Volume 2

Volume 2

Business

AGRICULTURE:

MOST

FASCINATING

BUSINESS SECTOR

MUCH

ADO

ABOUT RICE

THE SILENT REVOLUTION OF NIGERIA’S

THE CASE FOR A PEOPLE-CENTRED

AGRICULTURAL REVOLUTION

NIGERIAN

AGRICULTURE: grossly underdeveloped

CASSAVA NIGERIAN BASKETBALL ...the way forward

JA I A N

T N E I PAT

THE

CONTENTS. 06 07 14

news

EDITORIAL

strategy and operations

MUCH ADO ABOUT RICE

people and organizations

THE CASE FOR A PEOPLE CENTRED AGRICULTURAL REVOLUTION

46 47

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51 54

economy

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AGRICULTURE: MOST FASCINATING BUSINESS SECTOR

THE SILENT REVOLUTION OF NIGERIA’S CASSAVA

NIGERIAN BASKETBALL: CHARTING THE WAY FORWARD health & fitness

THE NAIJA PATIENT

specials

58

news

44

technology and innovation

sports

sales and marketing

NIGERIAN AGRICULTURE: GROSSLY UNDERDEVELOPED

MEGA TRENDS IN AGRICULTURE BY 2055

AGRICULTURE NEWS

4

EVENTS

Volume 2 Publisher/Editor-in-Chief Marie-Therese Phido Assistant Editor Ted Phido Design Advisers Bolaji Iwayemi Ifeoluwa Sopeju Graphic Designer Martin Ekwe Photography Bobo Iso Cover Photo Credit Reuters

Editorial Board Chairman Osten Olorunsola Vice Chairman Catherine Bickersteth Members Gbayode Somuyiwa Jacklyn Awobawikun Usen Udoh Stella Ojekwe Marie-Therese Phido

Address 20 Udi street, WEMA terrace, Osborne Estate, Ikoyi, Lagos, Nigeria.

BOUNDLESS is a thematic magazine inspired by our motto... Businesses are Boundless.

Our bi-monthly editions have a variety of captivating themes and are laced with articles focused on trending businesss and general interest issues www.boundless.ng

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from the

EDITORIAL. Editor

T

A

he theme for this edition of BOUNDLESS is Agriculture.

Many of us are aware that agriculture is a significant contributor to Nigeria’s GDP, but many of us also do not know this fact. As a country, we have not fully harnessed the potential of the sector despite the fact that it has been proven that many other developed and developing economies are sustained by the contribution of this sector.

The Nigerian government has put a focus on agriculture, which started with the policy reforms driven by Akinwumi Adesina, a former Minister of Agriculture in Nigeria, now the President of the Africa Development Bank.

Our cover story, “Africa’s Most Fascinating Business Sector”, clearly depicts how the sector is expected to evolve and the investments planned to drive growth in the sector. Also included is our insert on the insights on the mega trends that will define Agriculture in Sub-Saharan Africa by 2055.

dditionally, we are looking at Nigeria’s staple in “Much Ado About Rice”. We have reviewed what government and the private sector are doing to combat our rice situation, in view of the fact that Nigeria is the second largest importer of rice in the world and largest producer of rice in West Africa. We also examined how the sector will affect people in relation to skills, entrepreneurship, wealth creation and more in our article “The Case for a People Centred Agricultural Revolution”.

Our conclusion is that the sector is grossly underdeveloped as enunciated in “Nigerian Agriculture”, but believe we have a potential to succeed, especially when you read about the three notable Nigerians interviewed making impact and innovative strides in the sector.

I hope you gain from our insights and enjoy reading this edition. Please reach out to me on my social media platforms to continue the conversation.

Marie-Therese Phido Osat2012 Marie Phido Marie-Therese Phido

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STRATEGY AND OPERATIONS

MUCH ADO ABOUT RICE: T

Are We Any Closer To The End of “The Nigerian Rice Journey”?

he Lagos State Government recently announced the signing of an agreement with Buhler, a leading rice-mill producer, for the acquisition of a 32 tonnes per hour rice mill. It is estimated that the partnership would facilitate the creation of about 200,000 jobs across the agriculture value chain given that 32,000 hectares of farm land would be cultivated to produce rice paddy (an estimated 130

million kg of processed rice per year i.e. an equivalent of 2.6 million 50kg bags of rice). Prior to this, the Lagos State Government had entered into an arrangement with Kebbi State, having identified the State to have vast arable land suitable for the cultivation of rice, to ensure sustained inputs for the proposed mill and foster regional economic integration.

This announcement is the latest in the string of 7

announcements that have been made during the ongoing “Nigerian Rice Journey”. How far have we come as a Nation? How close are we to the end of this journey? What must we focus on at this time to ensure we get to our proposed destination? These are some of the imminent questions to be considered.

To provide some context, studies have shown that in Nigeria, rice constitutes over 20% of the total food

expenditure for urban and local households. According to the National Population Commission (NPC) and the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), the estimated population as at 2016 was put at 193.3 million. Rice, in particular is a key commodity consumed by most households with consumption at 5.1% annually. With an 8.2% share of global rice imports, Nigeria is the second largest importer of rice in the world and the largest producer of rice in West Africa. Of the estimated 6.5 million tonnes (MT) annual consumption, less than half is locally produced and the deficit that is imported costs the nation over $2 billion annually. It goes without saying that rice, is an important commodity to Nigeria and its people, little wonder why any and every announcement which seems to be indicating that there is some light at the end of this seemingly long “rice� tunnel is always well received.

good quality paddy and the uncompetitive prices of domestic rice. The cost of domestic paddy constitutes a dominant share of the final price of domestic milled rice. Over time and with targeted private sector investments, there are growing examples of integrated farm and milling facilities. This innovative operating model was adopted to ensure that input quality and availability is constantly assured and within the control of the rice processors. The model has delivered a win-win solution by fostering the training of thousands of local small-scale farmers in rice production while ensuring the continued availability of the much needed good quality paddy for the rice processors. To some extent, it appears that with the concerted efforts and the huge private sector investments that have been made, the incessant input shortage challenge has received a lot of attention and is being addressed head-on and in a manner s at 2014, there that is replicable by other were 24 operational interested and new private large-scale rice sector entrants into the rice mills in Nigeria with a production and processing combined annual capacity space. Local rice production of over 1 million MT. A and processing though major challenge being still not sufficient at this faced by these mills was time to bridge the demandthe incessant shortage of supply gap is clearly on the

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Harvesting Rice © Eliza Frydrych

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(FMARD) has developed the Agriculture Promotion Policy (APP) which builds off the Agricultural Transformation Agenda (ATA) of the previous administration, adopting a private-sector led approach with the government prioritizing crops that are domestically consumed or have a high potential for export. Rice has been designated as priority crop by APP. The private sector is expected to and continues to make investments in the sector; however steps towards addressing some of the external factors plaguing the successful achievement of policy objectives can only be driven by the Government.

The posture of the Government therefore will provide the much needed assurance to private sector investors that have at one time or the other been caught in the trap of policy changes or reversals and have invariably lost substantial amounts invested along the rice value chain.

“

The private sector is expected to and continues to make investments in the sector; however steps towards addressing some of the external factors plaguing the successful achievement of policy objectives can only be driven by the Government.

�

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increase.

Despite the many activities to promote rice production and processing, the non-competitive domestic price of rice remains a glaring reality. This can be attributed to several external factors which require critical evaluation and prompt attention. Even though, it can be said that these are known factors which have in the past years been the subject of many articles and several debates, they are yet to be deliberately and conclusively addressed. Perhaps lending a voice to the discourse at a time when the Government continues to show a renewed and focused attention on the agricultural sector and rice in particular will give an added impetus for deliberate and timed action.

It is laudable that under the current administration, the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development

imply enhancing the productivity of paddy production, thereby lowering its price, can have a significant effect on the competitiveness of domestic rice prices. The external factors alluded to above include the provision and upgrade of rural infrastructure such as irrigation facilities, feeder roads, power supply and increased mechanisation to achieve increased production yields.

