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BUSINESS 35 Wednesday 17 October 2012
BUSINESSDAY: www.businessdayonline.com
here Is need (or 11~"eholder' 10 wortwhhJmaU· holder (urns In stimul.llnl Ihe IKrlcuhura' leClor, Olatunde Akande. a development consulta nl In area, or small- and medium -tilud enlerpriK'S (51101(1) and a&rlcultural development. has old A.... nde. who dlKlosed this r«endy In an Interview with 8uslneuOay In Lagus. I&y$ small holder (.arlnS non be uansformed frOl1l subsiltenl 'armlna inco viable and Iuslalnable commercial bUlint'ssf's, In line with the new .Jlrlcultunl Irlndormallon policy Cillo, 1"lcuhure a, • ley area or nallonal devt'loIHnem. he 'Ules: -It. ieClor thai contributes leau to percent or the Kron del/clorlneot product (GOP and ICCQunlS (or a' lea" 60
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'Working with smallholder farms can help stimulate agric sector' percenl of employment ,hould always hive. developmenl agenda. "AI 8srlculture Iland,
now, there are. loc of emph ••11 on about 10 to 20 crops. and the Cenna' Bank of Nigeria (e8N)
worUns In coliabon'lon with the Mlnillry of Agr1cuhurll':. h., come up with • policy Inlcn>enllon
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lilA chief wants efforts doubled on African food security s nallons aCIOIS Ihe world mark anol her World Food Day, Nleranya Sansln,a, dlreclor'Jeneral, Inlernalloo.al In$thule of Tropical Agriculture 0 ITA), hal called on world leaden and OIher Ilakehoiders 10 redouble dforts 10 save Alrlca from Ihe pangs of hunger and povrrty AllhouJh prOJrel' has been made thanu 10 Improvements In agricultural producllvlly and renewed anendon 10 agricuhure . such Jalns are belnJ rhreatened by Iplrailing populallon growth rale coupled wllh degl1ildlnSlOlIs_ In In add res. 10 parllclpanu at Ihe 21s1 annual conlren of Ihe Nigerian Rural SocIological
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Association (NRSA) held at the Unlverslly of Ibadan, Oyo 51111', SanSlngl Slid ·chaUenSeilo food U!CUriIY In Africa are hUll', and WI the barrlen to wealth creallon, food .ecurlty, Improved nutrition. and ,uJlllnable managemenl o(RalUra! resourcelin sub· Saha.ran Africa (SSA) areon
Je'Vem ITon....•
For In"lnce, Africa's population 8fOW1h mnainJ hlah compared whh other regions in Ihe world (2.4 percenl in 55A) alainll 1..3 ~n1 In non·African countries. In add Ilion, Ihe urban population Is rapidly Irowlns. pUllins pressure on the ruralaJUS 10 produce more food at affordable price•. There is al.o Ihe problem of depletion of .011 nUlrlen .. , which If Iell unchecked, could have ca laserophlc errects FUTlhermore, des-uuctive agricultural practict'J" alon, fOTe .. muslns In Africa aanvale deforestadon ·While Ihe aualnment or food .ecurity Is a huge and increaSing challenge, producllon per unit area ha. nOI Increased as el.ewhere In Ihe world, and increme nls In 10lal production have come at the expense of the nalUl1iIl resou.-ce base; he said. ·Clear ly , there Is much worl. 10 be done In sub-Saharan Africa; he empha6lsed.
c-lIed Nigerian loumlve Risk Sharing ",rlculture lending (NIRSAl). which '.Iaudable" The expert continues Ihat the Inlll.lIve II one way that a,ricullure c:an be used to promote development, ., mOl' banLI In Nigeria hue always been averse to financing the 1«101, Itatlng dUll to elfecdvety Rimulate the IcCtor, one key IU:.
October 05 - tt 20t2 Nlgef<a Commodity Inde K
will be worUn, wllh the Iman· holder rarm, In line wllh the new agrlcu hural Irandormatloll policy In Nigeria. lie nOle. further Ihal Ihit goci bac" to agricuhure tHoing 5ecn .s a 'buslne,,' IS Adewunml Adellnl, min Iller of I,rlc. Is clnvauln" bUI Ihen. wllh I conllnuous developmenl Isendl . IddinS Ihlt "NIR5AI WIS also looldns It Ihe Igrlcuhuu: vllue -chaln and lechnlcal luislanCf' for .mall -holder farm ' which is a .Iep In the rig. t dlrecLion ·Anothet" are.llhal n~b 10 be lool.ed at Is martel acce .. developmenl, ... the Imall rarml could help In creating mo~e employmenl:
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