Local Rice and Cassava Processing Receives FEC Boost

pursuit of the government’s effort at securing local self-sufficiency in food production, the Federal Government has approved the establishment of processing mills for rice and cassava, two staples which have over the last few months dominated headlines on account of poor processing capacity. In the case of rice in particular, AgroNigeria had reported on the impending glut following the bumper rice paddy harvests recorded by farmers across the country.

Fortunately, the Federal Executive Council (FEC) at its weekly sitting on Wednesday the 10th of September 2014, has approved the establishment of ten integrated rice mills and six cassava processing mills in strategic locations across the country.
This was disclosed by the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr Akinwumi Adesina while speaking to State House correspondents after the meeting. He explained that the projects which are estimated to cost about ₦13 billion would be largely private-sector driven, with government providing the necessary platforms for their operation.
According to Adesina, the 10 integrated rice mills would be located in 10 states including Kebbi, Zamfara, Kaduna, Niger, Benue, Kogi, Bayelsa, Bauchi , Ogun and Anambra, while the cassava processing mills would be located in Cross River, Abia, Delta, Ondo and Ogun states.
The minister noted that following the increase in number of rice growing states from 10 in 2012 to 23 in 2014, the country is currently developing high quality rice mills with the capacity to process rice paddy into finished rice.

FILIPINO FARMERS AND OTHER STAKEHOLDERS PUSH FOR COMMERCIALIZATION OF BT EGGPLANT

Local government constituents from Pangasinan province in the Philippines, including municipal agriculturists and farmers, students, members of the media, and other stakeholders signed a declaration of support for the commercial planting of the pest resistant Bt eggplant in the country, during the conclusion of a Public Dialogue on Bt eggplant held at the Pangasinan State University (PSU) Campus on September 3, 2014.

It states that after discussion with the scientists, experts, and farmer resource persons in the dialogue, the stakeholders realize that, Bt eggplant, which is being developed by the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB), "is a healthier and safer alternative solution against the relentless insect pest – the eggplant fruit and shoot borer (EFSB)."  They also recognized that its multi-location field trials, which concluded in 2012, have been conducted safely and in full compliance with the prescribed government regulatory procedures, duly approved by the Department of Agriculture's Bureau of Plant Industry (DA-BPI). Moreover, they also acknowledge the safety of products of modern biotechnology that have passed food safety assessment based on international standards.

The Public Dialogue was co-organized by ISAAA, the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture-Biotechnology Information Center (SEARCA BIC), the Municipality of Sta. Maria, and PSU-Sta. Maria Campus. Featured scientists include UPLB Bt eggplant project leader Dr. Desiree Hautea, study leader Dr. Lourdes Taylo, UP Diliman professor Dr. Ernelea Cao, economist Dr. Sergio Francisco, and DA-BPI Biotech Core Team vice chair Ms. Merle Palacpac. Farmer-leaders from Pangasinan Ms. Rosalie Ellasus and Mr. Onofre Batalla also shared their successful experiences in planting biotech corn; both expressed their eagerness for the release of Bt eggplant seeds.

Kaduna launches silo to address food security

The Kaduna State Commissioner for Agriculture, Isaac Bodmas, has disclosed that 100, 000 metric tonnes grain silo has been launched in Shika, Kaduna State, to address storage challenge faced by farmers and attain food security in the state and the country at large.

Speaking at a workshop in Kaduna, the commissioner said: “Kaduna State has also keyed into the GES programme and the agric mechanisation, through private partnership, was launched in Shika. Kaduna and Kano states were picked as pilot states for the programme. Kaduna State and two other states have been earmarked as pilot states for the school agricultural scheme.”
He assured that the state government, through the ministry, would work with others, especially extension services, to ensure food security in the state, promising to ensure that farmers are carried along in the programmes. [DAILY TRUST]

Brazil considers transgenic trees. Genetically modified eucalyptus could be a global test case.

Eucalyptus plantations near São Paulo in Brazil.

Viewed from above, Brazil’s orderly eucalyptus plantations offer a stark contrast to the hurly-burly of surrounding native forests. The trees, lined up like regiments of soldiers on 3.5 million hectares around the country, have been bred over decades to grow quickly.

• Blue whales rebound in the Pacific
• Few genes found linked to IQ
• Benefactors to support CO2monitoring

On 4 September, a public hearing will consider bringing an even more vigorous recruit into the ranks: genetically engineered eucalyptus that produces around 20% more wood than conventional trees and is ready for harvest in five and a half years instead of seven. Brazilian regulators are evaluating the trees for commercial release; a decision could come as early as the end of this year.

