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BRIEFS ' Farmers get Nlbnagric loans in Edo
igeria is said to have accounted for one_third of the increase in investment in agricu ltu ral researc h and deve l opment (R&D) in Sub-Saharan Africa which increased by more than 20 per cen t from 2001-2008, This growth in investmen t is atlIib uted to increased Federal Government commitme nt to agriculture in general and to agricultural R&D in particular, Spending in most of the region has stagnated ' or ' fallen , according to the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRIf's r'eport which noted that most of the growth in Sub Saharan Africa in agric ultu ral research and development occurred in only a handful of countries. " Country-leve l data reveal that the region wide spending and capacity increase of roughly 20 per cent during 2001-2 008 was largely drive n by only a handful of countries as more than one-third of the growth in public agricultural R&D spending during this period is attributable to a $110 million increase in spending in Nigeria ," In a survey of 32 African nations, the study found that investment in agricultural R&D !lad rebounded in many of the larg e r countries, primarily Ghana, Nigeria, Sudan , Tanzania, and Uganda, However, in 13 countries , spending actuaUydeclined. Even where funding did increase, much of the money went to boost low sa laries and rehabilitate infrastructure arid equipment after years of neglect. The report explained that Nigeria has the largest agricultural research system in Sub Saharan Africa in terms of investments, capacity, and the number of gov ern ment and higher education agencies, ':<Vter a period of stagnation during the late 1980s and early 1990s, public agrj~ultural R&D more than doubled during 2000-2008. "
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even hundred and twenty co operative societies in Edo St.te have benefitted from the state's N 1 billion Cooperative Farmers' loan. Speaking at the presentation ceremony at Sam Ogbemudia Stadium in Benin City, Governor Adams, 'Gl'shiomh.ole said adequate efforts we re made to e nsure that the loan facility gets to the actuallarmers, According to him, "coming from a small village, the highest government ollicialthatwe used to see was the drive r of tl)e Ministry at Agriculture, when they came to share lands to farmers and we heard stories about how government voted billions of naira for Agriculture, but the actual farmer never saw one naira , They set up the Nigerian Agricultural and Co_operative Bank to provide loans to farmers , then all of a sudden, every retired military general b ecame a farmer, every retired Head of Service became a farmer, every serving Permanent Secretary became a farmer. The actual farmer never got one naira. "So today I feel happy, and I'll like you to join me to salute the Deputy Governor who headed the committee that we set up to ensure that the d efinitio n of farmers does not change tor the purpose of this facility, "By the grace at God, with the small loan we are about to give you, you will get improved yields from your farms ,. Whe.n the Nigerian governin'ent says th e economy is growing by 46%_ 47%, it is you farmers that are making the economy to grow, because our industries have all closed down , the only industry that is still in operation is farming," '
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Nigerian Delegation at the IFPRI conference on J..everaging Agriculture for improving Health and Nutrition held in New Delhi, India, From L-R Dr, Oyedele Oyedeji of the Nigerian Institute of Animal Science ,Prof. Yusut Abubakar , the Executive Secretary of Agricultural Research Council at Nigeria and Prof. Placid Njoku ,
Agricultural R&D in Africa: , Nigeria leads in investment ... spending stagnated in most countries Francophone West Africa, where researchers who either l ack insufficient national investment high_level training or are old and nearing retirements, has left programs debilitated and dangerously dependent on according to the report. volatile externalfunrling , IFPRI's Agricultural Science Many ot these countries are and Techno l ogy Indicators also struggling with a rapidly (ASTI) initiative conducted the aging pool of scientists, many of survey in collaboration w ith whom will approach retirement more than 370 agricultural within _~.!1ext.?~_c:~~e., ______ . . ._ .research agencies . ASTI is Mosi countries in the .study spearheaded by IFPRI on behalf are facing human capa,ity of the CO!lsultative Group on challenges, such as recruitm'ent International Agricultural treezes, retention problem's, and R~search (CGlAR) ,
"Studies show that investments in agricultural R&D have greatly contributed to economic growth, agricultural development, toad security, and poverty reduction in developing regions over the past Ii ve decades," said Nienke Beintema, head of ASTI, "New agricultural technologies and crop varieties hav e helped to increase yields, impro ve nutrition, conserve natural resources, and expand rural markets ."
