RIFAN

Alhaji Sadiq Umar-Daware, the Chairman, North East Commodity Association (NECAS) says hoodlums who took advantage of the EndSARS protests, have carted away 110 new tractors and implements from the association’s warehouse in Yola.

Umar-Daware, who made this known in an interview with News Agency of Nigeria in Abuja, said the hoodlums also broke into the main warehouses of the Rice Farmers Association, Maize Farmers Association of Nigeria, also made away with farm inputs.

He said the hoodlums broke into another warehouse filled with fertilisers and carted away several bags and farm implements arranged for distribution to farmers to commence the planting season.

“They not only took tonnes of produce, they also made away with the farm inputs for the dry season farming and the offices of Rice Farmers Association, Maize Farmers Association of Nigeria (MFAN) and the NECAS were also looted and vandalised.

“Files for various programmes were destroyed and they made away with various documents,’’ he said.

According to Umar-Daware, NECAS has many tractors because it was incorporated to provide among other services, tractor leasing and mechanisation service for farmers.

“What they took away include tonnes of rice, beans, maize, sorghum and millets, and computers, tables, chairs, office equipment, water dispenser and cash,’’ he said.

Umar-Daware said that complaints were laid to the some security agencies but they did not respond.

“Based on our own findings, they have kept some of the tractors in some people’s garages and when reports were made the response was not favourable,’’ he said.

Umar-Daware described the act as extremely dangerous and inimical to the mechanisation services to farmers and development agriculture aimed at ensuring food security.

He, however, urged people in Adamawa and its environs to be on the lookout for anybody in possession of the tractors and report to NECAS, RIFAN and MFAN officials for recovery and necessary action.

NAN reports that NECAS is involved in agriculture-related services and human capacity development across the North-East region States of Adamawa, Bauchi, Borno, Gombe, Taraba, and Yobe.

Since its establishment in 2018, the association has expanded its scope of activities, especially through the Federal Government, CBN’s Anchor Borrowers’ Programme (ABP), mechanisation drive, partnerships with development agencies. 

Edited By: Grace Yussuf
Source: NAN

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and Rice Farmers Association of Nigeria (RIFAN), disturbed by the increase in price of rice, have concluded plans to crash the price in all markets across the country.

Dr Musa Olasupo, an Assistant Director in CBN and a member, CBN Rice Value Team made this known on Tuesday in an interview with News Agency of Nigeria in Abuja.

He said that RIFAN had assured CBN that Nigerians should expect between nine and 11 million metric tonnes of rice by the end of the year with the support of the bank.

Olasupo said that CBN had financed the construction of rice mills to support food self-sufficiency and security.

He said that the multi-billion naira, 32 tonnes-per hour mill being constructed by the Lagos state government at Imota, “has reached 80 per cent completion and will be completed before the end of the year’’.

He said that Nigeria’s quest for self-sufficiency in rice production had continued to be hampered by issues around quality, price instability and harvesting/processing challenges, among others.

“The bank started the funding process since 2015 and it will continue to fund the millers as part of government’s efforts at revamping agriculture to crash price of rice.

“Once the millers are able to produce more, price will continually come down until it attains an equilibrium,’’ he said.

He said that the bank was determined to support any entrepreneurial initiative aimed at ensuring food security and safeguard the country’s foreign exchange from endless importation of rice available in different varieties locally.

The official said CBN was also funding other rice mills including Labana Rice Mills in Kebbi State and Umza Rice Mill in Kano State, while Dangote Farms was also constructing five mills; two in Jigawa and one each in Kebbi, Zamfara and Sokoto states.

Olasupo said that establishing bigger mills across the country had become imperative so that farmers would grow more paddies to feed the mills and crash the price of rice.

He said that rice consumption in Delta, Benin, Rivers, Beyalsa would be growing to more than 200 million metric tonnes; so there was need to encourage more people build rice mill in the Niger Delta region.

Olasupo said that CBN and management of Bayero University Kano (BUK) had begun talks on how to develop a comprehensive blue print to fund rice production and processing in commercial quantity in the university.

