NAFDAC confiscate Indian Garri, as stakeholders call for support of home-grown products

Following the disclosure of the Indian garri spotted in some Nigerian local stores, the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), has raided the supermarket in Ikoyi and has seized 26 packets of 500grams each of the product for analysis.

The product with no NAFDAC number is said to be from Ghana but packaged in the United Kingdom.  NAFDAC has also invited the Supermarket’s management for questioning.

However, sectoral players have condemned the unfavorable market conditions experienced by farmers and agropreneurs in the country, and have called for government intervention.

Founder of Fresh Direct Produce and Agro-Allied Services, Angel Adelaja noted that the agricultural policies in the country are not favorable to local farmers. She explained that while other countries institute policies to favor their farmers, the case is however different in Nigeria

“The reason why you cannot export beef and dairy products to the Netherlands is because of the stark “Economics of Scale” which favors the local producer. Also, the regulatory structures in place regarding safety for their consumers will visit mayhem on you if flouted.  Here in Nigeria, I say the blame lies with people we have allowed to run things for us”.

She also stressed the need for Nigerians to stand against the unfavorable modalities in the agricultural sector.

Commenting on this, Femi Okedare opined that foreign investors are more respected and favored than the local producers.

According to him, “Nigeria has been sold to the Indians and Chinese (Asians) by our government and regulatory agencies. The government welcomes these nationalities with open arms and they get away with anything in this country. They are all in our markets and farm gates buying off our produce with grants and cheap money received from their countries. They have easy access to foreign exchange. They are favored by our officials. One of them is representing Nigeria in Dubai Gulf Exhibition next week, the only company to occupy Nigeria’s stand”.

Speaking further, he said “for how long are we going to stand and watch helplessly as this people benefit greatly from our economy? One day we will wake up to find an Indian become the minister of finance or the CBN governor if we do not stitch this in time”.

Another stakeholder, Rotimi Ipinmoroti stated that such import activities could impede agricultural development in the country. He noted that some of these products were not safe for consumption, yet they managed to penetrate our market.

“We are not encouraging our industry to grow at all. Umudike and IITA should have better technology. Majority of these products come with pounds of chemicals that are injurious to health”, he said.

Lending credence to this position, Natural Nutrients boss, Sola Adeniyi, stated that though the product was sold at N450 per 500gram without NAFDAC number, no one could determine the moisture contents or the microbiological results of the brand.

Adeniyi however blamed Nigerians for encouraging the sale and distribution of imported goods in the country.

“Why blame the dumpers! When majority of Nigerians don’t and will never appreciate what we have, produced and packaged here. What they are after is imported goods and whether it is good or not, they are less concerned as long as it is not made in Nigeria”, he said.

Stakeholders agreed that Nigerians need to learn how to love, trust and appreciate the land’s produce. They added that if this is done there would be no need to patronize imported products like Indian garri.

We may open grain reserves – FG

In a bid to address the rising costs of food prices in the country, the federal government is considering opening the nation’s grain reserves.

The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Audu Ogbeh, disclosed this in an interactive seesion with journalists in Abuja. He expressed worry over the rise in food prices but was delighted over the drop in prices of some crops.

“Maize has dropped from N180,000 per ton to N140,000 and in Kaduna farmers are willing to sell at N135,000″, he said.

Ogbeh further noted that there are grain harvests ongoing in some parts of the country with stocks of previous harvest still in storage houses. He however reassured Nigerians that rumors about food shortage in the country was unfounded.

“Despite the quantities of food that West African countries have carried from Nigeria, there are still a lot in the store unfortunately the prices are still high,” he emphasized.

Africa needs to focus on adding value within Africa – AfDB President

The president of African Development Bank (AfDB), Dr Akinwumi Adesina, has stressed the need for Africa to focus on adding value within the continent.

He said this while disclosing the bank’s investment plan of $24 billion over the next 10 years through its Feed Africa Strategy, to drive growth and transformation of the agricultural sector in Africa.

“The bank’s calculation is that transforming African agriculture will cost approximately $315 billion over 10 years, but will create new markets worth roughly $85 billion per year in incremental revenue by 2025”, he said.

Adesina further noted that Africa is losing lots of money from exportation of its raw materials which isn’t adding value to the continent.

He said, “There has to be a shift from the export of raw agricultural products to a more productive and wealth-enhancing strategy, namely the generation and consolidation of value along the agricultural production chains. “We can save billions of dollars every year this way (at least $35 billion and rising fast each year), instead of spending it on buying in food that we should be growing and processing ourselves. Agriculture is the original mainstay of African countries because it produces the majority of food consumed, giving employment to over 60 per cent of Africans and contributing 16.2 per cent of Africa’s overall GDP.”

He however called on governments in Africa to establish the relevant infrastructures that will drive growth in the continent.