Increased production yields will eventually translate to improvement in domestic rice prices. Identification and subsequent introduction of low cost, scalable technology into rice farming for increased efficiency is a key element that should be incorporated in the training and farm practices being introduced to small holder farmers. This technology could be developed for or acquired by and would

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Rice Mill Abakaliki Š ayo_adewunmi 11

be proprietary to the Government at State or Federal level. In the medium to long term, the cost of acquisition will be recovered while the benefits will continue to accrue to the rice small holder farmers and the farming community at large. The ultimate aim of increased efficiency and optimisation is that domestic rice prices will improve and eventually become more competitive.

Rice grows well across the country, however, main areas with arable land for cultivation are in the middle belt and northern states of Benue, Kaduna, Niger and Taraba, as well as the south eastern states of Enugu, Ebonyi and Cross River. Many of these states are located at quite some distance from the urban areas which have the large markets where the end products are being traded and sold. This distance has direct implication for transportation cost which consequently is quite significant and contributes to

the overall non-competitive prices of domestic milled rice. This calls for the urgent need for alternative transportation mode by rail, sea etc. Developing these alternative modes of transportation has to be Government-led even if private sector participation will be required. The availability of these alternate transportation modes is cost effectiveness and overall improved efficiency along the domestic rice value chain.

Data gathering, collation and analysis remains an area that still requires significant focus.

The reports and research studies available are rife with conflicting data and information which are often attributed to the lack of well-kept data banks and databases for rice along the entire value chain. A number of international agencies have published many insightful reports but have often had to base their conclusions on assumptions being made from incomplete data and infor12

mation.

There is a need to have clarity and agreement on the critical trend analysis to be carried out, required data to be gathered for this purpose, when i.e. at what period, where will

“

Identification and subsequent introduction of low cost, scalable technology into rice farming for increased efficiency is a key element that should be incorporated in the training and farm practices being introduced to small holder farmers.

�

Rice mill / Š AndrewG-of the north

the data be gathered, who will gather the data and how will the data be gathered? As basic as these steps sound, they very well summarise how we must work back from what we want to achieve to what needs to be done. Until this is done, we will continue to use conflicting figures and/or settle for estimating with averages of all available data.

In summary, it has been established that countries that have effectively developed and deployed a viable and successful rice

agenda have had their Governments take the lead in some of the areas highlighted above. Examples can be drawn from countries like Thailand and India. As we move along on “The Nigerian Rice Journey�, Government engagement and participation remains critical to ensuring a lasting solution to some of the challenges that plague the domestic rice value chain. Significant strides have been taken and some successes recorded to date. However, there is still some way to go before we 13

can confidently allude to the fact that we have reached our destination and achieved the objective of self-sustainability.

Ebunoluwa Bolodeoku is a Strategy and Operations expert. ebolodeoku@gmail.com

PEOPLE & ORGANIZATIONS

Case The

People

fora

Centred

Agricultural Revolution

F

or as long as anyone can remember, Agriculture has been hailed as Nigeria’s next big thing; especially in moments of national introspection sponsored by lower crude oil revenues biting hard on everyone’s pockets, Government inclusive. The potential of the sector has been held up as the solution to several of the nation’s perennial ills including poverty, food security issues, malnutrition, need for diversification and even a justification for restructuring. Regardless of the merits of each of the arguments, it is easy to understand why their proponents point to agriculture as the panacea.

I

n Nigeria, similar to most of its sub-Saharan African cousins, Agriculture is the largest employer of labour and a major contributor to GDP. It is the sector best represented across the nation’s geopolitical zones, gender divide and the social demographic strata. For the few in the urban centres who may be truly disconnected from participating in the agricultural value chain, they stand at its receiving end with money in hand, hoping the chain doesn’t come up empty.

Nevertheless we have not fulfilled the sector’s potential nor scratched the surface of what is possible.

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Possibilities of Nigeria’s Agriculture Sector

landmass of 84,000 square kilometres, a significant portion of which is arable.

Despite being a savannah, it can grow a large variety of crops including rice, maize, millet, ginger, cashew, pepper, tomato, cowpea, beans, Have you ever read cucumber, watermelons; the possibilities of the Niyou get the idea. This is not gerian agriculture sector? to talk of the other 35 states Here are a few: of Nigeria’s of the country and the FCT total land area of nearly one which all have arable lands. million square kilometres So why has the sector and 82 million hectares of remained behind despite arable land, according to its potentials and why does PWC. This is defined as agriculture remain a dream land under temporary crops in Nigeria? There are many (double-cropped areas are answers spanning finance, counted once), temporary technical capacity, the land meadows for mowing or for tenure system, quality of pasture, land under market or kitchen gardens, and land temporarily fallow.

That means the country has over three hundred thousand (300,000) square kilometres of arable land, i.e. 30 million hectares.

For context, the highest estimate of Nigeria’s rice consumption is about 6 million metric tonnes per annum.

inputs, government policy and many more. Depending on your expertise, you can find an answer literally anywhere you look. There is at least a major issue at every point in the value chain and across the major factors of production. The good thing is once we know the issues, we can also start to imagine a better future for the sector.

Eventually It’s All About People With an estimated population of 193.3 million people, Nigeria is the most populous nation in Africa and the 8th most populous

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t average yields of roughly 6 tonnes per hectare, we only require 1 million hectares fully farmed to meet our seemingly huge rice requirements which were mostly imported historically. Niger State alone has a 15

© FAO/Sonia Nguyen.

nation in the world. Population growth is forecasted to average 2.8% over the long term, with total population forecast to reach 210 million people by 2020, according to the World Bank. According to the FAO, while agriculture contributes 3% to global GDP, more than 25% of GDP is derived from agriculture in many least developed countries. In Nigeria, the sector contributed 24% of GDP in 2016, exactly in line with the FAO data for the least developed countries.

A vibrant agricultural sector was an important part of many successful country’s transformation stories. An agricultural revolution preceded the industrial one in Europe and the USA and more recently in China, and the

growing Asian economies.

Think of the many advantages that sustained and well considered investments in agriculture are bound to create: food surpluses, lower food prices, economic growth and job creation. However while the agricultural sector employs a large percentage of the Nigerian population, most of the farming is subsistent in nature mainly to take care of the food needs of the farm households and produce a little surplus for sale.

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n virtually every state, you can find smallholder farmers and households who are engaged in production, homestead processing 16

and marketing activities for all kinds of crops and outputs. If we had a way to do something for a sector that could positively impact the livelihoods of the vast majority of the population, wouldn’t you agree that we should?

Of course, we have had many interventions in the Nigerian agriculture sector. So many in fact that we can date people’s likely age by their ability to remember the various initiatives. From Operation Feed the Nation to Agriculture Transformation Agenda and beyond, Nigeria as usual is not devoid of policy initiatives. One thing is clear though, sustainability and consistency have been the problem. So let me argue for a slightly different

Š Stephan Gladieu / World Bank

stance in focus while we keep tinkering with the details of technical policy.

Can we make this whole agricultural revolution about the people? Would it matter if we defined the expected outputs in terms of changes to people’s lives and livelihoods? What kind of metrics can we develop to track the human impact of agricultural policy initiatives? Would the results be better?

Crafting a PeopleCentred Agriculture Policy

The experts may choose to differ but one can easily see how the policy may be different from the people point of view. It would definitely aim to address a few issues such as: Modern skills development: Most of our farming techniques have not improved in a century. Provision of education and skills acquisition opportunities aimed at closing the gap between the industry’s skill levels and the rest of the world would be a major leap that would affect productivity and aid in recruiting and retaining more young hands in agriculture.

Farm management 17

and entrepreneurship: Being in agriculture as an entrepreneur is fundamentally different from doing it to survive, even if the land size and other resources are the same. Farming is ideal for entrepreneurship training and exposure although it requires a different mindset and clear plan to run as a business. I have been able to see the difference such a mind-set makes in reviewing clients and investee companies where a smaller operation ends up doing better because it is infused with the energy of an entrepreneur.