Alhaji Aminu Goronyo, the National President of RIFAN told NAN that the volume of rice production needed to increase from 6.9 million tonnes per annum to 10 million considering the ever growing population.

He said the CBN was intervening in various ways to crash the price and urged Nigerians not to panic, assuring that in the next few weeks the price of rice would come down as markets would be flooded with local brands of rice.

Goronyo said through the financial effort and the involvement of the CBN and RIFAN, the prices of milled rice would fall.

He said the increase in the price of rice was associated with the high foreign exchange rate to buy inputs, the coronavirus lockdown and floods.

“Things will soon go back to normalcy as the dry season farming will commence by the end of October and this will compensate for whatever that is happening in any location and take care of all the losses.

“Even though we have issue of banditry, this year, there is also a massive production of rice, people have planted en-masse.

“Every little space that can produce rice has been cultivated; so that will compensate for whatever that is happening in any location,’’ he said.

Edited By: Nick Nicholas/Grace Yussuf
Source: NAN

The Rice Farmers Association of Nigeria (RIFAN) has attributed the recent hike in the price of locally processed rice to the upcoming festive season, vendors and off-takers.

The Deputy National President of RIFAN, Mr Segun Atho, told the News Agency of Nigeria on Tuesday in Lagos that many rice vendors were stocking the commodity ahead of the Yuletide.

“The recent hike in the price of locally processed rice is seasonal because so many rice vendors are stocking for the upcoming festive season.

“This is the peak period for the sales of rice because we are heading toward December.

“ Every trader will like to maximise profits during the Yuletide.’’

He said that when December or any festive period is approaching, most foodstuff sellers used to jerk up the prices of their food items.

“ It is a recurrent issue and not the fault of local farmers.

“The off takers and suppliers of local rice should be held responsible for the recent hike in the cost of locally processed rice.

Atho said that the members of his association were still producing local rice for the country and had never stopped for one day.

“Being in the primary sector of production, we hope that in the nearest future, the prices will stabilise.”

The farmer also appealed to the government to help regulate the price of local rice by subsidising the commodity for the populace.

He called for a Guaranteed Minimum Price (GMP) for the commodity while calling for government’s assistance in mechanised land clearing for local rice farmers.

He said that such an assistance would help in reducing the cost normal incurred through local production of rice.

“We have been making appeals to the government to step into the situation to ensure that food prices become more affordable.

“There should be subsidy in food prices to cushion the effects of the price hike. Other countries do it, and our government should take a cue from them.

“Local rice farmers in the southern part of the country want the government to assist them in land clearing for cultivation.’’

Atho said that such would help to reduce the price hike, adding that it was costing them so much to clear land for cultivation.

“Using cutlasses and hoes to clear our farms before cultivation cannot boost local rice production.

“We need the government to assist us in mechanising the process, especially, in the southern part of the country.

“We also need to adopt the GMP as farmers to aid an regulate local rice price across the country, so that farmers will not sell above the benchmark price.

“The government can also help to regularise the price by buying-up all that rice farmers will produce and sell to the public at subsidised price.”

He called on more people to venture into agriculture to help regulate the prices of food items.

“The youth, women and men should be involved in agriculture: the more, the merrier”.

He added that with more people venturing into local rice production and processing, there would be competition in prices which would result in a Guaranteed Minimum Price (GMP).

DMO/

Edited By: Bola Akingbehin/Peter Dada
Source: NAN

The Federal Government introduced the Anchor Borrowers’ Programme (ABP) on Nov. 17, 2015 to boost farming activities that can result in food security, economic stability and less dependence on oil.

The ABP focuses on the provision of farm inputs in kind and cash, for farm labour, to smallholder farmers (SHF) to boost production of the targeted commodities.

At harvest time, the SHF supplies his produce to the Agro-processor (referred to as the anchor) who pays the cash equivalent into the farmer’s bank account.

The ABP concept is like the contract-farmer concept which has been found to be effective in India.

