BUSINESSDAY, 24 JULY, 2012

Business & Economic Outlook

3

ACROSS THE STATES•• • •

Tuesday 24 July 2012

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Keepingtracl< Ogun looks to American university for agric revolution With tho rECent bilateral agreement between Ogun State and Jorda n (ollege of Agri(ultural Science and Te(hnology, (a ifar", a l:ate University, United States, aimed at boosting Federal Government drive to revolutio nalise the agricultural se<tor, egun is keeping track of the Federal Government Agri(ultural Transformation Age nda, writes RAZAQ AYIN LA.

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nillg by a week.long.

;,s ,ess menl tour bv

three-man delegalion rmm the Ionian Cc:lJege of Agncul-

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ScL'nc:~

md Technolcg),.

Cajfllrma SIi:I:e Universitv. Un:ted S'lteS of \m-!T ca, to Ogun :! ale kim settlemel LS and insOtules.

CLlIE-ge of A{T'cuirurai Science, Cbbisi On.haola Universit'" as \\(-11 J.S the F~ernl Univerm-' of AgricuhuraL Abeokuta, It would nOI he 3 mlmJmer to describe the State;15 0 'Gateway to Fed~ Government Agricultural Transformallonal}gl'nda.'

The journey La agricultura l revolution in Ih,' state began about three months ago, when the slate governor. Ib iiunle Amosun In comlJanY of the state comm1ssloner fOI agrlc:ultwe, Ayo OIubori and ollter expern born Nigeria signed a me:moranrl u n of understanding (\1oU) wnh the management of lordan CoU"ge of Agricultural Science aD.J Technology. to bnng about economic prosperity through agru:uhural te\·oludon.

TIle bilaumJ agreement Is to lac-ilitale :.he e5rablishment of agricult ural re5'luce ceDrres where '.ould-be and "xisting fanners as ..... 11 as servin3i gricu1rura1 officers \.ILI be traine,1 and re-tralned, provtsioD offucuJly exchange prof "Rffime5 with Federal University ." \grlcultutl'. Abeowta, CoUege \gric:t.JlU ra Science, Oiabisi , I .LJanjo Unl /ersity, and other f<ol t insututes domJclled in the

,Iher; Include acling as InbelWe£ n the Ogun State government Ind international il8r1culturaJ de/elopmen! donors ~uclJ.as IFAD. C)Uation ofBaseUne Data on 'filrious crops and preparatlnn of It pracncd. realistic and swcalnable roadmap for agricultural \Ieveiopnlent In the state In line with the [Idministration's cardinal programme for agrlcu1ture.

While vislling the Slale on a faa-rmding mission to Idck s tan the agreement entered 1010, the Ihree-m3 D foreign delegation led by M.tyiwa Omolo lu, Charles Boyer, till~ Deill •• Jordan College of J\picultural Sdence and TechnolOB?l.and Bruce Hoben. a forelgn.1"1 face

ric expen. vowed to help the state and the COUDOY revoludonallse the agric .sea.or_ OmoJolu, who disclosed that though the learn was on assess· ment tour to the state 10 appraise the challenges facing agric development, declared that the team melon ground a 101 o[opponunl. ties and potential waiting to be mpped wtuch could earn Nigeria $eVl!rai billion of doUars If property harnessed.

He said the Amellcan UnlVl!lSity would help the Slate lo the area of equipment for mechanised and commercial farming. and bring about massive agrlc production, adding that the university would not only provide long-term educalion system and human capacity building for the state but would also seek a structured International market to absorb the agrlc produce

dosed that having considered the vase arable land and agriculturally endowed potential the state possesses, it can perfectly feed. the whole of West African cou ntries and increase the country's foreign earnings through mass agricultural production, thereby maximising retur.ns on foreign exchange.

He sald: -The California University In collaboration with the govemment ls weighing the option of setting u p a Resource Cen ue to take care of human resource managemenl Thls will be done in coUaboration with loternatlonal

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being produced In !.he state.

