Agro Business 3rd edition

Agro Business
with Success Kanayo Uchime


Plantain growers receive succor

Growers of plantain in Nigeria will soon have a new lease of life with the recent launch of the ‘Stop Bunchy Top’ campaign targeted at preventing the spread of the Banana Bunchy Top Disease (BBTD) by the International Institute for Tropical Agriculture (IITA) in Ogun State.
     The campaign which is a collaboration between IITA, Nigerian Agriculture Quarantine Service (NAQS), National Horticultural Research Institute (NIHORT), and the Ogun State Ministry of Agriculture, seeks to sensitize farmers experiencing the scourge of BBTD infestation.
    It is also aimed at creating awareness among extension workers, policymakers, and farmers in disease-affected areas and elsewhere about the danger of BBTD and control measures, which include the need to plant clean banana suckers and to prevent their fields from becoming infested.
     Speaking during the event, the NIHORT Executive Director, Adenike Olufolaji, said that as part of the collaborative project with IITA, they have already trained more than 200 farmers in Ogun State and supplied about 8000 clean plantain suckers between 2014 and 2015.  
     He noted that the training focused on how farmers can identify the disease and also produce clean planting materials adding that his organization has emphasized that clean planting materials must be collected only from certified sources because it guarantees clean orchard and consequently improves productivity.
     Also speaking, IITA Director, Robert Asiedu, said IITA appreciates the reception and high level of support from government, pledging to intensify research to ensure effective control.
     He noted that IITA is one of the world’s leading research partners in finding solutions for hunger, malnutrition, and poverty, and that its award-winning research-for-development (R4D) approach addresses the development needs of tropical countries.
    “IITA works with partners to enhance crop quality and productivity, reduce producer and consumer risks, and generate wealth from agriculture. IITA is a non-profit organization founded in 1967 in Nigeria and governed by a Board of Trustees,” he stated.
     He also stated: “IITA works on the following crops: cowpea, soybean, banana/plantain, yam, cassava, and maize. It is a member of Consultative Group for International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), a global agriculture research partnership for a food secure future.”

