Agri-Commodity Business

Benefits of Raw Potato

2018-12-09T04:24:00.000+01:00

CANCER HAS BEEN DEFEATED:

Extremely URGENT ! Please spread this text and benefit the world!

“Cancer can be cured: Vitamin B17”

Cancer has been defeated few decades ago, the truth has simply been concealed.
The cure only started to be publicly known when the internet was developed.

If there is cancer in one’s body, it is of utmost importance to intake big amount of B17.

In today world where the chemotherapy industry is worth 70b USD, those who rely on cancer for a living far outnumbers those who die of cancer.

“There are more and more people whose decease have been cured by raw sweet potato juice treatment”

There are more and more people who manage to cure their decease by drinking raw sweet potato juice, it is said that cancer cells can be effectively controlled.

This treatment was first provided by Japanese Zen monk 富澤知芳, and compiled by Khun 孫建永.
Those who can’t bear to drink can add honey or half an apple.
Heavily ill patients have to be guided by the doctor when consuming this.

Every kind soul who comes cross this alternative treatment should publicize this to benefit the world.

“In this year, there are many cancer patients who are undertaking this treatment, and many of them are recovering gradually, some of those who were thought to be hopeless were saved because of this. They phone in to express the sheer joy from their hearts.”

Zen monk 富澤知芳 who advocates this raw sweet potato treatment receives resounding feedbacks from cancer patients all over Japan, thus he decides to publicize this again. Clinical trials examples of raw sweet potato juice treatment.

Raw sweet potato juice treatment not only can cure cancer, it also cures liver decease, diabetes, gastric ulcer, kidney disease, heart disease, high blood pressure, low back pain and shoulder pain etc. And there are more and more patients with all kinds of deceases being cured by this. If you are being tortured by chronic decease, please give this a try.

Monk 富澤知芳 has a famous book “DO of health – cancer is not scary”, in there he said the following, “Despite undertaking cancer surgery, but because of wearying of cancel cell spreading or imperfect eradication, anti cancer agents or chemotherapy are repeatedly applied. But we seldom heard about anyone having their cancer completely cured. Moreover, the side effects of these treatments are significant, causing people to lose appetite, causing bodies to weaken rapidly, on the contrary, sweet potato treatment has no such side effect, and can recuperate body strength, improve immune system, it really is a highly nutritious food. If applying this treatment over the long time, you can possess the magical power of subduing cancer cells.

Raw sweet potato juice treatment poses no danger. Anyone can implement this immediately, and actually feels the effect within very short span. Those in pain, after drinking sweet potato juice for 1, 2 weeks, the pain will gradually be relieved, those who are not in pain, once persisting this treatment for a while, the appetite will recover, you will look better, and the body strength will slowly recover.

“Procedure of making raw sweet potato juice”

The amount of sweet potato needed for first preparation, big sweet potato 2, 3 pieces, small sweet potato 3, 4 piece.

1. Wash sweet potato cleanly, remove all sprouting parts
“Note: sprouting sweet potato and green stems contain Solanine, could poison people and cause severe stomach inflammation, must be very caustious when consuming it”

2. Grate into pieces (with skin) with vegetable grater, after grating wrap them in clean woven cloth or cotton hemp cloth with big pores, then squeeze it hard to squeeze out juices. Each time, approximately 180-200ml raw juices can be squeezed out.

3. Drink these juice 30-60minutes before breakfast and dinner on an empty stomach. If possible, drink 1 glass before dinner, everytime drink immediately after preparation, and daily persistence is most important.
Those who have weak body, and cannot drink the whole glass in one go, can split the drinking into multiple times. Those who don’t like to just drink raw sweet potato juice, can mix it with about 30ml of enzyme fruit juice or honey, if mixed with apple juice it will be easier to drink.

“Note: Once raw juice is squeezed out it must be finished immediately. Drink for 2 weeks consecutively, the treatment will show effectiveness. After effectiveness is observed, continue to drink.”

But Monk 富澤warns patients sternly, do not treat raw sweet potato juice as medicine. He says, those who drink raw sweet potato juice but not alter their indulgent lifestyles, can be said to see sweet potato as medicine bottles, when they are ill, they don’t control their lifestyles, they just simply hope that deceases will be cured by medicine. We are all sick for a reason, such as gluttony, liking delicious food, unrestrained staying up late, these are all causes for sickness.
Only when you drastically change your previous lifestyle that raw sweet potato juice can be the panacea.

“Analysis of nutrition content of sweet potato”

Sweet potato is seen as “apple of the earth”, obviously it is a highly nutritious food. It contains very rich Vitamin C and calcium, in Germany since antiquity, drinking juice from crushed sweet potato has been used to cure stomach ulcer and incontinence.

Sweet potato contains rich Vitamin C, Vitamin B, iron, phosphorus and calcium. Once vitamin or minerals are absorbed by the body, the blood in blood veins can flow unobstructed. As such, blood pressure can be maintained on a stable level by consistently drinking raw sweet potato juice.

Potassium in the sweet potato can help the body to discharge sodium, thus benefitial to the recuperation of high blood pressure patients and nephritis patients . Sweet potato also contributes to weight loss, maintenance of stomach, improvement of pancrease, hydration of body, relief of inflammation and detoxification.

Furthermore, raw sweet potato juice is observably effective against hay fever, eczema and constipation. Those with chronic liver decease can recover quickly after drinking raw sweet potato juice, severe constipation can be treated. Drinking raw sweet potato juice can eliminate urine protein. Raw sweet potato juice can improve physical strength. Drinking raw sweet potato juice can get rid of chest pain without the needs of medicine. Moreover, stiff shoulder and sore waist will not happen again.

However callous and apathetic you are,
I beg you to forward this article.
Thanks

Sweetpotato Nutriton

2018-10-28T07:15:00.001+01:00

https://www.olivetomato.com/sweet-potato-and-feta-tart/
Vanguard

Sweet potatoes are such a great root vegetable, they have a wonderful bright orange color, they taste great as fries, roasted and pureed and they provide many nutrients. And while the word “sweet” leads us to associate them mostly with a sweet casserole like those served for Thanksgiving with marshmallows, maple syrup and pecans, they also pair well with a good salty cheese such as feta. For this sweet potato tart I went full Greek: plenty of sweet potato chunks roasted with feta and herbs in a phyllo crust.

Sweet potatoes are a good source of fiber and particularly high in vitamin A (in the form of beta-carotene) and vitamin C. Beta-carotene belongs to a group of substances called carotenoids which are pigments that we find in plants and are responsible for their bright colors like the orange in the sweet potato. Beta-carotene keeps our eyes healthy and is good for our skin, it is also associated with protection from several chronic diseases.

Once we consume beta-carotene, it is converted into vitamin A. Beta carotene also has antioxidant activity and fights free radicals that play a role in aging. Beta-carotene is better absorbed when consumed with fat.

This tart is ideal for lunch or a snack, or you can accompany it with a salad for a larger meal.

Does sweet potato work for diabetes?

2018-09-13T22:00:00.002+01:00

Evelyn Bankole Naija.com

If you are a diabetes patient, you have probably heard that sweet potato regulates blood sugar. It’s quite hard to believe it due to the effect of regular potatoes on diabetic patients. Still, sweet potatoes do have a positive effect on diabetes. Check them out below!

Sweet potatoes for blood sugar control

Sweet potatoes contain a lot of food fibers, which are able to slow down the process of digestion and absorption of carbs by the body. Slowing down the digestion process means causing a positive effect of the level of blood glucose. Certainly, this is exactly the effect diabetics search for in their meals!

Regular potatoes contain plenty of carbs and this is why diabetic patients try to avoid them. Sweet potatoes are quite different because they have a power of a different type. Being nourishing and containing carbs, sweet potatoes don’t increase the level of glucose in the blood.

Not all types of sweet potatoes have the same effect. For instance, purple ones can be more effective when it’s necessary to decrease blood sugar level. Japanese sweet potatoes are probably the most effective ones among the existing types. Japanese scientists have even created a remedy for diabetics that’s based on sweet potato extracts.

Sweet potatoes and the amount of carbs

If you are into including sweet potatoes into your diet, you need to know how much you are allowed to eat. To begin with, you need to know both your body better than anybody else and the amount of carbs that makes you feel good enough.

Actually, the amount of carbs you consume with your meals depends on the blood sugar level and other specific features of your individual diabetes. Besides that, the amount of carbs depends on the level of your physical activity. On average, specialists recommend that a person with a normal body weight and a normal amount of physical activity should eat between 45 and 60 grams of carbs within a meal. Sometimes, diabetes sufferers need fewer carbs to control the level of their blood glucose.

In this regard, you need to consider the amount of sweet potato that you can eat within a day, for example. One big sweet potato contains about 37 grams of carbohydrates (if it’s baked without adding anything else). Since it’s almost the entire portion allowed per a meal, you need to plan it so that there are no other carbs in your plate.

Can one eat sweet potato having gestational diabetes?

Pregnant women often suffer from a condition, which is called gestational diabetes. This condition is caused by the fact that pregnancy hormones in a woman’s blood make her body decrease its own insulin resistance. In most cases, after the baby birth, the level of blood glucose returns to the normal one.

Gestational diabetes is like the regular one. It’s necessary to observe the amount of carbohydrates a woman consumes and the level of blood sugar. Sweet potatoes are a great pregnancy replacement for regular potatoes. What’s more, there’s research data, which shows that the risks of the development of gestational diabetes is connected to a high quantity of potato in the pre-pregnancy ration.

Sweet potatoes have a range of positive effects on a pregnant woman’s body and the positive effect on the gestational diabetes is one of the most important. Decreasing the level of blood glucose, fighting constipations and providing the body with plenty of vitamins and minerals – these are the reasons why pregnant women with gestational diabetes should not refuse sweet potatoes.