Researchers call for greater focus~on 'Fertilizers for Forest' mitigation in West Africa
T ow-input farming for cocoa, .L..c assava and oil palm has resulted in widespread ~h e report added "This was detorestation and degradation ~ the result of renewed of West Africa's tropical forest government commitmen t to area, according to a new study agricultural R&D that increased by .researchers at the salary levels and substantial International Institute for investment s in rese a rch Tropical Agriculture (IITA) and infrastructure and equipment. th e Cen ter for International "In addition, Nigeria's Forestry Research (CIFOR) . agricultural research stalling The study was pub li shed levels grew steadily during the online this week in the peersame period , Notably, the role reviewed journal, Environmental of the high er education sector Management. in ;i'gricultural research Cocoa production in West increased during this time . Africa i~ an important Although growth in Nigerian · c'cimm~rC:ig) sector and a source agricult ural R&D spending and of li""lihood for about two capacity was striking, growth million households in the only served to offset years at region. severe under-investment in the For the last 20 years, Cote 1990s," The report regretted that d'Ivoire h as been the largest despite the remarkable producer botb in terms of output increases , investment levels remain below those required tq.. ' and numbers of producers, followed by Ghana, Nige ria, and restore facilities to prior levels Canleroon with these four and to sustain the co untry's countries now accounting for agricultural research needs . 70% of global cocoa supply, The state of agricultural R&D According to the study, cocoa is particularly grave in 6
production in West Africa's Guin'ean Rainforest region doubled between 1987 and 2007, but most of this increase was fueled by clearing forest areas resulting in large losses o f biodiversity and high carbon emissions. The Gui nean Rainforest (GRF) of West Africa, identified over 20 years ago as a global biodiversity hotspot, had reduced to 113 ,000 lon2 at the .,start of the new millennium, "which was 18% of its original area, according to the report. Th e principal driver o[ this environmental change has been the expansion of low_ inp ut .smallholder agriculture that depends on environmentally destructive proctices like s l ash and burn and land cle.aring, Researchers at IITAtound that increasing fertilizer u s e on cocoa timber fanns wDuld have spared roughl y 2 miilion hectares of tropi<: :u forest from being cleare d or severe ly
. d egraded, On average, farmers. are using less than 4kg of total nutrients per hectare in the region. The study suggests that fanners could have achieved the same outputs without rampant deforestation th rough the intensified use of fertilizer and agrochemicals coupled w ith improved crop husbandry, According to IITA, by doing so farmers wo ul d have doubled their incomes and helped to avoid deforestation and degradation on 2 .1 million hectares and in the process, generate a value of over $1,600 million on 1.3 billion tons of C02 emission that would not hav~ come from deforestation. The findings should be taken into consideration in discussions arolln d effo rts to reduce EI" ir.si ons from deforestation , . Sd Y researc hers . Instead of "(llls idering complicated C ~t :'I te gi es involving monetary or i Tt !~i nd transfers to farmers or f.'ol;ul1unities for altering their LJ: ~ i use behaviour.
Fadama III farmers get N83 loans in Oyo h e Oyo State Government hasdistIibutedagricu1tura11oans totalling N83.9 million to farmer groups under the Fadama ill project and two other agI;cu1tural projects, A breakdown ot the figure showed that N34.45 million was disbursed to 13 Fadaroa Conuilllnity Associations (FCAs) while N41.58 million was disbursed to nine fanners under the National Programme on Food Security (NPFS), thefanne,,;' apex group. The sum of N7 ,9 million was disbursed to 23 fannelS underthe Root and Tuber Expansion Programme
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Presenting the cheques to the beneficiaries in !baden last week, the Commissioner for \griculture, Mr Kunle !shol", urged I':,em to utilise the loan judiciously and pay back at the l;ghttime.
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