NIHORT GAINT STRIDE TO REVOLUTIONIZE FRESH PRODUCE FOR LOCAL AND INTERNATIONAL MARKETS USING AFGEAN.

The injection of Agricultural Transformation Agenda (ATA) of Mr. President through the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD), Dr. Akinwumi Adesina into the development of the sector has since put many agencies and Research Institutes on their toes as National Horticultural Research Institute (NIHORT) between 2011 till date under the leadership of the Executive Director,  Dr. Adenike Olufolaji  is frantically repositioning to checkmate challenges facing its mandate produce crops of vegetables, fruits  and ornamental flowers  through the  replication of the Kenya horticultural model  with emphasis on organized off takers  like Agricultural Fresh Produce Growers and Exporters Association of Nigeria (AFGEAN). 

The Executive Director (ED),NIHORT, Dr. Adenike  Olufolaji  told Food Farm News that the Institute

has substantially impacted in the development of horticulture in the country saying effort is on going to replicate the Kenya model in the sector  as a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) has been signed to this effect  stressed  the need to enhance  the Agricultural Fresh Produce Growers and Exporters Association of Nigeria (AFGEAN) as  a veritable market platform for  small scale farmers.

The Minister of FMARD, Dr. Adesina according to NIHORT ED is very passionate about enlisting Nigeria fresh vegetables and fruits  among the daily ones that are usually exported from Kenya and others countries through the Airlines that always pass through our airports to other countries of the world  thereby reducing wastages and creating wealth  for our local farmers, adding this has informed the visit to Kenya  together with the Agricbusiness group saying “we have gone to Kenya  to understudy the horticultural model of their farming, processing and marketing with an intension to replicate it in Nigeria for the purpose of Good Agricultural Practice (GAP)”

In 2012, in one of the trainings organized by NIHORT and FMARD under the auspices of AFGEAN, the Former President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo who is also the National present of the Association had hoped for 500 million dollar market through export of fresh Nigeria fruits and vegetables’ produce to Europe where high premium are being paid for GAP saying effort must be made to attain the level for the purpose of creating wealth in the country.

The focal points of the training focused on horticultural standard, integrated farm assurance, equipment/integrated pest management toolkit, introduction to Global Good Agricultural Practice (GAP ) management system, concepts of food safety / hygiene and chemical hard pictogram.

 Dr. Olufolaji pointed that her determination to ensure the success of ATA with the Institute’s mandate crops has resulted to partnering with AFGEAN for the purpose of linking farmers with them adding that the establishment of the association would act as a catalyst to moving Nigeria from her present status of raw agricultural producing country to a leading global food exporter through processing and value addition in line with GAP as demanded by World Trade Organization.

She stressed NIHORT is already registering farmers with an intention of encouraging them into clusters’ farming in all the local government of the federation so as to reflect what is being practiced in Kenya for easy accessibility to government interventions through improved technologies, financial support and other unforeseeable benefits like linking them to organized marketers thereby replicating the Fresh Produce Exporters Association of Kenya (FPEAK) in the country.

It is worthy of note that the Federal Government is corroborating Dr. Olufolaji’s thinking as an inter Ministerial Committee on Fresh Produce Transformation programme domiciled in the Ministry of Aviation has been formed for the purpose of promoting food security, export of fresh produce, women and youth empowerment, infrastructural development and enhancement of rural economies just as the committee has visited some major states of the federation for the cargo terminal foundation.

Talking on world economic trade with global standard, NIHORT boss said Nigeria will be doing herself well if all resources are made available for the development of horticulture thereby replicating practice in Indian and Kenya where wealth are created to both youth and women saying “the India horticulture created as much as 25,000 jobs in 2004 with disbursement of up to $587 million wages to the horticultural farms. Also, as much as 6,000 non horticultural related jobs were generated in India resulting to the payment of $285 million wages. A total of $2 billion dollar worth of businesses to businesses, and household to business were transacted by the India horticulture industries in 2004. In India for example fruit and vegetable producers generated five to eight times more profit than cereal farmers. In Kenya, the production of fruit, vegetables and flowers for export is providing farmers with six to twenty times more profits than maize”

However, the horticultural export statistics in Africa revealed that South Africa/ Kenya is having the lion share of the market with total of one billion US dollar, followed by Ethiopia with the sum of 350 million US dollar while Ghana and Uganda were having (60-70 million US dollar) and 30- 35 US dollar respectively without any figure allotted to Nigeria. 

 However, Dr. Olufolaji was optimistic that Nigeria horticultural farming will soon take her place of pride through effective harnessing the potential in the sector as market will be made available through organized off takers with farmers being organized into clusters throughout the local councils for the purpose of attracting government’s support and other benefits adding the Institute is already working frantically to ensure achieving this through farmers’ census.