Effective sweet potato diabetes recipes

Sweet potato smoothie

This is a quick way to have a healthy snack avoiding an abrupt rise of blood glucose at the same time. Take one sweet potato (boiled or baked), ½ of a banana (choose a small one to avoid eating too much of carbs), some plain yogurt, a little cinnamon or ginger. You will receive proteins, carbs, and sugar in your blood will not go high abruptly.

Sweet potato breakfast

Prepare egg scramble and add ½ of a cooked sweet potato (boiled or baked one), season it with peanut butter (a dollop will be enough) and several berries of grapes. This is a nourishing breakfast that will help you boost your metabolism without overloading your body with carbs.

Sweet potato toasts

Cook a big sweet potato and cut it into thin slices. Roast them then in a toaster and then eat with whatever source of protein you like. Try seasoning the sweet potato toasts with cottage cheese, egg scramble or whatever else you like. Such a balanced breakfast if good for the entire body and it’s able to decrease the level of blood sugar due to the abilities of sweet potatoes.

Baked sweet potatoes with seasoning

Just bake or cook sweet potatoes and eat them with some chipotle pepper, which will give them some spicy flavor. It’s also a good idea to roll pieces of sweet potatoes in chopped nuts and seeds. Such a snack will provide you with healthy carbs, proteins and even healthy fats, which are necessary for a good metabolism.

Sweet potato mash

Since they are sweet by themselves, these potatoes don’t need additional sugaring, which is important for diabetic patients. If you decide to mash sweet potatoes, everything you need is add some cinnamon. Its spicy and sweet taste is able to emphasize the sweetness of these potatoes. In a combination with some nuts and a glass of yogurt, such a mash is a delicious, nourishing, and healthy breakfast.

Sweet potato bowl

Cook a big sweet potato, take ½ of it and cut into cubes and mix with black beans, sautéed spinach, and cooked quinoa. This can be a great light lunch or a snack or a breakfast, depending on what you are used to. This meal is rich in proteins and low in carbs and can be a great support for the body if you are doing sports or a perfect meal if you need to lose weight.

Sweet potato side effects you need to know

Just as anything, no matter how useful and healing, sweet potatoes can have side effects and contraindications. There are people who are allergic to sweet potatoes and thus cannot eat them at all. even those who have already tried them some time ago can develop allergic reactions to these vegetables within a certain time.

Finally, if you have heart issues and need to take beta-blockers for the normal performance of your heart, you should eat very little of this vegetable. The point is that sweet potatoes contain a lot of potassium and beta blockers increase the amount of potassium if you. The doubled effect can cause a severe imbalance and serious complications.

People with kidney issues should also limit the consumption of sweet potatoesor even refuse eating them. Again, the high level of potassium in blood should be withdrawn from the body and the body does it through kidneys. Excessive load on them can even be fatal.

The least harmful but still unpleasant complication of sweet potato overeating is orange coloring of nails and skin. It disappears after you stop eating these vegetables.

OFSP BENEFITS

2018-08-31T23:13:00.002+01:00

OFSP is a highly loaded Vitamin A crop due to the precursor of beta carotene content, it is very nutritious to the body and help fight against various ailments because of its ability to boost immune systems.

Harvest of OFSP from a small parcel of land, it is high yielding, it can give up to 25 tons per hactare, if it is well managed.

You can place your order at anytime call on 08098981408, it can be sent to any part of Nigeria from Abuja.

Making Liquid Fertilizer

2017-12-04T17:52:00.000+01:00

Making Liquid Fertilizer

No matter what it is made from, be it seaweed, vegetable scraps, manure, or just plain weeds, liquid fertiliser plays a major role in the fertility of farm soil.

Liquid fertiliser can be made from many different materials. Its steps are also easy. It involves you mixing something high in nitrogen with other nutrients and water, before allowing the concoction sit for a spell, which could take several weeks.

Although some techniques employ a blender, you can still make liquid fertiliser if you own a kitchen, a pail, and a hose.

The benefits of homemade liquid fertiliser are numerous. Apart from being a huge money-saver, it is environmentally-friendly.

By making your own liquid fertiliser, you’ll be giving new life to waste materials, such as vegetable scraps and weeds, and reducing the amount of trash you generate.

The following procedures are to be observed when making liquid fertiliser from vegetable scraps, manure, weeds and yard trimmings.

HOMEMADE LIQUID FERTILISER FROM VEGETABLE SCRAPS

INGREDIENTS: Vegetable scraps, Epsom salt, ammonia (optional), water.

EQUIPMENT REQUIRED: Blender, five gallon bucket.

STEEPING TIME: Twenty-four hours.

The process begins with saving all your cooked or raw vegetable scraps in the freezer until you have a couple of quarts’ worth.

Alternatively, you can save the water from boiling pasta or vegetables, which is also a good source of nutrients.

To make the ‘scrap puree’ which will form the base of your fertiliser, thaw your frozen scraps and puree them in a blender with enough water to make a smooth consistency. Pour the pureed scraps into your large bucket.

For every blender full of puree, add 1/2 a teaspoon of Epsom salt and one capful of ammonia to the bucket. Repeat this process until all your scraps are pureed.

Stir the bucket and let it sit overnight. To mix up a batch of liquid fertiliser, add one quart of puree to one gallon of warm water, and shake to mix. Apply to the soil at the base of your plants.

HOMEMADE LIQUID FERTILISER FROM MANURE

INGREDIENTS: Manure of your choice and water.

Equipment required: Five gallon bucket, or a larger vessel if you want a really big batch of fertiliser.

Steeping time: Four weeks.

If you own a livestock farm, or you have a farm in your area, you can make a truly exceptional liquid fertiliser from livestock manure. This process is definitely best done outside.

To embark on this, you’ll need a bucket, some water, and a shovelful of manure. Steep for four weeks and apply to the soil at the base of your plants.

Farmers should note that manure is incredibly high in nitrogen.

HOMEMADE LIQUID FERTILISER FROM WEEDS AND YARD TRIMMINGS

INGREDIENTS: Weeds, yard trimmings, mowed grass, water.

EQUIPMENT REQUIRED: Five gallon bucket, or a bigger vessel if you want a large volume of fertiliser.

STEEPING TIME: Four weeks.

Get freshly pulled or plucked weeds from your garden and put a few handfuls in your five-gallon bucket. Trimmings such as tomato suckers work as well.

Fill the rest of the bucket with water, and leave it to steep for the allotted time. The steeping process is best done outside, as it can get a little smelly. When ready, apply to the soil at the base of your plants.

Homemade liquid fertiliser is easy, environmentally friendly, and essentially free. It’s a great way to convert waste into something valuable, and a terrific way to boost fertility in the garden.

Nigeria loses 3.5 million birds to bird flu – Ogbeh

2017-01-12T09:33:00.000+01:00

AgroNigeria News

The Federal Government has announced the spread of a new strain of Avian Influenza virus, popularly known as bird flu to 26 states including the Federal Capital Territory, affecting over 3.5 million birds.

The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Audu Ogbeh stated this at a consultative forum with sectoral players in the livestock sub-sector. Participants at the meeting included Commissioners of Agriculture/Livestock, State Directors of Veterinary Services and major stakeholders in the poultry industry.

Speaking at the forum which held in Abuja yesterday, Tuesday, the Agric Minister decried the spread of the virus, which he described as “alarming”.

“The current status of the disease in the country is quite alarming, as it has now affected 26 states and the FCT with over 3.5 birds culled so far”.

Ogbeh explained that the first outbreak of bird flu in Nigeria was reported in 2006 and spanned through 2008, but was controlled and eradicated through concerted efforts facilitated by the availability of resources from a World Bank-sponsored project and support from the country’s development partners.

“The disease is trans-boundary in nature and also trade-limiting; some of our neighbouring countries have proposed to ban poultry and poultry products from Nigeria. This may undesirably lead to an egg glut in the country”, he explained.

Speaking on the causes of the outbreak, he noted that aside from paucity of funds, other challenges that led to the outbreak of the disease included lack of compliance with on-farm quarantine measures and movement restriction; violation of biosafety measures leading to rapid spread of the disease; and clustering of poultry farmers with limited adherence to hygienic measures.

To help address the challenges, Ogbeh informed that the Federal Government had provided disease containment materials, reviewed the national emergency preparedness plan on Avian Influenza, and enhanced the laboratory diagnostics capacity at the National Veterinary Research Institute in Plateau State, also created awareness and advocacy on the disease.

“We reviewed the national Emergency Preparedness Plan (EPP) on Avian Influenza to address gaps in implementation of control measures”, he expressed.

He also added that the Federal Government is determined to continue to work with state governments, Poultry Association of Nigeria (PAN) and other stakeholders in the poultry industry to come up with sustainable measures to prevent, control and eradicate this disease from our country within the shortest time possible.

Meanwhile, participants at the meeting called on the Federal Government to complete the payment of compensation to farmers who lost millions of naira as a result of the previous outbreak of bird flu in Nigeria.

This they said, would encourage the farmers to make public any further development of bird flu in their respective areas before the disease would spread to other locations. Nigeria loses 3.5 million birds to bird flu – Ogbeh

Vicampro Farms plan N10bn potato processing plant in Manchok — Official

2016-09-16T16:18:00.000+01:00

REPORTERS 365

A mechanised agro-allied company, Vicmapro Farms, said on Monday that it would establish a N10 billion potato French fries plant in Manchok, Kaura Local Government Area of Kaduna State.

The Secretary and Legal Adviser of the company, Mrs Adediran Adeola, told the News Agency for Nigeria (NAN) in Kaduna that the project was “the only one in West Africa’’.

According to Adeola, the French fries plant is a massive project with the latest technology that will cost about N10 billion.

She said the plant had the capacity to process 2,500 tonnes of potatoes daily and create more than 2,000 jobs.

