The World Bank and Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) under the supervision of the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) is planning to embark on a National Agriculture Sample Census (NASC) to ensure that data on agricultural yields in Nigeria are accurate. This is happening after 28 years. The Director, Demography and Household Statistics Department of NBS, Mr. Adeyemi Adeniran, said the census was critical, as it will involve the enumeration of all agricultural activities in the country, including crop production, fisheries, forestry and livestock. Speaking at a stakeholders’ sensitization workshop on the National Agricultural Sample Census in Keffi, Nasarawa State, recently, Adeniran said the agricultural census was meant to be carried out every five to 10 years in line with FAO standards.

Mr. Adeyemi stated that the last round of the census was carried out in 1993/94, while several attempts that have been made to conduct another census after the last one have been fruitless. “The census is a complete enumeration of all agricultural activities within the country.

This enumeration includes both smallholder farmers and large corporate farms. “The smallholders will be canvassed through households, while the corporate farms will be done through our framework for conducting establishment surveys,” Adeniran said. “The implementation of the exercise will be done in two phases, the first being the Listing Phase and the second being the Sample Survey Phase. Under the first phase, enumerators will visit selected farms and farming households to collect information.

“The scope of information to be collected in this phase includes demographic details of the holders, type of agricultural activity (crop production, fishery, poultry, or livestock), the type of produce or product (for example rice, maize, sorghum, chicken, or cow), and the details of the contact persons,” he added. Also, he explained that in the second phase, a sample of the farms listed under the first phase would be taken, while more detailed information would be collected.

“In addition to the information collected in the first phase, data such as size of the holding, area cultivated, total yield, type of farming practices, inputs, and challenges, amongst others, will be gathered. “For the first time in Nigeria,the entire process will be carried out digitally. NBS has already planned with the National Population Commission (NPC) to secure newly-demarcated digital enumeration maps of the entire country.

These newly-carved maps will serve as a basis for the segmentation of the areas we intend to visit for this assignment. “With these new digital maps, which will be complemented by satellite imagery, the process for identifying the farming areas and communities will be much easier, making the segmentation process more efficient and cost effective,” Adeniran stated. Earlier, the Chairman, Board of Directors of the bureau, Dr Kabiru Nakaura, stressed the need for data in the agricultural sector, saying that without adequate information on the activities of the sector, Nigerians would not know the quantum of foods they consume at a particular time.

Source: https://africanharvesters.com/2022/05/13/nigeria-to-conduct-national-agriculture-sample-census/

There is increasing attention to the importance of biodiversity for food security and nutrition, especially above-ground biodiversity such as plants and animals. However, less attention is being paid to the biodiversity beneath our feet, soil biodiversity, which drives many processes that produce food or purify soil and water. This report is the result of an inclusive process involving more than 300 scientists from around the world under the auspices of the FAO’s Global Soil Partnership and its Intergovernmental Technical Panel on Soils, the Convention on Biological Diversity, the Global Soil Biodiversity Initiative, and the European Commission. It presents concisely the state of knowledge on soil biodiversity, the threats to it, and the solutions that soil biodiversity can provide to problems in different fields. It also represents a valuable contribution to raising awareness of the importance of soil biodiversity and highlighting its role in finding solutions to today’s global threats.

Source: https://www.fao.org/documents/card/en/c/cb1928en

Further reading: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsufs.2020.00016/full

Source: https://fmard.gov.ng/robust-partnership-with-research-institutions-will-fast-track-the-development-of-agricultural-value-chains-agric-minister/

President Muhammadu Buhari has said that the nation’s Universities of Agriculture should play pivotal roles in catalyzing the development of the agricultural sector, stating that the institutions are cardinal tools for rapid transformation of the sector, as well as, a major driver in industrial development and diversification from heavy dependence on oil.
The President also stated that the Federal Government expects the rapid innovations, development of knowledge and skills of the universities to drive the increase in a local production of food and raw materials geared towards achieving self-sufficiency in food production for local consumption, export, and economic growth of the country.