The pilot programme was carried out in Kebbi, where more than 80,000 small holder farmers benefitted with farm yields as high as 7.5 tonnes to 8.0 tonnes per hectare compared with less than 2.0 tonnes per hectare previously obtained.

The ABP was launched by President Muhammadu Buhari with the objective of creating a linkage between anchor companies and smallholder farmers involved in processing of the required key agricultural commodities.

Specifically, the objective is the provision of inputs with the goal of boosting the production of rice, maize, poultry, sorghum, cassava, tomatoes and cotton, among others.

Speaking during the launch of the programme and flag-off of the 2015 dry season farming season in Birnin-Kebbi, Kebbi, Buhari frowns at the huge sums spent by Nigeria on the importation of food items that could be produced locally, stressing that the N1 trillion importation bill is no longer sustainable.

While recalling the pride of place that agriculture enjoys in the country’s economy, the President says the current reality in the global oil market leaves Nigeria with no option than to diversify into other productive sectors.

The president, who also emphasises the implication of falling oil prices for Nigeria’s foreign reserve, says the situation underscores the need for Nigeria and Nigerians to diversify the productive and revenue base of the country’s economy and conserve her foreign reserve by curbing the appetite for imported goods that can easily be produced locally.

He observes that ABP will close the gap between the levels of local rice production and domestic consumption, as well as complement the Growth Enhancement Support (GES) Scheme of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture by graduating GES farmers from subsistence farming to commercial production.

The targeted commodities of comparative advantage to the states involved in the programme shall include but not limited to cereals, especially rice, maize, and wheat; cotton, roots and tubers such as cassava, potatoes, yam, and ginger, sugarcane, tree crops such as oil palm, cocoa, rubber; legumes such as soybean, sesame seed and cowpea, tomato and livestock; such as fish, poultry, and ruminants.

The programme, on the platform of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), has committed more than N190 billion and has supported more than 1.5 million farmers across the 36 states of the country in cultivating 16 different commodities on more than 1.2 million hectares of farmland.

CBN Gov. Godwin Emefiele says that the bank has also disbursed the huge amount as loans under the ABP programme since its inception in 2015.

Emefiele says the bank in recent years has played an active role in stimulating growth in the agricultural sector because ABP has been a major platform designed to achieve this objective.

Alhaji Kabir Ibrahim, National President, All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN) describes the programme as very good and beneficial to many farmers.

Ibrahim advocates that the programme should be extended to more farmers, observing that farmers should be brought on board to be involved in the administration as stakeholders.

He says the programme has assisted in stemming illegal importation of food and AFAN views this as an incentive to local farmers to operate optimally while ensuring national food security.

The AFAN president says the programme is a good effort by the government to protect local farmers by banning importation of food items that the local farmers have comparative advantage in production.

Ogun State Governor, Dapo Abiodun describes the programme as a fight against food insecurity, noting that in the state, a total of 2,947 farmers were credited with N500 million in March by the CBN while 900 farmers were credited with about N180 million in April.

Abiodun announces that the ABP’s 2020 planting season and distribution of inputs has been inaugurated in Ogun and 12,800 square kilometres of arable land will be cultivated to provide jobs and ensure food security by supporting the youth and farmers.

Alhaji Sani Danladi-Yadakwari, Chairman, Tomato Growers Association of Nigeria, Kano State chapter, says the association has distributed seedlings to 10,000 tomato growers who registered on the platform of the ABP.

Similarly, the National Vice-President of the National Cotton Association of Nigeria, Alhaji Munzali Taura, says out of the 151,000 beneficiaries of the programme across 28 states, Kano and Jigawa have 94,000.

The President of Rice Farmers Association, Alhaji Aminu Goronyo commends the move of the CBN in its bid to strengthen local production of major agricultural products, including its ban on access to foreign exchange for importers of several agricultural products such as rice, palm oil and recently dairy products that are produced locally.

Goronyo says these steps will go a long way in making Nigeria self-sufficient in food production and gradually become a net exporter of the produce.

Irrespective of the benefits of the programme, findings indicate that some of the farmers that benefited from the loans distributed since 2015 have yet to pay back.

