manager of the Mato Grosso Institute of Crops and Livestock Economy (Imea), the 2016/2017 harvest should again hit high numbers.

“With the good planting of soybeans in Mato Grosso, which is going ahead at a fast pace, the next harvest should total 23 million tons of corn. We won´t beat the 26 million tons of 2015, but we shall continue to rise in the forthcoming harvests,” stated Ozelame. This expectation of growth was also one of the topics presented at the Congress of the Sugar Energy Sector of Brazil, held recently in Cuiabá. According to the survey by Imea, conducted together with the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE), by 2025, the state of Mato Grosso alone will attain production of up to 40 million tons of corn, representing an 81% increase. “With yield gains every harvest, Brazil is sure to remain one of the biggest corn producers in the world,” said Ozelame.

Modernised farming: Kwara reiterates commitment to dissemination of knowledge

The Kwara state government has stated that it is committed to impacting knowledge on modernised agricultural best practices in its bid to ensure that more commercial farmers are produced by the state.

The Secretary to the State Government, (SSG), Alhaji Sola Isiaka Gold, said in his address at a workshop organised by the Integrated Youth Training Farm Centre, Malete held at the Kwara Agro Mall in Ilorin.

The SSG who noted that farming had become a global trend ,  explained that the Kwara State Government, being a government with foresight, had keyed into making agriculture a viable alternative to oil more than a decade ago. He stated that this, among other things, led to the emergence of the New Nigeria (Zimbabwean) Farmers at Shonga which later the establishment of the Integrated Youth training Farm Centre at Malete in Moro LGA

The SSG who was represented at the occasion by Alhaji Abdulganiy Opeloyeru, revealed that, “The youth integrated training farm center, Malete is one of the best things to happen to Kwara state. Today, we can pride ourselves of a highly significant number of young commercial farmers doing the state proud in their different fields.”

According to Alhaji Isiaka Gold, “Today’s workshop shows that the center is not selfish but ready to share from its wealth of experience with other farmers out there. He therefore enjoined the participants to take advantage of this workshop to learn new farming techniques that could increase yield, expand output, increase the income of farmers, ensure food products are available in abundance for stable prices and help bring our farmers into prominence.

“In an era where diversification of the economy is the sing song of the Federal Government and the governed, there is need to focus more on agriculture, which presently engages the highest number of our people for food production.  It is through workshops of this nature that we can boost agriculture and bring the people out of the woods.”

The Special adviser to the state governor on Agriculture and Rural Water Support Services, Mr. Anu Ibiwoye who was also speaking  during the programme, noted that the sensitisation programme being done was long overdue. He explained that the training institute had achieved a lot particularly with training of Kwara State indigenous Youth  since its inception in  2005.

Ibiwoye who said that the training institute had impacted many young people in the state revealed that, “a total of about 568 young people have been trained so far through the Integrated Youth Training Farm Centrein Malete and a lot of them have been empowered and are now gainfully employed in agriculture.”

While calling on everybody to tap into this golden opportunity the Special Adviser stressed that, “Agriculture is a business for everybody and that is why we are encouraging everybody to come on board. Civil servants, both retired and serving, individuals and cooperatives we want everybody to come on board and participate because there are so many opportunities in agriculture.

“Agriculture is knowledge driven and information driven. It is about timeliness, about best practices and about opportunities. Today we are talking about zero waste in agriculture, we are talking about been able to do forward and backward integration in agriculture. All these help to reduce cost in production sometimes up to 40%, some up to 60% and when people know all of these things it makes farming more interesting, easier and more profitable for them so I think the programme could not have come at a better time.”, the Acting Farm Manager of the Integrated Youth Training Farm , Mr. Daromosu Waheed Adewale explained that the essence of the training is to sensitize the people on new remolded technologies that are now available at Malete.

Adewale said the training centre was concerned with maximising land for maximum output. , “Farming has gone beyond large acreage, we are more concerned on maximizing the little land we have. Today, You can see a Hausa man farming on a 280 by 10 land year in year out and he will be making profits. So we are looking out how they are making it. It is what we give into the land that you get back. If you manage your land very well you will get very good results.” Agriculture is now geared towards ensuring maximum yield from farming  activities.

Tambuwal approves recruitment of additional extension workers

As part of efforts to boost agriculture in the state, Sokoto Governor, Aminu Tambuwal has approved the recruitment of additional extension workers to increase manpower and proficiency in wheat production.

In a statement signed by the Special Adviser to the Governor on Media and Public Affairs, Imam Imam, graduates in agricultural science, agricultural economy, crop science and related disciplines would be employed.

“Eighty persons will be employed in the first phase of the recruitment, with more to follow in due course. Those to be employed will aid wheat farmers make informed decisions especially as they engage with companies buying their products after harvests” it stated.

The Sokoto State helmsman said the objective was to allocate one extension worker to 500 farmers, hence, more people would be employed in subsequent phases of the recruitment exercise.

The statement further quoted Tambuwal as saying that the extension officers would also lead consultation with farmers and the various business concerns who had shown interest in partnering with the government to develop agriculture in the state.

The extension workers will be trained in latest trends in agribusiness and will play a key role in efforts to modernise the agricultural sector in the state.

According to the statement government will continue to engage farmers with a view to increasing yields and tackling challenges that may arise in the sector.