Researchers, businesses and activists are watching closely. Eucalyptus (Eucalyptus spp.) — native to Australia — is grown on about 20 million hectares throughout the tropics and subtropics, and approval of the genetically engineered trees in Brazil could encourage their adoption elsewhere. “It would have ripple effects worldwide,” says Zander Myburg, who studies the genetics of forest trees at the University of Pretoria in South Africa. “Everybody will pay attention.”

So far, no genetically modified tree from a major commercial species has been deployed on a large scale. The ubiquity of eucalyptus makes Brazil’s decision on the modified trees a special concern to environmental activists who oppose the use of genetically modified crops.

“They have become the target of very intensive and emotionally charged debate particularly among the NGOs and nature constituencies,” says Walter Kollert, a forestry officer with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations in Rome.

A consortium of activists opposed to the plan intends to present a letter at the 4 September meeting, urging Brazil’s National Technical Biosafety Commission to reject the trees. In all, 259 organizations — 106 of them from Latin America — have signed the letter, which expresses concern that the trees pose risks to the environment and will encourage the expansion of plantations.

Related stories

• India stalls on GM crops
• GM maize splits Mexico
• Paper claiming GM link with tumours republished

More related stories

The trees were developed by FuturaGene, a biotechnology firm in Rehovot, Israel, that was spun out of the Hebrew University in Jerusalem in 1993. The company found that certain proteins accelerate plant growth by facilitating cell-wall expansion. FuturaGene inserted into eucalyptus a gene that encodes one such protein from thale cress (Arabidopsis thaliana), a common laboratory plant. In 2010, the firm was bought by Suzano Pulp and Paper of São Paulo, Brazil, one of the world’s largest producers of eucalyptus pulp.

FuturaGene’s chief executive Stanley Hirsch is quick to point out the environmental benefits of his company’s creation. The tree’s speedy growth boosts absorption of carbon dioxide from the air by about 12%, he says, aiding in the fight to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions. The genetically modified trees may also require less land to produce the same amount of wood, reducing the conversion of natural forest into plantations.

Hirsch says that the company has tried to avoid public-relations mistakes made by agricultural biotechnology companies in the past: rather than shun activists, he has invited them to tour the company’s field-trial sites. “Some of them were so surprised,” he says. “They said, ‘Wow, these look just like normal trees’.”

Hirsch’s pitch has not convinced everyone. Anne Petermann, executive director of the non-profit organization Global Justice Ecology Project in Buffalo, New York, says that FuturaGene is trying to stave off opposition by ‘greenwashing’ its product. Faster-growing trees require more water and extract more nutrients from the soil, she adds, and they will only add to the economic incentive to seed more plantations.

Genetically engineered trees do pose some biosafety issues that do not apply to agricultural crops such as maize (corn) or soya, notes forest geneticist Steven Strauss of Oregon State University in Corvallis. They remain in the environment for years, increasing their potential impact on the plants, animals and soil around them. And trees tend to disperse pollen further than crops nearer the ground do, raising concerns about gene flow to native relatives. But eucalyptus has no native relatives in Brazil and is not particularly invasive in most areas of the country, says Strauss.

FuturaGene says that it identified no major environmental problems in eight years of field trials that collected data on everything from gene flow to leaf-litter decomposition to the composition of honey made by bees that visit the trees. Myburg, who does not work with FuturaGene but is familiar with the company’s safety data, says that he found the firm’s studies to be well designed and thorough.

While FuturaGene tests the waters in Brazil, a US company awaits a regulatory decision regarding its genetically engineered, freeze-tolerant eucalyptus. In 2008, ArborGen of Ridgeville, South Carolina, petitioned the US Department of Agriculture to allow commercialization of the trees in the southeastern United States. Delays of this length are not uncommon in the US regulatory system, says ArborGen’s director of regulatory affairs Leslie Pearson.

For now, just the prospect that the trees might be approved has been enough to rally activists. “The fact that there are now two commercial applications has the movement against genetically modified trees mobilizing quickly in many regions,” says Petermann. “We know we’re going to be seeing a lot more coming out from this industry.”

FG-SME Funding to Facilitate Market Expansion For Agric Produce

The need to ensure market availability for agric produce has spurred the provision of funds by the Federal Government to support Small and Medium Scale Entrepreneurs in order to boost their operations.
This was disclosed by the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina at the commissioning of OAMSAL High Quality Cassava Flour Processing factory at Ayede, Ekiti

.