The structure of the ABP on loan repayment indicates that any farmer who wants to repay the loan can either do so with cash or give the CBN his produce of same value, after which officials of CBN’s Development Finance Department will sell and recover the loan.

For the cotton farmers to repay the government loan, each farmer is expected to give back, 25 bags of 40 kilogrammes of the cotton harvested, which is an equivalent of the amount received as loan.

On repayment of ABP loan by farmers, an authoritative agriculture expert in the apex bank who wants to remain anonymous discloses that it has been very poor.

“The issue has turned particularly sour in many states as some state governments have taken defaulting farmers to court,’’ he observes.

But some of the farmers note that their inability to repay the loan has been caused by incidents of flooding, invasion of farms by pests and the effects of COVID-19 pandemic.

President of Maize Association of Nigeria, Dr Bello Abubakar-Annur, says that his members participated in the 2019 ABP credit facilities for the first time, but unfortunately, COVID-19 pandemic has truncated the repayment of the loans.

Mohammed Augie, Chairman, Kebbi branch of RIFAN, confirms that out of the 70,000 small holder farmers that benefitted from the ABP loans in 2015, only about 200 farmers were able to repay their loans.

He recalls that in 2019, the CBN reminded members of the National Cotton Association of Nigeria, Kano branch that participated in ABP to refund the loans.

Also, some farmers note that the key challenges found to be threatening the success and sustainability of ABP include delays in disbursement of funds by deposit money banks, inadequate personnel and institutional framework, side-selling of harvested paddy rice by SHFs, undue involvement of state governments, and poor rural infrastructure.

Malam Abdullahi Kura, one of the beneficiaries, notes that the recovery process was not encouraging as most of the beneficiaries are not willing to pay back, because they see the fund as a form of personal entitlement or national cake that is to be consumed free of charge.

Kura observes that most of the farmers have harvested their cotton long before the raining season and as such, they should pay back.

Many of the beneficiaries also complain that loans were disbursed after the farming season, thus reducing their ability to pay back, while some assert that the finer details of the scheme are unclear with misinformation level very high.

Mrs Lizzy Igbine, National Leader, Nigerian Women Agro Allied Farmers Association, describes the programme as not well planned, alleging that it has cumbersome procedures for small holder farmers.

Igbine lists other problems to include poor availability of capital to mobilise farmers of the same crop in a particular area or zone.

She declares that the many loopholes in the programme have made the operators who are now the middlemen to hijack the programme and disorganise the concept.

There have been divergent opinions on the implementation of the programme by many of the stakeholders in the agricultural sector.

The Chairman, Senate Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development, Sen. Abdullahi Adamu, criticises the ABP, saying that the apex bank is not in the best position to implement it.

Adamu who spoke at the 2019 National Agricultural Show and World Food Day celebration in Karu, Nasarawa State, said that the Federal Ministry of Agriculture should be allowed to take over the ABP for it to properly reach the intended beneficiaries.

This view is shared by many stakeholders and political office holders concerned about the country’s agriculture and the ABP with a call for synergy between CBN and the ministry to deepen the impact of the programme.

Adamu notes that the programme cannot be said to be completely successful because it is not being operated by the appropriate government agency.

He says the revival and the involvement of the agricultural research institutes in the ABP has also become imperative because they have a vital role to play to enhance agricultural production.

The senator, however, commends the efforts of government in banning importation of food items that local farmers have comparative advantage in their production as this will protect local farmers.

Dr Sani Turaki, former Managing Director, Bank of Agriculture, says that many farmers are struggling with loan repayments, and several thousands have already defaulted on their obligations.

Turaki says that even if the programme has good concept, the execution is very faulty and it has not met the target, rather it has succeeded in creating a lot of indebtedness to farmers.

He, therefore, calls for a proper beneficiary monitoring mechanism for the ABP with an adequate and robust regulatory framework that supervises the implementation and operation of the programme for it to achieve its purpose.

