For the SUVs; Lets go Farming Naija Youth

“IF I had a wish list,” says Luka Abgu, a farmer from Taraba state, in eastern Nigeria, “I would like a tractor.” “Farming is slow back-breaking work and I often have to employ labourers,” says Mr Abgu, who thinks he is about 60 years old. Though agriculture is still Nigeria’s largest employer, most of it is for mere subsistence. Farmers use age-old rudimentary methods and basic tools. Things are changing in some parts of Taraba—but too slowly. Akinwumi Adesina, the country’s latest and—in recent times—most dynamic farms minister, is determined to speed things up. Nigeria’s governments all talk grandly about the potential of large-scale agribusiness but the country still awaits its green revolution. Some 60% of Nigeria’s 167m people are farmers, according to the National Bureau of Statistics. The Central Bank says farming accounts for 41% of GDP, though this is likely to drop when the overall figure is “rebased” later this year.Nigeria should be able to feed itself but patently fails to do so. It spends about $11 billion a year importing food and is the world’s largest buyer of rice. President Goodluck Jonathan says he wants to raise food production by 20m tonnes within four years and end the need to import rice by 2015. But it is hard to see Nigeria feeding itself soon, given its swelling population. The UN says it could exceed 400m by 2050, whereas farm output is rising by 5% a year. Before the discovery of oil in the 1970s, Nigeria was the world’s biggest exporter of peanuts and palm oil. But since then farming has been neglected and yields have stagnated. Less than half of Nigeria’s arable land is now used; only 10% of farmland is “optimally” used, says Mr Adesina. For instance, shea nuts, an ingredient in beauty products and moisturisers, rot on the ground, though some say they could be worth around $2 billion a year.Promoting cassava as a wheat substitute could reduce wheat imports, which add a lotto the country’s food bill. SABMiller, a multinational London-based beverage company with big interests in Africa, wants to expand its sales of the cassava-based beer it has pioneered in Mozambique—and notes that Nigeria produces more cassava than any other country in the world. Nearly 90% of the crop is consumed by the families of the smallholders who grow it. Yet yields are still very low and could easily be doubled. Aid agencies have helped farmers in Taraba grow better varieties of cassava, which can then be mechanically processed. Farmers receive cash in hand that can be invested back into their farms. But such schemes have been tried before. “[Former President Olusegun] Obasanjo got us all to grow cassava,” says Yusuf Tsunbuji, a Taraba farmer, “and we ended up using it as firewood.” Another snag is that the farming workforce is ageing, though 70% of Nigerians are younger than 30. “I have had my own farmland for three years,” says Mikha Saleh, another Taraba man, explaining that his father gave him a piece a land to own and manage when he was 12. “I work on the farm for three hours or so every day as well as going to school,” he says with a grin. “I enjoy the independence.”But the government has failed to excite young people with the prospect of farming as a career. Most prefer to head for the burgeoning cities in the hope of getting rich quick. “Farming has become a vocation for people with nothing else to do,” says an aid worker. Though a new lending scheme was initiated in 2011, banks are still loth to lend to farmers, since returns take too long. Training opportunities are still few. But Mr Adesina is also keen to provide farmers with better advice. Some 4.2m of them, he says, have recently been registered on a national database. The number should rise, he hopes, to 10m by the end of the year. The biggest impediment may be lousy infrastructure: crumbling roads and patchy supplies of electricity and water. That, says Mr Adesina, is why 45% of Nigeria’s tomatoes are ruined every day.Women, who make up a good half of the farming workforce, are often forced into farming by marriage. “When it comes to discussing the cost of planting, the men beat the prices down,” says Victoria Lucas, a widow of 40 in Taraba, who grows cassava, yams and maize with her six children. “They know I can’t do it alone.” Mr Adesina is trying to help farmers by, among other things, extricating government from the business of procuring and distributing fertiliser. Nigerians proportionally use a tenth as much fertiliser as their Indian counterparts. Subsidies for it have existed for more than three decades but red tape and corruption hamper distribution and limit production. “We were subsidising corruption,” says Mr Adesina. “We were not subsidising farmers.”So he has introduced a system whereby dealers accept vouchers as payment for fertiliser. And foreigners are being encouraged to invest in local fertiliser companies in the hope that they may drive down prices and thus, in the end, increase yields. An Indian-owned company, Indorama, says it plans to set up a $1.2 billion fertiliser plant in Nigeria. Source : The Economist