The team leader fu rther dls-

lIle unlvershywill be a n Interface between the state and international grant bodies such as lFAD and others on beSI ma nagement practice In other 10 create compedtion among the fanners In the state, especlal.Iy the young ones.-

Omololu. however, expressed the readiness 01 the university al resuscitating the state-owned farm institUles for development of human capita] where the teeming youths can be trained, lamenting that most of the agric equipment procured by the administration of Olusegun Osoba were seen lying faJJow In the settlements.

Corroborating the views of the team leader. Charles Boyer declared that the agreement centred mostly on resource cenue since the trainlog of agriculturists and fanners was indispensable [Q any agricu1tural dew!opment. saying that the effort to revamp agricuJtwalwas underway.

Boyer disclosed that the resource centre and facultyexchange

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Tuesday 24 July 2012

Ogun looks to ArneMean ...

C'alanued (ivm pore 30

programmes benreen ,ordan Col· lege and faculties of agriculrure and fann Insdrules domldled In the state were imponant In order to reduce the expenses involved in flying people abroad for agrlc training.

According to him, the resource cemre will ttain youths in modem fanning. thereby whetting their appedles for agrlculrure since young and old farmers would have undergo training in modem agriculrunli lechnology and have access to various specialised agric equipment that wouJd 'lid farming and bre-eding processes.

To Boyer, "We are looking al resource centre as way of keepIng expenses down for various specialised equipment that many people and institutes can make use. You can have acce§s 10 modem technology and many parts of your organisations and structures you can lake advantage of.

"With this. students will see agriculture as a sustainable business and not just as a career, as this will aUow them to have interest in agriculrure and replace the perceived challenges of aged populace of fanners and encumbrances in the stall!:" Speaking on behalf of Ogun State government. Ayo Olubori, the commissioner for agriculture, revealed that the bilateral agreement was a follow.up to the re o cently disbursed NI blUlon agric loans 10 farmers In conjunction with me Central Bank of Nigeria and the Federal Governmentsupponed Growth Enhancement Scheme (GFS).

To Olubori, the partnership ls 10 assess challenges anached to agricuhural practice In the country. especially In the state with a view to finding lasting solu· tions to the problems. saying that with bilateral agreement bumper benefits are althe disposal of the peasant and commercial farmers operating in the Slllte.

The commissioner, who submined tha! the California State Univemry and Ogun State Min· isuy of Agricu.tnu-e would bring aboutmuch-awailedagricullural revolution in the stale, assured that the stale governmenl will work In Une with the MoU, addIng tbal the government will be hoping for a solid, concise and measurable impact within a very short period of lime. ·We are commined to what· ever recommendations you are giving us. Be assured that we 'WiU lmplementaU ~mmendations given to us. We will work 10 the last recommendations,· Olubori d<cl ......

Meanwhile, agrlculrural ex· perts and farmers In the stale eIpressed that the agreement was a right step 10 boost agricultural cum industrial production as well as increasing bom the GOP and SlllRdard of living or me residents, butwamedgovemment to ~ of whlte-elephant project.

~UNEMRIOYMENT

Dearth of companies. bane of unemployment in Benue Following the dearth of industries occasioned by managerial inabilities and lack of will on the side of previous administrations to revamp the few existing ones, Barnes Aglrigi in Makurdi, writes that breathing life into these ailing industries will help reduce rising rate of unemployment in the state.

UthS are classified In so many ways - they are said 10 be the future leaders, tbe life wire of a community or the nation - this Is dependent on how such youths are DUnured or positioned for a smooth take-off from the older generation.

The youlhs, owing to their energies and numbers, are expected to be groomed in a manner that guarantees the security and weU-being of not only those thai fall within the category bUI me genentlity of the society, The present security challenges In the country are evident as neglect of these aU-imponant Strala of the society that could either mar or make the nadon_ lhlscould be achieved through the provtslon of decent employment opponunitles and other sodaJ security. health, educational and economic facilities, power generation that must be deliber· atelyput In place (orlhe purposes tha t I have earlier e n umera ted for a government that care for its citizens.

In Benue Stale for Instance, many youths churned OU I of various schools of higher learning. who currently roam the streets or are intO one form of menial Jobs o r forced InlO poUtics due to thelt

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_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ sorry financial states, are easily used by politicians negatively to achieve their selfish alms Instead of ensuring that they are engaged positively engaged In productive venrures.