All in all, observers note that while ABP is an agriculture revolutionary programme that will take Nigeria to an enviable global height in agricultural production, it requires sincerity and patriotism of stakeholders and beneficiaries to succeed.(NANFeatures)

**If used, please credit the writer as well as News Agency of Nigeria

Mr Etim Nakanda, Chairman, All Farmers’ Association of Nigeria (AFAN) in the state says that the present administration has performed well in the sector, through its policies and programmes.

Nakanda commends the Federal Government for initiating programmes meant to assist farmers in boosting crop production.

“I must commend the present administration for its various programmes in the agricultural sector. It has really done well,” he said.

Nakanda however, advised the government to put into practice most of its policies, saying that, there is little impact at the local government levels.

“I must say that, the efforts of the government are rarely felt in the local government areas.

“There are no fertilizer; no input distribution and above all, the average farmer still uses hoes and cutlasses,’’ he said.

Nakanda appealed to the Federal Government to provide tractors for each local government area in Nigeria for mechanized agriculture.

Mr. Oliver Ntui, Chairman, Rice Farmers Association of Nigeria (RIFAN), Cross River branch also praised the Federal Government’s rice intervention programme, saying the initiative saved the nation during the COVID-19 lockdown.

Ntui told NAN that the local rice production sustained Nigerians during the lockdown.

“Everywhere was locked down without movement and importation but the local rice production sustained the economy and I want to say thank you to Mr. President, ” he said.

According to him, through RIFAN, and the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) Anchor Borrowers Scheme 2020, rice farmers in the state received various inputs.

Ntui said the inputs include organic fertilizer, agro-chemicals, knapsack sprayers and pumping machines which boosted rice production geometrically.

Also speaking, Mr. Godshield Kanjal, Chief Executive Officer of Kalmz Farms, lauded the government’s agricultural initiatives.

“I think the Federal Government is really trying its best but more still need to be done, especially in ensuring that these lofty programmes get to rural farmers.

“This will attract women and the youth to embrace farming,’’ Kanjal said.

In his own assessment, the Deputy Speaker of Cross River House of Assembly, Mr. Joseph Bassey, urged President Muhammadu Buhari to restructure the security system in order to safeguard lives and properties of Nigerians.

Bassey, who represents Calabar 1 Constituency notes that insecurity has continued to threaten the peace and economic growth of the country.

He notes that with an effective security network, businesses will thrive and development of all sectors will be enhanced.

Bassey emphasizes the need for security chiefs to improve on intelligence gathering to stem the tide of insecurity in the country.

He laments that most Nigerians have been displaced from their ancestral homes due to activities of bandits and Boko Haram, especially in the North East region.

The Deputy Speaker suggests that the nation’s security apparatus should be the overhauled to bring in new hands with fresh ideas to tackle insurgency and banditry across the country.

“For me, I think there is a lot to be done in the area of security. The military and all relevant security agencies must rise up and stop these insurgents from killing innocent Nigerians.

“As a country, we need to have a sincere approach towards dealing with matters of insecurity. The issue of killings across the country is taking another dimension and these should be a thing of concern to all of us.

“Nigerian soldiers are one of the most gallant military forces in the world when it comes to ground battle. I want to urge the military to come out with new operational strategies towards handling these issues of banditry and Boko Haram.

“The President should overhaul the security chiefs and bring in new hands because the present ones seem to be running out of ideas or lacking the necessary zeal to go further with the operation,’’ Bassey said.

Another lawmaker, Mr. Hilary Bisong, who represents Boki 2 State Constituency in the state assembly, praises the President for the rehabilitation of the Obubra-Ikom Federal Highway in the state.

Bisong however, appealed to the President to release more funds to contractors to enable them to return to site and continue their work.

He notes that good roads network drives commerce and other economic activities and also prevents road crashes, hence the need for more attention to be paid to road infrastructure.

“Cross River is blessed with abundant natural resources that generate revenue to the Federal Government coffers.

“It is not pleasing to see that our roads have become death traps years after years. The quarries in Akamkpa are taken to other states, yet our roads have remained in a deplorable state,” Bisong laments. .