VP holds back signature on Agric credit bill, 3 others

Nigeria’s Acting President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo has refused to sign into law the Agricultural Credit Guarantee Scheme Fund 2016 as well as three other bills passed by the National Assembly.

In the letter read by Senate President, Bukola Saraki, to the lawmakers during today’s plenary, the acting president said assent to some of the bills was withheld due to certain concerns regarding words and phrases, and the spirit behind the amendment”, “the existence of pending legal issue”.

Saraki, however informed that the chamber would seek legal interpretation and advice on the matter as soon as possible.

It will be recalled that Osinbajo last week signed into law to seven bills passed by the National Assembly.

Other bills returned to the legislature are: Dangerous Drugs Amendment Bill 2016, National Lottery Commission Bill 2016, and Currency Conversion Freezing Order Amendment Bill 2016.

Malawi: President fires Agric minister for corruption

Malawi’s President, Peter Mutharika has dismissed the country’s agriculture minister after an investigation into maize procurement, the southern African nation’s information minister said, on Wednesday.

The Minister of Information, Nicolaus Saudi informed Reuters that the President had appointed a Commission of Inquiry to investigate a $34.5 million government maize purchase from Zambia after allegations that the price had been inflated.

The commission faulted Chaponda and a local company Trans Globe Limited over their dealing with the procurement of maize from Zambia and recommended ACB to conduct more investigations.

According to Saudi, “The President has removed from Cabinet George Chaponda as agriculture minister with immediate effect after he was found with millions of money at his residence”.

Prior to the minister’s dismissal, the country’s Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) had seized $276,000 cash in both local and foreign currencies.

Nigeria to stop rice importation next year – Ogbeh

The Federal Government of Nigeria has disclosed plans to stop importation of rice by 2018.

The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Audu Ogbeh informed that the government aims at producing seven million tonnes of rice to meet the country’s demand.

“I think we have attained the level of being one of the largest producers of rice, even though many people are still in doubt about that. So, for those who say it is not true, I think they need to take another look,” he expressed.

He said, the country has gotten to the stage where it would no longer depend on other nations for rice production having observed rice plantations in other countries.

“I have been in Vietnam, the same kind of rice plantation you see there is what you see in Nigeria”, he said.

He however noted that there was need to improve the milling capacity to enhance production.

“The only thing we need to add is the milling capacity, which we are increasing,’’ he said.

Meanwhile, a post harvest specialist, Wasiu Awoyale has stated that to achieve self sufficiency in rice production, factors such as proper processing, value addition and market linkage must be addressed.

FAO gives fresh start to IDPS

Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in North East Nigeria  have reasons  to smile as  the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) is  giving them a new lease of life through agriculture.

Under the ongoing Restoring Agricultural Livelihoods of IDPs, Returnees and Vulnerable Host Families in North East Nigeria project, FAO is distributing vegetable seeds and irrigation support  to 174, 400 people for the dry season while also scaling up interventions in the region to provide support for the people ahead of the rainy season.

During a visit to the FAO project site at Fariya, a village in Jere Local government, in Borno state, the Director of Emergency and Rehabilitation at FAO, Dominique Burgeon expressed that it was important to tackle issues of food insecurity by aid risk families in producing their own foods.

“We are approaching a critical period in the agricultural calendar. This is our main opportunity to   tackle these truly staggering levels of food insecurity by helping at-risk   families to produce their own food. The rainy season begins in May-June.   Farmers need to have seeds, fertilizers and tools in their hands by then so they can plant. If they miss this season, humanitarian costs are just going to keep rising and rising into 2018,” he said.

He noted that nutrition outcomes will worsen if efforts were not taken to address food security issues during this period.

The delegates were visiting Borno State to see the impact of conflict and violence on civilian populations and   the response by national and local authorities and international organisations.

A report from the FAO indicates that with more than 80 percent of north eastern Nigeria’s rural population depending on crop or livestock farming, investing in agriculture  is critical to tackling food insecurity.

However, the organisation is supporting 2,000 farmers in Fariya, and with funding from the Governments of Belgium,   Ireland and Japan, the intervention aims to enhance the self-sufficiency of   returnees and vulnerable host families, women and youths through training and   critical inputs including seedlings, water pumps and fertiliser for vegetable   production.

KEBBI PROCURES 300,000 TONS OF FERTILISER, 100 TRACTORS TO BOOST AGRICULTURE

In an effort to increase food production, the Kebbi State Government has procured 300,000 tons of fertilizer for farmers under its short and long term plans .

The State Commissioner of Agriculture, Alhaji Muhammad Garba disclosed this to newsmen  during a ministerial briefing organised by the state chapter of NUJ in Birnin Kebbi.