Adeola described French fries as a matchstick-size cut potato, normally deep-fried but could also be cooked in an oven.

She added that it was generally salted and often served hot, either soft or crispy with ketchup and eaten as part of lunch, dinner or as a snack.

She said: “Majority of the French fries that we consume in Nigeria are imported.

“Therefore, the plant when completed will bridge the importation gap, open up rural communities and create huge employment in rural areas.

“Projects like this change the face of the community it is located in and injecting N10 billion into this project will change the economy of Manchok forever’’.

Adeola said that the company currently had about 700 hectares of land in Plateau where it grows potatoes, but that it was grossly inadequate to meet the needs of the plant.

She said that to successfully run the French fries plant, the company needed about 10,000 hectares of land, in addition to the 700 hectares to meet the factory’s daily need of 2,500 tonnes of potatoes.

The company’s scribe said the firm was already discussing with the Kaduna State Government and other relevant authorities to gain access to the land located along Manchok-Jankasa Road.

“We have 500 farmers in Plateau and so far, we have got about five hundred farmers in Manchok ready to partner with us on potato production.

“We will give them quality seeds, help them with the needed technology and mechanisation to ensure better yield and buy off the produce from them so that the plant can operate successfully.

“By the time the project is full blown, we hope to engage over 1, 000 farmers and another 1,000 people to work in the factory.

“It is a win-win situation for Manchok people, Kaduna State and Nigeria as a whole because it is a huge job opportunity that we will be creating there,’’ Adeola said.

The secretary explained that Manchok was chosen for its soil and climatic condition which made it suitable for potato production.

“Beside climatic condition, Manchok is strategically located as a gateway to markets.

“It is closer to Abuja, Kaduna and Plateau states from where the French fries could be shipped to other parts of the country.

“What we want from Manchok people as a community is to give us a peaceful environment to operate and be ready to contribute their energy in terms of workforce,’’ she said.

She said the company would soon conclude negotiations with the community on the five hectares of land it required to construct the factory, offices and staff quarters.

“We hope to commence construction of the factory and office facilities by the first week of July once the paper work is concluded.

“Production will commence as soon as the factory is ready,’’ she added.

When contacted, the traditional ruler of Manchok or the Moro’a people, Malam Tagwai Sambo, said the project was a welcome development, adding that such investment would improve the community’s economy.

Sambo told NAN that the project would not only transform Manchok, but that it would equally provide jobs and open up the community to the global economy.

On providing the needed land for the project, the traditional ruler said that the traditional council, the local and state governments were still negotiating with Vicampro Farms.

“This is truly a welcome development for us. I assure you that we will give our support to ensure that the project becomes a reality,’’ Sambo said.

Govt to train 100,000 graduates as extension workers – Osinbajo

2016-08-31T16:10:00.000+01:00

PM NEWS

Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo says that the Federal Government will train 100,000 graduates as extension workers out of the 500,000 graduates to be engaged as teachers.

He made the declaration while launching the agricultural sector roadmap entitled: “The Green Alternative: Agriculture Promotion policy 2016 to 2020’’ in Abuja.

The vice president also called for policy alignment of all government’s economic plans.

“This particular alignment is crucial. Just to give some obvious example: you cannot have a policy of encouraging local production of food and on the other hand have a high tariff on imported agricultural equipment.

“There is no way that we can encourage local production when we allow unbridled importation of the same things that we are trying to produce.

“There is no way we can do the scale of agricultural production both for domestic consumption and export without ensuring local improved seedling development alongside those that we import.

“And of course encouraging the work of the agencies of the Ministries of Science and Technology who have been making great breakthroughs in local development of agricultural equipment.

“Still on the issue of policy alignment, our social investment programme, which is possibly the largest in recent history, is designed to align with the design of our agricultural and other policies.

“And so, as part of the 500,000 teacher corps that we will be engaging, 100,000 of them will be trained as extension workers for our farms.’’

Osinbajo further said that the road map had identified the inability to meet productivity challenge of self-sustenance due to inefficient farming model inadequate seeds, irrigation, and crop protection.

He said the administration met an economy in meltdown and had to take difficult decisions to repair the huge damage done by dependence on oil, not investing in infrastructure, deepening diversification and increasing reserves.

The vice president said that it became imperative to set the economy on the part of inclusive growth with job opportunities for the huge youth population through positioning agriculture as the focus of diversification.

Osinbajo said there was no doubt at all that if the administration got the agriculture right the economy would be right.

According to him, the home grown feeding programme was anchored on the use of locally produced food for primary school pupils in the country.

Osinbajo also said that financing of agriculture was also a crucial policy issue with double-digit interest rate and reluctance of banks to lend to the sector.

He said the administration must develop some funding options in the short term.

“The anchor borrowers’ programme of the Central Bank of Nigeria has proved to be extremely useful.

“Indeed the phenomenal success of the Kebbi rice programme where the farmers moved from 3.5 metric tonnes per hectre to 7.5 metric tonnes per hectre was largely the result of the single digit credit extended by the anchor borrowers’ programme which they used to purchase the right fertiliser quality and other inputs.

“The Ministry of Finance has practically concluded plans to recapitalise and re-engineer the Bank of Agriculture.

“We expect that before the end of this quarter, the Bank of Agriculture should be ready to give single-digit-interest-rate loans to farmers.’’

The vice president commended the Agriculture minister, Chief Audu Ogbeh, for developing an effective roadmap and conducting an advocacy for the revamp of the agriculture sector.

He further said President Muhammadu Buhari’s urgent call to return to the farm was one to embrace the truth of a renewed vision of an agriculture-led economy as an alternative to an oil dependent growth.

He said the agriculture revolution was a call on all to farm, even small vegetable farms.

“Interestingly, the only commercial activity that our constitution allows a public officer is farming; so we have no excuse,’’ he added.

In his reaction, the Kogi Commissioner for Agriculture and Natural Resources, Dr Tim Nda Diche, applauded the new agriculture roadmap as a viable option for the advancement of the nation’s economy.

He said that the political will of President Muhammadu Buhari was high and the agriculture diversification was best way to avoid over reliance on oil.

AGRIC, MANUFACTURING SECTORS TO ENJOY SINGLE DIGIT INTEREST – CBN

2016-08-29T14:30:00.000+01:00

Agronigeria

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has assured that the manufacturing and agricultural sectors will enjoy single digit interest rates as it would fast track lending of a reserved special intervention fund earmarked for the sectors.

The CBN has set aside N235 billion and N750 billion as intervention funds for the manufacturing and agricultural sectors respectively, which it describes as pivotal in the resuscitation of the nation’s ailing economy.

The CBN Director, Banking Supervision, Mrs. Tokunbo Martins, made the disclosure in Abuja, while briefing the media on the outcome of Bankers’ Committee meeting. She also revealed the joint decision by CBN and Bankers’ Committee to increase limit of banks’ FOREX sale to Bureaux De Change (BDCs) to $50,000 from $30,000 it was two weeks ago.

Martins, accompanied to the briefing by Group Managing Director of United Bank for Africa (UBA), Kennedy Uzoka, Zenith Bank Group Managing Director, Peter Amangbo, and Hassan Usman of Jaiz Bank Plc, said the decision to utilise CBN’s special reserved funds for lending to agricultural and manufacturing sectors was taken to hurriedly revamp the economy.

Reacting to the Bankers’ Committee meeting, the Chief Executive Officer, Financial Derivatives Limited, Mr. Bismark Rewane, who lauded the CBN’s support for the two critical sectors, equally took a swipe on the Federal Government for allowing them to fail in the first place.

Rewane said what the economy needs at this point in time are efficient markets and fresh investments, considering the fact that the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is already negative. According to him, the initiative is tantamount to medicine after death, saying these are economic palliatives usually introduced after failure.

Also commenting on the committee’s decision, a former Deputy Governor of CBN, Dr Obadiah Mailafia said it is a very good development which he described as long overdue. He however pleaded for immediate implementation.

“The implementation of it should be done properly and transparently, because our banks have the tendency to declare something and then the charges will be more than the officially declared interest rate. Also, some of these bankers have the intention to allocate it to themselves and their relations to the detriment of those who truly deserve it. If it is transparently, professionally and efficiently managed, it is very welcome,” he added.

CBN DISBURSES N16.4BN TO FARMERS

2016-08-27T14:52:00.000+01:00

Agronigeria

The Central Bank of Nigeria has so far given out N16.4 billion to 78,000 farmers. This disbursement was done through its recently launched Anchor Borrowers’ Scheme.

This was made known at the 326th meeting of the Bankers’ Committee – a policy making body for banks, in Lagos, yesterday. The disbursement includes the acquisition of hectares of land for farming and the receiving of about N210, 000 by 78,000 registered farmers.

The Director of Banking and Supervision, CBN, Tokunbo Martins, who addressed finance correspondents at the end of the meeting, said that plans are now in top gear to replicate this in other regions, particularly in Ebonyi and Anambra states soon.

She said the committee had resolved to support the anti-corruption effort of the government and the other reforms aimed at bringing stability to the economy.

Martins also disclosed that access to financial services has been made easier and cheaper with the licensing and approval of the super-agents that would distribute banking services at lesser cost, with mandates to reach the most interior communities in the country.

Meanwhile, the President of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), Dr. Frank Jacobs, said CBN’s renewed focus on sector has improved the lots of his members, as the foreign exchange allocations have been raised up beyond complain.

According to him, it is commendable that the governor kept to his promise to manufacturers after a meeting with him and can boldly say that it is no longer what it used to be.

Jacobs said that while there are gaps left in the sector’s demand, the response by CBN in prioritising and increasing foreign exchange allocation to manufacturers is now keeping them engaged and productive.

The Managing Director, Fidelity Bank Plc, Nnamdi Okonkwo, assured that CBN was still working out the modalities for the disbursement of accumulated funds from the reduced cash reserve requirement (CRR), which banks are eager to commence action on as soon as the directive is released.