Investment opportunities in snail business

Heliculture (snail farming) is a very lucrative business which has a very low startup capital with high profit margin. Currently, very few smart Nigerians have discovered this secret, and do not want others to know about the methodology involved in rearing snails.
What is heliculture?
Heliculture (scientific snail farming) is simply domesticating snails at home, making them feel as if they are in their natural habitat (home). Heliculture is a very lucrative venture that is yet to be appreciated in the agro industry, because very few are aware of its profit potential. However, the very smart few in the business discovered this, and are making a fortune from it.
     People see snails here and there, some people take it as meat, but quite a number do not know how to go about rearing them. This is made worse because snails, which belong to the family of animal called Mollusca, is a hermaphrodite - it has both the female and male sexual organs; so one cannot really distinguish between the male and female specsie of it. Snail, also is high in protein (12-16%) and irons (45-50 mg/kg), low in fat, and contains almost all the amino acid needed by humans.
     However, the smart few in the snail farming business over time keeps the farming methodology very secret to themselves. But the plain truth is that snail farming is as easy as anything. The only thing the snails may constantly demand from you is your attention and care. They hardly fall sick. You do not have to buy their food and you may not have to spend much to build a pen (house) for them.
     The beauty of it all is that the snails reproduce rapidly; they are capable of producing hundreds of eggs, which hatch into snails. It is now possible to produce 1,000,000 snails worth more than N5 million twice a year. This is made possible because of the availability of very highly prolific Achatina Achatina species of snails, which lay 200-400 in one batch 2-3 times a year. There is the urgent need for Nigerians to have a radical shift from total dependence on government for job to self-employment.
    One of such attractive areas for self-employment is snail rearing. It is a great money-spinning business that can provide a substantial source of protein to complement Nigerians’ carbohydrate meals. Sadly, Nigerians inclination to go into business in the fields where thousands have already made their fortune, has led to the utter neglect of such lucrative area of snail farming in Nigeria or export at international market.
Income earning opportunity
     The demand for snail is higher than the supplies and as such, the market potential of snail is inexhaustible, locally and internationally.
     This technology has been approved to be the most lucrative farming venture presently, as it requires far less capital investment, while much profit is being generated in a considerable short period. It has lower risk compared to other livestock farming.
      Snail farming in Nigeria is virgin in the kingdom of livestock. As a result the earlier investors   without doubt have bright prospects in exploring this venture.  Virtually every part of snail is of vital use in food, pharmaceutical industry, manufacturing and fishing industries.  Snail is an export commodity, which has value next to gold in overseas countries. It is a foreign exchange income earner of our day. Our climate is one of the best in snail breeding.
     Snail farming in Nigeria requires small capital and the running cost is very low, hence their feeds are very local. Snail business indeed, is a gem in the livestock business. Therefore, take advantage of the opportunity of being among the fore-runners in this unbeatable venture. You can conveniently earn income a thousand fold higher than your present earning. You can keep your present job and do this on part time since it does not require much time.
     This is a real export market that earns foreign revenue without you running from pillar to post. This is not fiction, but factual. Not imaginary, but a reality. You too will share your view with others. No stress, no time consuming, no odor, no noise and no irritation. Snail farming is a practicable and viable venture, yet unexplored in Nigeria. If it has worked elsewhere, it will work in Nigeria.
The snail market
     There is a ready market for snail, locally and internationally. If you rear snail in commercial quantity, hotels, and fast food restaurants will be your regular customers. They will only need your assurance of regular supply per week. There is also good market for snail meat in the international market if only you can do a good packaging. You can make millions of Naira from this vast and inexhaustible market. Snail farmers are making huge profit as the global demand for the delicacy increases. In Nigeria, the prices of raw, matured snails go for N250 to N600, depending on the size.
    However, the annual demand for snail in Nigeria is about 7.5million kg annually. The international trade in snails is flourishing in Europe, France, China, and North America. The United States imports more than $5million worth of snails annually from all over the world, including Nigeria. France also requires about 15, 000 metric tons of the delicacy annually.
     Snail meat has been consumed by humans worldwide since pre-historic times. It is high in protein (12-16%) and iron (45-50 mg/kg), low in fat, and contains almost all the amino acids needed by humans. A recent study has shown that the glandular substances in edible snail meat could be of value in fighting a variety of ailments, including whooping cough. Snails can also be helpful to Asthmatic patients.
     You now see that this is an opportunity for you to get rich. You do not have to go in search of job when you can conveniently make millions of Naira right at your backyard with little capital and on part-time bases.
Source: This aerticle was written by Gideon-Wealth Ele, Port-Harcourt, and retrieved from his  website: http://snailfarmingng.blogspot.com.ng/ 




IFAD, developing rural agriculture in Nigeria

In its efforts to develop agriculture in the rural areas of Nigeria, the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) has made tangible commitments in the sector. With its recent commitment of $27 million for the development of rural agriculture, the organization has again demonstrated its firm resolve to decisively reduce poverty in at least 345,000 rural poor households in the country.
    With this effort, the organization is implementing its proposed seven-year rural agriculture finance support program which is ultimately aimed at reducing poverty in the country.
    In a statement by its Country Program Manager, Atsuko Toda, she assured that the program will in no small measure help tackle unemployment and poverty in Nigeria as well as encourage economic growth and development.
     She noted that IFAD commitment of the huge sum is a clear demonstration of its willingness to help in the fight against poverty and unemployment in rural communities and as such urged the Bank of Agriculture (BOA) to ensure smooth and transparent implementation of the program.
     Toda pointed out that IFAD has financed nine programs and projects in Nigeria since 1985, with a total loan commitment of US$187.4 million, adding that all programs and projects have addressed the livelihood needs of the rural poor, including smallholders, rural small businesses, poor fishing communities, young people, landless people and women.
     According to her, IFAD’s operations have contributed to the generating and disseminating technology to increase incomes and family food security while also introducing approaches for effective soil and water conservation and environmental management.
     She said it has fostered demand-driven and participatory approaches to agricultural and rural support services, capacity building and institutional strengthening to ensure the sustainability of successful development approaches.
      On IFAD’s strategy in Nigeria, Toda said IFAD’s support for the Nigerian government’s poverty reduction program focuses on facilitating economic and social development in rural areas. “Its particular objectives are to empower rural poor people, especially women, by increasing access to resources, infrastructure and services, and to promote the management of land, water and common property by local communities.”
    She noted that these objectives reflect the need to overcome environmental degradation in the country, as IFAD projects address issues such as erosion and the loss of soil fertility, as well as coastal zone natural resource management.
      It is worthy to note that IFAD directs assistance towards the following areas in the country: empowering small-scale farmers, landless people and rural women to generate sustainable incomes from farm and other activities. It supports pro-poor reforms and local governance to expand access to information, effective transport systems, village infrastructure and technologies, and improving access of poor rural communities to financial services and social services.
   At the government’s level, IFAD helps build capacity and strengthen institutions providing services to rural poor people, assisting with necessary policy changes, developing local organizations to enhance their effective participation, and promoting initiatives to foster rapid private sector-led poverty reduction and economic growth.