Speaking during the 10th Convocation Ceremony of the Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike, Abia State over the weekend, President Muhammadu Buhari who was represented by the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr. Mohammad Mahmood Abubakar, said that, ” developing educated farmers with requisite knowledge and skills will firmly position the sector as a business enterprise and as such, should be the primary task of the Agricultural institutions across the country “.
Buhari pointed out that ” it is expected that universities of Agriculture, should also, bravely confront the heavy dependence of the nation on imported food and raw materials with the view to reducing it to the barest minimum at the shortest time “.
Mr. President said that ” we can and should be able to feed ourselves on the rich soils and diverse ecologies that the nation is endowed with. We should be determined to wisely exploit the natural resources and inheritance of our nation to feed our people and possibly export to other nations. He urged the graduating students and the institutions to be focused and determined, stating that where there is a will, there is always a way”.

He appealed to the institution to develop technologies that would fast track agricultural production, processing, packaging and distribution adding, ” we shall not relent, rather we shall double our efforts at creating enabling environment for our specialized universities of agriculture to fulfil our collective dream of self-reliance in food production “.
President Buhari informed that ” the National Agricultural Land Development Authority(NALDA) has been reconstituted to promote mechanized agriculture. Federal Government expects that specialized universities of agriculture will collaborate with NALDA to ensure increased local production of food”.

Mr. President congratulated the graduates, their parents, guardians, and well-wishers and assured of the government’s continuous support for tertiary institutions and educational endeavours in general.
In his remarks, the Executive Governor of Abia State, Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu, represented by the Deputy Governor of the State, RT. Hon. Ude Chukwu, stated that ” Universities of agriculture such as the Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike, have great roles to play in linking research, innovations and technologies to farmers and agriculture industry”.
He also lauded the diversification policy of the Federal government in the agricultural sector geared towards achieving food and nutrition security and generation of more income for farmers.

In his address, the Chancellor of the University, Alhaji Abubakar Shehu Abubakar 111, the Emir of Gombe, appreciated ” the cooperation of the host communities of the university and their support in enabling the institution to access the land.
He called on relevant government agencies not to relent in their efforts in supporting the tertiary institutions across the nation to enable them to churn out qualified students for a better-developed society.
During his welcome remarks, the Vice-Chancellor of the University, Prof. Maduebibisi Ofo Iwe, disclosed that, “we are graduating a total of Six thousand, Six Hundred and Six Students, (6,606) with four thousand one hundred and fifteen (4,115), representing the 2018/2019 academic year at the undergraduate and postgraduate levels, broadly distributed as follows; Bachelor’s degree 5,817, Postgraduate 92, Master’s degree 454 and Doctorate degree 243″.
Prof. Iwe emphasized that ” the university has a bright future and huge potential. We now stand at the crossroads of history where opportunities beckon on us to reach beyond ourselves, to overcome the base and selfish distraction that tie us down and strive for the things that matter, to dig into the inner recess of the gifts and talents God has given us. These will serve and promote the interests of the university, he counseled.

Source: https://fmard.gov.ng/agric-institutions-to-drive-industrial-development-and-economic-diversification-buhari/

Ghanaian Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta on Thursday emphasized the nation’s partnership with the African Development Bank in its development as he addressed journalists at a press conference to publicize the institution’s upcoming annual meetings.

Ofori-Atta described the meetings as seminal, in the context of a world seeking to rebalance in the wake of Covid-19 and the war in Ukraine.

“The hosting is long overdue. Forty-one African economies are severely exposed to at least three concurrent crises – rising food prices, rising energy prices and tightening financial conditions – what finance ministers now call the dreaded three f’s,” Ofori-Atta said.

Throughout Africa food prices are currently around 34% higher, crude oil prices 60 % and global inflation is affecting all countries, the minister said, with inflation in Ghana standing at around 23.6%.