Partnerships for progress: Many

smallholder farmers and processors in the agriculture sector are

more people to participate and be committed to the revolution. Anecdotal stories have emerged in recent times of Nigerian states where thousands of farmers earned millions from the last harvest of rice. Do you think anyone has to unable convince them to plant this to season? achieve There are many more long term ways the sector’s technical success or experts could take a peoretain significant ple perspective in defining value in their and implementing their operations. The policies and I would wager relationships with their that it can only improve the partners are typically oneimpact and sustainability sided. If aided to develop of those policies. Policy fairer contracts which are is useless without people, medium to long term in people are the engine of nature, they will rise and every successful revolution raise up their communities not policy documents. with them. A few start-ups are beginning to create such opportunities for them, and the testimonials are very ome of this is already exciting stories of changes being done, but we lives. We must multiply should do more. For their impact. instance, the African Development Bank’s strategy Wealth creation: Rather for the sector “Feed Africa: than poverty alleviation Strategy for Agricultural aimed at reducing misTransformation in Africa” ery, if we actively aimed aims to end hunger and ruto create wealth for the ral poverty in Africa in the participants in the agriculnext decade. While focusture value chain thereby ing on transformation and enabling them accumulate scaling up agriculture as a increased resources of their business through value adown; we might actually get dition, it gives a nod to the

importance of addressing the 70% of Africa’s population and about 80% of the continent’s poor who live in rural areas and depend on agriculture and non-farm rural enterprises for their livelihoods.

Also, in one of its policy documents on human capital in agriculture for Africa, the World Bank reports that African ministers and leaders have asked for a radically new approach to agriculture education, as the current system is out of step with the job market. It then notes that the Bank is supporting African leaders to transform higher education so that it produces entrepreneurs, creative thinkers, and business leaders who contribute to economic growth and poverty reduction. Let us all say amen to that!

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By Dotun Adegbite. Dotun holds the CFA Charter, an MBA and an Engineering Bachelor’s degree. dotunadegbite@gmail.com

AGRIC QUIZ the environment that come from over-application of chemicals.

1. Yes or No, Agriculture is the science, art, or practice of farming, including cultivation of the soil for the growing of crops and the rearing of animals to provide food, wool, and other products.

6. Yes or No, The science of utilizing plants, animals and soils for food, fuel, feed, and fiber and more is called agronomy.

2. True or False, Wheat is a vegetable crop.

3. True or False, Arable land is land used or suitable for growing crops.

7. True or False, The purpose of agriculture is to describe natural processes or phenomena for the first time.

4. True or False, Pure agriculture involves no doing apart from itself.

8. True or False, Horticulture does not involve agriculture.

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9. Y

8. F

7. F

6. Y

5. Y

4. T

3. T

2. F

1. Y

Answers:

9. Yes or No, The science or practice 5. Yes or No, The goal of precision of planting, managing, and caring farming is to improve farmers’ profits for forests is called forestry. and harvest yields while reducing the negative impacts of farming on

SALES & MARKETING

NIGERIAN AGRICULTURE Grossly Under-Developed

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PHOTO: Getty Images

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griculture was the mainstay of Nigeria’s economy before the discovery of crude oil. From 1960 to 1969, the sector accounted for an average of 57.0% of

contributed an average of 23.5% to GDP, and generated 5.1% of export earnings.

Due to the recent fall in crude oil prices, export earnings from crude oil has reduced significantly. This

Source: PWC

GDP, and generated 64.5% of export earnings. From 1970 to late 2000s, the sector’s contribution to GDP and export earnings steadily declined, because Nigeria’s focus shifted to petroleum exploration. Over the past five years, the sector has Research: PWC

has triggered conversations around the critical role agriculture has to play in diversifying the economy.

Despite agriculture being Nigeria’s single largest economic sector.

In 2016, agriculture accounted for 24.4% of 21

Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The sector is highly concentrated on crop production, which accounts for 90% of output.

Fishery, forestry, and livestock, account for the remaining 10%.

Though agriculture makes up a sizeable portion of economic activities in Nigeria, the sector’s impact on government and export revenues is relatively small, accounting for only 4.8% of total foreign earnings in 2016.

In spite of this, the country’s agricultural potential is high, because Nigeria has 82 million hectares of arable land, and so far, only 34 million hectares have been cultivated. With government’s renewed focus on diversification through import substitution, as well as Nigeria’s large and growing population, agriculture is increasingly becoming an important source of consumer and industrial demand.

In the last five years, different administrations

Cocoa © André Pipa

is reported to have boosted commercial banks’ lending to agriculture from 0.1% in 2011 to 5% in 2014, and reduced the 2014 food import bill by NGN 466 billion. More recently, the current administration launched the Agriculture Promotion Policy (APP) aimed at resolving food production shortages and improving output quality. In addition, the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) prioritises food security and aims to achieve self-sufficiency in tomato paste, rice and wheat, by 2017, 2018, and 2019/2020 respectively. The ERGP projects that the value of agricultural production would increase by 31% to NGN 21 trillion in 2020.

African Farmer

have focused on agriculture as a means to diversify the economy and several policies have been designed in this regard.

In 2012, the Agricultural Transformation Agenda (ATA) was introduced to improve farmers’ income, increase food security, generate employment and transform the country to a leading player in the food market.

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he ATA is reported to have increased agriculture output by 11% to 202.9 million tonnes between 2011 and 2014. Also, the scheme

Research: PWC

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Farmers Daughter / Google

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espite these policy interventions, the agricultural sector is still largely underdeveloped, primarily because the focus is on production, rather than on enhancing value addition across value chain segments. For instance, analysis from Cocoa Barometer suggests that in the production of a bar of chocolate, a marginal 6.6% of the value addition is in the production, while the remaining is in the processing, marketing, and retail segments of the value chain - we expect this trend to be similar across most agricultural products. However, Nigeria’s value chain is characterized by 80% small holder farmers and a few commercial processors plagued by inadequate inputs, obsolete technology, and poor financing.

In view of the above, we have assembled a team of visionary and inspired Nigerians who have decided to take a bet on the sector to change the outlook and output of the sector by looking at innovative ways that value can be created from the sector. They have gone into the processing of agricultural output, agribusiness and agrictech. In the following pages, we will see their perspectives on the sector.

Research: PWC

African Farmer /

By Marie-Therese Phido, Sales & Marketing Strategist and Business Coach. mphido@elevato.com.ng 23

Dr. Jide Adedeji CEO, EASYSAUCES tells us why he decided to go into making sauces and how he is finding the agricultural food precessing business in Nigeria.

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What is the inspiration behind Obe Sauce?

Obe sauce was inspired by many life experiences, but the underlying inspiration is an attempt to solve problems and the recognition of the need to make the world a better place. In Nigeria, most of our meals require a sort of sauce, for breakfast, lunch and dinner. There is always a need to have cooked pepper, tomato and onion in meals in one form or the other. You find that our people spend a lot of time doing this. Obe sauce was inspired by a need for ease of cooking sauces, simplification, convenience and time saving in making meals such as sauces, soups, jollof rice, yam porridge, beans etc.

Your product is wholly tomato based, how has the process of supply affected your business?

Obe sauce is tomato based, and has four other ingredients commonly used to make sauces in Nigeria. All these ingredients are sourced from the Northern parts of Nigeria. The major producing states are Kaduna, Katsina, Kano and Gombe.

According to the Growth and Employment in States (GEMS4) project of the UK agency for international development and the World Bank, Nigeria produces 1.8 million tonnes of tomato annually, and has a demand of 2.3 million metric tonnes of tomato which is the 14th largest production of tomato globally accounting for 10.79% of Africa’s total annual tomato production. When you compare the production volume to the demand, you find that there is a 500,000 (0.5 Million metric tonnes) metric tonnes

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Tomatoes and pepper / Google

EASYSAUCES range of products PHOTO: EASYSAUCES

excess demand or supply deficit in Nigeria. If you also take into consideration the production volume of 1.8 Million metric tonnes, over 45% is lost to post harvest losses, poor handling and logistic methods, this further complicates the availability level of tomato in Nigeria.

