NRMAN Condemns NCS Decision to allow Rice Importation

NRMAN

The National Rice Millers Association of Nigeria, NRMAN, has condemned the decision by the Nigerian Customs Service, NCS, to lift the ban on importation of rice through the land borders.

Chairman of the Association, Mohammed Abubakar while speaking with newsmen in Abuja today said the NCS has overstretched its statutory mandate as an enforcement agency in taking such a policy decision.

Abubakar said, if the NCS succeeded in its decision, it would destroy the progress of Nigeria’s rice value chain, attained by the previous administration.

The Chairman, who is also the Chief Executive Officer of Umza Rice, said the decision was an attempt by the customs to legitimise the smuggling of rice.

“First of all, the NCS does not have the power to do that, it is a matter of national policy and customs do not make national policy, it is an implementation agency.

“Its decision will completely kill the rice value chain and everything concerning rice production will stop; customs does not have the right to make such decision.

“The ban was placed six years ago and everybody knows that, so NCS does not have any reason to say rice should be brought in through the land borders. Anyone who gives such directive has smuggling intentions,” he said.

Abubakar further noted that the association would do everything possible to make customs see patriotic reason and rescind in its decision.

He therefore urged the Nigerian government to remain focused in its decision of prohibiting the importation of rice into the country so as to ensure that Nigeria becomes self sufficient in rice production.

It would be recalled that the Comptroller-General of Customs, Col. Hameed Ali (rtd), had yesterday ordered the immediate removal of rice from import restriction list and the re-introduction of import duty payment at land borders.

This was made known by the Public Relations Officer of customs, Mr Wale Adeniyi, in an interview with newsmen in Abuja.

Adeniyi said that all rice imports through land borders by rice traders would attract the prevailing import duty of 10 per cent with 60 per cent levy.

He added that rice millers (preferential levy) with valid quota allocation would also attract duty rate of 10 per cent with 20 per cent levy on rice importation.

He said: “Over the years, importation has been restricted to the seaports because border authorities have found it difficult to effectively monitor and control importation of rice. When the decision to ban rice was taken it was not an effective measure because smuggling of the product thrives with people using different means of conveyance including small trucks, bicycles and even animals – putting them on donkeys and some actually carry it on their heads.

“These new measures will be for customs to reorganise their anti-smuggling operations in the border areas and ensure that all those importers through the borders bring their rice through approved routes and pay their extant duty.”

FG to Empower 30,000 Nigerian Youths via the First Phase of YEAP

yeap farmers

As part of its promise to promote decent income generation and livelihood for Nigerian Youth as well as empower about 750,000 commercial farmers and agribusiness leaders, the Federal Government, through the Youth Employment in Agriculture Programme (YEAP), has commenced the empowerment of 30,000 youths in area-based priority value chains.

Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Arc. Sonny Echono, who disclosed this during a meeting with stakeholders in the poultry industry at the Ministry’s Headquarters in Abuja, said the ministry had received about 34,000 applications from intending agropreneurs and market oriented producers from 12 participating States, including the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
Echono noted that a total of 250 agropreneurs would be selected per state including FCT under the first phase of the programme.

He further explained that the validation and final selection of the young agropreneurs and market oriented producers would be done at State levels in collaboration with the ministry’s state directors; adding that training would also be conducted for the beneficiaries at various credible agricultural and research institutions, universities and other vocational training institutions across Nigeria.

The Permanent Secretary listed the participating states to include Akwa Ibom, Bauchi, Gombe, Imo, Kaduna, Kastina, Lagos, Niger, Ogun as well as the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

According to him, the beneficiaries would be trained in various value chains, including rice, aquaculture, poultry, maize, tomato, wheat, sorghum, apiculture, soya bean, cassava, groundnut, oil palm, Snailery, grass cutter and multiple value chains, such as welding and fabrication, repairs and maintenance.

Expert Urges Produce Review to Avoid Exports Rejection

commodities

Following the recent rejection of some of Nigeria’s exported food items by the EU, the Federal Government has been urged to improve on its export standards in order to ensure that commodities for export meets the required European Union standard for import.

The Chairman Board of Trustees, Mycotoxicology Society of Nigeria, Prof Dele Fapohunda, who gave the urge while addressing a workshop organised by the Raw Materials Research and Development Council in Abuja, described the rejection as not only detrimental to the agricultural sector, but is also counterproductive to the economy.