“The newly poor in Africa has increased by 55 million and approximately 35 million formal jobs are at risk,” the minister said. “This toxic mix of challenges exist even as we try to recover from the Covid-19 pandemic.”

“In the African Development Bank, we have a well-positioned institution with the convening power and a network of technical and financial resources to significantly contribute toward finding robust solutions to some of these intractable problems that we are experiencing,” Ofori-Atta said.

During the annual meetings, scheduled from 23-27 May in the Ghanaian capital Accra, there would be a showcase of products and services of 13 indigenous industrialists and 5 fintechs on the sidelines.

Ofori-Atta also touched on the replenishment of the African Development Fund (ADF), the African Development Bank Group’s concessional lending arm. This year marks the fiftieth anniversary of the Fund.

“One of the key issues is how to push our non-regionals to accept ADF going to the capital markets to leverage the $25 billion equity so we can get more resources,” Ofori-Atta said.

He said the ADF would benefit from cheaper interest rates, should it turn to the capital markets. Donors and multilateral institutions cannot meet the development demands Africa has.

Speaking of the cocoa value chain, Ofori-Atta noted the importance of adding value to boost incomes of the country’s farmers in the lucrative cocoa industry. He said an emergency food plan proposed by the African Development Bank is designed to assist farmers, especially with fertilisers.

The plan, which hinges on providing certified seeds of climate-adapted varieties to 20 million African farmers, would see the rapid production of 38 million tonnes of food across Africa over the next two years. With the disruption of supplies arising from the war in Ukraine, Africa is facing a shortage of at least 30 million metric tonnes of food, especially wheat, maize, and soybeans imported from Ukraine and Russia. The Bank has pledged to invest $1.3 billion in the plan’s implementation.

“Through our enduring partnership with the Bank, Ghana has undertaken significant infrastructure development,” the minister said. He also noted other areas of collaboration, including education, modernisation of agriculture and financing for small businesses.

“It is a good time for this AGM to happen. It could lead to some really important change in how the global financial architecture is tackled, so that we can get the resources we need to be able to transform the continent,” Ofori-Atta said.

Source: https://www.afdb.org/en/news-and-events/press-releases/african-development-bank-annual-meetings-2022-time-tackle-triple-crises-food-energy-and-finances-says-ghanaian-finance-minister-51554

What are GAPs?

Good Agricultural Practices, or GAPs, are voluntary guidelines for produce farmers to reduce the risk of microbial contamination related to food borne illnesses on their farms. The guidelines are based on the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)’s Guide to Minimizing Microbial Food Safety Hazards for Fresh Produce.

Why GAPs?

As consumption of fresh produce has increased, the number of foodborne illness outbreaks associated with fresh produce also has steadily increased. Bacteria such as Salmonella and E. coli 0157:H7 are most often linked to these illnesses, as are parasites such as Cryptosporidium and Cyclospora. As a result, some larger buyers, especially supermarkets and produce distributors, have begun began requiring their vendors to be audited by a third party to certify that they follow Good Agricultural Practices to minimize the risk of microbial contamination on their produce.

Why are GAPs important for my farm?

Good Agricultural Practices can reduce the risk of harmful contamination of your produce

Following best practices for reducing microbial contamination ensures that the food that you sell to the public will not cause harm or illness for consumers. Reducing the risk of contamination before it occurs is the best way to minimize the risk of illness in the public.

Lettuces, salad mix, green onions, tomatoes, sprouts, cantaloupes, carrots, raspberries, and herbs are most often associated with foodborne illness outbreaks because of how they are grown and consumed. All growers, regardless of their products, can benefit from implementing a set of SOP to reduce microbial contamination.

GAPs are not intended to sanitize fresh produce or completely eliminate the risk of contamination: this is impossible. GAPs are intended to guide growers to reduce the risk of contamination where possible.

Quality and shelf-life of your product is maintained and spoilage reduced

GAPs focus on post-harvest handling and proper cooling, handling and storing of product. This can reduce spoilage, improve quality and ensure that you have the best quality produce for your customers.