In summary, Nigeria produces huge volumes of on-season and excess production when tomato is in season, but because of poor and inadequate storage, processing and preservation technologies, we see inadequate supply and dramatic changes in supply, and commercial availability of tomato and

tomato products.

However, we have no problems getting tomato and our other raw materials for Obe sauce. We have a process of buying directly from farmers, aggregators and marketers from the north. Our production level at this time has not been impacted negatively with supplies issues.

Is the entry barrier low or high and what should other agribusiness entrepreneurs

26

interested in food processing consider as they enter this market?

The barrier to entry into this area is quite high. This is a business area that is not supported significantly by investments, finance and banking institutions. There is a clear technology and know-how gap and the business environment is quite tough and difficult.

Agribusiness entrepreneurs should understand that the rewards are potentially very high, its a lucrative business area, it has long term potential to be

rewarding, but it’s not a get rich quick area; you must be ready to give the business all you’ve got.

Entrepreneurs interested in this area should try to understand the underlying technologies, importance of good products and quality control. Entrepreneurs must focus on creating a good product, then the chances of success is much improved.

What other agricultural products do you manufacture?

Obe sauce is manufactured in our state of the art factory in Ibeju Lekki as a flagship product of Easysauces Nigeria limited (www. easysauces.com). We have other businesses that are in different stages of development and incubation. We have another companyMouthfresh Nigeria limited that produces mouth freshening mints which are customised and tailor made keepsakes. (www. mouthfreshltd.com) . In addition, We have Specialty Natural flavours company engaged in making flavor extracts from local agricultural commodities.

We also have a consulting company that helps new

investors and entrepreneurs to set up and create new businesses in the food and beverage sector, we consult with established companies for new product development and due diligence in mergers or acquisitions.

How are you spreading the gospel of attracting young graduates to embrace agriculture as a viable career option?

I was the pioneer Chief Executive Officer of Teragro Commodities Nigeria Limited which is the agribusiness subsidiary of Transcorp (The Transnational Corporation of Nigeria). We set up the first commercially viable juice concentrate production company in Nigeria.

The state of the art factory was set up in Makurdi, Benue state. We had partnership with universities, Polytechnics and local secondary schools to come visit and tour our factory where young people are able to see the process of 27

converting agricultural commodities that they are conversant with turned into commercial food products and commodities.

We have had several seminars for undergraduate and graduate students in Universities, we plan to do more.

Tell me about Dr. Jide Adedeji? Who was he before Obe Sauce?

Before becoming the CEO of Easysauces Nigeria Limited the manufacturers of Obe-Sauce, I was the pioneer CEO of Teragro, the Agribusiness subsidiary of Transcorp. I have over 20 years experience in food flavours, natural products and consumer packaged goods from my work as a Flavour Manager for Cadbury and the Foods Division of Lever Brothers.

Onyeka Akumah CEO, FARMCROWDY Akumah is using agritechnology to push the Nigerian agriculture agenda.

What is Farmcrowdy, how did it originate and who are those behind its vision?

“everyday people” can now become farmers without a farm by sponsoring maize, rice, cassava or poultry farmers online.

The idea came from a problem I faced in February 2015. There had Farmcrowdy is Nige- been a lot of talk about ria’s first digital agriculture investing in Agriculture and platform focused on ending consistently, the Federal poverty in Africa one farm- Government of Nigeria er at a time. We have intro- had encouraged people duced Nigerians to a new to invest in the sector. I category of farming where was excited about doing 28

it and wanted to invest in the agriculture sector but like many people, I didn’t know a farmer I could trust to deliver on my vision.

I didn’t know if I could even find the farmer and in any case, whether I would get a return on investment at harvest not to mention making a profit after investing in a farm.

On the flip side, I noticed that there were over 38 million small-scale

Farmcrowdy equipment . PHOTO: FARMCROWDY

farmers in Nigeria. These were individuals who live on the farm with a size of 2.5 – 7.5 acres of farmland.

The general problem they faced was not having enough funds to expand their farm operations from subsistence farming to farming as a business.

Beyond this, many smallscale farmers had problems with smart-farming techniques and access to the right market for their farm produce in order to make good margins. This

gave birth to Farmcrowdy – an online platform that connects the small-scale farmers with sponsors who will fund their farms to increase their capacity with the guidance of our technical field experts to grow production.

As a Co-Founder and Chief Executive of the business, I’m saddled with the vision along with a great team to help meet the mandate of empowering 10,000 of these small-scale farmers as quickly as we 29

can.

‘Ending poverty in Africa one farmer at a time’ is your slogan, how do you plan to do this?

Every farmer we engage on Farmcrowdy will grow their income by 120% within a farming season.

Beyond this, we train our farmers on smart-farming techniques and help them

with the right market that will grow their margins.

In doing so, we have currently worked with 950 farmers in the last 9 months since we’ve launched and we want to continue to take a lead in this category of empowering farmers to 10,000 in the next 12 months. As we get ambitious about our goals, we are gradually scaling our efforts in the South-West, South-South, North-Central and North-Western parts of Nigeria with presence currently in Oyo, Ogun, Edo, Plateau and recently, Akwa-Ibom and Kaduna States. The big goal will be to expand into other African regions where smallscale farmers need our solution to tackle the problem of funding their farm operations.

You are an agricultural technology company. What

does this mean?

Are there others like you in this economy and how are you positioned to dominate this space?

As an agricultural technology company, we are using technology to bridge the gap between farmers and agriculture enthusiasts who have interest in agriculture. We provide an online platform (www. farmcrowdy.com) where our customers can either follow a farm or sponsor a farm of their choice and get updates from their farms in text, photo and video formats, all from the comfort of their personal devices.

In doing this, Farmcrowdy has introduced a new form of farming and we are growing a new community of farmers without farms to have an impact while

expecting a return for their sponsorship.

As other players come into the space, we are taking a leading role to introduce better options for our farmers, grow our community of sponsors and take a leadership role in partnerships with major Agriculture stakeholders in Nigeria.

Why agriculture considering your background?

I have a background in Software Engineering, Marketing & Business Development, but I saw a need in agriculture that could be filled through the application of all I knew especially with technology. I have always sought for ways to focus the application of technology to solving key problems that Nigerians face in major sectors of interest including transportation, real-estate and today

Farmcrowdy Outgrowers. PHOTO: FARMCROWDY

30

Agriculture through Farmcrowdy.

How is Farmcrowdy structured?

Farmcrowdy is currently structured as an Agric-Tech company that is empowering small scale farmers on a profit sharing model.

Every time a Farm is sponsored, we engage the farmers with all the necessary farm inputs they need for their work including seeds, fertilizer, tractor service, trainings, e.t.c. The farmer then goes to work under the supervision of our Technical Field specialists who work

Maize farm

“We have currently worked with 950 farmers in the last 9 months�

31

with them throughout the farming cycle. At harvest, we provide a network of industrial and open market buyers to purchase our farm produce in order to ensure profit for our farm sponsors. This profit is then shared between the farmers, the farm sponsor and Farmcrowdy on a 40:40:20 ratio respectively.

Has government sufficiently supported you and the industry in general?

Recently, the Minister of Agriculture in Nigeria spoke warmly about Farmcrowdy by saying that Farmcrowdy is a good innovation. In his words, he said the Ministry will aid this innovation and the Federal Government will be involved.

In addition to this, we have relationships with Syngenta, Notore, Rockerfeller Foundation, IITA Youths and the media. We recently won the Agro-Innovator of the year 2016/2017 at the Nigerian Agriculture Awards and were nominated as one of the Top 25 Most Innovative Companies in Nigeria for 2016/2017 by BusinessDay Awards. These, in addition

to our selection as the only African company to participate in the Techstars Atlanta program in 2017 has provided support for us at Farmcrowdy.

doing that is not currently being done?

We believe that Agricultural policies have greatly improved however, some of the things the Federal government of Nigeria and other African states can do is to improve on research and new agricultural techniques, provide loans for farmers, encourage youth participation by providing free training and provide loans for the practice of modern agriculture.

