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TlJESOAY. SEPTEMBER 20. 201 )
Positioning your small-scale agric business for growth - --
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:B;mall Kobo
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Ad e nlo lll A I II\VI~
A CCORDING to Ihe World Bank·s latest figures. aboo l 70 rlper cenl of Nigefia's estimaled ISO million people live o n about $1 per day. In other words, about 105 m illion Nigerians live below the pa;erty line. wilh 35 per cent of Ihis number classified as living in absolu te poverty. The United Nations Human Pov2rty Index scored Nigeria 41 .6 per cent, effectively situating it i1mong'itthe 2S poorest nations in lhe world. The majority of the people trapped in the poverty web do,uell in rural areas, which hold about 80 per cent of the national population. llK"ir primary occupation is agriculture. Nigeria eal'lls over 80 )JEr cent o f her revenue from the petroleum industry. according 10 several reports. bu t Ih'll! sector actuatly accounts for Ie:;s th an 14 per cent o f Ihe Gr05S Domestic Product. whereas agriculture commands a n impressive 41.8 per cent of the GO P and generates lYJo· th irds o f employmen t nationwide. The paradox i:; that about 90 pe r cenl o f Nigeria's food requirement is produced bys mall·scale farrne:rswho constitute the majority of Ihe Ilalion·Spoof. A myriad o ffaciorsllre blamed for th is ungainlycundiUon. both natural and man-made. Key is lack o f access to finance lind the resultant inability 10 invest in basIC fanning inpl1ts. such as.seedlings ferl ilisers. implements and irrigation. As a resu lt. their yields have remained larg'i!1y stagnant. leading 10 pervasive hung!!'!" lind poverty. Similatly, little or flO comml"rdal financing is available to Ihose aspiring to build bus inessn Ihat could enhan[\! food production and enable fllTtllef5 to earn SllStainable profit The Governor of the Central Bank o f Nigeda, Mr. Lamido Sanus1. white ss:eaking at the foor1h African Rural and Agricu lt ural C redit Association conference last \o'('ar. had said. '"Agriculture O[cull1es a priority slatus in the national economy as Ihe sectorselV£sas the keydriverof growth. wealth creation and poverty .muction. II is the leading econom ic activity in sub&haran Afrka as it contributes 20 to 30 per cent o f its GDP.
" H~. the futu re of agriculture in sub-Saharan Africa is clouded with seve ral uncertainties that include increasing resource scarcity. he ightened risks from cli ma te change. higher energy prices. demand for biD-fuels and doubl5 about the speed o f lechnical progress. ~ Sanusi disclosed tha t: ''The annual demand for
• Be abreast of new policies in your sector • Loca l financing options available • You don't need a tractor "5 a small~ scale farmer • Imbibe transforming schemes
~jY';lij~li!:i.1 agribusiness financing over the next 40 years is projected li t $6.5bo per annum. compared to the cunent a nnual fu nd supply of $l.5-SSbn. This presen ts a huge financing gap which a forum such lIS this shouk! be able to critically examine and develop po licies and impleme nta tion frilrlle\lIOfks to mmimise the gap in the in terest of agricu ltural development in the region .~ The situation is not d ifferen t at the con tinental level. TIle Organisation for Economic Co·operation lind Development slated al the 16th session 01 the United Nations Commission on Sustainable: Development (UNCSD. 16), that abou t 2 16 m illion people, translating to one out of every seven persons in Africa. lin! classified as under nOUlished. This is !he" coOOilion o f people whose dietary energy consumption is continuously below a m inimum requirement for maintaining a heliithy life
I{wara 'employs 2 ,000 youths , introduces empowerment sCheme~
G
OVEJlNOR Abdvllatah Ahmed 01 Kwara State has pledged to