Greater organization and efficiency of your operation

After the initial work of developing a food safety plan, many growers report improved efficiency and streamlined inventory control and management of their products.

Your customer may require an audit

Many produce distributors and supermarkets require, or will soon require all their vendors have a GAP audit. If you wish to sell to this buyer, you must have follow their requirements for certification.

What is a GAPs audit?

There are various GAP audits available. The most basic, and easiest to implement, is the USDA GAP audit. The USDA GAP audit checklist consists of these sections:

1. General farm review (includes worker health and hygiene, traceability, water quality, manure and compost, animals and livestock)
2. Field harvesting and field packing activities
3. Packing house facility
4. Storage and transportation
5. Traceability (this section has been incorporated into other sections)
6. Wholesale distribution center (applies to distribution centers)
7. Preventative food defense procedures (applies to distribution centers or very large farms)

Each section is a checklist related to food safety practices. Everyone must pass the General Farm Review (section 1), but the other sections will vary by grower. Many growers are audited only on 3 or 4 of the sections (e.g. 1, 2, 3 and 4; 1, 2 and 4). Customers who require growers to get an audit will specify which sections are needed.

Source: https://extension.umn.edu/growing-safe-food/good-agricultural-practices-basics

The 4R’s of nutrient stewardship, or nutrient management, are commonly referred to when talking about proper nutrient application. The 4R’s stand for right source, right rate, right time, and right place and serve to guide farmers to the management practices that help keep nutrients on and in the field. Implementation of the 4R’s helps to align the economic, environmental, and social components of nutrient management. The Nutrient Stewardship 4R Pocket Guide helps to explain what the components are of each of the 4R’s.

The first R is Right Source. In order to determine the right source, the following should be taken into account:

• Are the fertilizer nutrients being used (commercial or manure) available for immediate or delayed crop uptake?
• Is there a combination of fertilizers that can be utilized best?
• What nutrients are already available in the soil?

The next R is Right Rate:

• Match amount of fertilizer applied to the crop nutrient uptake

• • What is the crop nutrient demand?
• Perform a soil analysis (manure analysis as well if using this as the fertilizer source) to appropriately match the amount of fertilizer needed for crops based on individual field fertility
• Make sure equipment being used to spread the fertilizer or manure is calibrated properly for appropriate distribution
• Consider crop yield goals
• Consider the law of diminishing returns: the unit of nutrient applied = crop yield increase generated.

The third R is Right Time:

• Plan for fertilizer nutrients to be available during crop demand – many times this is close to planting
• Consider the weather and seasonal conditions:

• • Potentially more nutrient runoff during the winter
  • Saturated fields are unable to retain nutrients effectively
  • Application of fertilizer immediately before a large rainfall could contribute to nutrient runoff
  • The MI EnviroImpact Tool is a decision support tool to help with short-term planning of nutrient applications
• Include mitigation of potential odors, mainly with manure

Lastly, determine the Right Place:

• Place fertilizer in the root zone, where crops can successfully access the nutrients
• Consider the management practices for each field based on the following:

• • Crop being grown
  • Soil type
  • Slope
  • Distance to surface waters
  • Soil characteristics (can differ throughout the field) like nutrient supply capacity and the vulnerability to nutrient loss
  • Phosphorus or P-Index
  • Potentially incorporate GPS and variable rate seeding data

This makes concepts like the 4Rs that much more important and valuable. 

Source: https://www.canr.msu.edu/news/the-4r-s-of-nutrient-management#:~:text=The%204R’s%20of%20nutrient%20stewardship,on%20and%20in%20the%20field.

Gro Intelligence estimates show that price increases in major food crops year to date has made an additional 400 million people food insecure. There are a few food security statistics shared so I want to define this as the number of people at $3.59 a day. To put this into perspective, that is equivalent to the number of people that China has taken out of poverty in the last 20 years. In five months, we have undone 20 years of progress. 