The contribution of agriculture is the highest in the country’s GDP, many people find this surprising.

Why is this so and how can we change this lack of Tell me about Onyeka Akumah. knowledge?

Many people find What drives you this surprising because and where do you more attention is on the other sectors of the econsee yourself in the omy like Oil and Gas, but there is indeed a huge ponext five years. tential in Agriculture.

We can address this lack of knowledge by shifting focus to Agriculture, highlighting farming as a notable profession and provide more opportunities for youths to participate in Agriculture

What should government and policy makers be 32

I have always sought out new ways to focus the application of technology to solve key problems that Nigerians face in major sectors of interest.

In the next 5 years, I look forward to impacting the lives of at least 50,000 small scale farmers in Nigeria and engaging over 2 million Nigerian youths to participate in Agriculture through Farmcrowdy.

Groundnut Farmers PHOTO: GOOGLE

33

Helen Emore FOUNDER, AUNTY HELEN FOODS Helen is passionate about positioning agricbusiness into a viable business option for Nigerians.

What does agribusiness mean from a Nigerian perspective?

trepreneurs. This is due to the positive attention being paid to the agribusiness value chain by past and current governments. The recent recession provided more incentives for Nigerians to look inwards and explore other opportunities beyond government contracts, petroleum and other

In recent years, there has been an increased interest in agribusiness by en34

“

I honestly do not subscribe to price fixing or control by the government or any system

”

35

Groundnuts © Santosh Kumar

traditional businesses that have contributed to the recent economic boom.

There is said to be an imbalance and maladjustment from the uneven progress in the growth and development of agriculture to agribusiness. Do you see this challenge and

I say traditional thinking, I mean that most actors in the systems have not thought of new ways of doing things.

They tend to be stuck on the premise that a lot of capital is needed to build a large industrial space for value addition.

In addition, we are limited by our focus on past practices that have failed.

We have refused to look at modern practices that can improve yield or promote value addition through collaboration with other entrepreneurs and actors in the market space, we can also work with researchers to solve problems that have kept practitioners focused at the primary level of the value chain.

if so, how have you overcome it? Many say agribusi The slow progression ness is hampered from agriculture to agribusiness is a result by inconsistent of several factors government polwhich include policy challenges, archaic icies, goals and agricultural practices, lack implementation. of information, a weak credit system and lack of What do you knowledge and information on strategic and modern think government agricultural practices should do to transincluding opportunities in the value-chain. The form this indusmajor challenge to the try? growth of that sector is the limitation caused by traditional thinking. When 36

In the past there have been policy somersaults

Working with outgrowers to cultivate over 200hectares of Cassava PHOTO: Helen 37

such as the cassava flour project and ban on rice importation. However, we can see that in recent times government has decided to pay serious attention to agribusiness from primary production to promoting activities all along the value chain.

The Federal government recently announced that it was creating a fund for agribusiness and has started disbursing funds through the Bank of industry and Ministry of Trade and Investments. The current strategy of governments at Federal and State level is to ensure that entrepreneurs in the agribusiness space get some business education along with the grants or soft loans that they will receive. This policy trajectory will change the utilization of funds and help the entrepreneurs improve their capacity to move up the agribusiness value chain beyond primary production.

I think the government should partner with more specialists in the private sector to ensure the successful implementation of policies that have been designed to grow the agribusiness sector in Nigeria.

ket price control mechanism. How can this mechanism be adopted in Nigeria?

We used to have produce boards in Nigeria, but now we are witnessing the evolution of commodity exchanges to give more farmers access to market.

The prices will be fixed at the exchange based on market forces. I honestly do not subscribe to price fixing or control by the government or any system.

As farm practices improve, modernize and we see the increase in the number of processing activities, the value of produce will increase due to demand and increase in forward contracts. The forward contracts will help stabilize the prices of products as high volume consumers will have more stable sources.

This will lead to increase in volume of formal financing activities including insurance.

Many still do not see the promise of agriculture as a viOther climes have able business, but a system for mar38

see the hardship.

How can we begin to make the sector more attractive and promising?

They see the hardship because of the perception that agriculture is for the poor relative in the village or provinces. This is because most subsistent farmers struggle to earn living wages from their efforts. However, things are changing as more farmers have an opportunity to add value and sell to neighbouring cities and sometimes countries.

There is this wrong superiority complex that ‘white collar’ workers have, that they are better than craftsmen and people in other vocations which do not involve sitting in the office. Things are changing and people are beginning to see from afar that there are opportunities and spaces in which they can play. They are seeing indigenous entrepreneurs excel in value addition, improved packaging, hygiene and quality.

Now they are encouraged to participate in agribusiness.

Government and entrepreneurs are beginning to process data on food sufficiency, security and

economic opportunities more systematically to make informed economic decisions to promote agribusiness. So, we see conversion of data released by the national bureau of statistics, world Bank, IMF and the Food and Agricultural Organization into narratives on opportunities for Nigeria to diversify her economy, encourage farming with over 37% of arable land.

What impact have you made in the sector and hope to make in the next 3 years?

I would say I have just entered the sector and my primary focus is to help entrepreneurs activate agribusinesses and also support MSMEs to scale through mentorship, business education and collaboration. My greatest joy is when I see entrepreneurs with a strong value and opportunities to improve practices and scale up. I derive satisfaction from presenting their businesses to them in ways they have not thought of and at a scale that used to think will be very difficult to attain. The response is always the same, “I

thought of this, but had imagined that it will be difficult to achieve, but the way you have put it now with the phasing plan, I see my business there in a short while�. So talk about specialization, there are different talents and skills required to develop the industry.

I

t is exciting especially when I see SMEs that I have engaged implementing my recommendations that help their businesses develop significantly. It is really a great joy and we are working on doing more in that space in a way that will enable me reach millions of entrepreneurs across the continent.

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cassava plant Š aaroncorey

ECONOMY

COVER STORY

AGRICULTURE: MOST FASCINATING BUSINESS SECTOR by entrepreneur and scholar Ndubuisi Ekekwe

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love agriculture. But I do not want to be a farmer. I want to provide the modern shovels and the cutlasses for farmers. I know one thing: agriculture in the next ten years will create more millionaires than any other sector in Africa.It is very obvious because from Ghana to Kenya, Nigeria to Egypt, the African agenda revolves around food sufficiency.

This is massive and fascinating.

Africa is entering a golden era of agricultural production where technology will drive productivity. We expect continuous improvement in crop yield over the next few years.

Everyone knows that fixing agriculture will fix Africa because more than 65% of Africa’s working population is employed in agriculture. So, it has the most catalytic impact possible in raising millions of people out of poverty.

The path to making sure that farming communities are not hungry is a key strategic imperative of both the Gates Foundation and the African Development Bank.

The African Development Bank (AfDB) plans to invest about $24 billion over the next 10 years to accelerate the realisation of the food sufficiency agenda, its president, Akinwumi 40

Adesina, has said. Mr. Adesina said the investment would be through the Bank’s ‘Feed Africa Strategy’ would require paying attention to the implementation of plans to achieve the green revolution in Africa.

It was recently reported that the Gates Foundation is committing about $30 billion to agriculture, and Nigerian farmers union are already tapping into the resources.

The Rice Farmers Association of Nigeria (RIFAN) says it is working to access the $30 billion agricultural grant contributed

by Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and other donor

How You Can Play In Agriculture?

Here are ways entrepreneurs can play in the sector: Š Jean Marc Lim

agencies for rice production in Africa. Alhaji Aminu Goronyo, the National President of the association told stakeholders that the association had submitted a template that would qualify it for the grant.

The amount of money in agriculture is huge.

From Western Union Foundation to Ford Foundation, from federal governments to state governments, there are many sources of intervention programs designed for the sector. Agriculture is where to be.

provision of produce price data.

Storage: African farmers

struggle with storage of produce. Building solutions in this area will be catalytic.

Logistics: there is a huge

opportunity to facilitate the delivery of produce from be a little hard depending on rural areas to urban areas across Africa with our poor your skill level. road networks.