LOCAL IRRIGATION DEVELOPMENT IN NORTHERN NIGERIA

iii. TCP/NIR/3202: FAO-Assistance in the Formulation of Bankable Projects in Support of the Jigawa State Irrigation Development Strategy: The Governor of Jigawa state requested for assistance from FAO to support the irrigation development of Jigawa state. A TCP Facility was approved for the support. Project implementation activities fully commenced in September 2009 with the arrival of FAO Technical Expert to backstop for this project. He was accompanied by National Consultant to Jigawa State for the preliminary review of the project. The outcome of the mission was discussed at a wrap up meeting chaired by the FAO Representative inviting official of the Jigawa State Government and the mission team. Feasibility study has been carried out by experts from the National Programme for Food Security and the reports are being collated.

AGRIC TRAIN THE TRAINER

ii. TCP/NIR/3202: Training Assistance for Training of Trainers in Agricultural Enterprise: The FMAWR formally requested FAO for a TCP Facility to execute the above-mentioned training and the request was approved. The TCP Faciltiy assisted in building the training capacity (quality enhancement) in the three identified areas of Agricultural Marketing, Agro-processing and Agricultural Business Management. Training was conducted by 3 National Consultants engaged by FAO under the project to about 150 youths from the 36 states including FCT. The Trained Trainers have formed a core of skilled personnel to train extension agents and provide support to the Agricultural Development Projects (ADPs) in their individual states.

FOOD CRISIS RESPONSE PROJECT

TCP/NIR/3202 (D) TCP-Facility i. TCP/NIR/3202(Component 2): Developing a National Food Crisis Response Programme (NFCRP) for Nigeria. This component was approved with a budget of US$44,000 to assist the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Water Resources in developing a comprehensive food crisis response programme that addresses the causes and effects of soaring food prices in Nigeria. A National Consultant was engaged to develop the document. The NFCRP document is a compendium of agricultural and food security projects being undertaken by development and donor agencies in Nigeria. It covers short, medium and long term interventions to ameliorate and safeguard impact of disruptions in the food supply chain in Nigeria.

FOOD PRIORITY PROJECT

TCP/NIR/3102 (D) TCP-Facility i. Development of National Medium Term Priority Framework (NMTPF) This component provided support to the Representation to assist the FMARD to articulate a National Medium Term Priority Framework (NMTPF) that addresses government identified priority areas and is in sync with FAO’s mandate and its Strategic Framework (2000-2015). The NMTPF is used as a guide for prioritizing FAO projects to be implemented in Nigeria.

AQUACULTURE PROJECT

TCP/NIR/3203 (D) “Sustainable Aquaculture Systems for Nigeria” The TCP-project was approved in October 2008 with a budget of USD 410 000 to finance it. It was aimed at contributing towards improving the food security of the most vulnerable populations. The project covers the services of one retiree expert in aquaculture training and planning, one Technical Cooperation among Developing Countries (TCDC) expert in aquaculture hatchery and feed, two National Consultants, as well as FAO technical backstopping services from the Aquaculture Management and Conservation Service. It also covers the cost of a contract for the training of farmers as well as materials and equipment, official travel, training as well as direct operating expenses. A National Project Coordinator was appointed by the Honourable Minister of Agriculture and Water Resources to coordinate the implementation activities of the project. Ibadan, Oyo state was chosen by the project Task Force members as the project field hub. Project implementation activities are on-going.

FOOD FOR THE VULNERABLE PROJECT

TCP/NIR/3201 (E) - Inputs Supply to the Vulnerable Populations under the Initiative on Soaring Food Prices (ISFP). The Technical Cooperation Programme (TCP) project, funded by FAO, with a budget of USD 500,000 was approved in July 2008 and implementation commenced in September 2008 following the appointment of the National Project Coordinator. The objective of the project under the FAO's Initiative on Soaring Food Prices (ISFP) was to assist the vulnerable populations in Nigeria through the supply of farm inputs. The project was implemented in four northern states (Borno, Katsina, Sokoto and Yobe) that were most affected by the sudden seizure of rains in 2007. Beneficiaries were identified; stakeholder and steering committees to ensure good project implementation were set up. Seeds, fertilizer and other required inputs were procured and distributed under the supervision of the steering committees of each project site. The project implementation activities rounded up in July 2009.