AFRICAN FINANCE MINISTERS SEEK MEGA-FINANCING DEALS TO BOOST AGRIC SECTOR

African ministers of finance have stepped up a campaign for additional financing led by the African Development Bank (AfDB) to channel funding required to boost production of rice and commercial farming in Africa in order to enable the continent to become an exporter of food.
The Ministers of Finance and Agriculture from the Republic of Guinea, Côte d’Ivoire, Senegal, Madagascar, Niger and Tanzania emphasised the need for the creation of an African agri-based financing facility that would oversee the channeling of adequate finance to the agriculture sector.

While insisting on the viability of commercial agriculture in Africa, the Director of Cabinet Affairs in the Office of the Prime Minister of Côte d’Ivoire, Ahoua N’Doli Théophile, said major international firms were willing to set up agri-based business enterprises to process cocoa in Côte d’Ivoire, but required guarantees. “We have understood the need for this financing facility in Côte d’Ivoire in a practical manner.

“We need finance to set up marketing infrastructure and the cost of marketing these products cannot be passed onto other sectors. We have companies that want to process cocoa for both domestic and international markets and have committed to invest in Côte d’Ivoire,” N’Doli Théophile said.

He noted that Côte d’Ivoire is discussing the release of US $800 million with the AfDB to finance capital flows to the cocoa plantations.
The need for a continental risk financing facility to aid agricultural investments in Africa was also proposed by Madagascar’s Minister of Agriculture, Roland Ravatomanga , who said commercial banks often resort to cancellation of loans to the agriculture sector whenever the demand increased.
Proposals to create an agricultural financing risk facility – a form of insurance agency for investors – featured prominently during discussions at the “Feeding Africa Conference,” which opened at the Abdou Diouf International Conference Centre in the outskirts of the Senegalese capital, Dakar, on Wednesday.

Also, these financial connoisseurs expressed concerns on food sufficiency and the agricultural markets; maintaining that the failure to develop efficient marketing systems would affect food demand and supply in national as well as  regional markets.

These concerns, experts say are growing, because most West African countries have set the goal of increasing the production of staple food crops like rice, bananas, onions and cassava, which is adequate to meet national demand and for the export markets, creating fears of a regional commodity excess.
Senegalese Agriculture Minister, Papa Abdoulaye Seck said the concerns of an agricultural commodity excess should not worry African countries so long as opportunities to negotiate for fair trade regulations exist. “The transformation of rice production in West Africa is a challenging issue. We can still determine our relationship with the Asian countries which have been exporting rice to us and redefine trade,” Seck said.

According Seck, statistics show Asian countries could become major importers of rice by 2020, which could benefit the African countries currently investing in rice production. Seck said the AfDB should invest in helping rice farmers reduce post-harvest losses, which, if successfully done, could reduce the import bills by 10 percent.

The discussions at the Dakar conference on agricultural transformation reveal that efforts to improve the rapid industrialization of Africa through farming are ongoing. Nevertheless, governments still require funding to link up local and regional markets and create seamless routes for food trade.

EXPORT STAKEHOLDERS MAP OUT WAYS TO MEET INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS

stakeholders

Nigeria Exporters have continually endured misfortunes because of dismissal of their items by a few created nations over the globe. This has conveyed to the fore the significance of meeting worldwide models if Nigeria must enhance her fortunes in fare exchange.

The President, Lagos Chambers of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), Alhaji Remi Bello who uncovered this today amid his introduction at the National Agro-Commodity Export Stakeholders Forum sorted out by LCCI as a team with USAID Nigeria, held at the LCCI Conference and Exhibition Center, Ikeja, Lagos, said Agro-partnered items have endured more misfortunes as an aftereffect of the dismissal.

Talking on the subject: "Difficulties to Meeting Sustainable International Standards", Bello said the discussion got to be vital because of the late European Union (EU) boycott of some of Nigeria's nourishment things which incorporates beans, sesame seeds, melon seeds, terminated fish, meat, shelled nut chips amongst others from entering Europe till June 2016, noticing that there is a pressing to formalize procedures of institutionalizing Nigerian trade items to meet the EU set due date.