Mr. Femi Salami (MD Oamsal HQCF plant), Mrs. Toyin Adetunji (ATA cassava value chain consultant), Mr. Jide Arowosafe (Agric Commissioner, Ekiti), Dr. Akin Adesina (HMA),  (BOI Staff) and Mr. Titus Efuntoye, (desk officer, cassava, FMARD)
According to him, 35 SMEs would get one million Naira each from the Cassava Bread Fund which will be disbursed by the Bank of Industry (BoI), to enable them achieve optimum entrepreneurial performance.
Validating the potential of Agribusiness, the Managing Director and Chief Executive officer of OAMSAL Nigeria Ltd, Mr. Femi Salami, revealed that he had resigned from a job in the financial sector to become a young farmer and entrepreneur. “Presently, I am an employer of labour, and have no regrets at going into farming”, Salami noted.
Speaking at the occasion, the Ekiti State Commissioner for Agriculture, Mr. Jide Arowosafe  praised the Minister for his immense contribution towards developing agriculture in the country.

Anambra’s Economic Future is Pinioned on Agriculture…Princess Stella Oduah

The economic destiny of Anambra state is hinged on the development of the state’s agro-allied business. This was the view expressed  by the country’s immediate past Minister of Aviation, Princess Stella Oduah while addressing agricultural stakeholders in the state.
She identified robust entrepreneurship buoyed by investment in agriculture as the surest way to lift communities in Anambra out of poverty. In Oduah’s words, “Our people have innate skills in aspects of agriculture like crop farming, fishery, agro-allied business and education, but it is regrettable that these skills and potentials remain largely untapped”. The former Minister  stressed the need for an alignment of factors to help trigger the much anticipated agricultural transformation in the state, “we need good people, policies and programmes to help us tap these potentials,” she noted.
Still on the issue, Oduah added  that the entire Anambra-North senatorial zone should have farm settlements and storage/collection centres with power plants to provide energy to the storage facilities. She however praised  the Federal Government for approving cargo terminals in airports and export processing zones across the country, noting that with the approval of cargo terminals in Asaba and Owerri, the zone will begin the export of perishable agricultural goods to different parts of the world. “These facilities will make it easier for those in agriculture and agro-allied business to get their produce and products to the international market”.

40,000 palm seedlings distributed to farmers in Imo

A total of 40,000 palm seedlings have been distributed to commercial farmers in Imo State by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture under the Agricultural Transformation Agenda (ATA).

Supervising the exercise held at Imo State Polytechnic, Umuagwo in
Ohaji/Egbema Local Government Area, a director in the ministry, Mr Clement Iwunze, disclosed that the programme was organised in conjunction with the Imo Ministry of Agriculture.
Iwunze who said the idea is to replace old palm trees with new ones, added that each commercial farmer in the state is expected to receive 450 seedlings, assuring that the replacement of the old trees with new ones will enhance production.
General Manager of Imo Fruit and Palms, MrNnadozieUdensi, noted that the state government had earlier rolled out a programme known as ‘Palm to palm’ where it encouraged people to engage in palm plantation, saying that very soon the state would experience palm revolution.
The National President, Oil Palm Farmers of Nigeria, Igwe Hilary Uche, described the palm seedlings distribution as a veritable programme that should be monitored for its success.
He urged officials of federal and state agricultural ministries to engage the services of agric extension workers to educate farmers on the effective planting and maintenance of palm seedlings for good results, adding, “There are technicalities involved in palm planting and maintenance. If these farmers are not adequately educated and supported, the programme will be a waste.” [DAILY TRUST]

Nigeria-Kenya Agribusiness Partnership Forum set for launch in Nairobi, Kenya

With the vision to foster long term socio-economic growth of Nigeria and Kenya through private sector driven investments in agriculture and agribusiness, an agreement was made by the Presidents of both countries for the formation of the Nigeria-Kenya Agribusiness Partnership.
The partnership which has been encouraged by the Nigerian Minister of Agriculture – Dr. Akinwumi Adesina is to serve as a public-private sector institutional platform to help drive investments in agriculture and agribusiness between both countries.
The Nigerian Agribusiness Group – NABG, which has been charged with the responsibility to coordinate and guide the implementation of key objectives and deliverables of the Nigeria-Kenya Agribusiness Partnership Forum is set to arrive Nairobi, Kenya on the 10^th of September 2014.
The launch of the forum will promote increased global competitiveness, jobs and wealth creation in Nigeria and Kenya.