Palm Oil: Government’s revenue continues to drop

The federal government will continue to witness a downward trend in palm oil production both as a crop for export and local use as a result of low incentives in investment, dysfunctional land tenure system, transaction costs and high risks arising from poor governance.
    These facts are contained in a recent study entitled: “Nigeria: A Smallholder Case-study,” which is part of a global study of key palm oil producing countries assessing the Socio Economic Impact of High Carbon Stock (HCS).
     In a statement by Thompson Ayodele, of the Initiative for Public Policy Analysis (IPPA),
 one of the authors of the study, he said that these are the key findings in a multi-country study on palm oil recently released.
      He noted that the study discovered that small-holder palm oil farmers account for over 90 per cent of palm oil production which is not enough for local consumption alone, adding that the study also discovered that palm oil ought to provide a significant boom to local livelihoods and play a key role in poverty reduction strategy through a well-established value chain, but these were overshadowed by broader problems.
     Ayodele said the study established that the sector is plagued by dysfunctional land tenure regime which works as a disincentive for long-term investment by both smallholders and large estates. There is also lack of coordination between state and federal authorities and a general disregard by local communities of federal laws relating to land tenure, and that this has prevented investors to be wary of making large-scale investments in the sector.
    He observed that this is exacerbated, given that a range of government policies targeting the sector are either poorly implemented or grossly inadequate to tackle the challenges, and that the available option for investors is the purchase of pre-existing plantations, as is the case with few investors already in the sector.
     “In addition, the study further discovered that the global environmental concerns surrounding palm oil production has no direct relevance to Nigeria palm oil as there are much more significant obstacles to investment aside from complying with the required environmental standard imposed by environmental non-governmental organizations. The question of the impact of environmental regulations on palm oil – whether through private sector (e.g. Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil) or state or national laws – on smallholders is and has to this point been a non-issue,” he stated.
     He opined that environment-driven regulatory frameworks such as High Carbon Stock (HCS) or Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) is likely to provide some level of assurance to assuage environmental organizations, but their imposition or adoption is an additional burden on small-holders who can barely produce enough for the local economy. “Therefore, mandating palm oil farmers to comply with certain environmental requirements would be ineffectual in the face of poor environmental management in Nigeria which is hamstrunged by lack of enforcement capacity.”
      “The land tenure system is perhaps the biggest disincentive for investment, particularly for palm plantation. The risks associated with the land tenure system have necessitated companies to undertake extensive community consultations which have achieved positive results. However, there will always be levels of dissatisfaction in any community where consultation is one-sided with government. This will lead to some level of conflict which requires constructive engagement of all the stakeholders,” Ayodele argued.
      He continued: “Oil palm is not a key driver of deforestation in Nigeria. Environmental thresholds on oil palm will not necessarily result in environmental protection. They may simply prompt development of another crop, this is because the area available for oil palm is suffering from low productivity.”
    According to him, the environmental threshold on oil palm will not necessarily result in environmental protection largely because oil palm is not a key driver of deforestation in Nigeria, and that the population’s reliance on firewood for fuel is likely to worsen deforestation, as a weakened economy will force more Nigerians to chop down trees for cooking fuel and shelter.
      He advised that government’s policy needs to aid smallholders in order to achieve self-sufficiency in palm oil production as well as reforming the land tenure system which dis-incentivizes private large-scale plantation.