He said to accomplish this; there is a need to give more credit backing to exporters keeping in mind the end goal to procure the vital offices and hardware to meet global models.

As indicated by the president, figures from the Central Bank Economic Report for the second quarter of 2015 uncovered that "the aggregate non-oil send out income by Nigerian exporters amid the second quarter of 2015 remained at US$631.54 million, showing a decrease of 64.9 and 75.1 percent beneath the levels in the previous quarter and the relating time of 2014, separately".

Bello noticed that the journey for enhancement of the economy can't be achieved without Nigeria's entrance to the universal business sector.

He along these lines approached the legislature to make accessible unique intercession reserves for exporters to help their ability to contend with the worldwide brands and item. The president additionally asked all partners in the agric segment, to give assets and endeavors to seek after the institutionalization of Nigeria items for the worldwide markets over the globe.

Talking with newsmen at the discussion, the administrator of the Export Group, Dr. Obiora Maduthe said the test with Nigeria produce is the issue of low quality, awful compound deposits, planned blending of good and terrible produce which is influencing the picture of the nation, as well as her salary.

Madu clarified that the point of the gathering in this manner is to unite administrative bodies and exporters and help the coordinated effort between government organizations keeping in mind the end goal to guide out arrangements on the most proficient method to determine the issue of dismissal of the nation's items, and in addition sharpening the overall population, partners and legislature of the threat included if moves are not made promptly.

While conveying her keynote address, the head of Food Safety and Applied Nutrition Directorate, National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) and the Chairperson National Food Safety Management Committee, Mrs. Veronica Ezeh said the huge warning of fare dismissal from the EU throughout the years concerning the fare of rural produce from Nigeria not meeting the global and national standard, has been a test to the organization.

Ezeh noticed that some of these standard not met incorporate; the greatest deposits level for a control substance, high microbial burden, poor great hygienic practice, poor great horticultural practice, poor great assembling practice, deficient capacity and improper utilization of pesticides in our agrarian produce.

She further clarified that the fare dismissal, as an aftereffect of illicit exportation and fashioning of fare archives, is the capacity of the disappointment of administrative systems and the nonattendance of viable guest control that permits all sort of unregistered items to be sent out of the nation.

To meet universal standard along these lines, Ezeh said there is "the requirement for shared endeavors of every administrative authoritie and pertinent partners, to turn out with a system for tending to the difficulties that the nation's horticultural produce is confronting in the worldwide business sector".

"Harmonization of national measures with sign base universal standard is in light of a legitimate concern for all. This won't just empower creating nations react practically to meet the developing fare opportunities, yet will likewise advantage the residential buyers.

"In perspective of the above, there is the requirement for expansion mindfulness about the requirement for makers and exporters to either receive their standard to the universal standard gave by these three sister-setting bodies, The Codex Alimentarius Commission, World Organization for Animal Health (OIE), and the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) or apply to import nation standard for the fare produce." she said.

She noticed that NAFDAC through a progression of consultative and partners gatherings with the other applicable organizations, has consented to sharpen and prepare agric exporters on the best way to follow the national and worldwide standard keeping in mind the end goal to enhance their competiveness in the worldwide exchange.

Ezeh in this way emphasized the dedication of the office to keep on reinforcing the cooperation and data imparting to the MDS and the overall population, to make certain that farming nourishment fare accommodates with global standard to encourage simple exchange, secure purchasers and the spread of maladies.

IFAD COMMENCE PLANS TO IMPROVE BENUE AGRIC VALUE CHAIN

Ms Atsuko Toda

As part of efforts to ensure self sufficiency in food production, the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) on Wednesday said it has commenced the planned implementation for improved value chain project for the Benue State Agricultural Revolution Programme.

Country Programme Manager of the Food and Agricultural Produce Organization, Ms Atsuko Toda, who spoke in Markurdi the State capital, at a meeting with Governor Samuel Ortom, identified key areas of women and youth empowerment programmes in agriculture.