Precision agriculture by making sensors: this may

Agriculture insurance technology: making

insurance products geared for farming.

Digitization of transactions: from

payment to tracing origins of produce, we have a huge Agro lending technology: need to digitize farming delivering capital to farmers systems in Africa. at scale supported by Commodity trading: technology. building exchanges for trading commodities Direct Farming: owing farms and growing crops and/or raising farm animals Others: there are expanding farmers’ markets opportunities like making digital tools farmers can by providing digital use. These could include platforms for trade. farm diary, mapping solutions, etc Pricing aggregation:

facilitating trading through 41

Masai Farmer with Phone /

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All Together

There are many areas any entrepreneur can participate in the agriculture sector. The market is huge. The African Development Bank noted that “the AfDB was leading a campaign to unlock the continent’s food and agriculture market, projected to hit $1 trillion by 2030”. In other words, Africa will have its first trillion dollar sector through agriculture.

At that scale, you can see there will be many winners.

He [Akinwumi Adesina] said the Forum would be an opportunity to push efforts to make Africa self-sufficient in food production and transform agriculture into a wealth creating sector.

“Agriculture is booming in Africa and holds the greatest opportunity to boost African economies, build rural economies, lift millions out of poverty, and create jobs,” he said.

Akinwumi Adesina also said the bank must work together with its partners, governments, the private sector, and development institutions to realise its objective.

I

n 2010, according to McKinsey, agriculture was a $100 billion business in Africa. It has since grown to a $330 billion business, i.e. 10% of the $3.3 trillion African GDP. That means AfDB wants to move the sector from $330 billion to $1 trillion in less than 15 years.

This makes sense.

Nothing will match the scale of opportunities agriculture will provide for entrepreneurs across the continent in the next decade. I am liking what we see. Count me in!

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Farmer Harvesting © Neil Palmer

AGRICULTURAL NEWS Nigerian Rice Farmers, Others to Access Bill Gates $30bn Agriculture Grant

Bill Gates, Co-chair & Trustee, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation

The Rice Farmers Association of Nigeria (RIFAN) says it is working to access the $30 billion agricultural grant contributed by Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and other donor agencies for rice production in Africa. Alhaji Aminu Goronyo, the National President of the associa-

tion told newsmen in Abuja on Wednesday, that the association had submitted a template that would qualify it for the grant.

According to him, a team of experts from Geneva had met with the association on the grant, where Nigerian farmers can access as much as $600 million. He said the visit was a fallout of the Green Revolution Forum tagged `New Push for Africa’s Agricultural Transformation,’ held in September 2016 in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire, where the fund was pledged by various agencies.

Goronyo listed other partners that contributed to the fund to include Grow Africa and John Kufuor Foundation.

CBN Moves to Make Agriculture Lending Less Risky

In order to enhance the effectiveness of the 44

Commercial Agriculture Credit Scheme (CACS) as well as mitigate the risk faced by participating financial institutions in financing the agriculture sector, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has reviewed the guidelines for the scheme.

The review, according to a circular signed by the Director, Financial Policy and Regulation Department, Kevin Amugo, affected

Godwin Emefiele, Governor, Central Bank Of Nigeria ,

section 16 and 17 of the guidelines and introduced significant changes, including a requirement that henceforth, the Nigeria Agriculture Insurance Corporation (NAIC) should provide insurance cover for all agricultural facilities/ projects under the CACS in line with the Act. In furtherance of the above revision, the central bank has directed the immediate commencement of insurance premium payments by borrowers under the CACS scheme.

Rice production in Nigeria hits 15 million tonnes — Official

Chief Audu Ogbeh, Minister for Agriculture and Rural Development

Local rice production in Nigeria has now reached 15 million metric tonnes annually, the government has claimed. The

Director of Agriculture at the Kano office of the Federal Ministry of Agricultural, Muhammad Adamu, made the claim while inaugurating the Rice Millers Association of Nigeria, (RIMAN) in the state. He said Kano alone produced 1.2 million metric tonnes of rice in 2016.

He said with the significant increase in local productions and the efforts to make the local variety qualitative and more attractive to Nigerians, the country expects to begin exporting rice to West African countries by 2018/2019.

Mr. Adamu said about 34 states in Nigeria are producing rice, with many now producing three times in a year. He disclosed that investigation carried out by the Federal Government revealed that rice grains imported to Nigeria are 10-15 years old and and are preserved with chemicals which can cause cancer to consumers.

Dangote Turns to Nigerian Agriculture

Nigeria’s biggest private sector company, the Dangote Group, has decided to turn its attention to agribusiness by investing heavily in sugar and rice production. The firm is 45

already active in food processing but has now decided to make the sector a key part of its overall business strategy. The sheer scale of its investment, coupled with renewed government

Alhaji Aliko Dangote, Chairman, Dangote Group

interest in food production and difficulties over financing food imports, suggest that the tide may be turning in favour of Nigerian agriculture.

The Dangote Group is to invest $3.8bn in rice and sugar over the next three years. It aims to increase its sugar production of 100,000 tons a year at present to 1.5m tons a year by 2020, a rapid rise by any

Mega Trends to Define Agriculture in Sub-Saharan Africa By 2055 Rising imports of higher value products

Megatrends shaping Africa’s future 1. Global food and energy prices 2. Africa’s Population explosion

Source: ITC, 2016

Africa rising... but risks remain

Per capita GDP growth: outlook vs. past decade

3. Shift in labour force to non-farm employment 4. Changing Farm structure 5. Soil degradation 6. Climate variability

Source: IMF World Economic Outlook, October

Past decade growth • Absolute income remains low • Commodity exporters must adapt • Agriculture remains important sector – 15%-40% of GDP in many countries

• Improved business and macro-economic environment • Commodity price boom • Accommodative financial conditions globally

Source: Ferdi Meyer, Bureau for Food and Agricultural Policy & University of Pretoria 46

TECHNOLOGY AND INNOVATION

THE SILENT R E VO L U T I O N O F N I G E R I A’ S C A S S AVA A S T H E NEXT ENGINE O F G R OW T H

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assava, once referred to as a poor man’s crop, is gaining importance in Nigeria and might become the next cash cow to Africa’s largest oil producer.

Grown by over 3 million people, cassava is a major staple to millions of Nigerians who consume the crop as garri—a grated and roasted form of cassava, fufu- a

fermented form of cassava, or even boil and eat.

In recent times, cassava has transited from its traditional role as a food crop to an industrial crop and has become a delight to investors who are now processing the crop to products such as ethanol, starch and flour.

According to Dr Alfred Dixon, Pro47

Garri, Made From Cassava Flour PHOTO: AMAZON

Cassava industrialisation

Nigeria’s cassava sector is the most developed in Africa, and has attracted remarkable investments in processing in the last decade. The sector today is experiencing a demand pull with several industries in search of cassava roots.

Some of the major players in the country’s cassava sector include: Psaltry Industries Limited (PIL): Psaltry

ject Leader of the Cassava Weed Management Project at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), cassava’s potential as a food security crop and poverty fighter was recognised way back in 2003 in Maputo by the heads of state of African governments.

“Since then progress has been made in Nigeria, but we are yet to fully tap the opportunities in the cassava sector,” he explained.

Industries Limited which is an indigenous agro allied company which was

The Nigerian govestablished with an initial ernment projects to earn capacity of 20-ton/day $5bn dollar annually from starch factory in 2012 and the cassava sector but an additional production currently only a fraction of line of 30 tons/day capacity that is being realised. How- in 2015 to meet more ever, the prospects for a customer demands and cassava revolution is besatisfaction. The company coming brighter by the day, has 400 hectares of thanks to the emergence of company cassava farmland new industries for cassava located at Alayide-Wasimi processing, and research Village, Ado-Awaye, Oyo and the development that State, a farming community has refocused more attenof about 10,000 hectares of tion to impact at farm level. farmland.