NIGERIA: BETTER WAYS TO FARM YAM – RESEARCHER

Yam is one of the nation’s most valuable tuber crops. The demand for yam is generally very high in Nigeria.

In some societies in Nigeria, festivals are staged to mark the beginning of yam harvest while some use yam in fertility and marriage ceremonies.

The Minister for State, Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, said at the launch of the maiden set of improved certified seed yams (a 5-year $12 million research programme funded by the Bill and Mellinda Gate Foundation to improve yam seed) last year in Abuja, that yam is cultivated on 3 million hectares of land annually with the certified seed yam capable of generating N2.4billion if sold for N20 each.

He added that “about 48 million tonnes of the tubers are produced annually in the sub-region on 4 million hectares of land. Nigeria alone produces 36 million tonnes on 3 million hectares of land annually accounting for 68% of global production being the world’s largest producer.”

Dr. Nwaogu Edward Ngozi, Head of Station, National Root Crops Research Institute, Nyanya Sub-Station in Abuja, advised farmers to take note of important factors before planting yam.

Site selection:

He stated that yam grows well on upland soils. Being a high nutrient demanding crop, yam requires a soil that is deep, free draining, and relatively high to medium in fertility with loamy sand or clay loam characteristics. Good soil drainage is essential for optimum yields of the crop. Heavy clay soils tend to water-log in the rainy season and are liable to cause tuber rot. Infertile soils are not recommended for yam production because such soils are unable to retain sufficient water or nutrients to produce reasonably-sized tubers. Also, soils that have high amounts of gravels or stones are unsuitable as they constitute a barrier to tuber penetration and root anchorage.

SOURCEAll Africa

NIGERIA: TOMATO UNION SEEKS CBN’S INTERVENTION IN RAW MATERIALS SOURCING

Worried about their inability to access triple concentrates needed to produce tomato paste, Tomato Union of Nigeria (TUN) has sought the intervention of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in aiding access to raw materials through its foreign exchange policy.

Spokesman for the Union and Managing Director, Sonia Foods Industries Limited, Nnamdi Nnodebe, said the present forex policy continues to encourage smuggling of inferior tomato paste brands through the borders.

“The only way to save the industry is for CBN to either remove tomato paste triple concentrate from the FX policy restrictions or provide the raw materials in question to the industry; if the local producers of tomato paste get the raw materials directly from CBN this would save the industry from collapse and also help the government avoid creating more job loss.”

“It is no more profitable to produce locally hence the closures. How do you expect producers of tomato paste in Nigeria to compete with their foreign counterparts that have uninterrupted power supply, good roads and distribution network, subsidised loans from their governments. The major material used by the local brands, triple concentrate, has been taken away through this Forex policy” Nnodebe lamented.

Tomato Paste Triple Concentrate is a crucial ingredient used to process consumer products such as packs of tomato paste, ketchup, sauces, among others.

Hitherto, stakeholders had emphasised the need for government to recognize the necessity of the packing industry as an essential component of the tomato paste value chain, without which there can be no link between the farmer and the final consumer.

Nnodebe said: “Christmas and New Year celebrations were dry and if you can remember, we predicted this because you cannot talk about the Christmas or New Year rice and stew without talking about tomato both fresh and paste, as most people use both to bring out the best in their cooking. So many people couldn’t afford tomato products during the festive season and if the FX policy is not lifted Easter celebrations will be the same.”

SOURCEAll Africa

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SCIENTISTS INVENT TECHNOLOGY TO END TOMATO EBOLA

A team of Nigerian scientists from the National Horticultural Research Institute (NIHORT), Ibadan, Oyo State, said they have discovered a remedy that will reduce the plague of tuta absoluta, a disease that ravaged tomato in 2015.

Leader of the team, Dr. Abiola Oke, while speaking with journalists in Kaduna on the team’s sustainable management of the pest, commonly referred to as tomato ebola, explained that the technology had proved to be effective in handling the challenge.

She said they were on ground to sensitize the farmers on methods they could use in overcoming the challenge which led to loss of billions of Naira by tomato farmers in the country in 2015.

Dr. Oke, who is an Entomologist/Researcher, said the technology was developed after careful research and has proven to tackle the challenges for which it was conceptualized.

She said that all they did was to study the tuta absoluta and they found out that it is a pest that is active at night and is also attracted to light, hence, the development of the technology which involves using a tray and rechargeable lamp.

She added,” The technology is the use of tray and rechargeable lamps, the tray is filled with water, sprinkled with a little detergent and a stone is placed inside. A rechargeable lamp is placed on the stone and once the tuta which lays the eggs that damage the tomatoes come to the light, they will fall into the tray and are trapped, hence drown and die in the water.”

When asked how affordable the technology is to farmers who are mostly in the rural areas, she said that each set costs less than N1,000, which is used for purchasing the major tools; a plastic tray and a lamp, adding that the research and the tools for the setup of the technology and the funding is being sponsored by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture.

On how the scientists aim to reach out to all the farmers in the tomato area, she said their team on a first phase, would be touring tomato producing states in some states, where they would donate trays, lamps and detergents to the farmers.

“As a sustainable scheme, we would organize meetings and workshops for leaders of farmers groups within the catchment areas from where there would be a multiplying effect as they go back and train others,” she assured.

A farmer in one of the locations visited in Samaru-Zaria, Kaduna State, Malam Isa Ibrahim, expressed optimism over the technology and promised to reach out to other colleague in order to end the scourge.