According to him ,within the next 3 weeks , the state will be receiving the  first consignment of 1000, 000 tons of fertiliser  under the arrangement made with Kano, Jigawa, Sokoto , Zamfara and Katsina states while the remaining 200,000 tons is expected from Morocco under the arrangement made between Nigeria and the Moroccan government.

He added that the state government has also procured 100 tractors ,1000 ox-drawn ploughs, 100 rice threshers in order to ease drudgery in farming by farmers in the state.

‘’ In order to reduce drudgery in doing farm work , the government has also procured 100 tractors , some of which we have started receiving as well as bought 1000 Ox-drawn ploughs for farmers in the state ‘’.

Dandiga also said that 20,000 farmers have been sponsored to produce soya beans across the state in addition to investing into other crops the state have comparative advantage in such as wheat and vegetables .

“100 motorcycles have been purchased to extension workers in the state which has resulted in the increased yield per hectare recorded from2.5 tons per hectare to minimum of 5 tons per hectare,”  he noted.

11 STATES INTO WHEAT PRODUCTION – GOV BAGUDU

In line with the federal government ‘s directive on self sufficiency on rice and wheat, governor of Kebbi State, Atiku Bagudu has said compared to last year, 11 states have now joined in wheat production.

‎The governor spoke to State House Correspondents after the acting President Yemi Osinbajo, on Monday met with the Presidential Task Force on Rice and Wheat‎ Production, to review factors mitigating against self-sufficiency.

Recall that the was inaugurated last year June by the federal government to make Nigeria self sufficient in rice and wheat and step up current efforts to produce those commodities in the country.

Bagugu said the meeting reviewed the rice and wheat programme, noting that compared to last year where only five states went into wheat production, 11 states have joined this year.

“This is the meeting of Presidential Task Force on Rice and wheat and we reviewed the wheat programme and what we can do more to support states in order to increase production of wheat. And to ensure that our farmers who have responded to the call are supported in terms of getting good price for their output in order to sustain their interests.

“We reviewed where we are with rice production, the Acting President noted with satisfaction all the efforts by different stakeholders to attain sufficiency in the shortest possible time.

“The Acting President assured the meeting that the Federal Government will continue to support the drive towards self sufficiency in food security. He said the government out of necessity will support the farmers, the millers and other stakeholders involved in the value change‎”.

On claims that Nigeria was now the second largest producer of rice in the world, he said ;”I don’t have that data but I know that our farmers have responded and all parts of Nigeria, about 32 states have steak of increased production”.

On where Nigeria was in terms of wheat production currently, Bagudu said, “I think we have done very well, we have remarkable increase in the number of states that have produced wheat from the last season. Last season we had about five states but today we are hearing reports from about 11 states‎ and the increase in output per state is quite significant as well. So we believe that with sustained trajectory that we are seeing we will be able to achieve our self sufficiency”, he said.

Those in attendance were the state governors of Ebonyi, Dave Umahi, Kano, Abdullahi Ganduje, Kebbi, Abubakar Bagudu and Jigawa, Badaru Abubakar.

The M‎inisters of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Audu Ogbeh and Finance, Kemi Adeosun as well as the Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emiefele were also in attendance.

Other members of the Task Force are ‎the President of Wheat Farmers Association and President of the Rice Farmers Association.

ANCHOR BORROWERS: KEYSTONE BANK SUPPORTS FARMERS WITH N350M

Keystone Bank Limited has boosted the Anchor Borrowers Programme (ABP) with a N350 million credit line.

The credit line covered 1700 farmers in Taraba and Sokoto states. The Managing Director of Keystone Bank, Mr. Philip Ikeazor, who disclosed this in a statement, underscored the importance of financial institutions in driving the agricultural sector.

He said: “Financial institutions have a crucial role to play in providing support to players along the agriculture value chain and the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN’s) initiative of the Anchor borrowers programme is a step in the right direction. Financing in agriculture is one factor of production, which facilitates the acquisition, procurement and management of the other factors of production such as land, expertise and management.”

According to experts in the agricultural sector, the low volume of business in the rural areas where poverty is most prevalent cannot guarantee sustainable business activities to encourage the establishment of commercial banks to provide the needed finance for agricultural production.

Moreover, the cost implication of processing agricultural loans in the rural economy makes it unattractive for conventional banks to channel their resources to farming. Although, the commercial banks finance agricultural activities but their credits are urban-based and so small that their impact cannot be felt in the rural areas where farming actually takes place. Lack of priority attention to rural population in credit delivery by commercial and other banks in the economy contributed to the depressed economic conditions in the rural economy, and this situation also affects the overall economic growth and development of the nation.

With the recent focus by the federal government on diversification of the economy, agriculture is being promoted in many quarters as the next frontier in driving the economy of the nation. The Anchor Borrowers’ Programme, which was initiated by the CBN as a sub-shoot of the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Fund (MSMEDF) was created to support farmers and increase their production capacity.

SOURCEThisday Newspaper