All set for The Nation agric, food summit (2)

Ahead of Thursday’s summit on agriculture and food security, DANIEL ESSIET writes on the contributions of participants in diversifying the economy.

The stage is set at the Abuja Sheraton Hotel for tomorrow’s The Nation Agriculture and Food Summit.

Organised by Vintage Press Limited, publishers of The Nation, the summit will also feature awards to deserving individuals in the public and private sectors, as well as government agencies.

Those listed for recognition have distinguished themselves in the chosen fields of endeavour, especially in the agricultural development in terms of financing, entrepreneurship, leadership and innovation.

According to the organisers, the summit plans to put agriculture on the front burner and stimulate a national discourse. It will also serve as a forum for the participants to showcase their products during the video exhibition session.

President Muhammadu Buhari is billed to open the three-in-one event. His deputy, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo is the special guest of honour.

A former Vice Chancellor of the Federal University of Technology, Akure (FUTA), Prof Adebiyi Daramola, will deliver the summit’s main lecture scheduled for 3pm. The professor once served as a consultant to the World Bank.

On the recognition list are some states’ chief executive officers, heads of government agencies and private sector players, who have encouraged food production and agricultural growth.

They are: governors Akinwunmi Ambode (Lagos), Kashim Shettima (Borno); Ibikunle Amosun (Ogun); Seriake Dickson (Bayelsa); Sani Bello (Niger); Simon Lalong (Plateau); Godwin Obaseki (Edo); Samuel Ortom (Benue); Tanko Al-Makura (Nasarawa); Willie Obiano (Anambra); Atiku Bagudu (Kebbi) and Aminu Tambuwal (Sokoto).

Others are: Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) Managing Director Nsima Ekere; Agriculture Minister Audu Ogbeh; Bank of Agriculture Managing Director Kabiru Adamu; Dangote Grouo President Aliko Dangote and Olam Group Managing Director Venkataramani Srivathsan.

Below is the concluding part of the profiles of those selected for recognition.

 

Emefiele

 

Emefiele’s contributions to the national food security and agriculture as Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor got him into the honour’s list.

He left Zenith Bank Plc, where he served since 2001 to take the baton the apex bank on June 3, 2014.

The CBN chief has been spearheading several projects to alleviate food insecurity. Emefiele has been on the forefront of mobilisation for the required global resources to meet Nigeria’s f food security goal.

Besides introducing initiatives to increase the availability of credit facilities for smallholder farmers across the country, the CHN governor galvanised the political will to transform agriculture.

Through the Anchor Borrowers Programme (ABP) introduced by the CBN under his watch, thousands of farmers are being provided with financial support to produce staples to feed the teeming population. The apex bank has successfully executed projects in the battle against hunger.

 

Ortom

 

The Benue State Governor has introduced a number of projects with far-reaching impacts on the rural population. His administration has also touched the lives of millions of farmers in the Northcentral state.

Ortom’s government has prepared a master plan to provide a fillip to the cultivation of staples and cash crops in the state. The acreage under cultivation has been on the increase since Ortom took the saddle in 2015. There are also plans to provide modern facilities for the food processing units along the value chain from farm to market.

There is a consensus that an increase in processing agricultural produce, with special focus on perishables, will eliminate wastage.

The invasion of the state by the itinerant herders has affected agriculture in the state.  A greater percentage of residents, whose livelihood is agriculture, have been affected by the invasion of the rampaging herdsmen.

The effects were felt by a wide majority of the residents who depend on agriculture for their livelihoods.

 

Tambuwal 

 

Governor Aminu Tambuwal’s contribution to agricultural earned him recognition.

He has been identified with pro-farmer programmes aimed at promoting agricultural development. Sokoto, under Tambuwal’s watch, has recorded landmarks the production of food grains.

His administration has brought out a progressive agriculture policy, according a winner status to the agricultural sector.

The progammes launched by the Tambuwal administration are meant to revitalise agriculture, stimulate higher growth rate, improve farm income and accelerate development.

 

Bello

 

Governor Abubakar Sani Bello is harnessing science and technology options for rural development through pro-poor and pro-livelihood approach to agricultural development.

Since his assumption of office in 2015, Bello’s interventions have been pro-rural dwellers. His administration has provided them with incentives for effective management of their natural resource base, enhanced livelihoods through skill and capacity building, access to knowledge and information and opportunities for market linkages for primary produce and value added products.

Under his watch, the state bought into CBN-Anchor Borrowers Programme and so far, more than 20, 000 rice, soybean and cotton farmers have benefited during rain-fed season.

Bello’s administration has rehabilitated several irrigation schemes and its  agricultural Equipment Hiring Enterprise (AEHE) project is on-going simultaneously in different zones of the state.

He has set a model in achieving public/private partnership in sustainable development.

 

Obaseki

 

Governor Godwin Obaseki is leveraging on agriculture as against relying solely on handouts from the Federation Account to drive the fortunes of Edo State. And two years in the saddle, Obaseki’s efforts are manifest in the Southsouth state.

Contending with the vagaries of unstable oil prices in the global market as with other states, Edo is latching on to agriculture to diversify the local economy, attain food sufficiency and drive its job creation plans.

This grand plan includes calculated and far-reaching reforms that will attract and protect investments to boost production of oil palm, cassava, maize, yam, rubber, cocoa, rice, vegetables, aquaculture and livestock.

A striking feature of Obaseki’s agriculture masterplan is his administration’s partnership with investors, government agencies and other stakeholders in the agricultural value chain.

The state budget has been pro-farmer, despite financial constraints. With improved seedlings being developed for agricultural transformation, attract and retain youths in farming, the dawn of a new era in agriculture is in sight.

 

BOA

 

The Bank of Agriculture (BoA) has spent over N150 billion. The bank, which has reached out to 100, 000 farmers, is being restructured and recapitalised to provide loans to peasant farmers at single digit interest rates. This will be the most remarkable fund injection initiative ever undertaken by any government to empower rural peasant farmers and create wealth for rural dwellers.

With its financial stability and reliability, the bank has obtained great reputation and credibility, not only at home, but among international financial community. The bank’s operation has been primarily focused on financing agriculture.

 

NDDC

 

Against the backdrop of dwindling revenue from crude oil, the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) is doing a lot to boost agricultural production.

In partnership g with the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the commission has integrated rural dwellers into agricultural entrepreneurship.

It has distributed more than 100 tractors to support ministries of agriculture and cooperative societies to boost food production and tackle youth unemployment in the nine Niger Delta states.

The commission has also set up a Credit and Entrepreneurial Development Scheme with a N1 billion revolving loan for Niger Delta farmers in partnership with the BoA.

The commission has been a faithful partner in the Community-Based Natural Resource Management Programme (CBNRMP), empowering at least 400,000 households in the rural communities through agriculture.

Under the watch of Nsima Ekere, the NDDC management has  set up budget committees in the nine Niger Delta states to help develop practical budgets “based on needs analysis”. It has reassured that the committees would collaborate with the state governments for the benefit of the oil producing region.

 

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