Releasing the state counterpart funding for the project, Toda encouraged large scale farmers to concentrate on agricultural produce that the state has comparative advantage in.

Governor Ortom while responding, said the return of Benue State to agriculture has become imperative as people of the state must earn a living in the face of dwindling income from the national purse.

The state whose slogan is “the food basket of the nation” is a rich agricultural region where crops such as potatoes, cassava, soya bean, guinea corn, flax, yams, sesame, rice, and grand nuts are grown.

Organic farming 'benefits biodiversity'

organic field  improve biodiversity

Image captionOrganic farms act as a refuge for wild plants, offsetting the loss of biodiversity on conventional farms, a study suggests.

Fields around organic farms have more types of wild plants, providing benefits for wildlife, say scientists.

The research is likely to fuel the debate over the environmental benefits of organic farming.

Studies suggest that organic farming produces lower yields than conventional methods but harbours more wildlife.

The new study, by researchers at the University of Swansea and institutes in France, looked at fields sowed with winter wheat in the region of Poitou-Charente.

They found that organic farming led to higher weed diversity on surrounding conventionally farmed fields.

"Wild plants are important for birds, bees and other farmland species," said Dr Luca Borger of the department of biosciences at Swansea University.

"Organic farming has advantages in maintaining these, but even a mixture of organic and non-organic farming in an area can help maintain this biodiversity.

"Even only 25% of fields being organically farmed can make a difference."

Food security

Farmland provides essential habitat for many animals but intensification of agriculture has led to a loss of biodiversity.

However, in order to provide the extra food needed by the bigger human population of the future, without destroying forests and wetlands, farming needs to be made more intensive.

Supporters of organic farming say the method could be a potential compromise between meeting food security needs and providing habitat for bees, birds and other wildlife.

The researchers say land-sharing between organic farms and non-organic farms could have benefits for both crop production and biodiversity.

This theory needs to be tested in follow-up studies, they say.

The study is published in the journal, Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B- Biological Sciences.

3M CASSAVA FARMERS TO BENEFIT FROM CAMAP

(CAMAP)  farmers

The Cassava Mechanisation and Agro-Processing Project (CAMAP) is intensifying   efforts to improve the livelihood of about 3.5 million cassava farmers in sub-Saharan Africa through provision of production technologies and other supports that make farming attractive and profitable.

Disclosing this to newsmen in an interview in Abuja, the Nigeria Country Coordinator of CAMAP, Mr Abu Umaru, said the project which targets eight countries has since taken off in Nigeria, Zambia and Uganda and will also be implemented in Angola, Ghana and Liberia, among others.

“CAMAP is a Public-Private Partnership coordinated by the African Agricultural Technology Foundation (AATF) and its activities are supported with funding from UK aid from the UK government. In Nigeria, it is being implemented in four states; Osun, Ogun, Kogi and Kwara and now moving to Oyo state,” the Coordinator stated.

According to him, a total of 553 cassava farmers have benefited in the four states, while 322 beneficiaries have already been identified in Oyo state where about 1,000 hectares have been earmarked for cultivation.

“A total of about 3,000 hectares have been cultivated between 2013 and 2015 with average yield of 28 to 30 tons per hectare as against the previous low yield of about 10 tons per hectare.

“We bring the farmers together on the same farm for easy mechanisation and support each farmer in the initial year with four bags of fertilizer per hectare, 50 bundles of cassava stems per hectare and six litres of pre and post emergence herbicides,” he disclosed.

He added that the project acquired mechanised cassava planter, which also applies fertilizer while planting, and mechanised cassava harvester among other equipment to assist the farmers, saying that the mechanised system will attract youths into farming.

“In 2014, a ton of cassava was bought from the farmers at ₦16, 000, while in 2015, it was sold at ₦13,000 and the farmers made reasonable profits. We arrange transportation for them through partnership with transport owners among others,” he noted.