During the flag-off of the scheme last year, Governor, Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele said that it was designed to create economic linkages between farmers and processors, not only to ensure the output of rice and wheat, but also to bridge the gap between production and consumption.

“Over 200,000 rice and wheat farmers will benefit from the scheme ranging from N150,000 to N250,000 to assist in procuring necessary agricultural inputs,” Emiefele noted.

FOOD AND BEVERAGE SECTOR: 3 MILLION WORKERS MAY LOSE JOBS TO FOREX CRISIS

2016-08-25T14:35:00.000+01:00

Agronigeria

In what may be termed a fallout of the current forex crisis rocking Nigeria’s economy,Organized Labour, yesterday,expressed fear that the food, beverage and tobacco sector of the nation’s economy was on the verge of shutting down .

This is with over three million jobs becoming at risk due to the inability of companies to source foreign exchange to import raw material for operations.

Already,major companies in the sector, such as ,7-UP Bottling Company Plc, Nigerian Breweries Limited,Nigerian Flour Mills, Guinness Plc, Nigerian Bottling Company, Friesland Campina Wamco Plc, among others, have sought for discussions with labour on retrenchment of workers.

Reports indicate that in the last three months, no fewer than 1,500 workers had been sacked in the sector as employers seek ways of coping with foreign exchange crisis, among other challenges.

Speaking to newsmen in Lagos,officials of Food, Beverage and Tobacco Senior Staff Association, FOBTOB, called for Government’s intervention on the crisis if the jobs of the over three million are to be saved.

President of FOBTOB, Quadri Olaleye, claimed that employers in the sector had devised every opportunity to sack workers, adding that between the 2012 and the first half of 2015, over 3,000 workers were sacked in the guise of re-engineering, restructuring, right sizing, downsizing, redundancy and re-organisation. He lamented that over the years, the same excuse of difficult business terrain, dwindling profit, irregular and insufficient power supply, and so on had been given.

He said: “The current situation has reached a pathetic level, because it seems all the employers in our sector are in competition with each other on who can lay off the most workers. “Every company is now calling for a downsizing of the workforce, and this time under the guise of lack of foreign exchange due to the Federal Government’s recent policy on foreign exchange. “We are aware that not all the raw materials used in our industry can be sourced locally. Where they can be found, they are mostly not available in commercial quantity. “That is why it is imperative that the government, through the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, takes a second look at the policy on foreign exchange to avoid shutting down the companies in our industry.” According to him, companies mostly hit by the crisis are intellectually lazy to engage in research development on alternative sources of raw materials.

‪#‎Agriculture‬ is not the magic solution#

2016-08-23T19:53:00.000+01:00

‪#‎Agriculture‬ is not the magic solution#

Simon Kolawole

Anytime I hear Nigerian presidents, ministers, governors, economists, analysts and commentators declare that agriculture is the alternative to oil, and that the solution to Nigeria’s economic woes is to return to the farm, I am tempted to jump up and ask at full volume: “Who agriculture alone don epp?” Some states have hilariously declared work-free days for civil servants to go to the farm. It would be nice to see those farms and how well the emergency farmers are doing. We’ve been told again and again that agriculture, as Nigeria’s biggest employer of labour, is the magic solution to unemployment, that we will export agricultural produce and earn plenty forex. Well done.

I’ve been hearing this fairy-tale all my life. When I was a primary school kid, Lt. Gen. Olusegun Obasanjo, then head of state, asked Nigerians to tighten their belts because the oil boom would not last forever. He added drama by tightening his military belt on TV. He launched Operation Feed the Nation. My grandfather responded by setting up a garden in our backyard. President Shehu Shagari did Green Revolution. The structural adjustment programme (SAP) of Gen. Ibrahim Babangida was basically about diversifying into agriculture. In different shapes, forms, sizes and packaging, we have been talking about agriculture, agriculture and agriculture forever.

Since we love glamorising our exploits in the export of cocoa, coffee, palm oil and groundnuts before the oil boom doom, I will pick on just cocoa to dispel this ill-conceived notion and never-ending campaign that agriculture is the magic wand. We used to be the biggest producers of cocoa in the world. Chief Obafemi Awolowo utilised cocoa revenue to develop the south-west when he was premier of the region in the 1950s. But we dropped the ball along the line and Cote d’Ivoire overtook us. And now we are lamenting that we are nowhere to be found. The solution, therefore, is for the south-west to revive the cocoa farms. Oh, the good old days!

Okay, let us talk about Cote d’Ivoire’s fabled cocoa wealth. Cote d’Ivoire produces 33% of world cocoa and exports to manufacturers such as Hershey’s, Mars Inc. (both in the US) and Nestlé (Switzerland). You know what Cote d’Ivoire earns yearly from exporting raw cocoa? A whopping $2.5bn. I repeat: a whopping $2.5bn! So Mars buys Ivorien cocoa and makes several products from it: Bounty, M&M, Mars and Milky Way, to name a few. You know Mars’ net income from chocolate products alone in 2015? According to the International Cocoa Organisation (ICCO), Mars made a pathetic $18bn, compared to Cote d’Ivoire’s whopping $2.5bn. Agriculture, indeed.

If you are wondering how just one company, which manufactures chocolate, can earn seven times more than a whole country, which farms and exports the cocoa input, then you are asking the same question with me: Who agriculture alone don epp? On ICCO’s list of the world’s top 10 companies in net revenue from chocolate, you have three from America, two from Japan, two from Switzerland, and one each from Luxemburg/Italy, Argentina and Turkey. None from Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana and Indonesia — the world’s three biggest producers of raw cocoa. There must be something that Hershey’s, Mars and Nestlé know that we don’t know as we keep planting cocoa.

To be fair, Cote d’Ivoire is waking up. In 2015, French chocolatier Cémoi opened a plant in Abidjan, the economic capital, to produce chocolate. President Alassane Ouattara, on touring the plant, said: “We want to be able to make chocolate for Ivoriens, for Africans and especially West Africans.” Ouattara (pronounced Wa-ta-ra) understands what we still don’t understand here: that agriculture without industry is dead, being alone. How could I buy cocoa worth $1m from you and make chocolate worth $10 million from it — and you think you are smart? If you are smart, you will start making the chocolate yourself and stop romanticising about the “good old days”.

There was a video that went viral sometime ago. CNN’s Richard Quest visited a cocoa farm in Cote d’Ivoire. Come and see poverty written all over the faces of the farmers, who have been told for decades that agriculture is the magic solution to their problems. Quest gave the farmers bars of chocolate. They were eating the sweet stuff for the first time in their lives! Compare their lives to those of the executives of Mars Inc., who buy the cocoa beans from Cote d’Ivoire. They are flying private jets and holidaying in the moon, while the Ivorien farmers are fighting off flies and bees in the bushes of Koffikro. For your information, Mars Inc. has no cocoa farms!

Don’t get me wrong please. If I have created the impression that agriculture is useless, I do apologise. That is not my intention. After all, agriculture is our culture. Millions of Nigerians are farming rice, beans, cassava and corn. That is huge employment. Also, we certainly can produce many food items that we are importing and burning precious forex on. But is that why governors are declaring work-free days for civil servants to go and plant melon and maize to solve Nigeria’s economic problem and stop the dependency on oil? If only these governors knew that Switzerland does not grow one tree of cocoa, yet makes the world’s most elegant chocolates!

Let us break this whole agric logic into pieces. If we really want to diversify from oil and create proper value, agriculture must give birth to industry. If agriculture currently employs, say, 5 million Nigerians, agro-allied industry can employ 15 million in the value chain. So why do we spend so much time discussing farming and not industry? For example, how many graduates can a tomato farm employ compared to a factory making tomato purée? The factory will employ or engage the services of engineers, technicians, chemists, marketers, accountants, communicators, lawyers, administrators, drivers, and so on. It may even have a sick bay and employ doctors and nurses.

I’m not done. A basket of tomatoes sells for N800 in Kaduna. A 400g tin of purée sells for N300. Look at how many bottles of purée you can get from a basket, and how much value you will be getting. Who, then, is making the real money? The factory will pay company tax, its employees will pay PAYE and the consumers will pay VAT. That is how government will boost its revenue. The purée bottle makers offer a different business altogether that employs workers and pays all kinds of taxes too. And if we are good enough, we can begin to export purée to other countries, and earn forex. This is just purée. Think of a thousand agro-allied factories. Think of our huge population.

Sure, agriculture is very important in a primitive economy like ours. But we always miss the bigger picture. One, we need full optimisation of the sector to enhance productivity. A country like the US knows this much better: the percentage of the population engaged in farming is insignificant, but it is so optimised that the output is out of this world. For instance, the US produces enough rice for local consumption, for export, for aid and to dump in the sea to “stabilise” market prices. Two, processing is where you find the massive job opportunities. The agro-industry will yield far more output, more jobs and more economic value than Benue Friday Farming.

These things look so simple and doable, but commonsense is not common. Our agricultural output can be far better in quantity and quality than currently obtains. We can do with better technology, storage, conditioning, packaging and transportation. Most importantly, our brains should focus on how industry can bring out the real value of agriculture and spark off a chain of economic activities that will create millions of good jobs and generate billions of dollars in revenue to investors, employees and government. But we seem excited only about preaching and promoting the export of raw produce, and we feel so smart we think this is the way out of our oil dependency!