Furthermore, our economic shock models show that year to date changes in prices of agricultural products have already affected some economies by three to 5% of their GDP. Countries disproportionately affected are in regions such as North Africa, the Middle East, the Horn of Africa and West and Central Asia. 

And it can get much worse. Data shows the food security challenges we face will last several years. 

There are five major challenges occurring simultaneously that are each individually extraordinary. Lack of fertilizer, climate disruptions, record low inventories in cooking oils, record low inventories of grains, and logistical bottlenecks that have already started to unravel decades of global economic progress. 

Without substantial immediate and aggressive coordinated global actions, we stand the risk of an extraordinary amount of both human suffering and economic damage. This isn’t cyclical, this is seismic. It’s a once in a generation occurrence that can dramatically reshape the geopolitical era.

Fertilizers

Global fertilizer prices have nearly tripled year on year and quadrupled over the past two years because of supply shocks driven by logistical bottlenecks, restrictions on natural gas which impact the ability to produce fertilizer, and sanctions and export restrictions amidst the Russia Ukraine war. This risks significant crop yield reductions in key producing regions, such as Brazil, the United States, and Western Europe later this year and next year, severely impacting global food security and inflation for the next three to five years at a minimum.

Climate

Global drought conditions for wheat are the worst in over 20 years around the world. Major bread baskets such as the United States and Brazil, the world’s two largest exporters of agricultural products, are also experiencing extreme droughts. For example, Brazil’s cropland soil moisture is at a 20 year low. Major grain importers in the Middle East and Africa are also experiencing record droughts. Namely, we have both major importers and major exporters experiencing exceptional drought conditions.

Cooking Oils

The price of traditionally cheap palm oil has nearly tripled in the last two years. Driven by increased biofuels demand, drought in regions that produce alternative cooking oils such as Brazil and Canada, record import demand from China and the loss of nearly 75% of global sunflower oil exports due to the Russia Ukraine war. The recent export ban in Indonesia, the world’s largest palm oil producer, who is responsible for 60% of global production has added significant upward price pressure to vegetable oils.

Grains

Official government agency estimates from around the world put wheat inventories at 33% of annual consumption. Verifiable data from public and private sources that we as a company organize and then build statistical models to connect the dots between in our platform show that global wheat inventories are in fact closer to 20%, a level not seen since the financial and commodity crisis of 2007 and 2008. We currently only have 10 weeks of global consumption sitting in inventory around the world. Conditions today are worse than those experienced in 2007 and 2008.  It is important to note that the lowest grain inventory levels the world has ever seen are now occurring while access to fertilizers is highly constrained, and drought in wheat growing regions around the world is the most extreme it’s been in over 20 years. Similar inventory concerns also apply to corn and other grains. Government estimates are not adding up.

Logistics

Russia and Ukraine used to provide nearly a third of the world’s wheat exports and are in the top five exporters of corn globally. Combined, they used to export 75% of global sunflower oil supplies. All Ukrainian ports remain closed, making it impossible to move any of Ukraine’s harvested grain across its borders. Shifting to rail will move less than 10% of the prewar flow. It’s not enough. Russian exports, which also include fertilizer, are limited because of Black Sea maritime hazards.

Any one of the five things I outlined would be considered a major issue in commodity markets. The five combined are truly unprecedented. 

I come here today not to specifically offer or provide solutions, as there will be other venues to do so. But rather to X-ray and diagnose the problem for those of you in this room that have the power to change the course of our history. In a world that is increasingly isolationist, we need to come together. Food is personal. But our agricultural systems are global. 

There is no version of the world where every country has all the natural resources it needs to survive and thrive. One key takeaway from our data is how often we see repeated examples of cause and effect, highlighting surprising connections and interdependencies. For example, in the United States, the most self-sufficient country globally, a consumption-weighted basket of food – a grocery basket – has doubled in price since April of 2020. Price increases were driven by unprecedented demand around the world, which increased alongside climate related supply side shocks. We cannot solve food insecurity on a national scale anywhere. 