48

Thai Farms: Recently

acquired by Flour Mills of Nigeria PLC has a cassava flour processing plant of 60 metric tons per day design, capacity installed/ commissioned at Ososa, Ogun State, Nigeria, approximately 120 kilometres from Lagos. The company in addition to cultivating its own cassava farm, sources cassava roots from over 2,000 local farmers (mainly small scale each farming less than 5 hectares).

Allied Atlantic Distilleries (AADL): This is an

ethanol producing factory producing 9 million litres per annum of extra neutral alcohol, requiring approximately 250 tons of cassava per day. The factory is in Lasada, Igbese community

in Ogun State.

farmgate.

Cassava roots pricNiji Farms and Allied Ser- es hit a record of N35,000 vices Ltd: is a major play- –N40,000 per tonne this er in cassava processing, year before retreating to producing garri, fufu and N20,000— N26,000 per recently starch. Located at tonne, driven by an increase Iganna Road, Ilero, Kajola in demand from industries.

Local Government of Oyo

The rise in the price State, the company proof cassava roots forced cesses 50 tonnes of cassava some companies to temroots daily. porally shut down while

There are also sevethanol producing comeral cassava micro and panies switched to molasmedium processing players ses—a not-so-good option. springing up and scattered

By June this year, several across the country. A source companies had gone into familiar with the cassava the expansion of their cassector said most investors sava farms to hedge against in the agricultural space are rising prices of cassava investing in cassava proroots and epileptic supplies. cessing, a situation that has AADL for instance, has sparked demand for cassa- acquired 5000 hectares of va roots and raised prices land in Oyo state to directly of fresh cassava roots at the 49

cultivate cassava to meet its demand.

Another factor driving the appeal for cassava processing in the country is the fall in naira against major currencies such as the US dollar which has made the cost of importation of products such as ethanol and starch prohibitive.

Many have said that Nigeria needs to quickly address these constraints to harness the full potential of the crop, create wealth, and jobs for the young people. In view of its current Economic Recovery and Growth Plan and Agricultural Promotion Policy, considering the country’s comparative advantage in terms of growing the crop and government’s efforts to develop cassava.

pushed out improved cassava varieties to farmers and supported farmers with inputs such as herbicides, and fertilizers.

T

he recently launched Agricultural Promotion Policy of the Federal Government under the leadership of President Mohammadu Buhari has again promised to sustain the gains of the policy.

Chief Audu Ogbe, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development has promised to work with partners to unleash the power of cassava n the last two decades, in Africa.

Nigeria has made sig Although Nigeria

However many are of nificant gains towards is the largest producer of the opinion that more than cassava globally accounting cassava transformation.

Particularly, between 1999 talking, government needs for 54 million tonnes per annum (Food and Agricul- and 2007, the country under to walk the talk by investthe leadership of President ing in research and creating ture Organisation, 2013), yield per hectare (ha) is low Olusegun Obasanjo initiat- the needed policy environed the Presidential Initiative ment that would engender and specifically below 8 on Cassava, with a focus on the small scale farmer to tonnes per ha. succeed.

Several factors have the utilisation of the crop

Cassava transformato different products, and been responsible for the low yield but the major bot- to increase the productivity tion in Nigeria is moving tlenecks include poor weed of the crop. One important and transforming the livelihoods of the people. What control, poor knowledge of component of that policy is needed is the right policy thrust was the inclusion of cassava agronomy, use of local and low yielding vari- 10 percent cassava flour in framework and government support that would catalyse eties, inadequate processing 100 percent wheat bread. the creation of more prodThe Agricultural facilities, and low mechani- ucts from cassava and spur Transformation Agenda sation. These factors have the demand for more cassahamstrung the productivity under president Goodluck va roots.

Jonathan later built on the of cassava in Nigeria. On the flip side, Asia and Latin presidential initiative on American countries such as cassava policy through the implementation of Brazil have yield of more Written by Atser Godwin, an the Growth Enhancement than 20 tonnes per ha of Agriculturist in Nigeria Scheme—a policy that cassava.

Constraints to cassava production

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NIGERIAN BASKETBALL

Charting the way forward

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igerian basketball, undoubtedly, is in its most successful era; and this is best highlighted by the series of remarkable feats by the men’s senior team, D’Tigers, who made it to the last two Olympics after many years of fruitless attempts.

Then, in between the Olympics appearances came the tag of African champions courtesy of their FIBA Men Afrobasket triumph in Tunisia in 2015. What made it sweeter is the fact that the African title came at the expense of perennial rivals Angola, who were beaten to the title. It was also an identical scenario for the women who twice defeated Senegal, our long-time nemesis, to clinch the women’s title for the third time. Prior to breaking the Angolan jinx in Tunisia two years ago, the Portuguese-speaking nation had placed a stranglehold on African basketball with Nigeria being their ‘regular customer’ always coming second best.

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layer-for-player, Nigeria is ahead when it comes to talent from each country.

Most of the team members Nigeria presents are plying their trade in the prestigious National Basketball Association (NBA).

But as a team sport, more than individual talent is needed to bring success. The domestic league in Angola is massively funded thus enhancing its competitiveness as well as bringing out the best country’s talents. Its attractiveness cannot be overemphasized as the league is run in professionally. Most Angolan players do not aspire to travel overseas to get 51

Apart from Polo, which is in a class of its own, the richest sports federation next to football is the Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF)

D’Tiger player during a match. PHOTO: GOOGLE

fulfilled in their career but this cannot be said of their Nigerian counterparts who take any offer that is coming from Europe (in most cases) or The United States. The sport is attractive in Angola and the players are living in luxury but the reverse is the case in Nigeria where basketball players are not living as they should but are struggling to meet their needs.

Apart from Polo, which is in a class of its own, the richest sports federation next to football is the Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF). Even before the massive $12m (about N1.8b) four-years sponsorship deal by Kwese of the Premier Basketball League, 52

the NBBF had the best sponsorship for its programmes next to the Nigeria Football Federation that a few months ago got a N2.5b deal from an oil firm. The money in domestic basketball league today is enough to transform Nigerian basketball forever.

If well utilized, it is enough for most of the talents to fulfill their potential, which ultimately can see them making lucrative moves to bigger leagues as it is in Europe and the American NBA – the Mecca of the sport.

Though it is for the men’s League, the snowball effect could lead to the anticipated success would rub off on the women’s league as well with more

The money in the basketball league today is enough... for most of the talents to fulfill their potential, which ultimately can see them making lucrative moves to bigger leagues as it is in Europe and the American NBA – the Mecca of the sport.

sponsors throwing in their hat. Like in all other sports, the domestic league of every country is the backbone for success and is why the new juicy deal should, in addition, serve as the tonic to ensure that Nigerian basketball is raised to international standards establishing its dominance in the slam and dunk game at the continental level in national teams and club sides.

Ordinarily, the basketball faithful should be revelling in this dream era but this is not to be as the major stakeholders of the sport are polarized regarding the administration of the sport. Simply put, the most successful period in the sport is also

experiencing its most turbulent days. Tijani Umar’s tenure (which has been put on hold) is the most successful period in Nigerian basketball but he faces a daunting task in keeping his position to lead Nigerian basketball for another four years.

Just before the league commenced last season, a new league known as the African Basketball League (ABL) was formed by some stakeholders. Sensing the threat of the ABL, the NBBF issued warnings to clubs not to identify with the league by terming it illegal. However, this fell on the deaf ears of Lagos Islanders and Dodan Warriors basketball club, who featured in the league. Both 53

were suspended before getting expelled from the NBBF-run league. Officials were not spared; with some of them bagging lengthy bans from FIBA-Africa.

W

hatever the outcome, there are clear signs that Nigeria’s potential in basketball is bound to be maximised with the dream sponsorship package of the Kwese Premier League.

Who knows, we might just produce a whole crop of iconic stars like Hakeem Olajuwon, and take our place among the global elites of the sport.

By Lookmon Ologunro, a Sports writer in Lagos

HEALTH AND FITNESS

The Naija Patient

Traditional African Medicine Ethiopian Health and Nutrition Research Institute (EHNRI); © WHO/P. Virot 54

T

here has been an upsurge in the number of Nigerians who claim they can do the impossible as far as health care delivery is concerned. They advertise themselves loudly with claims of curing and vaccinating against a number of ailments ranging from HIV to the ability to change genotypes through some unverifiable and unquantifiable medical methodologies.