But how can we add value when, despite the billions of dollars we have made from oil since 1999, we don’t have the basic infrastructure to inspire an agro-based industrial explosion? Where are the roads? Where are the rails? Where is the electricity? Where is the security? Where is the finance? Yet I can point to uncountable private jets, mansions and customised cars that politicians and their friends have acquired since 1999 with proceeds from the oil boom — while they keep preaching stone-age agriculture to Nigerians. So if your governor joins this craze of declaring work-free days for primitive farming, just ask him politely: Your Excellency, who agriculture alone don epp?
“Let us break this whole agric logic into pieces. If we really want to diversify from oil and create proper value, agriculture must give birth to industry. If agriculture currently employs, say, 5 million"

World Bank’s Agriculture Funding In Nigeria Hits N75.2bn

2016-08-22T11:30:00.001+01:00

LEADERSHIP

Fresh facts have emerged that not less than $380 million, about N75, 240 billion has been spent by the World Bank on the development of agriculture in Lagos and some other states of the country in the last eight years.

The Lagos State commissioner for agriculture, Prince Gbolahan Lawal, who made the revelation at a press conference in Lagos said the $200 million National Fadama Development Project (FADAMA) grant was accessed by six states while the remaining $180 million was accessed by five states including Lagos.

A breakdown of the figure showed that $180 million was spent on Commercial Agriculture Development Project (CADP) while $200 million was spent on the FADAMA.

Lawal said that as a result of the performance of Lagos State in the World Bank assisted project, the state has been selected among six others to benefit from the $25 million grant from the World Bank for 2015.

He further explained that about 3,000 birds were killed during the recent onset of bird flu in Lagos State. Acccording to him, about 2,000 birds were killed in one farm and 500 birds each in two other farms. He added that 10 birds were also killed in a zoo on the Lekki axis, affirming that there was currently no incident of bird flu in the state.

Nigeria: Monsanto's Plot to Take Over Nigeria's Agriculture

2016-08-18T17:49:00.000+01:00

Allafrica

As everyone knows, one American company called Monsanto has been on a determined march to take over agricultural production all over the world and enslave all farmers and countries to their commercial blood sucking logic. They have finally found a bridgehead into Nigeria where a door has been opened to allow them enter and takeover. They have been allowed to initiate so-called experimental farms to produce cotton and maize. Their point of entry has been the irresponsible National Biotechnology Development Agency, which has been compromised by Monsanto to provide an entry point to take over our agriculture.

This week, I write to support the great work currently being carried out by Nnimmo Bassey and his team at the Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF) to resist the dangerous takeover of our agriculture by Monsanto. The Foundation has exposed the fact that GMOs have been approved to be grown in Nigeria and that the approval was surreptitious. There is an argument whether the approval was for a two-year trial process or for permanent production and for me, both must be opposed. At no time has the Nigerian Government taken a policy decision to approve GMOs and given the health dangers alone of this technology, it is irresponsible to allow this. We cannot allow the National Biosafety Management Agency (NBMA) to sell our future for some temporary inducement they have received from Monsanto. How was it allowed that Monsanto Agriculture Nigeria Ltd would register in the country and start production without explicit approval the Federal Executive Council and the National Assembly?

Burkina Faso, which took the lead on GMO production in Africa, decided this year to abandoned its GMO cotton citing the inferior lint quality of Monsanto products and the enslavement of buying expensive seeds and chemicals from the company each year for an income that is less than what they were having before introducing it. It would be recalled that for a long time, Burkinabé cotton was renowned for its high quality following a highly successful non-GM breeding programme founded by the French government and spanning 70 years. The main goal of the breeding programme was to create cultivars that were well adapted to the growing conditions in West Africa and had the desired quality characteristics, such as a high ginning ratio, which is the percentage of the desired cotton fibre per unit weight of cotton delivered to the factory and long staple length. They foolishly decided to abandon the home grown approach and follow the GMO route of Monsanto and after six years of commercial production, they discovered that the quality and world market price of their cotton had plummeted. Cotton is the second-biggest source of revenue for the impoverished West African country after gold. It is this same GMO cotton that failed in Burkina Faso that is now being introduced to Nigeria.

I therefore call on the Ministers of Agriculture and the Environment to call the National Biosafety Management Agency to order and to withdraw the authorization issued for the production of GMO crops. Given our fragile ecosystems and stressed environment, we must take our biosafety seriously and avoid the path of introducing crops that are dangerous to the health of our people and our environment. Nineteen European countries that care about the health of their people have completely banned genetically modified crops. Even the Russian State Duma last month passed a bill banning all import and production of genetically modified organisms in the country. We must not allow Nigeria to be turned into a dumping ground for what sensible countries have rejected. Sincere scientists have shown evidence that Monsanto's crops are genetically enhanced to tolerate the use of the herbicide glyphosate which was declared as a possible carcinogen by the World Health Organization's International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC). The current Monsanto project to grow glyphosate infused maize in Nigeria is a direct threat to our health. Recent studies have linked glyphosate to health effects such as degeneration of the liver and kidney, and non-Hodgkin lymphoma. It is unfortunate that Bill Gates with his America First mentality is sponsoring Monsanto's Water Efficient Maize for Africa, a five-year development project led by the Kenyan-based African Agricultural Technology Foundation, which aims to develop a variety of drought-tolerant maize seeds. Why will he not invest in the Institute of Agricultural Research project in Ahmadu Bello University that is developing draught resistant maize that does not have the dangers of what Monsanto is doing?

US partners Nigeria on agriculture with $2m

2016-08-18T17:02:00.000+01:00

THE PUNCH

The United States Agency for International Development says it has earmarked $2m to support the Nigerian government’s effort to develop the agricultural sector.

It added that it would partner local agribusinesses – Babban Gona and Hello Tractor – to assist farmers in accessing smart tractors and improved seeds.

The US Embassy Deputy Chief of Mission, Mrs. Maria Brewer, according to a statement on Monday, spoke in Abuja at a gathering attended by the Minister of Agriculture, Chief Audu Ogbeh.

The envoy stated that the two-year partnership was also aimed at ensuring profitable markets for over 45,000 farmers in seven states across the federation.

She said, “Innovation and entrepreneurship hold the key to unlocking Nigeria’s agricultural potential, and the US government will continue to provide support in this direction. Under the Feed the Future initiative, the USAID partners the private sector to support smallholder farmers in Nigeria. Through the partnership, USAID addresses development and business challenges by increasing access to improved agricultural inputs and mechanisation, better quality technical advisory services, and expanding market opportunities for farmers.

“The partnership capitalises on the untapped potential of youths in agriculture and help build the capacity of young entrepreneurs to grow their businesses, create secure jobs, and boost economic growth in Nigeria. Under the $2m two-year partnership, anticipated results include increased access to smart tractors, improved seeds, and profitable markets for over 45,000 smallholder farmers in seven states and the Federal Capital Territory.”

The Babban Gona company would address the challenge of farmers by forming strong cooperatives called Trust Groups, which would enable maize, rice, and soybean farmers to gain access to new markets and sell at premium prices. She added that Hello Tractor would recognise the need among smallholder farmers for consistent and sustainable mechanisation services and would design a versatile smart tractor with eight attachments to serve their needs throughout the farm production cycle.

AGRICULTURE: A FORBIDDEN KINGDOM FOR NIGERIAN YOUTHS?

2016-08-18T16:29:00.003+01:00

By Kunle Oguntegbe

Renowned Development Economist, Arthur Lewis once said, ‘if Agriculture remains stagnant, industries cannot grow’. For an agrarian economy with a total population of 183 Million, 70 percent of which are youth, isn’t it amazing to know that only 23 percent of the youth are involved in Agriculture? What an irony!

Prior to the discovery of oil in the 1950s, Nigeria used to be a top exporter of food and agro-allied products. However, due to the economic mismanagement, laziness on the part of the youth, relative neglect of agricultural resources as well as population upsurge amongst others, the country has lost her top position among agro-food exporting countries in the universe.

Agriculture has subsequently been relegated to the back seat amongst the productive sectors in the Nigerian economy. In this 21st century especially, it is more convenient for a Nigerian youth to roam the streets of Lagos for 30 days in search of unavailable jobs than to till the soil and make few ridges for maize production. Yet, everyone prays for abundant food. A spy into the future of Agriculture in this nation will make one to shake head in pity. A biblical Joseph might be needed to prevent Malthusian trap in this country as food production seems to be dwindling while population keeps growing geometrically like green algae in a culture medium.

In Nigeria, youths’ involvement in agriculture is nothing to write home about. The sector appears deserted by the younger generation who prefer to enjoy urban lifestyle leaving the old folks on the farm, thus reducing productivity. Attempts by previous administrations to get the youth back into Agriculture have proved futile. Several campaigns, promotions and even incentives have been employed to ‘lure’ the youths into farming profession. Slogans like ‘back to soil’, ‘green revolution’, ‘Agroprenuers’ amongst which were popular in the 90s are now going into extinction.

One cannot but wonder where Nigeria has got it wrong. Is the Country suffering from ‘Dutch disease’? Why are the younger generations no longer interested in farming? Has the Agricultural sector become a forbidden kingdom for Nigerian youths? These are questions begging for answers.

Lokpobiri Assures Nigerians of Bumper Harvest.

2016-07-12T12:19:00.001+01:00

Lokpobiri Assures Nigerians of Bumper Harvest.

Source: Agro News Nigeria

The Minister of State for Agriculture, Sen. Heineken Lokpobiri, on Monday gave an assurance that the country would have sufficient food in the next harvest season

Lokpobiri the assurance while speaking with State House correspondents after he led a foreign agro-investor, Wells –San Carlos Agro Farms Ltd., on a courtesy visit to Vice President Yemi Osinbajo at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

The attributed the current high cost of foodstuff due to the lack of investment in agriculture in 2015 due to the change in government.

“That is why you are seeing a scarcity of rice and the price has gone up to about N25,000 a bag.

“But this year, the President (Buhari) has given us all the support we have requested to see how we can support farmers the little way we can.

“So that we can give people access to credit, fertiliser and seed to grow sufficiently for our own consumption and export.’’
The minister also noted that the dependence of other West African countries on Nigeria had also contributed to the high cost of foodstuff in the country.

