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.

FOOD PROJECTS IN NIGERIA

TCP/NIR/3101 (A) - Strengthening Farm Management Survey and Data Analysis in Support of Agricultural Policy Formulation and Advisory Services (FAMAS). The project, funded by FAO with a budget of USD259,580, was designed to support the Expansion Phase of the National Programme for Food Security by generating data for policy formulation, project planning and farm management extension. The project supports the NPFS activities by upgrading the analysis of farm management data for agricultural policy formulation, improving advisory services, implementing improved methods of data collection, analysis and dissemination, and preparing plans for expansion to all States in the Federation. The support was more directly intended to strengthen the capacity of farm management. Implementation of the FAMAS project commenced in 2008 and was completed in July 2009.

FOOD PROJECTS IN NIGERIA SINCE 2009

FAO in Nigeria has been executing projects since 1976. The major recent projects are summarized below: TCP/NIR/3101 (A) - Strengthening Farm Management Survey and Data Analysis in Support of Agricultural Policy Formulation and Advisory Services (FAMAS). The project, funded by FAO with a budget of USD259,580, was designed to support the Expansion Phase of the National Programme for Food Security by generating data for policy formulation, project planning and farm management extension. The project supports the NPFS activities by upgrading the analysis of farm management data for agricultural policy formulation, improving advisory services, implementing improved methods of data collection, analysis and dissemination, and preparing plans for expansion to all States in the Federation. The support was more directly intended to strengthen the capacity of farm management. Implementation of the FAMAS project commenced in 2008 and was completed in July 2009. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. iv. TCP/NIR/3202: Formulation of National Activities of the 2nd Phase of the Project “Reduction of Environmental Impact from Tropical Shrimp Trawling through the Introduction of By-catch Reduction Technologies and Change Management” (REBYC II): The Government of Nigeria officially requested for FAO’s assistance to formulate the 2nd phase of the REBYC. A TCP Facility was approved by the HQ for the assistance. The project implementation activities commenced with the arrival of FAO International Consultant in November 2009 and the engagement of a National Consultant to work closely with the Representation and the Federal Department of Fisheries, FMAWR. Report of the project has been finalized and the 2nd phase of the REBYC II will commence soon. Source :http://coin.fao.org/cms/world/nigeria/Projects.html

FOOD AND AGRIC ORGANISATION IN NIGERIA

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) was founded in 1945 with a mandate to raise levels of nutrition and standards of living, to improve agricultural productivity, and to better the condition of rural populations. As an intergovernmental organization, FAO is one of the largest specialized agencies in the United Nations System and the lead agency for agriculture, forestry, fisheries and rural development. The Nigeria Government, through letter No: AGRS.15/S.6/X/2 of 23 November 1977 accepted FAO Director-General’s proposal and agreed for FAO to establish a substantive Representation office in Lagos. The Country Representation office moved to Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory, in 1997 and is now within the United Nations House in Abuja that also accommodates other UN agencies. The FAO Representation in Nigeria facilitates efforts to ensure and improve food security and reduce poverty on an economically and environmentally sustainable basis. On 4 May, 2001 in Abuja, FAO signed an agreement with the Federal Government of Nigeria to provide the technical assistance required for the smooth running of the expansion phase of Nigeria’s National Programme for Food Security (NPFS), covering 327 sites (tripling the initial 109 sites of the first phase). FAO continues to support the NPFS by availing the Government and people of Nigeria with the best expert managerial and technical advice, including the framework of Technical Cooperation among Developing countries (TCDC) and South-South Cooperation (SSC). FAO in Nigeria serves as a forum for knowledge and information sharing. We help to improve agriculture, working also with allied institutions with the aim of ensuring good nutrition for all. The FAO Representative in Nigeria, as the ambassador of the Director-General with the entire International and Local staff team, develops and maintains relations with the Government and other institutions in the country in fulfilling FAO's mandate. The FAO Representative also networks with the United Nations' Country Team in Nigeria. Together with the UN Country Team the United Nations Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF II) is being implemented in selected pilot States in Nigeria. FAO has maintained very good relationships with donor agencies and development partners in Nigeria, especially those engaged in agriculture, food security and control of trans-boundary animal diseases. The Food Security Theme Group anchored by FAO and supported by the IFAD country office in Nigeria, brings these partners together bi-monthly to deliberate and share information on food security issues. The outcome forms development and advocacy advice which is presented to Government.

FOOD IN NIGERIA

The Federal Republic of Nigeria has a population of 140million (2006 census) and the annual growth rate is estimated at 3%. Nigeria is made up of over 250 ethnic groups with very rich multi-cultural diversity. The country also has varying agro-ecological zones from the semi-arid in the extreme north to the coastal mangrove swamps in the south. Although the Nation depends heavily on the oil industry for its budgetary revenue, Nigeria is still predominantly an agricultural nation. The country’s tropical climate endows her to produce various foods that include yams, cassava, potatoes, rice, sorghum, beans, maize, millet, tomatoes etc and cash crops. The major cash crops produced in Nigeria are cocoa, cotton, groundnuts, sesame-seed, palm-oil, rubber and citrus. Nigeria has since lost its rating as a net exporter of cocoa, rubber, palm-oil and ground-nuts. Total arable is estimated at 30 million hectares, cereal production is 137,000 metric tons. National fish demand for 2008 is 2.6 million metric tonnes out of which local supply are about 600,000 metric tonnes. Nigeria imports about 700,000 metric tonnes of fish annually. The 1.7 million hectares of available inland water bodies provides ample opportunities and potential to boost fish production and aquaculture Nigeria’s food production index is 106.2% being 87th of 183 countries under the world food index. Livestock estimates is put at; Cattle is 16 million, pigs 6 million, sheep 33 million, goats, 53 million and poultry 174 million. Almost all rural households raise poultry as a subsistence source of meat. About 30% of the livestock slaughtered are imported from neighbouring countries. Increased pressure on grazing lands, trans-boundary animal diseases, ineffective livestock marketing system, lack of efficient and hygienic livestock processing facilities and poor genetic quality (slow growth and low milk yields) are the major factors contributing to the scarcity. Nigeria has 3 Federal Universities of Agriculture, 15 National Agricultural Research Institutes and 11 Federal Colleges of Agriculture

FG sets to mark 2014 World Water Day

The Federal Government of Nigeria is set to mark the 2014 World Water Day, it is an annual event celebrated all over the world on every 22nd of March. This year’s event is coordinated by United Nation University (UNU) and United Nation Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) on behalf of United Nation Organization. The Theme for this year’s celebration is “Water and Energy” .The focus will be on identifying best practices that can make water and energy efficient and “Green Industry” a reality, it is expected that the nexus of water and energy will boost the socio economic development of Nigeria and the World in general. Several methodologies are at play in which industrial productivity can increase while reducing the water foot print. In line with this year’s theme, three days activities have been scheduled as thus: Thursday 20th March, sensitization walk to kick start from Eagle Square and terminate at NTA Headquarters Abuja, while on Friday the 21st March there will be symposium at Sheraton Hotel and Towers, Abuja. The Honorable Minister of Water Resources, Mrs. Sarah Reng Ochekpe, the Permanent Secretary, Alh. Baba Umar Faruk and other stakeholders in the Water and Energy Sectors will appraise their activities during the event.