combo.,1 the nlen<'lOl! 0I1-OUlh Ufl'i!fIlploymenl in the stale. The govemor has also ooesenled ~ment letters 10 UXXI youths. Ahmed n1ilde II ... I*dge on SundlIy while inaugurati1g the Ku.'a11l Bridge Empoo.o.'I!1TT"mi SdlE'llte in Dorin. The governor noted that the 1-OUlhs ernpbyed were selected from !he 28JXKl ~ arptured dumg the regjstralion 01 ~ youth iII:rOS5 the stlrle. fIaording to hm. the 5Cheme is introduced to capture datll 01 vnemployrd youths w'ith a view 10 absorl>ing COIp5 mernbm into permanen t ern~menl ollhe governmen' wilhin 365~. Heexpiainedttntothersthtltcouldnotbeab5otbedwouJdbetrained in essential skillllO:<uisilion and entrepreneurship. tobe supported \~ith soft loans, loesl<lb!ish small and medium scale enterp1ses. TIw ~ >aid the stMe \\o!IS relldy to partneT the Federal
Governrnent on 1-OUth involvement In smlIlI SCllIe enterprises tov.rar MIf·employment. Actuding to him. pari allhe partnetship wi! cover human capadtyi building and dewIopment as wei 115 esIlIbIishmenl 01 ill:QUisi~ cenlle5 10 !Jain and impartskillo the 1-OUths. ~ Ahmed explained Ihat some 01 the youth em~oed through scheme u.'OUId be posted 10 both public and private ayanisati0n5 wh government woUd J»Y tN!ir stWies. !-Ie called on the ~ G:M!rnment 10 provide addilioMl, a5Sst;mce to the slate. 10 generale TTlOIl! ImlJlIoyrnimt opportunitie$ lind lIrre5I youth reslivlmess: Ellt!ier. lhe Commis:sionet for YOU lil and ~. Dr Amuda KlInnike. disclosed thatlhe scheme commenced on June 27, with the registration 01 unernplaJed youths and had captured 28,OCKl 01 them [Tom the 161..ocaJ Goverrvnent Areas.
and carrying out light physical activity. An lIgrkuUural expert. Mr. Deji Falolu. says the challenge of financing small farmers is more Ihan just the provision of finance . He ~'5, ~ It 15 not only about financh'lg. 11 is also about providing a complete solulion 10 small holder farmers to ensure long term 5Ustai~abili ty, food secu rity and higher standards of living. Also. some farmers believe they haw to star t big by buying tra dors. You don·, have to buy a tractor to start mechani ~ farm ing. You can always hire. In lact. a smail SClI.le farmer has no business buying a IrlIClor because h e will underulilise il. ~ It is lIlI about discipline and determination to succeed as a small scale fanner. I know people. who decidOO not 10 continue \vilh Ihe 5e2lrch for jobs and they have made it in fa nning to an extent. Fanning Is not II busineM that you will go into and expect slarl reaping profil immedialely. ~ The Head. Agricultu re. Stanbic IBTC Bank. fI.!r. Jacques Taylor. says thllt the larg'i! share of agricu lt ure in Africa·s GOP sugges ts that slro"ng · grov.rIh in agriculture is necessary for overall economic glowth. He adds th2lt UlE~re are S011le loclil fin ancing initialiws in the country but smaU·scaie famlers have yet to tap into tlleSe iniliatives. "For instanCE!. Slandard Bank Groupand the Alliance for a Green Revolu tion in Africa have a parlnership working acroM Ihe AII'iean continent to help mlllions of small-scale farmers and their fa milles lift IhemseJves out of poverty and hunger. The lund operates in Gha na, Mozambique, Nigeria. Tanzania and Uganda. opening loan oppof tunilies to smallholder fa rm els and small~ and med ium·sited agricultural businesses previously considered too ri sky for lending. "There is a need and an opportun ity for invest.nent that will develop the midd le ground in Africa' s agricu!t\Lre. Africa has enormous nalural potential and the continent has to unlock Ihis poten tial in order to reap the benefits of its natural resources. ~ Taylor poinl5 out thai the bllnk·s goal is to perform a trcmsformalive role in th'll! conlinent"s lIgrkultural sedor in partnership with other organisations. "Transformi ng small-salle farmers into medium·sized e nterprises is esse ntial 10 add~ food seeurlty and tostimu late economic groo. ... th. TIle models indude ri sk mitigating 10015 such as price - hedging instruments and crop insurance. The liKk of usable collateral makes traditional lending products in2lppropriate. ~ he explains.
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