“Everybody is focused on Nigeria because we have the best soil and we believe that with the president’s determination, our agenda in agriculture will be able to produce enough rice to feed ourselves and satisfy the regional needs.

On the nation’s rice programme, the minister said that the ambition of the administration was to be self-sufficient in rice production by 2018/2019.

According to him many programmes have been put in place including the `Anchor Growers’ Scheme’ in Kebbi State.
Lokpkobiri added that the Federal Government had set up a task force headed by the Kebbi governor to multiply rice and wheat production.

“We are also trying to create some funds to see how people can borrow the way Kebbi people borrowed to cultivate over 1,000 hectares.

“This is so that we can produce as much as we can and satisfy our local needs by 2018/2019.’’
On the visit of the Mexican investors, he said it was to further encourage the company which has plans to cultivate about 9,000 hectares.

“They are already doing and installing about 30 hectares of green houses and as at today, they are employing about 600 people.
He said the firm was one of the leading farmers in the world and had come to Nigeria to partner the government to see how it could create commercial farms in Nigeria.

“It is not only to satisfy our local market but also to export, so that we can also substitute in agro dollars the petro dollars and also to create jobs.

“This farm alone is going to create about 85,000 jobs.

“We are trying to see how we can encourage Nigerians to go into farming in collaboration with those who will bring their technology.

“This is to ensure that we achieve our objectives in agriculture and food sufficiency in the shortest time possible,’’ he added.
Also speaking, the Executive Director, Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC), Mr Olusegun Awolowo, described the investment as

“the kinds of transformational export projects that the country is looking for now”.
He said that the country was shopping for large-scale commercial farms such as the Wells –San Carlos group, adding that its 9,000 hectares would be the first export farm for the NEPC.

“This is not the two-hectare or three-hectare programme; we need the large commercial farms because that is the only thing that can solve our problems.

“Now we would win import substitution and then we now export, feed the nation and provide employment.’’
Awolowo invited the private sector to embrace commercial agriculture because of its high revenue yield through export.

The Chairman, Wells – San Carlos Agro Farms Ltd., Capt. Idahosa Okunbo, told correspondents that the first 9,000-hectare farm was being cultivated in Edo with another 20,000 green house project already in operation.

“This is a veritable project that will employ our youths; it will also create the relevant foreign exchange that we need.

“We need the government support because this is the way that we can overcome the dependence on oil, and our farm, if replicated in the six geopolitical zones, will take away youths from the street and earn us foreign exchange.

“It is a double edged advantage for the country and something that we can encourage as a legacy project,’’ Okunbo said

Nigeria to launch N59.7 billion Youth-In-Agriculture Scheme

2016-04-04T12:35:00.001+01:00

NIGERIA TO EMPLOY MORE YOUTH INTO AGRICULTURE

The Director-General, International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, IITA, Nteranya Sanginga, on Sunday said the Federal Government would launch N59.7 billion Youth-In-Agriculture Scheme in September.

Mr. Sanginga, who disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria in Ibadan, said the scheme would be sponsored by the federal government and the African Development Bank, AFDB.

The director-general said IITA would train those enrolled in the scheme, adding that beneficiaries would be trained on how to make agriculture a business with good networking.

“The programme tagged “Enable Youth Empowerment Agribusiness programme, will engage youths in agribusiness for 18 months to enable them learn how to make agric business plan.

“Each will be given between 25,000 US Dollars and 300,000 US Dollars as loan to start a business.

“The programme started by IITA in 2012, was taken over by the federal government and AFDB to create employment in agric sector.

“To support this objective, the programme will be extended to 36 states and Abuja in September.

“After the programme, we expect the youth to become chief executive officers of factories, companies and creators of jobs rather than job seekers,” he said.

Mr. Sanginga urged the youth to develop positive mindset in agriculture and take good advantage of the programme.

“They should be serious with the training because at the end of it only those who did well will be rewarded,” he said.

CBN agrees to 5% lending rate for farmers – Ogbeh

2016-02-02T20:22:00.000+01:00

CBN agrees to 5% lending rate for farmers – Ogbeh

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has agreed that loans by banks to farmers in the country should attract only five per cent interest, the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Audu Ogbeh, said Tuesday.

Mr. Ogbeh made this known on Tuesday, while delivering a keynote address at the opening of a two-day national workshop on a “New Agricultural Policy for Nigeria”.

The workshop was organised by the National Agricultural Foundation of Nigeria (NAFN) in collaboration with the ministry and All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN).

According to the minister, the agreement followed discussions with key officials of the apex bank on Tuesday morning.

“Just this morning, I have talks with key officials of the Central Bank of Nigeria to bring the lending rate to five per cent

“With those rates, I assure you as a man, who has been in this business – agriculture – since the age of seven years, you cannot make profit in agriculture,’’ Mr. Ogbeh said.

The minister said that agriculture and solid minerals remain the alternative sectors to which the country could diversify now to survive current economic situation.

He said: “The challenge before us is how to make this happen. The time for lamentation is over. The time for action is here”.

Mr. Ogbeh said unless this was done, the problem of youth unemployment and youth restiveness would continue to plague the country.

“We have 100 million young people in the country who are below the age of 50 years and if we do not give them job, they are likely to take care of us in a very rough manner,’’ he said.

Mr. Ogbeh said the outbreak of bird flu and pastoralists/farmers clashes remained challenges to the sector, adding that in the last two months, the flu had killed between five and six million birds.

He, however, said that a vaccine had been found for the virus.

“I have been calling friends across the globe.

“Just yesterday, I received a message from Egypt and they informed me that they have found a vaccine which they injected the chickens with which is working perfectly well.

“We will not immediately rush in and bring the vaccines, we will ask our research institutes to take a look and see if they can fit into our needs.

THE NEW FACE OF FMARD – AUDU OGBEH

2015-11-12T18:27:00.000+01:00

IDONGESIT — NOVEMBER 12, 2015

The appointment of Audu Ogbeh as the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development was greeted with high commendations from a broad segment of the populace – even the youth who are believed to have little interest in the agricultural sector were seen to approve judging by their comments on the social media. Ogbeh is known for being a man of strong opinions and standards, an attribute which was clearly admitted by the man himself when he was appointed Chairman of the Peoples’ Democratic Party in 2001; “I do have views of my own and most people who know me know that I have never been able to very cheaply compromise on those views. I do not intend to bully the President and the Vice President, but I intend to reason with them and between all of them, at one time or the other, they will bow to superior argument.” He however has his work cut out for him. “The new Minister is going to be faced with an uphill task given the commendable performance of his predecessor who truly transformed many aspects of the country’s agricultural sector” volunteered Dr. Graham Hefer, Managing Director of Okomu Oil palm Company Plc, a major agribusiness concern operating out of Edo State in the South of Nigeria. According to Hefer, the choice of a practicing farmer as successor to a high flying technocrat is clear evidence of an intention to consolidate on the gains of the ATA, but he pointed out that “more work lies ahead”.

“Now that a farmer is the minister of agriculture, it means that he will understand the terrain and set achievable agendas that will move the sector forward” is how Mr. Sotonye Anga, National Publicity Secretary of the National Cashew Association of Nigeria (NCAN) chose to respond to the new appointment.

It is then safe to say that the emergence of Audu Innocent Ogbeh as the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development will create positive impacts on not just the agricultural policies of the Nation (the big picture) but also influence the average farmer. Chief Ogbeh has a wealth of experience in the academic field as a Lecturer at the Institute of Education, Ahmadu Bello University (1972-1976) Head, Department of Humanities, Murtala College of Arts, Science and Technology, now Benue State Polytechnic, (1977- 1979), also as a politician having ran for the Benue state assembly and emerged Deputy Speaker in 1979, appointed Federal Minister of Communications in 1982 and later Minister of Steel development. Add that to his PDP National Chairmanship in 2001 and after his resumption as Managing Director of Efugo Farms, Makurdi and Audu Ogbeh will be easily described as a ‘master of all.’

After his emergence as the new face of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD), Ogbeh promised to focus intensely on agricultural research and marketing in order to reduce importation of food and increase self-sustenance in Nigeria. With the success of Efugo farms and the good record he has set In the past, Nigerians believe we have a man that will deliver in the agricultural sector and stay true to the course set by the immediate past Minister, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina – now President of the African Development Bank Group.

Born on the 28th of July, 1947 in Otukpo, Benue state, Ogbeh started his education at St. Francis Primary School in 1956 and then went on to St. Michael’s Secondary School, Alaide in 1962, moved to King’s College, Lagos in 1967 and obtained his university education at Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria from 1972-1976. He attended the University of Toulouse from 1973-1974 and is a fellow of the Eisenhower Exchange Fellowships Incorporated, Philadelphia, U.S.A.

International Potato Center (CIP)

2015-11-04T10:00:00.000+01:00

NIGERIA CAN REDUCE WHEAT IMPORTATION BY 25% – PEJU

PEACE — NOVEMBER 3, 2015

The representative of the International Potato Centre, (CIP) in Nigeria, Dr. Phorbee Peju has said the Country can reduce importation of wheat by 25 per cent, if its farmers embraced proper growth of Orange Fleshed Sweet Potatoes, (OFSP).

Peju, who spoke at the 18th annual lecture of Agricultural and Rural Management Training Institute (ARMTI), Ilorin on the topic; ‘Food Security, Employment Generation and Wealth Creation in a Developing Economy: the Role of (OFSP),’ said OFSP, which could be grown in all the 36 states of the Federation could meet some bakery needs in Nigeria.

According to her, the bakery industry – which is the largest industry in Nigeria – can boost farmers’ productivity; improve nutrition and livelihoods if OFSP- in form of puree – can be used in bread baking and other pastry products like cookies, cakes, pies and so on.

She said a composite flour of about 40 per cent OFSP puree has been made into well acceptable bread for commercial purpose in Nairobi while most bakery in Osun State are presently using it.

