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.
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