Fapohunda said the items banned from Nigeria by the EU till June next year include, beans, sesame seeds, melon seeds, dried fish and meat, peanut chips and palm oil, which according to him, the reasons given were the presence of aflatoxins and pesticides at unacceptable levels in this produce.

He stated that plans to make the agricultural sector a major revenue earner for the country may suffer a setback, if produce from the industry are being rejected by foreign countries.

According to Fapohunda, local exporters were at the risk of suffering losses, since imports are significantly protected by the high standards of the major food suppliers and retailers, and the regulatory controls which deter the importation of seriously contaminated material.

He urged for stringent mycotoxin standards on exported food crops, noting that countries must export their best-quality foods while keeping contaminated foods away.

For Nigeria to make remarkable agricultural progress, the Chairman said further action is required to address new and emerging contamination challenges.

In his advice, Fapohunda said Nigeria needs to improve its policy environment, to enable investments that will  help exporters to adapt to the opportunities created by rising export demand.

He noted that since increasing agricultural exports is now an integral part of the government’s sector-development strategy, the government should help exporters to streamline exports with the ever-changing food quality and safety norms of major importing countries. According to him, there have been concerns over pesticide residues in horticultural produce.

He therefore urged the food industry in the country to deal with various fundamental issues impacting food quality and safety across the supply chain.

Fapohunda noted that in order to further harness the potential of the agriculture and food industry, robust policy strategies on food quality and safety are imperative to improve standards and secure greater market access of food products in the developed markets.

2015 World Egg Day

2015 World Egg Day

As the World commemorates this year’s World Egg Day, the Poultry Association of Nigeria Ogun State Chapter (PANOG), has emphasized the need for every Nigerian child to eat at least one egg per day for optimal health, due to its high level of nutritional values.

Speaking with AgroNigeria on the theme of this year’s celebration “Benefits of an egg a day for the Nigerian child”, the State Chairman PANOG, Dr. Olalekan Odunsi said eggs contain a perfect combination of protein, 12 vitamins and 12 minerals, adding that aside from breast milk, eggs have the highest protein biological value.

Odunsi noted that eggs also contain amongst others Zeaxanthin and Choline which are essential for healthy eyes and helps in building the membranes of the cell, respectively.

He said “eggs improve a child’s concentration level and attention span, while increasing their ability to learn, assimilate and expands their memory. It is also important for the development of the brain because it contains Choline.”

The State Chairman while relating the recent data released by the World Health Organisation (WHO) said about 1.7 million Nigerian children under the ages of five, are severely and acutely malnourished, accounting for 10 percent of the global total of malnourished children.

To this end, Odunsi stated that the essence of advocating an egg per day is because eggs have the required nutrient that will help cure Kwashiorkor and other related diseases as well as boost the immune system.
He therefore called on the government and all regular government agencies such as the ministry of agriculture, women and children to launch a campaign that will sensitize the general public on the need to consume at least one egg per day.

Odunsi also urged the Federal Government to include eggs in its promised feeding programme for primary school children as well as support poultry farmers to meet the rising demand of producing enough poultry products for its citizens.

He noted that this sector will play a vital role in boosting the Nigerian Economy in the non-oil sector, while recommending that the government should look intently into the sector in its drive to cause change in the economy.

Also speaking, the host chairman PANOG Ota Zone, Adebayo Adewumi stated that eggs do not contain saturated fat but contains dietary cholesterol that does not harm the body.

Adewumi said the process of preparing the egg can have a bad effect on its productivity, he therefore advised that there is a need to employ caution as to the type of oil and other conjunction used in the preparation.

In her remark, the Chairperson PANOG Remo Zone, Mrs Blessing Alawode said egg is one of the cheapest sources of protein in the country. In this regards, she said an average Nigerian child has no business being malnourished.

She therefore urged parents and children to “grab an egg and keep malnourishment away.”
This year’s World Egg Day Celebration organised by the Poultry Association of Nigeria, Ogun State Chapter, held at the Obasanjo Farms Ota, Ogun State witnessed in attendance the Immediate Past Chairperson, PANOG Ota Zone, Mrs. Elizabeth Oladipupo, Chairperson, Mowe Zone, Tope Oseni, the Marketing Manager Obasanjo Farms, O.A. Akintade, Animal Care Branch Operation Manager, Ogunleke Daniel, school children as well as poultry farmers.

FG TO PARTNER WITH CHINA TO DEVELOP AGRICULTURAL SECTOR

The Federal Government has disclosed its intention to partner with China in developing Nigeria’s agricultural sector.

Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Arc Sonny Echono, disclosed this recently while receiving the Chinese Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr. Gu Xiaojie, at the ministry’s headquarters in Abuja.

According to him, the development model of China best suites Nigeria’s Agricultural Transformation Agenda (ATA) aimed at commercialising the country’s agriculture.

He explained that Nigeria was working to improve its milling capacity for rice and cassava in order to reduce the country’s current demand for foreign produce.

Echono informed the Chinese delegates that Nigeria needed support in the establishment of ranches, poultry and textile. While urging investors from China to invest in these sectors, he identified infrastructural development as another area where Chinese investors could come in and invest, as he noted that Nigeria was working hard towards increasing productivity.

LATE RAINS CRIPPLE FARMING

Mr Victor Olowe

Farmers in the Southwest are combating water shortage during this planting season – no thanks to late rains.
The Programme Coordinator, Farmers Development Union (FADU), Mr Victor Olowe, referred to small yams that have been harvested by farmers as evidence of the water problem.

The problem farmers are facing with climate change was visible in most part of the country where farmers are reviving their agricultural heritage.

According to reports, farmers can only cultivate paddy, millet, beans and other commodities in the few areas of land due to late rains. Crops are limp, while livestock are struggling to find feeds as farmers anxiously await rains.

Despite a reasonable start in the season, many crops are drying off from lack of substantial follow-up rain.
While it is not happening everywhere, farmers in the Southwest are concerned with the problem.
Observers believe productivity this year will be reduced drastically.

The Provost, Oyo State College of Agriculture, Igbo Ora, Oyo State, Prof. Gbemiga Adewale, said bad weather could cripple harvests, adding that this could affect food prices.

He urged farmers to focus on tackling climate change, saying it is crucial to tackling miserable harvests.
Vice President, Association of Small Business Owners of Nigeria (ASBON), Mr Stephen Oladipupo warned that, without government action on feed shortage, consumers and producers will experience devastating effects, from the farm to the meat aisle.
He said that the cost of animal feed is getting higher by the day.

However, the farmers cannot adjust the prices for poultry or cattle according to the rising input costs due to competing with imported products and the demand from domestic customers.

Across the fisheries sector, fishmeal has become a “high-price” strategic marine protein. This follows the increasing local demand for fishmeal, driven by the growth of the aquaculture industry — while supply is declining, prices are naturally expected to rise.

Operators say fishmeal is in short supply due to shortages in key feed components. Clearly, with a volatile but long-term declining supply and rising prices, local fish business operators are rationing the use of fishmeal and fish oil.

Plans to Ensure Food Security

Governor Akinwumi Ambode

In a bid to ensure food security in the State, the Lagos State governor, Mr. Akinwumi Ambode, has reiterated the commitment of his administration to embark on massive production of rice.

The State governor who disclosed this recently at a public forum in Lagos said the governor of Kebbi State, Alhaji Atiku Bagudu is seeking the collaboration of women in Kebbi State and Lagos State to explore economic opportunities in the production and distribution of high yield quality rice.

Ambode stated that in order to achieve this, the State government is putting plans in place to assist those who are fully engaged in rice farming as a profitable and strategic venture.

The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture, Dr. Olajide Basorun, noted an urgent need to promote local products like rice in order to boost competitiveness in the sector.

Basorun pointed out that the recent rice fair held in the State will in no doubt increase awareness about Nigeria’s rice brands in the market, adding that the fair would afford major rice dealers, distributors and consumers the opportunity to interact and network.

He highlighted that Nigeria imports about 2 million metric tons of rice per annum based on the statistics of rice consumption, with Lagos State consuming at least 1 million metric tons, representing 50% of rice importation.

“As you are aware, Lagos State has the highest population of 21 million people and a population density of 5,000 people per square kilometer which makes the demand for food and other agricultural products enormous.

“Most of the food requirements of the populace are met through food produced outside the State; the goal, therefore, is to make Lagos State not only food secured, but also to scale up our food self-sufficiency from the present 10% to about 25% by 2018.” the Permanent Secretary noted.

Basorun further disclosed that the State government, as part of its quest to achieve food self-sufficiency, has developed a road map for food security, adding that the development of the rice value chain will play a prominent role in the road map, since Lagos State is currently the highest consumer of agricultural products in the country.

FG Urged To Protect Soil, Water and Forest Resources against Degradation

organic resources

In time past, farmers who used traditional methods of farming that entailed organic resources, were known to produce enough food not only to feed themselves, but also used as surplus for barter.