Peju noted that this inclusion even at 25 per cent, will go a long way in reducing dependence on wheat importation, conserve foreign exchange, put more money in farmers’ pockets and productively engage our women and youths, adding that this is just one aspect of use, not to mention other products that can be adopted from countries especially China.

She disclosed that there are other commercial high value products that can be made from the OFSP like juice, complementary foods, and jam/spread.

According to the country’s representative, Rainbow project, in collaboration with the Federal University of Agriculture Abeokuta and Federal Polytechnic Offa are working tirelessly on OFSP diversified product development and promotions for uptake by the medium-large scale industries.

OFSP is a breed of sweet potato that is fortified with Vitamin A; which is an essential micronutrient for all especially children under the age of five, pregnant and lactating mothers, just as it improves vision.

Beyond ‘boil and eat’, the OFSP had been processed into various commercial products and also used to enrich indigenous foods. Rural women processors in the six OFSP projects’ states have successfully come up with OFSP Kunu, (local beverage), OFSP gaari, Fufu, elubo, pap and other meals.

“EATING IS A RIGHT”- AFDB PRESIDENT

2015-11-02T10:00:00.000+01:00

EATING RIGHT QUALITY AND QUANTITY FOOD IS A RIGHT...............Agro Nigeria

The President, African Development Bank (AfDB), Dr. Akinwumi Adesina has emphasized that food, in quantity and quality, is the right of every human being, noting that what is most important is the safety of the belly.

Adesina who disclosed this at the just concluded conference on agriculture and agribusiness with the theme “Feeding Africa” held in Dakar, said Africa is ready to molt agriculture in a commercial enterprise – a transformation that requires the diversification of the agricultural sector.

The AfDB President is convinced that “Africa has to be the breadbasket of the world, however in order to achieve this, she must release her full potential and make a radical transformation of agriculture.

Adesina stated that according to estimates, the bill for food imports in Africa totaled US $ 35 billion annually. This he said should encourage Africans to develop her agricultural sector and dedicate the budget devoted to food imports to something else.

He called on the Central Banks and Development Banks to lend to the agriculture sector saying “Giving credit to agriculture is profitable” while also urging the Banks to investment in rural infrastructure.

“We must modernize agriculture in Africa”, the AfDB President said, adding that this will enable the youths to invest their energy in the sector. To address this therefore, Adesina has called for investment and development of the processing sector which helps to reinforce food security, reduce poverty, boost exports and promote economic growth, while he appealed to all Africans, to eradicate extreme poverty, hunger and position Africa in the global value chain.

Adesina had earlier announced the intention of the Bank to launch a “New Deal” for energy in Africa, so as to fill the gap which suffers the continent and hinders its development.

It may interest you to know that AfDB and its development partners will commit US $ 300 million to finance a fund to support women working in agriculture in Africa.

HarvestPlus’ Yellow Cassava… promoting nutrition through TV

2015-10-30T13:42:00.004+01:00

Yellow Cassava

And it was a few minutes past 9pm local time; an important announcement was about to be made. Venue was Expo Hall, Eko Hotel and Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos. The event was the third edition of the AfricaMagic Viewers’ Choice Awards (AMVCA). The hall was packed to the brim with stakeholders in Africa’s Film/TV industry.

The tension in the air was thick enough to be sliced with a knife. Across Africa, in over 50 countries, over 100 million viewers stayed glued to their TV boxes awaiting the biggest news in the entertainment industry. Only five movies, out of over 2,000 entries received by the organizers of the AMVCA from filmmakers across Africa, made it to the final shortlist as Best Movie 2014.

Yellow Cassava, produced by Zeb Ejiro in partnership with HarvestPlus Nigeria, ran neck-to-neck with big budget movies of 2014: Kunle Afolayan’s October 1; Lancelot Oduwa Imasuen’s Invasion 1897, Steve Gukas’s A place in the stars and Frank Rajah Arase’s Iyore.
When the final call was made, it was Afolayan’s October 1 that got the AMVCA’s gold statuette and acash prize of N1 million.

It appeared that Yellow Cassava had a very stiff competition in Kunle Afolayan’s October 1, as the latter won in the two categories: Best Movie 2014 and Best Script, for which Yellow Cassava was also nominated. The Yoruba title of Yellow Cassava movie, Dada Onipaki, by Fidelis Duker, was also nominated in the Best Indigenous Language category.

In retrospect, HarvestPlus is glad that its movies produced as info-edu-tainment tools to sensitize Nigerians on the benefits of Vitamin A Cassava, also known as yellow cassava, did very well a few months after their production.

The movies, when finally released to the general public, will not only create amusement among movie viewers, but will educate them on the need to choose and eat healthier and more nutritious foods rich in essential micronutrients required by body cells for optimum performance. Making it to the top five among over 2,000 entries from Africa is a great feat that has helped HarvestPlus get closer to one of its key objectives of reaching out to over 50 million Nigerians with information on Vitamin A Cassava in 2015. Available record shows that AfricaMagic channels on the platform of DStv and GOtv by MultiChoice Africa transmit to over 50 countries across Africa and are seen by over 100 million viewers.

The 2015 awards ceremony beamed live from the Lagos venue of the event has equally given Yellow Cassava a fair share of the word-of-mouth prominence it wouldn’t have got if it had not made it to that far.

AMVCA’s nomination is an endorsement for the movie’s credibility, excellent quality of production, thrilling content and the array of Nollywood stars it parades.
Yellow Cassava tells the story of a young and beautiful, agricultural extension worker, Vero, played by Nollywood star, Monalisa Chinda. Her posting to the rural village of Amuro to sensitize the populace on the bountiful yield of yellow cassava as well as its health benefits soon becomes the source of tension in her relationship with her fiancé, Dan (Chidi Mokeme). Other industry giants featured in the movie include: Segun Arinze and Emeka Ossai, among others. But beyond the love story of Vero and Dan, Yellow Cassava showcases the well-worn fact that people are usually slow to adopt new initiatives. In the end, it also points inevitably to a truism that “Better crops lead to better nutrients.”

Why HarvestPlus partnered Nollywood
“Partnering with Nollywood to make four movies in English and three major Nigerian languages – Ibo, Hausa, Yoruba – in 2014 was a strategic move by HarvestPlus to inform Nigerians on the need to produce and consume more nutritious crops,” said Paul Ilona, Country Manager, HarvestPlus Nigeria, who was also present at the awards ceremony. He thanked Nollywood and AfricaMagic for the honour and called on stakeholders in the country’s agricultural and health sectors to assist HarvestPlus in ensuring that every household in Nigeria gets access to more nutritious foods and a copy of the Yellow Cassava movies.

This, in his opinion, will enable them get adequate information on nutrition as well as tips on how to practice agriculture as a business. This will in turn yield maximum gains for the country when the socio-economic impact of the movie comes to play in their day-to-day life. People’s health will improve, jobs will be created and the economy will gradually stabilize, adequately diversified from oil.

Ademola Olanrewaju of Style Mania, in his remarks, says “the mass media (newspapers, magazines, radio, television and movies) are very powerful socializing agents despite their being impersonal sources because they reach large, heterogeneous and widely dispersed audiences. Their exact role in socialization is controversial but as disseminators of news and entertainment, they are extremely influential.” He states further that the mass media, especially television and movies, have been linked by several studies with having great influence on children, adolescents and even adults. Olanrewaju’s position provides adequate explanation to why HarvestPlus Nigeria chose Nollywood and movies to propagate the message of healthier nutrition.

Nollywood, Nigeria’s film and television industry is rated third biggest in terms of gross earnings and quality of movies produced in a year behind America’s Hollywood and India’s Bollywood. Nollywood is further rated second behind Bollywood when volume of movies produced per year is taken into consideration, condemning America’s Hollywood to third place.

Its revenue in the last four years is estimated between $500m and $1b, providing steady jobs to a teeming population of Nigerian youths.

A 2012 report released in London by Euromonitor International and Reed Exhibitions Limited, organizers of World Travel Market (WTM), predicted a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth in Africa as a result of the boom in the local film industry dubbed ‘Nollywood’. Nigeria’s Nollywood is reported to have made a huge leap to about N9trn in size, with analysts confirming that the segment made about N1.72 trn in 2013 alone. In 2014, Nollywood accounted for about 1.2 percent of Nigeria’s rebased GDP of $510b.

AMVCA 2015 has further shown that Nollywood occupies the front-row position in the Films/TV sector in Africa. Nollywood movies accounted for over 80 percent of the nominations. It was therefore a wise decision to leverage on Nollywood to project HarvestPlus’s Yellow Cassava initiative, not only in Nigeria but across Africa.
AMVCA as Africa’s Oscars
There is no gainsaying the fact that AMVCA, which debuted in 2013, has overtaken all other laurels that celebrate Africa’s creativity in the movie and TV industry. After three consecutive years, AMVCAs have become the most coveted trophy in the entertainment, TV and movie industry in Africa. Rated as Africa’s Oscars, AMVCAs command a continental respect due to the pedigree of the organizers, AfricaMagic, its parent bodies, MultiChoice and M-Net Africa.

With only one channel in 2003, AfricaMagic now has eight channels that transmit 24/7 throughout the year on all MultiChoice platforms – DStv, GOtv, mobile and online. AfricaMagic was born out of the need to create an African platform for African stories, an objective the franchise has consistently fulfilled. The channels connect Africans across many divides and give everyone a true sense of belonging. Filmmakers understand the huge impact of AfricaMagic on movies made in Africa, hence their avowed support for AMVCAs.
AMVCA remains the only entertainment show that pulls together the crème de la crème of the creative industry; from fashion to make-up, to music, the list is inexhaustible. The glitz and glamour of an AMVCA night remain evergreen in one’s memory for years to come. “Getting close to clinching one of the 33 gold statuettes on display on March 7, 2015, was an experience HarvestPlus and its Nollywood partners will not forget in a hurry,” Ilona said.