One of the beneficiaries from Osun state, Chief Solomon Oyerinde, told Daily Trust in an interview that the project has greatly assisted them and provided solution to cassava glut as farmers participating in the project sell all their produce to the processors for industrial use.

Organic tomatoes accumulate more vitamin C, sugars than conventionally grown fruit

Tomatoes grown on organic farms accumulate higher concentrations of sugars, vitamin C and compounds associated with oxidative stress compared to those grown on conventional farms, new research suggests.

Tomatoes grown on organic farms accumulate higher concentrations of sugars, vitamin C and compounds associated with oxidative stress compared to those grown on conventional farms, according to new research.

Tomatoes grown on organic farms accumulate higher concentrations of sugars, vitamin C and compounds associated with oxidative stress compared to those grown on conventional farms, according to research published February 20 in the open access journal PLOS ONE by Maria Raquel Alcantara Miranda and colleagues from the Federal University of Ceara, Brazil.

In their study, the researchers compared the weights and biochemical properties of tomatoes from organic and conventional farms. They found that tomatoes grown on organic farms were approximately 40% smaller than those grown by conventional techniques, and they also accumulated more compounds linked to stress resistance.

According to the authors, organic farming exposes plants to greater stress than conventional farming. They suggest that this increased stress may be the reason organic tomatoes had higher levels sugars, vitamin C and pigment molecules like lycopene, an anti-oxidant compound -- all of which are associated with the biological response to stress. Based on these observations, the authors suggest that growing strategies for fruits and vegetables should aim to balance plant stress with efforts to maximize yield and fruit size, rather than trying to eliminate stress to increase yields.

Highly contagious honey bee virus transmitted by mites

Researchers have discovered a parasitic mite has caused the deformed wing virus to proliferate in honey bee colonies.

Researchers report that the parasitic 'Varroa' mite has caused the deformed wing virus to proliferate in honey bee colonies. This association is now thought to contribute to the world-wide spread and probable death of millions of honey bee colonies. The current monetary value of honey bees as commercial pollinators in the United States alone is estimated at about $15-$20 billion annually.

Researchers at the University of Sheffield have discovered a parasitic mite has caused the deformed wing virus to proliferate in honey bee colonies.

This association is now thought to contribute to the world-wide spread and probable death of millions of honey bee colonies. The current monetary value of honey bees as commercial pollinators in the United States alone is estimated at about $15-$20 billion annually.

The research conducted in Hawaii by researchers from the University of Sheffield, the Marine Biological Association, the Food and Environment Research Agency and the University of Hawaii, and reported in the journalScience, showed how the Varroa mite caused deformed wing virus (DWV) -- a known viral pathogen -- to increase its frequency among honey bee colonies from 10 per cent to 100 per cent.

This change was accompanied by a million-fold increase in the number of virus particles infecting each honey bee and a massive reduction in viral strain diversity leading to the emergence of a single virulent DWV strain.

Dr Stephen Martin, of the University of Sheffield's Department of Animal and Plant Sciences said: "Just 2,000 mites can cause a colony containing 30,000 bees to die. The mite is the biggest problem worldwide for bee keepers; it's responsible for millions of colonies being killed.

"Understanding the changing viral landscape that honey bees and other pollinators face will help beekeepers and conservationists worldwide protect these important insects. We have discovered what happens at the start of an infection. The goal is to understand how the infection comes about so that we can control it.

"Deformed Wing Virus is naturally transmitted in bees through feeding or sex but the mites change the disease so it becomes more deadly, shortening the bees' lives."

As the mite and new virulent strain of the virus becomes established across the Hawaiian Islands the new emerging viral landscape will mirror that found across the rest of the world where the Varroa mite is now established.

This ability of a mite to permanently alter the honey bee viral landscape may by a key factor in the recent colony collapse disorder (CCD) and over-wintering colony losses (OCL) as the virulent pathogen strain remains even after the mites are removed.

Africa’s agric market to hit $1trn in 15 years

The Africa’s Agricultural market will be worth $1trillion (about N200 trillion) in the next 15 years going by latest estimation.

Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, the President of African Development Bank (AfDB), who announced this, Wednesday in Dakar, Senegal, said that he continent must urgently take advantage of this prospect by rapidly investing in the development of its agro-industry sector.

“A bold plan to transform agriculture will boost local food production, reduce food import bills, conserve foreign exchange, increase domestic savings and assure strong macroeconomic and fiscal stability,” the AfDB President emphasized.

He however noted that  this can only happen if agriculture is treated as real business venture attracting investments from the private sector across the entire agricultural value chains, including modern seed and fertiliser (organic and inorganic) companies, agricultural mechanization, irrigation and water management, warehousing, commodity exchanges, food manufacturing and processing, logistics, cold storage and transport.

Adesina was speaking at the opening of a three-day high-level conference on “Feeding Africa, An Action Plan for African Agricultural Transformation” at the Abdou Diouf International Conference Centre in Diamniadio, near Dakar in Senegal.

He cited the remarkable progress made by Kenya, Tanzania, Ghana and Ethiopia in the global horticulture industry as a clear indication that well-designed policies, financing and infrastructure support can propel Africa to the top of the global food value chains.

The AfDB President also recounted how he leveraged Nigeria’s agro-food sector when he served as agriculture minister by working closely with the Finance Ministry and the Central Bank to encourage Bank lending to the sector.

“We need to look critically at how to accelerate commercial financing for agriculture. Banks do not lend to the agriculture sector and less than 3 percent of total bank lending in Africa goes to a sector that accounts for about 70 percent of all employment and over 40 percent of the GDP. Lack of access to affordable finance leads to underinvestment in agricultural technologies, growth of agro-allied industries and investments in infrastructure,” he said.

“By fixing agricultural value chains and de-risking the financial value chains, Africa can leverage billions of dollars in financing from its domestic financial markets into agricultural value chains.”

He also spoke on how the “New Deal on Energy for Africa,” part of the five-point development agenda he unveiled in September, would help transform the agricultural sector and make it attractive for young people and women.

President Adesina announced that the AfDB will work with other partners to establish a $300-million facility for Affirmative Finance Action for Women in Africa – which will be used to deploy risk sharing instruments for leveraging $3 billion in commercial financing and financing from microfinance institutions to women and women-owned businesses.

He said that by providing greater attention to labour-saving technologies, especially food processing technologies, to enable women to invest their time in more productive income-earning opportunities.

In closing, Adesina emphasized that Africa’s agricultural transformation should, in a decade, result in the elimination of extreme poverty in Africa, end hunger and malnutrition in Africa, turn Africa into a net food exporter, and move Africa to the top of the global value chains.

For his part, Senegal’s President Macky Sall commended Adesina for his five bold initiatives for Africa’s development in agriculture, energy, integration, industrialization, and for improved quality of life for the people of Africa, saying the entire continent should support these brilliant initiatives which are in sync with the continent’s development vision.

“Agriculture is life,” President Sall said, noting the diverse background of the conference participants was a guarantee that it would produce exceptional results.

Earlier, the Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Augustin Matata Ponyo Mapon, called for a new agricultural revolution in Africa, noting that we cannot continue to use hoes, machetes and poor seeds in our farms and expect a good harvest.

He suggested the construction of feeder roads, creation of agricultural cooperatives and agro-industrial parks to help boost the agricultural sector.

Ponyo Mapon also supported the AfDB President’s call to leverage the entire agricultural value chain through to the market level, wondering, “Why should we produce cocoa and import chocolates?”

Can organic food feed the world? New study sheds light on debate over organic vs. conventional agriculture

Can organic agriculture feed the world? Although organic techniques may not be able to do the job alone, they do have an important role to play in feeding a growing global population while minimizing environmental damage, according to researchers. 

A new study concludes that crop yields from organic farming are generally lower than from conventional agriculture. That is particularly true for cereals, which are staples of the human diet -- yet the yield gap is much less significant for certain crops, and under certain growing conditions, according to the researchers.