A large crop of semi-literate, non-licensed “pseudo-medic and paramedic” who take advantage of people have suddenly arrived the scene. Some of them move about with “computers” with which they claim they can tell the health status of a patient with a simple touch of a bottom.

They can be spotted in the markets, where they take advantage of gullible illiterate market men and women. They have one thing in common, they are false, cheap, and fake. They cash in on the ignorance of the average Naija person.

This is what is commonly referred to as the Naija factor in our attitude or consciousness as a people. This unfortunate attitude seeks to cut corners, doesn’t pursue excellence and wants the easy way out. This attitude finds expression unfortunately in the way we handle our health and health care delivery in general.

One remembers not too long ago a prominent politician who died after being administered an injection from one of such “pseudo Medics”. This “Big man “obviously couldn’t 55

afford quality health care.

The average Nigerian does not want to spend money on healthcare, not even for “preventive procedures or annual medical checks”. Many have it instilled in their psyche that money spent on health issues is a ‘devourer’. Getting a Second opinion and specialist consultation are seen as expensive and unnecessary. Nigerians prefer spending money on Asoebi, parties, vanities... than on their health! Unfortunately even affluent and literate Nigerians are guilty of this.

Almost every health issue or condition is labelled an ‘attack’. The perpetrators of these beliefs in part are some faith based opinion leaders like pastors or prophets, priests, Imams and religious leaders of various persuasions. Even those who are not very religious adapt “the ignore it, deny it and it will go away” approach to health issues.

This unfortunate attitude is one of the reasons Naija patients do not seek medical intervention as soon as symptoms appear! The Naija patient has a morbid fear for surgeries; women have lost their babies and even their lives because they refused simple surgical interventions like caesarian section procedures.

Almost every sickness has some form of stigma attached to it, little wonder why people are so secretive about their medical history even when asked by healthcare professionals.

An elderly man undergoes an eye examination Š UN Photo/Stuart

Almost every sickness has some form of stigma attached to it, little wonder why people are so secretive about their medical history even when asked by healthcare professionals 56

The average Nigerian patient especially the illiterate is culturally biased, unprepared, and maladjusted to embrace orthodox medicine. They would rather depend on street information and off the cuff advice even for delicate health matters, “my neighbour had the same problem and used xyz, try it’. Everybody on the street has advice to give on health care. The advice given ranges from how babies should be treated to how diabetics and hypertension can be managed.

Sometimes even the educated fall victim. Medical intervention is not sought early enough.

They prefer to go to the wrong places first and to visit the hospital only when they have complications. As can be imagined, this has resulted in many unnecessary and preventable deaths.

It may be argued that people seek alternative health care because quality medicare is not readily available or affordable. As valid and as weighty as these arguments may appear, the fact still remains that the available health care facilities are not explored or visited as would be expected.

Nigerians need to know that money and time spent on health care is not wasted. Medication and food should be placed in the same category as essentials!

What is the way out?

Proper education and in57

formation is crucial. The government should come up with a voice louder than that of these agents of misinformation. Quacks should be hunted down and put out of business. NGOs, religious organizations, media houses etc should partner with government to achieve this objective.

The absence of a reliable health insurance scheme accessible to ALL Nigerians is the bane of health care delivery! If everybody contributes a little to a common ‘purse’ so that the ‘20-30’percent who may need health care can get it, more deaths will be prevented.

The government at the various tiers at local, state and federal levels must strive to provide affordable, accessible qualitative healthcare to the citizens. This is a basic need!!

We as a people most continue in our stride to be unique on who we are, we most however let go of all the negatives that come with the Naija factor especially as it concerns our health... Life has no duplicate!!

Dr Clara Onuigbo is a .Medical Practitioner chiloby@yahoo.com

EVENTS Dr Clara Onuigbo is a .Medical Practitioner chiloby@yahoo.com

EVENTS

by Iroyinkoko

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Ag. President Osinbajo Inaugrates WACOT Rice Mill

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he acting president Prof. Yemi Osinbajo inaugurated the N10 billion WACOT rice processing Mill in Argungu, Kebbi, on Tuesday August 1, 2017. He arrived in Birnin-Kebbi by 2pm and proceeded to Argungu for the inauguration.

After the inauguration, the Acting President also joined the proceedings of the Argungu international fishing and cultural Festival Village to witness an agricultural show organized to showcase the production potential of the rice revolution that is taking place in Kebbi.

The mill is part of WACOT’s expansion plan, which targets an increase in its rice milling capacity to 500,000 metric tons in the next few years.

Acting President Yemi Osibanjo speaking with pressmen

Acting President Yemi Osinbajo inspecting the produce 59

CEO Sundar Pichal at the Google Nigeria event PHOTO: GOOGLE

Google CEO Visits Nigeria, Announces $3 million Investment Plan

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he Chief Executive Officer of Google, Mr. Sundar Pichal, who visited Nigeria for the first time yesterday, announced fresh plans of the technology company to invest as much as $3 million free equity seed funding for technology startups in Africa before the end of this

Sundal Pichar taking as selďŹ e with students of Google Digital Skills for Africa

quarter.

Pichal, who spoke at the Google Nigeria Digital Citizenship summit held in Lagos on Thursday, July 27, said Nigeria would benefit immensely from the $3 million seed funding.

Sundal Pichar, Juliet Ehimua Country Manager of Google Nigeria and employees of Google at the Google 60 HQ

Her Excellency, Second Lady of the Republic of Ghana, Hajia Samira Bawumia

Tara Fela Durutoye and Ibukun Awosika

Her Excellency, Mrs Samira Bawumia, Wife of the Vice President of Ghana and Dzigbordi K Dosoo

WIMBIZ Holds Maiden Conference in Ghana

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he Women in Management, Business and Public Service (WIMBIZ) Maiden Conference in Accra themed “Breaking New Frontiers� held on 14, September at the Movenpick Ambassador Hotel Accra.

The conference inspired and challenged participants to raise their aspirations on their journey to realize their full potential as successful women in management, business and public service.

The plenaries beamed a search light on the changing contexts and emerging challenges faced by the ambitious 21st Century woman, stimulating frank discourse and presenting new ideas for redefining the frontiers of female achievement.

Conference speakers included accomplished women in management, business and public service such as Mrs Samira Bawumia, Wife of the Vice President of Ghana, Mrs Ibukun Awosika (Chairman Board of Directors, First Bank Nigeria Plc) Mrs. Mansa Nettey (CEO/ MD, Standard Chartered Bank, Ghana), Ruka Sanusi, (Founder Alldens Lane, Ghana) and Dr. Ama Andah, Medical Director, (Brainwave Consult Ltd.Ghana.)

Others include Dr. Omobola Johnson (Honorary Chairperson, Global Alliance for Affordable Internet) amongst others.

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Global payments technology company launches mobile payment platform mVISA in Nigeria

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Officials at the event

Speaker at the event

isa officially launched its mobile payment platform, mVisa, in Nigeria On Wednesday, July 19, 2017 at Eko Hotels and Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos.

Consumers from Visa’s Nigerian

partner banks can pay with any mobile phone wherever mVisa is accepted. mVisa transactions are processed via Visa’s global network, VisaNet, applying the same scale, security and reliability as any other Visa transaction.

BusinessDay holds its Fintech Summit

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Speakers at the event

he BusinessDay Fintech Summit, themed: ‘Harnessing the power of disruptive innovation in FINTECH’, assembled key stakeholders in Nigeria’s Fintech ecosystem to discuss how to exploit the opportunities and overcome the obstacles inherent in the adoption of Fintech in the country.

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Regulators, Bankers, Fintech Heavyweights and Thought Leaders spoke on the imperatives for collaboration in the Fintech ecosystem, the need for building knowledge and infrastructure capacity within the sector, and the impact of regulation on fintech adoption.

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