After AMVCA, what’s next for Yellow Cassava?
The AMVCAs of 2014 have been won and lost. But much remains to be done, especially with the Yellow Cassava movies. “For HarvestPlus, we will not rest on our oars until the movies have been seen and successes are recorded in reducing Vitamin A Deficiency (VAD), which according to the World Health Organization (WHO) affects about 20 per cent of pregnant women and 30 per cent of children under-five in Nigeria,” Ilona said. He called on government, the private sector and well-meaning Nigerians to support HarvestPlus to achieve its objectives of fighting hidden hunger (micronutrient deficiency), poverty, and other social menace resulting from micronutrient malnutrition, and at times death using the vitamin A cassava initiative.

Nigeria’s Oil And Irish Potato

2015-10-28T12:35:00.000+01:00

Irish Potato as a Replacement for Oil in Nigeria
NOVEMBER 6, 2014

By Ademola Adegbamigbe AgriNigeria News

The financial difficulty Nigeria experiences at present reminds me of the Irish, their potato and the famine that hit them like a stiletto, scattering them into the four winds. Between 1845 and 1852, what was popularly referred to as the Irish Potato famine killed over one million people. Worse still, the famine made over a million others to emigrate to the Americas, Australia, Africa, and elsewhere.

Cause of their problem was the introduction of this staple. Before the introduction of potato to Ireland, the people fed on butter, milk and grain products. Initially, potato was food for the “big people” but it later stole its way into the homes of peasants, overtaking what it met on the dining table.

In his book, Beyond Beef, Jeremy Rifkin (1993), wrote that the Celtic grazing lands of Ireland had been used to pasture cows for centuries. The British, as he argued, colonised the Irish, transforming much of their countryside into an extended grazing land to raise cattle for a hungry consumer market at home .

He stated further: “The British taste for beef had a devastating impact on the impoverished and disenfranchised people of Ireland, pushed off the best pasture land and forced to farm smaller plots of marginal land.”

Thus, the Irish turned to potato, a crop which, as Rifkin put it, could be grown abundantly in less favourable soil. Eventually, cows took over much of Ireland, “leaving the native population dependent on potato for survival”.

However, there was a mistake in the introduction of that agricultural product into Ireland. According to a scientific report, lack of genetic variation in the Irish potato made the famine severe. In other words, when it was attacked by blight, the Irish suffered for relying too much on monocropping.

Nigeria and Ireland share a few things in common in “monoculture”. Just as the British made the Irish to abandon their original food, rely on devastated grazing land to raise (monocropping) potato, the imperialists came to Nigeria and sheepishly we abandoned what used to fetch us revenue (especially in the area of agriculture) to depend on oil.

Now our oil has been attacked by its own brand of potato blight – low revenue – as a result of fall in international price of crude, a development which has been affecting all the 36 states, the Federal Capital Territory and the Federal Government, itself the dispenser of scarce resources.

States are no longer given their allocation as and when due, and when they receive, it is always lower than they are usually given.

In the middle of last month, Governor Raji Fashola of Lagos revealed at the World Food Day and agriculture value chain empowerment in Lagos that insufficient funds in the Federation Account made the Federation Accounts Allocation Committee, FAAC, meeting in Enugu to be postponed. If the commissioners for finance in all the 36 states who usually attend such meetings had gone to Enugu to collect what was due for them in September, what they would have shared was N400 billion rather than the N600 billion budget benchmark monthly.

The situation was so bad in September that, as reported by Thisday, the Department of Petroleum Resources “can only rake in N59 billion… the lowest it generated in the last two years”. It added that other revenue generating agencies have not been able to meet up.

This problem started from three sources. First, the discovery of shale oil and its wide usage in the United States made Nigeria to lose that big market in its oil exports. In 2006, Nigeria’s export of crude oil to the U.S. was 1.3 million barrels per day. This reduced to 0.5 million in 2012 and later, 100,000.

The other reason is the reduction in oil exploration by companies like ExxonMobil, Royal Dutch Shell, Total and Chevron. This, as The Guardian reported recently, caused Nigeria’s “persistent failure to meet its cash-call obligations in upstream joint ventures with oil majors”, putting the country in a deficit of $60 billion. Also, there is the fall in the price of crude oil in the international market. Now, it hovers around $81.

Meanwhile, the Federal Government, as a result of this, has vowed to embark on some cost-cutting measures, like collapsing certain overlapping agencies, a development that may lead to shedding of staff weight.

Nigeria needs to grow out of its mono-economy or dependence on only oil. When we were growing up, our primary school textbooks contained photographs of groundnut pyramids in the North; bags of cocoa from the West and barrels of palm oil from the South-East and South-South.

The states should not leave the matter of agriculture revival to the Federal Government and vice versa. Rather, the two should match in lock-step to make Nigeria regain its glory as a net exporter of agricultural products.

Industrialisation is another way of travelling out of our mono economy. And this should begin from the oil sector itself. It is an irony that Nigeria, a crude oil producer, should import refined petroleum products! In fact, the revelation by the Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke, that Nigeria would import petroleum products for 20 years is not reassuring.

Another opportunity is in the abundance of human resource in Nigeria. To tap this, the education sector must not be neglected. Rather, it needs adequate funding to produce a crop of engineers, inventors, industrialists and other professionals who will later pay hefty taxes and others.

Dependence on oil may make Nigeria suffer like the Irish when blight hit their potato.

Vitamin A Rich OFSP working wonders in Uganda

2015-10-25T13:25:00.000+01:00

ORANGE-FLESHED SWEET POTATOES: IMPROVING LIVES IN UGANDA

A nutritious sweet potato variety is growing in popularity and becoming an important strategy to improve vitamin A deficiency across Uganda. Orange-fleshed sweet potato (OFSP) is rich in vitamin A and is being disseminated with support from USAID under Feed the Future, the U.S. Government’s global hunger and food security initiative. OFSP has now been adopted by over 55,000 Ugandan farming households, with up to 237,000 households expected to be planting and eating it by 2018. In November 2013, the Government of Uganda released two more varieties of this potato, bringing the total number to six.

Tubers from OFSP harvest

The potato was Introduced in 2007 by HarvestPlus, a part of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) Program on Agriculture for Nutrition and Health.

USAID is working in Uganda to improve household nutrition and agricultural livelihoods through production and consumption of these bio-fortified sweet potatoes. Bio-fortification aims to reduce micronutrient deficiency through traditional breeding of certain crops that contain higher levels of essential
Amala(OFSP Flour) made from OSFP and OFSP leave as vegetable soup.

“Uganda was selected to pilot OFSP breeding and dissemination because sweet potato is grown by over 44 percent of Ugandan farmers and is the fourth most important staple food in the country,” explained Anna-Marie Ball, HarvestPlus country manager for Uganda.

Vitamin A deficiency is a significant health concern in the country, impacting 38 percent of children age 6 months to 59 months and 36 percent of women age 15 to 49 years, according to the 2011 Uganda Demographic and Health Survey. The deficiency is rampant in sub-Saharan Africa, affecting 43 million children under age 5, and contributing to high rates of blindness, disease and premature death in children and pregnant women. Lack of vitamin A also impedes children’s growth, increases their vulnerability to disease, and contributes to poor immune function and maternal mortality.

Recent figures released by the International Potato Center indicate that OFSP is an important source of beta-carotene, the pre-cursor to vitamin A. Just 125 grams of a fresh sweet potato root from most orange-fleshed varieties contains enough beta-carotene to provide the daily provitamin A needs of a preschooler.

Charles Musoke, a Seed Systems specialist working with HarvestPlus Uganda, explained that the orange-fleshed sweet potato is cross-bred with local potato varieties. In addition to addressing vitamin A deficiencies, it is as sweet as the indigenous white sweet potato, and has high and fast-maturing yields.

Agricultural extension staff work closely with farmers’ groups and other parties to ensure widespread OFSP availability and sustainability. Ball believes that if enough people receive the vines, plant them, and take good care of them, the bio-fortified OFSP variety can become well-established across Uganda.

Schools around Uganda that grow potatoes in their gardens as a main crop have shown interest in OFSP.

“In Kole district, students of Aboke Girls’ Primary School are focusing on orange-fleshed sweet potatoes with the aim of multiplying the vines. The aim is to multiply them so that each student can have sufficient quantities to take home for their parents to plant extensively,” said Odong Stephen, a field extension worker with World Vision Uganda.

Kyalisiima Kate, a project coordinator with Caritas Development Organization, explains that people are interested in growing OFSP mainly for home consumption. “In Kibaale district, 53 pupils of Buruku Primary School and 18 from Rwentale Primary School actively took part in the planting of OFSP in their respective gardens. While the teachers ate the roots, the pupils carried the vines for their parents to plant at home,” she said.

HarvestPlus provides information and training to farmers on how to conserve the potato vines from season to season. Nutrition training is also offered to the farmers. Families learn how to prepare the potatoes, which contribute to the nutritional needs of young children and pregnant and breastfeeding women, as a component of a balanced diet.

“Our beneficiaries are sensitized about the range of food preparation approaches. Besides steaming and boiling, families make flour from the orange potatoes, which, in combination with wheat flour and other ingredients, can be used to make chapatti, donuts and porridge.” said Ball.

With support from USAID, HarvestPlus is proactively working to link OFSP farmers to markets. Through personal connections, traders are educated about the nutritional benefits of OFSP and rapport is being built between the OFSP farmers and traders. HarvestPlus is also working with larger, commercial farmer groups (those who plant the OFSP on more than 1 acre of land) around Kampala, Mbarara, Mbale and Gulu districts and relies on their existing hubs for marketing. This ensures that OFSP gets to the market so everyone can access them, holding much promise for both farmers and families as the crop's popularity grows in Uganda.