One thing we strongly believe is we can have a healthy economy and secure food system without degrading our environment. We have the capability to help everyone feel secure about having enough food. Data helps us navigate because we aren’t blind to food security related risks and outcomes. We can’t say we didn’t know.

There are positive solutions and approaches that can be offered and delivered but they will require coordinated global effort. We are all dependent on one another.

What does the data tell us about risk and interdependencies? It tells us not unlike the global financial crisis of 2008 there are fault lines and tremor-like early warning signals that are seemingly disconnected globally, but they aren’t. 

What does the data tell us about hope? It tells us that while the next few years are going to likely be difficult as a result of this statistically unusual confluence of the five challenges I shared, we can coordinate a global response, eschew a ‘to each their own mentality’ as to food security and climate risk, be willing to have constructive, albeit difficult, conversations, and jointly accept that what we have to address is less of a food shortage and more of a crisis of prioritization.

Source: https://gro-intelligence.com/blog/gro-s-ceo-sara-menker-briefs-the-united-nations-security-council

The price of rice in Nigeria has increased beyond the reach of the common people. The All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN), advised the federal government to purchase processed rice sold at CBN and RFAN events in order to attain food sufficiency.

The rice should be sold directly to Nigerians at a subsidized rate in order to level the impact of rising prices.

The National President of AFAN, Kabir Ibrahim, disclosed this in his address while paying a courtesy call on the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr. Mohammed Abubakar, in Abuja.

He added that despite trillions of naira having been spent on Anchor’s Borrowers Programme to secure rice production in the country, the government should waste no time in coming to the aid of the common people in the country.

He explained that it was time for President Muhammadu Buhari’s government to resuscitate the National Food Reserve Agency (NFRA) and Guaranteed Minimum Price (GMP) in order to bring succor to Nigerians.

According to him, the Buhari administration may have made efforts and solid achievements in agriculture via various agric interventions and policies, but Nigerians are complaining bitterly of food shortage, rising food prices, austerity, and food inflation, which if not addressed properly and immediately, could defeat all the investments made in the country’s agric sector.

“It is with great pleasure that we come to express our solidarity with you and the Buhari administration over the efforts and solid achievements in agriculture.”

“Agriculture is today on the front burner of the general discourse in Nigeria with the promise of ushering the attainment of food security and an eventual sustainable agricultural economy that will also ensure an alternative to the oil-dependent economy currently going through several challenges.”

“However, the National Food Reserve Agency (NFRA) should be resuscitated immediately, beginning with the rice displayed in the recent event organized by CBN and RFAN.”

“The processed rice by accredited millers should be bought directly and sold to the public at a subsidized price that’s resuscitating the Guaranteed Minimum Price too.”

Speaking further, the AFAN national president said the various interventions by CBN, donor organizations, the several Acts such as bio-safety, soil science, fertilizer, NASC 2019, PVP 2021, ARCN 2021, NADF, NFRA awaiting assent, were all supported by AFAN at the public hearings in NASS.

He, however, suggested that the National Agricultural Technology and Innovation Policy (NATIP) recently validated and soon to be launched should be properly implemented with stakeholders like AFAN fully involved to make mechanized farming successful in the country.

Ibrahim also explained that all actors in the agriculture space such as the CBN, NALDA, farmers, etc. must work in synergy to really impact Nigeria’s food system.

He said: “FMARD should spearhead an advocacy drive to get all the 36 States plus FCT Abuja to key into the new agricultural policy (NATIP) by convening a proper council on agriculture around mid- March 2022 back to back with the formal launch of NATIP with Mr. President as a special guest.”

“The Minister of Agriculture is to host all farmer organizations in a roundtable prior to the launch of NATIP.”

“The minister is enjoined to reinvigorate the FMARD by making far-reaching restructuring and also evolving a formidable monitoring and evaluation program to ensure proper implementation of the new agricultural policy.”

Source: https://africanharvesters.com/2022/03/04/nigeria-agric-stakeholders-to-mitigate-the-price-of-rice/