Benue Siale undoubtedly Is an agrarian stale blessed with a fertile land thai unusually leads to huge produaion offoodstutr that could be turned into raw materials for agro-based Industries; unfonunately none of such Industries Is currently working.

Some of the Industries Include the Taralru M111s Umited, Orukpo Burnl Bricks, Agro MlUers.1l:yogm Cattle Ranch, Agricultural Development Company, Makurdl, are aU in a comatose situation. Also In a similar condition are the Wan· nune Tomatoes and Mango Juice Factory, the Fertilizer Blending Plant, and 50 many othen. suffer the same fate..

M a result, t he youths have become vulnerable.lnstead of en· suring that such Indusoies v.'Ork, the leadership only pllYS lip service to the Issue. As a result oflhe non functlonalltyof the Industries, the state Is wiled by an upsurge oC paveny despite its endowments.

A visit to 19umale Cement Factory where the state government Is pa n nerlng Star Company of China with the Benue Econom1c

The state government should intensifyefforts aimed at breathing life into its ailing industries to reduce the rate ofunemployment... and discourage rural-urban migration ....

team led by Dorcas Ukpe, BusinessOay gathered (hat the ,state govern me nt had nOl even paid compensation 10 the bost communities, It was a lso learnl dlat the lease certificate was also not yet obtained byg,)\'emment while road and electric lt} for the fllclory remain a huge mtr.lge.

The pace of lVrtrk m tl¥! facto ry Is running at a snail speed, owing to the unsurious posture of the state gove-nmenL TItis is a company that If government ensures its completJon and mkf off, It would not only take can- of'.he employment ne(d~ of me youd.s but could raise tht' n!!venul!! bas~ of the Stale, which rurrentlyswims in tUrbulent w<! v<!s from never satisfying fed eral allocations. 85 it claims.

TIle same ,storywas re\-ealed at the comatose Orulq Kl Burnt Bnds, where the fonnt:r commis.5loner of commerce and industries, <\lu Allulll explained t:1at the faclory lail production "as In 200·. il5 producdon Slopped c.ue to "tl,e in kerosene a"d black oil r.et'-(ied for theldln section :lrthecomrany - ior heating the blocks. Adum funher affirmed u .at :mout .1300 million was needed to pUI the company back o~ traC~ aside the r(,venue and emllloyment opportunities it would have offer However, th e state government through Its conStruction of the new 100emllionai market Is bringing In blocks from Bida, NIger State, while the bum! bricks with aU promiSE'i, laying waSte UI the Iilate and 011 ,e-IilTUctu res the blocks would havr s;n.e thl! Slale o\stonishinglv, It was discovered thaI througi , tile new lease ar",ngemenl with Messrs. Grov.'Jich Nigeria limited wbicb n!!corded some level of succes~ , the lobonuories at the Apo "'fillers were completely Hud a nd the shaft that stalled InitIal production at the solvent secrlon was also fixed.

It was howewr discovered that no single seed of hoya beans was In the warehouse and fanners in the state were not empowered to massively produCt' the maior raw mau;riol. which 15 SO}"I beans - to feed the induSfl1 when operational.

Those who were h itherto employed direct!} or Indirectly at the mills are currently living in terrible condition fo(Jowing the non functionality of the industry that has the capacity of ~ploy­ Ing about 10,000 '{ouths directly and Indirectly, while at the same time gen erating re\'eoue to Its host community and d.e Slate at large.

Like one economlu rightly captures ·seven poor men plus one rich man. thf result Is eight poor people; sinO! wresrwould ostensibly rely on (he one lOaD for thelrdalty needs. In the face of the non fun ctlonallt... of indultrles in the state, feV! privileged Individuals contend with the burden of either footiog bills of others by hando ulS or hide their frlces in shame.

We suggest thai the state gov· emmenl Intend!)' eHom aimed at breath ing life Inlo its ailing Indusrries to reduce the rale of unempioymenl. and also drastically encourage fanning and as II resuh discourage rural·urban mlgntion currently on a ceomelrical progression.