Reporters/

Edited By: Dianabasi Effiong/Razak Owolabi
Source: NAN

Borno  has the capacity to deliver Nigeria’s rice requirements with continuous support by the Federal Government, Alhaji Bulama Maina, the Chairman of Rice Farmers Association of Nigeria (RIFAN) has said.

Maina made this known on Thursday in an interview with News Agency of Nigeria in Maiduguri.

”Borno has a vast and fertile land for rice and wheat production in Nigeria and West Africa in general. The land along the shores of Lake Chad is fertile and can be cultivated without fertiliser.

“If there is security, farmers can make use of the Chad Basin irrigation schemes in Abadam, New Marte and Dikwa.

”The Jere bowl, comprising 22 000 hectares,  can contribute more than 30 000 tonnes to the country’s rice production annually.

”In fact, the land we have,  no state has in Nigeria and the whole of West Africa. ‘We have over 50,000 registered rice farmers in Borno,” he said.

He also because of the insecurity, only eight out of the 27 Local Government Areas of the state were befitted from the  Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), under its Anchor Borrower scheme.

The scheme is a critical component of the Federal Government’s agriculture transformation programme designed to enhance farmers support services, to achieve self-sufficiency in rice production.

The chairman also said that in 2018,  only 1,300 farmers benefited, while in 2019,  only 2,700 farmers benefited from the programme.

Maina called for necessary action to end the security challenges in Borno.

”We are also calling on the federal government and intervention agencies to establish special programmes for Borno farmers.

”The insurgency has cost us a lot. Farmers  could not key into the various agricultural interventions of the federal government to boost rice production in the state,” he added.

Also speaking to NAN, the State Secretary of RIFAN, Babagana Ali said the association was making efforts to recover the 2019 loans from beneficiaries.

Ali lauded the support given to the state leadership of RIFAN by the National President, Alhaji Aminu Goronyo in the recovery effort.

He called for cooperation of all stakeholders in the state to boost rice production. 

Edited By: Sadiya Hamza
Source: NAN

Mr Kenneth Egbaran, the Managing Director of Veritas Kapital Assurance has assured farmers affected by the 2020 flood in Sokoto State of prompt settlement of their insurance premium to defray their losses. Egbaran made the assurance on Tuesday in an interview with newsmen after he inspected farms affected by flood in Sokoto, Goronyo, Kware, Wamakko and other areas in Sokoto state. The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the farmers comprised members of Maize Association of Nigeria (MAAN), Rice Farmers Association of Nigeria (RIFAN) and National Cotton Farmers Association of Nigeria (NACOFAN). He said the company is a solid leading agricultural insurance company targeted at providing good disaster cover to farming communities in the country. ” We are committed to ensure that farmers losses  were restored, to facilitate increased investments in agricultural value chain. ” We build the capacity of farmers, promote expertise in agric business and ensure partnership with other stakeholders in agricultural sector. ” Veritas Kapital Assurance is committed to actualise federal government’s vision on agricultural development and liase with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and other partners to promote all category of farming toward enduring food security and empowerment. ”  Egbaran said. He said the present exercise was tagged ”Area Yield Index Insurance (AYII) which covers all forms of disasters that might affect harvests. Egbaran said his team has inspected all the affected farmlands to ensure that farmers benefit maximally with the insurance covers agreed according to the modalities. According to him, consultants and supervisors were also deployed to capture benefiting farmers and observe the correct situations on ground, stressing that some teams were deployed to Kebbi. He added that farmers groups provided list of their members and partnered with them in the assessment. The Managing Director explained that farmer premium payments depends on farm sizes, adding that CBN intervened to facilitate success of FG social intervention programmes. In their separate remarks, Sokoto state Chairmen of RIFAN and MAAN, Alhaji Ibrahim Salihu and Alhaji Abubakar Danfoloti, commended Veritas Kapital Assurance for their prompt response. They explained that thousands of their members suffered losses  due to increased rainfall experienced this year and appealed for prompt intervention in order to provide succor to them. The leaders noted that the insurance payment would motivate farmers and encourage them to invest more in agriculture. ——— Edited By: Benson Source: NAN  Iziama/Maharazu Ahmed