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Nigeria has recorded an increase in crops production and in land areas agricultural cultivation in 2017 above the 2016 production records. A report on the 2017 Wet Season Agricultural Performance Survey (APS) report presented by the Federal Government in Abuja on Tuesday, said the overall Farm yields still remained below global and African averages for all the sub-sectors. The study was done by the National Agricultural Extension and Research Liaison Services (NAERLS) in collaboration with the Federal and states Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. According to the report, maize production increased from 10,813, 980 tonnes in 2016 to 12, 107,580 tonnes representing 11.96 per cent increase. Rice production increased to 8.02 million tonnes was produced in 2017, representing an increase of 14.7 per cent over the 2016 output, sorghum increased by 4.4 per cent with an average yield of 1.3 tonnes per hectare. Others are cowpea with a 6.1 per cent increase, 11.4 p

A total of 150 cassava farmers in Auchi, Estako West Local Government Area of Edo State are set to receive loan support under the Central Bank of Nigeria's (CBN) Anchors Borrowers Programme (ABP). HRH Alhaji Aliru Momoh, Ikelebe III, Otaru of Auchi, has also donated 500 hectares of land to the cassava farmers for the success of the scheme. Edo State Governor Godwin Obaseki who disclosed this at the signing of Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the farmers, CBN officials and other supporting institutions, said his administration has outlined many programmes to uplift the living condition of farmers in the state. Governor Obaseki who was represented by Prince Joe Okojie, Special Adviser on Agriculture, assured the farmers that tractors would soon be made available to prepare the land for the farmers. Obaseki noted that the decision to engage the farmers in clusters was to teach them new ways of farming in his quest seek alternative to oil. He said

Three winners have emerged from African Development Bank’s (AfDB’s) Farming is cool art contest, carting away cash prizes of N1 million, N500,000 and N250,000 for first, second and third places respectively. They are Ezra Anthony, Precious Nnenna Enyinwa and Vivien Okoro. Dr. Akinwunmi Adesina, AfDB President, presented the prizes to the winners while Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, who represented President Muhammadu Buhari, opened the new office complex. Twenty contestants aged 10 to 16 years took part in the contest. It was part of AfDB’s goal to see a shift in agriculture on the continent, hoping to feed itself and eradicate malnutrition by 2025. At the inauguration of its complex at Abuja, AfDB inspired secondary school pupils with the Farming is cool contest to launch African economic outlook for 2018, as well as to share the high 5. Ebrima Faal, Senior Director, Nigeria Country Department, AfDB, said the contest was organised to sow a seed of awareness on

Godwin Emefiele, CBN Governor The Anchor Borrowers Programme (ABP) of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has generated almost 3.5 million direct and indirect jobs through the disbursement of a cumulative sum of N55.526 billion in two years to over 250,000 small holder farmers who cultivated almost 300,000 hectares of farmland for rice, wheat, maize, cotton, soybeans, and cassava, among others. Godwin Emefiele, CBN Governor, who disclosed this at the weekend in Ondo State during the ground breaking ceremony of Greenfield Integrated Poultry Facility explained that the ABP which is targeted at boosting the agricultural potential of the country “has contributed to the creation of an estimated 890,000 direct and 2.6 million indirect jobs.” He added that more investment is still needed in the poultry sector for the country to meet demand for poultry products. “Some analysts have estimated the Nigerian poultry industry to be worth about N1.2 trillion, comprising about 165 million

Governor Abubakar Atiku Bagudu of Kebbi State has urged governments at federal, state and local levels to increase their investments in agricultural production in order for the country to attain self-sufficiency in food production.   Governor Abubakar Atiku Bagudu of Kebbi State Bagudu who gave the advise during the Farmers Interactive Forum and Exhibition organised by Daily Trust in collaboration with the Kebbi State Ministry for Agriculture in Birnin Kebbi on Monday, noted that farmers in China, America and Britain, among others, enjoy massive subsidies to become competitive globally. According to him, “Nigeria has the largest absorptive capacity in agricultural investment. The European Union protects its markets by giving 90 billion euros to the farmers. Nigerians can begin to imagine if we put more money into agriculture than we put in subsidising petroleum.” The governor added that over N200 billion was wasted on petroleum subsidy, noting that if such amount was

Nigerian Agricultural Quarantine Service (NAQS) has said the country generated $35 million within nine months in 2017 from hibiscus (zobo) export. Dr Vincent Isegbe, Coordinating Director, NAQS, disclosed this at the ‘National Survey of 13 Agricultural Commodities by the Inter-ministerial Committee on Prevention and Control of Mycotoxins in Agricultural Commodities’ meeting held in Abuja recently. He explained that the committee hopes to establish the prevalence type of mycotoxins and on which commodities as part of efforts to help policy makers decide on what to do next and also open the country’s economy to opportunities in research, development, public health disease prevention and the general wellbeing of the nation. Isegbe said hibiscus, popularly called zobo, has high commercial value which the Jigawa State Government is currently benefitting from and is now the largest producer of the commodity, followed by other states like Kastina, Kano, Zamfara, Kebbi, Zamfara

The Imo State Chapter of Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association (MACBAN) has apologized to farmers in the state over the damages done by their cattle. Audi Dikko, Chairman of MACBAN in Imo, urged the farmers to forgive the herdsmen during a meeting with some traditional rulers at the Imo Police Command, Owerri, the state capital. The meeting which was convened at the instance of Chris Ezike, Imo State Commissioner of Police, had in attendance, monarchs, farmers, leaders of Miyetti Allah, herders and some government officials. Speaking during the event, Dikko expressed sadness at the pains of different communities as explained by the traditional rulers on the conduct of herdsmen.  He said , “I want to apologise to farmers in Imo State. Imo State is a peaceful state and we have been living peacefully with the people of the state. We want to say forgive us. “We are happy that the Imo State Government has formed a committee to look into this issue and we believe

Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has expressed readiness to support anyone willing to invest in agriculture across the country.   Mr. Godwin Emefiele, Governor of CBN Mr. Godwin Emefiele, Governor of CBN, who disclosed this at the inauguration of Greenfield Integrated Poultry and Powdered Egg (GRIPPE) project in Emure-Ile, Owo Local Government Area of Ondo State at the weekend noted that the agriculture sector has the capability to boost the nation’s economy. “The CBN will help to drive economic growth and reduce unemployment in the country. What we have set out to do is to give support to anyone who wants to tap the potential of what God has given to our country. This we hope to do by providing the finance and also create job opportunities for the youth,” he said. Emefiele commended the Ondo State government for initiating the powdered egg production, expressed optimism that the factory would reduce importation of the product and joblessness. “This project helps to

Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Kaduna Zonal Office, has recovered N297 million diverted from the Bank of Agriculture (BoA) in Kebbi and Kaduna states. A statement by the spokesman of the commission, Mr Wilson Uwujaren, said the funds were diverted by beneficiaries of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Anchor Borrowers Programme, disbursed by BoA. Ibrahim Bappa, Head of Operations of the EFCC office in Kaduna , formally presented a bank draft for the N102 million to Mohammed Babangida, representative of the BoA Managing Director. Bappa assured the bank that the EFCC would continue to assist it in the discharge of its statutory duties. He, however, decried the worrisome trend in which beneficiaries of the scheme diverted the funds, and urged the BOA to ensure proper orientation before loans were disbursed. Responding, Babangida lauded the efforts of the EFCC in the recovery, saying the action had restored confidence in the bank. The EFCC s

Nigeria Agribusiness Group (NABG) has said the research and innovative solutions being developed at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) could transform Nigeria’s agricultural narrative.   Emmanuel Ijewere, Vice President, NABG Emmanuel Ijewere, Vice President, NABG, said this when he led a delegation from the group on a visit to IITA to explore areas of possible collaboration. NABG is widely regarded as Nigeria’s agricultural think-tank. The group comprises eminent players in the agricultural value chain. The team was excited over the many innovations already developed by IITA ranging from improved seeds that could more than double farmers’ productivity, to technologies that control weeds and double the yield of cassava, to simple processing machines that add value to crops such as cowpea, cassava, and yam. Other technologies such as inoculum production which raises the productivity of legumes such as soybean by about 20 percent, and aflasafe—a

Governor David Umahi of Ebonyi State has taken steps to end intermittent clashes between farmers in the state and herdsmen while insisting that no part of the state would be given for the purpose of cattle colony.   Governor David Umahi of Ebonyi State In order to achieve this, conscious effort would be made to engage traditional rulers and leaders of Miyeti Allah in the area with a view to sustaining the peace among the two groups, according to a statement signed by Emmanuel Uzor, Chief Press Secretary to Umahi. The statement noted that the governor had stated in his address to traditional rulers, presidents of town unions and other stakeholders gathered at the Akanu Ibiam International Conference Centre, Abakaliki that the state government is committed to the sustenance of peace across the state to boost development. The governor was quoted as saying, “the traditional rulers are not just custodians of culture and tradition but also part of peace building. They must e

The Federal Government has concluded plans to adopt technological tools for farmers across the country. Bukar Hassan, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, who disclosed this during the presentation of smallholder value chains technology this week in Abuja, underscored the importance of extension services to small-scale farmers.   Audu Ogbeh Minister of Agriculture He said: “If we want small-scale farmers to find their footing in the agriculture sector, we must provide farmers with extension services and the knowledge needed to evolve from subsistence to commercial farming. And I believe this technology would help us solve so many problems.” Pierre Sibery Traore, Director, Research and Development Digital Agriculture explained that the initiative is divided into two phases of agcelerant and phygital technology, noting that agcelerant is the value chain orchestration platform that helps link farmers to financial services. He said the esse

Nigeria Incentive-Based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with RIELA, a German agricultural technology firm, to establish ways of minimising estimated N2.7 trillion annual post-harvest losses in the country. In his speech at the signing ceremony in Abuja recently, Aliyu Abdulhameed, Managing Director of NIRSAL, said the agreement tallies with the organisation’s mandate to ensure sustainable value chain-driven solution in agriculture. Abdulhameed said the partnership would provide increased access to harvest and post-harvest technology equipment, to help farmers at the production level with technology, training, machinery and technical assistance. Quoting the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), he said Nigeria loses over 51.3 million tonnes of food annually to post-harvest losses across agricultural products, describing the development as unacceptable. He said the partnership is a business-driven

The Taraba State Government has advised herdsmen operating in the state to co-operative societies for easy intervention by the government. Dr David Kassa, Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development, Taraba State, who said this on Monday told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Jalingo, the Taraba State capital, that crop farmers and herdsmen who formed cooperative societies would be eligible to access government’s intervention to build their own ranches and curb frequent crises. “I want to advise herdsmen and other livestock farmers to form cooperative societies for easy identification and intervention by the government. “Between five and 10 herdsmen can come together and build a ranch and mark their cows to live there. This can make for easy access to government’s intervention in terms of grants, soft loans and subsidies on animal feeds,” he said. Kassa said ranching was the best form of rearing animals globally.  NAN reports that ranching is the pract