Can organic agriculture feed the world? Although organic techniques may not be able to do the job alone, they do have an important role to play in feeding a growing global population while minimizing environmental damage, according to researchers at McGill University and the University of Minnesota.

A new study published in Nature concludes that crop yields from organic farming are generally lower than from conventional agriculture. That is particularly true for cereals, which are staples of the human diet -- yet the yield gap is much less significant for certain crops, and under certain growing conditions, according to the researchers.

The study, which represents a comprehensive analysis of the current scientific literature on organic-to-conventional yield comparisons, aims to shed light on the often heated debate over organic versus conventional farming. Some people point to conventional agriculture as a big environmental threat that undercuts biodiversity and water resources, while releasing greenhouse gases. Others argue that large-scale organic farming would take up more land and make food unaffordable for most of the world's poor and hungry.

"To achieve sustainable food security we will likely need many different techniques -- including organic, conventional, and possible 'hybrid' systems -- to produce more food at affordable prices, ensure livelihoods to farmers, and reduce the environmental costs of agriculture," the researchers conclude.

Overall, organic yields are 25% lower than conventional, the study finds. The difference varies widely across crop types and species, however. Yields of legumes and perennials (such as soybeans and fruits), for example, are much closer to those of conventional crops, according to the study, conducted by doctoral student Verena Seufert and Geography professor Navin Ramankutty of McGill and Prof. Jonathan Foley of the University of Minnesota's Institute on the Environment.

What's more, when best management practices are used for organic crops, overall yields are just 13% lower than conventional levels. "These results suggest that today's organic systems may nearly rival conventional yields in some cases -- with particular crop types, growing conditions and management practices -- but often they do not," the researchers write. Improvements in organic management techniques, or adoption of organic agriculture under environmental conditions where it performs best, may help close the yield gap, they indicate.

"Our study indicates that organically fertilized systems might require higher nitrogen inputs to achieve high yields as organic nitrogen is less readily available to crops. In some cases, organic farmers may therefore benefit by making limited use of chemical fertilizers instead of relying only on manure to supply nitrogen to their crops," Seufert says. "At the same time, conventional agriculture can learn from successful organic systems and implement practices that have shown environmental benefits, such as increased crop diversity and use of crop residues."

Yields are only part of a set of economic, social and environmental factors that should be considered when gauging the benefits of different farming systems, the researchers note. "Maybe people are asking the wrong question," Prof Ramankutty says. "Instead of asking if food is organically grown, maybe we should be asking if it's sustainably grown."

The results point to a need to get beyond the black-and-white, ideological debates that often pit advocates of organic and local foods against proponents of conventional agriculture, Prof. Foley adds. "By combining organic and conventional practices in a way that maximizes food production and social good while minimizing adverse environmental impact, we can create a truly sustainable food system."

NIGERIA TO PARTNER BRAZIL ON DEVELOPING AGRIC RESEARCH

water farm land 

The Federal Government has said that it would partner Brazil to develop agricultural research in order to boost food production and productivity in the country.

The Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Sonny Echono, who disclosed this recently in Abuja at a meeting with Brazil’s Trade Mission led by Brazilian Ambassador to Nigeria, Joao Lima, said the ministry was also interested in learning from the school feeding programme of Brazil with about 40 million children daily to fortify a similar scheme in Nigeria.

Echono stated that the ministry was fascinated by the achievements of Brazil in rice production and productivity.

He said that rice was a staple crop in Nigeria with efforts been put in place to achieve self sufficiency in its production.

Nigeria, the permanent secretary said, would borrow ideas from Brazil to achieve that feat.

Other areas where both countries are expected to collaborate include cooperatives, rice milling equipment and agribusiness, among others.

The Executive Secretary of Agricultural Research Council of Nigeria, ARCN, Prof. Yusuf Abubakar, said there were 11 colleges of agriculture and 15 research institutes with a workforce of 10, 000 staff under the council.

He said the council has 1,800 scientists identifying capacity building as one of the major challenges facing the council.