Got An Agribusiness Initiative? Enter For AGCO Africa Ambassador 2015 Contest to Win $10,000

AGCO Corporation, a global leader in Agriculture is organizing the AGCO Africa Ambassador contests to find one individual who will represent Africa in its programs for a one year period.
Do you have a business initiative or innovative idea that could help to develop your community or even the agricultural sector in #Africa? Do you enjoy #publicspeaking? Enter the video contest and be our next Ambassador! Your video entries are welcome from now on until October 17th, 2014 at 6pm EST.
Read the contest rules and connect to our other channels here: http://africa-ambassador.com/
Contest Rules
No Purchase necessary to enter or win!
Requirements
• Minimum age: twenty-one (21) years old
• Proof of African origin and valid passport from an African country
• Present residence in an African country
• Fluent in spoken English
• Some experience with speaking in front of a large audience
• No record of criminal behavior including crimes of moral turpitude or which might bring AGCO into disrepute
• No membership in extreme, radical or violent groups including but not limited to groups which advocate the violent overthrow of any government
• No human rights offenses

Must be available to participate in both Events: International Green Week Fair (January 16-25, 2015) and AGCO Africa Summit (January 19, 2015)
• Must be eligible to receive a visa to enter Germany during the Event
• May not be an employee or immediate family member of an employee with AGCO
• Eligible Participants may enter the Program by creating and submitting a video of themselves explaining why they should be chosen to act as the AGCO Africa Ambassador to Germany during the Event.
• The video must not contain obscenities or other objectionable content.
• Eligible Participants may enter as many times as they chooses so long as each Submission offers different content and perspective from a previous Submission by the Eligible Participant.
Multiple entries of the same Submission will result in disqualification.
• Your video should be uploaded on our Youtube page www.youtube.com/agcocorp as a video response to the contest video, posted on our AGCO Africa Ambassador Facebook page
www.facebook.com/AfricaAmbassador or Twitter page www.twitter.com/AGCOAmbassador or sent directly via email to info@africa-ambassador.com
• Submissions must be no less than thirty (30) seconds and/or no more than three (3) minutes in length.
• Men and women are welcome to participate in the contest
Winning
• Qualification for the contest begins on August 15th, 2014 at 10 am EST and ends on October 17th, 2014 at 6 pm EST.
• Submissions will be approved, judged and decided on by the AGCO marketing team. The announcement of the winner takes place on November 17th, 2014 on the Facebook page
www.facebook.com/AfricaAmbassador. Eligible Participants accept and acknowledge that the decision of the Judges is final.
Prize
• Hosting the AGCO Africa Summit on January 19, 2015 in Berlin, Germany.
• Representing your continent for AGCO as an AGCO Africa Ambassador at the International Green Week fair in Berlin, Germany from January 16-25, 2015.
• Responsibility in regular reporting (bi-weekly) about trends and developments in African agriculture and economy as well as AGCO‘s activities in Africa on Facebook and Twitter in posts, uploads and video messages during the one year contract period (when appropriate, participation at AGCO events in Africa).
• $10,000.00 cash award at the beginning of the one-year contract.
• Reimbursement for all reasonable traveling expenses solely related to participation as the AGCO Africa Ambassador

Breakdown and Modalities of the Agricultural Mechanization Programme – All you need to know

In a bid to speed up full establishment of the 1,200 private sector driven Agricultural Equipment Hiring Enterprises (AEHE) across the states of the Federation the Presidency gave a directive to CBN to set aside ₦50 billion for the establishment of an Agricultural Mechanization Fund that will make credit available to farmers to mechanize their agricultural processes.
The beneficiaries of the mechanization subsidy are Nigerian farmers who are registered under the National Farmers Data Base.
The mechanization subsidy is targeted at small scale (subsistence) farmers with farm holdings ranging from 0.5 to 4 ha who have the desire to mechanize their farm operations.
Government will pay certain percentage of the cost of land preparations to mechanization service providers on behalf of farmers through the e-wallet system. This will enhance farmer’s productive capacity which will subsequently transform them from the subsistence farmers (using crude implements) to commercial farmers in line with the ATA 2015 target.

