NA nON FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2012
AGRO-BUSINESS
Osun establishes bee farm • Aregbesola inspects fish pond
T
f-ffi Osun Siale Govem-
ment has established a bee-k~ing and honey production !aim U\ Asi, Olin Local Govemmen~ Area. Governor Rauf Aregbesola said the project, lagged O'J-Ioney. is part orhls aaminiSlulian's self-employment programmes. (-le said the farm ImJ the" capacity to train 600 bee-keepen; yearly. . The equipment in the apuuy,he saia, could sustain it for 10 year.>. Aregbesola said: "This programme, which Is pari of our efforts to revolulionalise agriculture, was designed to banish hunger, unemployment and poverty, whiCh are three important points of our
ruo-
Six-Integral Action Pian.
"We are similarly aware
that there is immense wealth p<ltential to be tapped from tilling the land; all we need
From AduoJI Adenlyt, OsoObo do is to get our agricultural act together. "To derive optimal benefits from the land, we decided to move oll r agriculture be.yond subsistence to big.. mone)'-spinnin.s commercial !'annhig and this is the focus of our Osun Rural Enterprise and Agriculture Programme (O'",,"p). "TIle bee-keeping and rearing sub-secior, not unlike other components, also provides nutritious food source in addition to raw materials for agri-businesses and complementary medicinal values. " Here, bee keeping and rearing or apiculture 15 In sim+ pie terms the rearing and management of bees for the production of honey and other products of beehive, such as beeswax."
The govemor said apicul.
lure Is " profitable venture, which can supply naturdl honfor domestic and internalIonal ron:.umption_ Describing the project as another watershed in the e.ffort to revolutionise agriculture in the state, Aregbesola urged the people, especially women and youths take advantage of the programme. Coordinator, OSun Quick Impact Intervention Programme (QUIIP), Mr. Dele Ogundipe said bee-rearing creates employment opportunities for many ~ple. Ogundipe said the apiary occupies 11.16 hectares of I""'. lie said the state plans to establish more bee colonies 18 meet the local and international demand for honey of the fann. TIle governor also visited the Ostlll Fish Village (O'Fish) inOkuku, where over 120,(XXl
ey
fishes are being reared. About
30 cadets of lfie Osun You th Empowerment Scheme (OYES) are undergOing training on fish farming.
Aregbesola praised the farm manager for managing the farm judiciously. He said his administration is willing to partner citizens
in legal businesses to eradiCOlte poverty, hunger and unemn1oyment.
IValue addition key to repositioning agric exports'
V
ALUE addition is Ihe solution to.boost the value of Nigeria'9 agricultu ral prod ucts in tne global markets, the Minister of Slate for 'trade and Investment. Dr. Sam Ortom, has said. lie spoke at the Second In-
ternational conference on Africa's Indigenous Stimulants in Lagos. Ortom,who was represented by the Assistant Director, Commodities Division,Federal Ministry of Trade and Inves tment, Mrs Omololu Opeewe, urged the
industry to pursue a stratt!8f to increase added value of agricultural p roducts to boost the nalion's annual export earnings, as most farm products are coarsely processed and sold at low price9. He lisled stimulants, SUcil
as kola nuts,biller kola, alligator pepper,moringa among others as key produce in Ihe campaign to pro-mote non-oil export. OrtOIll urged fanners and other stakeholders involved in the processing of kola nuts to see it as a nalional challenge and do all in their capaoty to scale up the cultivation, and processing of these slinlulants to international standards. lie called 011 the agric industry 10 invest more in renewing technology and abide by international pro-duction standards to raise the added value of export prod-
"'''
' From I<i'ft: Rl"prl"ll"nt,livl", AfrlCin BUline.. Rountabll, Dr Otanlyl Netson; Mrs Ak,nnL and Mr. Opl"ewl" al thl" conful"ncl" in lISOI.