Mandate and Vision

NIHORT has the mandate to conduct research into genetic improvement, production, processing, storage, utilization and marketing of the tropical fruits, vegetables, ornamentals, spices, other medicinal and aromatic plants of nutritional and economic importance with a vision to develop production technologies for horticultural produce and products for local and export markets with attendant health, industrial raw materials and employment generation benefits.

Achievements

Looking at the achievement of the Institute, one cannot but say a lot have been done despite limited funding cum other challenges especially in the face of ATA directing the Research Institutes to bring out many of the technologies in their shelves to the domain of private sector for commercialization just as Dr (Mrs) Olufolaji pointed her Institute has conspicuously played a supportive role in the Growth Enhancement Support  (GES)of the FG by giving improved inputs of banana saucers, citrus and mango to  small scale farmers for better yield in the producing states of the federation.

 Other Feasible achievements under ATA

1.       In line with ATA’s directives, NIHORT established two Agricultural Research Technology Transfer Centres (ARTTC) in Kano and Gombe, and is already inaugurated by ARCN as part of West Africa Agricultural Productivity Programme’s demand for practical demonstration of technologies to end users on the farm.

2.      ARTTC plans to collaborate with the staple crop processing zones under ATA and clustering farmers in each agro ecology for effective collaboration to reducing post harvest losses and increasing the farmers’ profit margin in Kano ATA processing zone at Kadawa.

3.      Production of 50,000 citrus seedlings, production and distribution of 32,000 plantain/ banana biotechnologically generated suckers under the FAO-NIHORT collaboration to Delta, Cross Rivers and Oyo states for commercial multiplication.

4.      Curing, poting and hardening of banana meristems imported from Costa Rica by the FMARD with 100,000 suckers distributed to plantain/ banana producing states.

5.      A collaborative effort of NIHORT and IITA on biocontrol of aflotoxin on chilli peppe in kano, Nasarawa and Oyo states yielded great result, just as 28 males and seven females together with 11 extension worker of nine male and two females across the three states were trained on aflotoxin issue, aflasafe application, proper drying and storage practices for better post harvest storage and toxin reduction in Chilli.

6.      Collaborative trials with Syngenta Swistzaland Company, and  Bakker Brothers, Netherlands on yield and agro ecological adaptability of tomato, okro and pumpkin in North West and North East, Nigeria.

7.       Collaborative research between International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and Nigeria Atomic Energy Agency and NIHORT on capacity building for areas with wide control of fruit flies.

8.      Integrated pest control management of fruit flies in citrus and mango with particular attention on the use of cultural practices and mass trapping carried out in Oyo, Imo, Kogi and Nasarawa states just as 40% reduction was recorded in Benue and Plateau states using brewery wastes.

9.      Through pathogenicity test from IITA on pineapple leaf and citrus sample from Fumman farm during the field visit, it was established that Forcelet, Z-force and Funguforce are capable of effectively control colletotricum gleoesporiodes infection on citrus pineapple fruits.

 Past Achievement on produce/ products   

      Two improved varieties and suitable cultural practices for high yields of long cayenne pepper (NHV-A and NHV-F developed.

2.      Two varieties of okro also developed (NHA47-4 and LD 88

 

Products available for commercialization by investors

1.      Orange juice concentrate developed for fruit juice processing industries as substitute ingredient in squash, nectar and drink manufacturing.

2.      Citrus pectins used as thickening/ gelling agents in a large variety of foods, pharmaceuticals and cosmetic products.

3.      Crude papain produced from three varieties of pawpaw. Papain an ingredient in several pharmaceutical preparations.

4.      Production of baby weaning foods from plantain and soyabean (Soyamusa)

5.      Wine made from plantain, banana, pineapple and Agbalumo.

6.      Juice, fruit nectar, squash, cordials and punches made from citrus, mango, African bush mango, pineapple, passion fruit, roselle and pawpaw.

7.      Development of spices formulations: e.g Nihort basil/ spring onion blend; Nihort instant spice “Kunnu” Nihort ginger drink.

All these research products according to Nihort ED are available for private individuals  for commercialization as more jobs will be created along the production, processing and marketing of the produce/ products improved technologies to customers stressed that more can be achieved  if more fund and other needed logistics are made available.

Conclusion

In the face of commercialization of Agriculture through current ATA of the FG, the horticultural development through a well funded research stands the chance of giving a faster source of more income  to farmers, processors and marketers as against what they can get in other agricultural produce like maize, rice as the case in Kenya and other parts of the world said the NIHORT Executive Director who also commended Mr. President and minister’s approach to addressing the challenges of agriculture with special attention to inputs supply through GES and effort towards reducing the post harvest wastages thereby ensuring more earnings and wellbeing of producers. She stressed the need to intensifying on the clustering of small scale farmers  into groups at every local government for the purpose of giving them support with GAP technologies that will attract external market at a high premium coupled the environmental benefits of ornamental flowers which is already creation thousands of job for youth and women in Nigeria.