Breakdown  on the Private Sector Driven Agricultural Mechanization Programme
The Agricultural Mechanization Programme is a strategy put in place to set up Agricultural Equipment Hiring Enterprise (AEHE) in strategic locations to render farm gate mechanization services to Nigerian Farmers.
Agricultural Equipment Hiring Enterprise (AEHE) is to provide value added services, such as leasing/hiring out of various kinds of agricultural equipment for land preparation, harvesting and post-harvesting, repairs and maintenance of such equipment and as an incubator for training of personnel within farming communities.
Farmers can walk into an AEHE center and lease/hire agricultural machines to mechanize his/her farm operations for a fee without necessarily owning such machines.
Project Partners under the PPP that set up AEHE

• Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development
• BOA and Development Agencies
• Financial Institutions
• Agro-machineries vendors / manufacturer’s representatives
• Service Providers Operators (farmers, farmer’s cooperatives, individuals and NGOs

Equipments in the AEHE Centre

• A minimum of five tractors
• Five power tillers
• Harvest and post-harvest equipment tailored towards predominant crops in the location

The refinancing funding plan for SPOs:

• Federal Government Funding loan – 35%
• Financial Institutions – 35%
• Vendors / Manufacturer’s Rep – 10%
• SPOs Equity – 20%

Tenure of funding loan, interest rate and repayment plan

• This refinancing loan to SPOs is repayable within four (4) years
• The Interest rate for the on-going Mechanization Intervention Programme (MIP) is 7% and it is subject to review beyond the MIP
• The first 2 years will be used to repay the Vendors 10% and BOA 35%
• Government loan will be repaid within the remaining 2years, with two years moratorium on both capital and interest.

Conditions for off-take of AEHE by the SPOs

• SPOs must provide 20% equity of the cost of an AEHE
• The AEHE Centre must be driven by the Private Sector Service Provider Operators (SPOs) in the conformity with project guidelines
• The location of the centre must be strategic to farming community with proven needs for mechanized services
• The SPOs must have fenced office / workshop where the services can be accessed by the farmers
• There must be Cooperative / commercial farmers who will be ready to off – take these services from the centre
• Readiness to insure the equipment with reputable Insurance Company
• SPOs must meet NIRSAL Mechanization Requirement to enjoy the 35% support from the Bank of Agriculture

Default and Penalty
If an SPO defaults in loan repayment as amortized after a grace period, the equipments in the AEHEs will be repossessed by the Ministerial Mechanization Task Force under the Agricultural Equipment Buy Back Scheme of the Project.
Such equipment will be refurbished and sold at a value commensurate to the default amount to offset the balance of the loan.
Potential Agro-machinery vendor
Agricultural machinery manufacturer’s representatives / vendors are dealers of mechanized farm equipments in the country that are considered as strategic partners in the Mechanization Project by providing their brands of equipment on the condition that:

• Agro-machineries manufacturer’s representative / vendor in the country must have a standard workshop
• Commitment to counterpart funding as stipulated by the project outline
• Ability to market the equipment brand to SPOs
• Vendor’s with after sales service strategy acceptable to the project
• Readiness of manufacturers to set up a Semi-Knock Down Plant in the country
• Evidence of availability of a minimum of 50 units of tractors within Nigeria

AGRO-MACH. DTC
Agro-Machinery Data Tracking Centre (Agro-Mach DTC.) is the state of the art agro-equipment data bank designed to keep track and inventory of all agricultural machinery deployed under this scheme and beyond to include all agro-machineries in the country to enable the country determine her agricultural mechanization level in terms of intensity and density.
Government Exit
The forces of demand and supply will interplay to decide when Government will exit from the project and hand it over completely to the private sector players while performing a regulatory role.

Proper Weed Management Can Increase Farm Harvest…Alfred Dixon

With the incessant menace caused by weeds on cassava, Dr. Alfred Dixon, an expert on weed management has called for the use of an integrated weed management approach as a means of safeguarding farm productivity.
Dr. Dixon, who also is  Project Leader, Sustainable Weed Management Technologies for Cassava Systems in Nigeria asserted this while briefing news men in Ibadan recently.
AgroNigeria’s Kehinde Osasona reports that the cassava researcher urged farmers to consider the integrated approach which, like the name implies, involves different methods of weed control. According to Dixon, ‘‘integrating legumes into the system as well as safe and judicious use of herbicides is recommended, especially for large scale farms”. He goes on to underscore the fact that good and sustainable weed management in cassava systems require careful and proper planning and enjoined practitioners to seek  professional advice once they are not sure of what to do. Noting that “with proper land preparation, weed wouldn’t be a problem to contend with but a poorly prepared seed bed would lead to high weed pressure and poor root yield”.
To this end, Dr. Dixon stated that farmers need to seek help from experts such as extension professionals, on the type of herbicide to use as well as the quantity and correct time to use the herbicides. “All that the farmer needs to know is whether the dominant weeds are broadleaved or grasses, whether they grow from year to year (perennials) or die after a season (annual).
This information is very helpful in planning weed control programmes” Dixon further emphasized while adding that farmers must be educated on the risks involved and the need to understand the type of weed vegetation in their farm(s), this being an important factor to consider in the aggregate weed management process.