lie also called on stakeholders to maximise the economic bendils and potentials uf kola nuts and biUer nuts by applying new and improved t<!Chniques in the cultivation, processing, storage, marketing and export of these crops so that Nigeria can generate job opportunities to reduce poverty and raise incomes for the farmers and the country. The Mmister recognised tile economiC Importance of the crop as a strategic com-
Agric road map should promote value chain, says expert
T
HE Federal Government should promote a competitive market for the agricultural produce at the grassroots, an agnculturebusinCll5elCP":'"t,Dr Kola Adebayo, has said. I.n an i~lterview, Adcbayo said agricultural development and marketing has been dependant on th e value cha!ns. For high vallie crops, h~ Implored ~ncemed oUicia 15 to contmuously 1mprove the value chain from research, production, postharvest, processing and ma rketing.- and broaden the domes\lc and export potential. lie urged the upgrading ~f product stan~a rd s and chmate adaptallon. measures; Ihe openlllS of tn-roads. to encourage pr09pect tVe farmers, young farmers, and re tirees to en~age in agricu lture, lis lery and
agribusiness enterprises; and improvement of technologies a nd expansion of knowledge pool. Adebayo suga.ested devel+ oping market mlelligence informillion system to assess the target areas in agriculture prOduce. lie harped on the n~ to plan a strategy to market agriculture produce with value addi tion by the farmers at the local government levels for the farmers' bendit. He called on autho rilies and organisations at all levds to work together o n issues relating to agriculture, rural areas ancffarmers as well as the country's lnd~str.ialisation and modern lsalton. li e
tential for the development of agricultural value chains is substantial and promising, both from local and intemational market. Meanwhile, the Federal Governmen t said It witl soon establish sta!?le crop processing zones III some parts of the country. The Mi nister of Agricullure a nd Rural Development , Dr Akinwumi Adesina, said this in Abuja at a meeting with private seclo r partners In tile ag ricu lture va lu e chain convened to garner support for the Federal Government's Agricultural Transformation Agenda (ATA). The m!nister explained that the Idea was to enable processors to establish their processing plants in areas where fooa production was hiAh. e said the Federal Gov·
emment would prioritise basic infrastructure in these zones. " It is the duty of the government to provide all" the basic amenJties in these zones. We have Identified these zones and we know what is needed to make things work, " he said. Adesina urged the privllte ~c tor to set up a n advocacy group that would liaise with the go\'ernment in terms of policy making. lie told them to focus on fiscal policy that would encourage local food production, saying that the private sectorwascrudaltotllesuccess of the transformation agenda. Ade9ina p romised 10 always interact with the. private sector to ensure tllal was res tored as of the coun-
modity that will add to wealth crea tion and reduce the rate of unemployment in the oountry. He acknOWledged the contribution of agencies. such as United States Agency for International Devel opment, (USA IO), Food and Agricultural Organisation, (FAO), Cocoa Research Institute of Nigeria (CRIN) and United Nation's Industrial development Organisation (UNIOO)' who have all cofll'ributed to the overall development of the industry. The Commissioner for Agriculture and Cooperatives, Prince Gbolahan lawai, said the objective of organising the conference was to promote various stimulants. lawaI said the ministry 15 focusin!i on promoting agric trade, hl~hlighting the merits of stimulants, such as kolanul5, bitler kola, alligator pepper and Olher produce. The Minisry. he added, is also strengthening production capacity of domestic enterprises. The Commissioner,who was represented by the Director Agric Se rvices, Dr Olayiwole Onasanya, said African indigenous stimu-
lants, especially kola nuts and bitter nuts are sources of wealth creation. He called for concerted efforts to ensure the stable supply of stimulants for the
ex,,~r~Wa~~:\timulants industry possesses numerous favourable conditions to develop into a key industry. He recognised Ihe impor' tance of the crop as strategic commodity lhal will add to wealth creation and reduce the rate of unemployment in the country. The Managing Direc tor, Vertica l InspiratiOns Umited, Ms Heather Akanni, called for the active articipation of mdustrial eaders 10 help stimulanl5 continue to grow and gain more recognttlon III the inlematlonal market. She said there is a lucrative market for African stimulant products and urged local businesses 10 secure a firm foothold III the demanding market. To enter the markel, she suggested that businesse:. should not only make high quallty produce, but also seek 'to increase value for the market.
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