This is the view of a Professor of Agronomy at the Michael Okpara University of Agriculture (MOUA) Umuahia, Abia State, Dr. Dominic Aja Okpara. According to Okpara, the population at that time was low, while the traditional farming systems that involved shifting cultivation or bush fallowing was fully capable of restoring soil fertility naturally because fallow periods were long enough.

He said, “The situation is now different and the major cause of the present low crop yields or low productivity of soils in South Eastern Nigeria is the high population, which has put considerable pressure on land.

“The present challenge is made more serious due to increasingly short fallow periods, soil degradation and erosion, which pose a problem to food security in the region.”

The Professor described Organic Farming as a production system, which excludes the use of synthetic and chemical inputs like fertilizers; pesticides, growth regulators and livestock feed additives, adding that most farmers in Africa practice non-certified organic agriculture, partly because they are poor and due to the quality of the products which are tastier and free from chemical residues.

Okpara, who is also the Deputy Vice Chancellor of the University, while delivering the Institution’s 23rd Inaugural Lecture on “Crop Interactions and Nutrient Management: Implications for Food Security in Degraded Ecosystems,”
noted that South Eastern Nigeria has high population densities and high level pressures on land, he held that the agricultural system has been undermined and the land degraded to the point, where the components of our agricultural system have been upset.

The second is the integration of herbaceous and tree legumes into the system, which he said should involve government in the protection of soil, water and forest resources against degradation.

He added that the presence of trees has a positive effect on many crops, either as a result of its contribution to soil fertility, retention of water or because of the resulting microclimate.

Okpara’s recommendation was that farmers should be willing to incorporate trees into their farms, as this has several benefits. He noted that a good agro forestry programme in which forestry species are grown in compatible arrangements with food or export crops, should be adopted.

He also added that the promotion of integrated systems of production, where the principles of synergy, complementarity and supplementarity, are at play in organic system, which will convert waste to wealth and the integrated nutrient management of the farm, would ensure sustainable production of the systems.

Okpara further stated that integrated crop/livestock agriculture will improve soil fertility, increase yield, produce a density of foods and improve land use efficiency.

The Songhai Integrated System, he advised, should be adopted or replicated in the States of the Federation, in order to create products and services that hold the potential to dramatically increase productivity, ensure nutritional quality and eliminate waste and pollution.

Safeguard Your Farms against Bird Flu – VCN Urge Farmers

BioSecurity

The Veterinary Council of Nigeria (VCN) has urged poultry farmers in the country to safeguard their farms against bird flu by applying the appropriate bio-security measures.

The Registrar, Dr Mrcus Avong, gave the advice in an interview with newsmen in Abuja, while reacting to the recent outbreak of bird flu in Lagos State.

Avong stated that not all strategies mapped out for the containment of the disease were being implemented hence the need for individual farmers to safeguard their farms.

He noted that active surveillance and restriction of poultry, poultry products and by-products had not been implemented hitherto.

“The Lagos outbreak is not a new one; it is part of the ongoing spread of the disease because it started in a few States, then spread to 18 and now 21 States.

“We have not controlled the disease to the extent of declaring Nigeria free of the problem; it is still going round’’ he explained.

Avong, therefore, urged farmers to take adequate measures that would discourage wild birds and other organisms such as rodents and pests from invading their farms.

According to him, these organisms are responsible for the spread of the disease from one farm to another through their movement.

He further urged the Federal Department of Veterinary Services and its State counterparts to collaborate with the Nigerian Veterinary Research Institute (NVRI) in conducting proper surveillance toward inhibiting the spread of bird flu.

Plateau To Embark on Potato Farming

In order to explore the potential that abound in Plateau State as regards Potato farming and to create employment opportunity for the youth, some potato farmers are set to embark on large scale potato farming and processing in the State.

They will also engage in providing high technical knowhow and input supplies to the industry in terms of equipment leasing and hiring as well as provide storage and processing facilities with the capacity to store 12 metric tons of potatoes and process two tons per hour.

Disclosing the steps taken so far to realize the plans, the Chief Executive Officer, Vicampro Agrochemical Company, Engr. Michael Agbogo explained that Nigeria has what it takes to be the leading potato producer in Africa ahead of Egypt, who is currently the largest potato producing country in Africa.

Agbogo lamented the country’s over-dependence on oil stressing that “the need for food overrides the need for energy; we need to diversify our economy and get serious with agriculture because as the population of the World increases, food and water would become scarce.”

He noted that security of lives and properties as well as cheap, available and sustainable food supply are critical components to having a better World.