Agriculture
RMRDC Lists Gains Of Value Chain Approach
The value chain approach to agricultural development will create more than 300 agricultural and agro-allied businesses, says the Raw Materials Research and Development Council (RMRDC).
The council’s Director-General, Prof Peter Onwualu, disclosed this while delivering a lecture at the 5th Edition of “The Perspective’’ forum, organised by the Onitsha Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture.
The lecture was titled “Agricultural Sector and Natural Development: Focus on Value Chain Approach’’.
Onwualu said that the approach would generating employment, income and foreign exchange earnings.
He said that the Federal Government decided to adopt the Agricultural Value Chain Approach with a view to repositioning the sector and make it a major foreign exchange earner for the country.
“The value chain approah has become an increasingly important framework for examining change in theglobal commodities trade and their implications for primary producers.
“Commodity value chain encompasses the whole lot of activities from production, processing, distribution
and marketing of specific traded commodity.
“It identifies the main stakeholders involved at each stage, including research and development.
“Value chains of selected commodities discussed include oil palm, roots and tubers (cassava), fruits and vegetable, fish and rice.’’
He noted that the approach had worked in countries such as Brazil, Bolivia, Honduras, India, Kenya and other countries with similar socio-economic situation as Nigeria.’’
Onwualu, therefore, encouraged rural dwellers and students to organise themselves into clusters and cooperatives and take advantage of the value chain system by engaging in one form of agricultural activity or the other.
He gave the assurance that the Federal Government and the council were committed to assisting those in the
agriculture and agro-allied sector to achieve their dreams.
The director-general, who is also a professor of Agricultural Engineering, said that the council was ready to assist young and inspiring agriculturists with ideas, even as loans, fertilisers, inputs and extension services were being provided at minimal cost.
Federal Government and the Ogun State Government, on Wednesday, distributed farm inputs to farmers as part of effort to address food security challenge.
The State Director, Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, Dr. Toyin Ayo-Ajayi, during the flag-off ceremony of Inputs Redemption Under The National Agricultural Growth Scheme-Agro Pocket (NAGS-AP), in Ogun State, disclosed that beneficiaries of the gesture were primarily rice, maize and cassava farmers across the State.
Ayo-Ajayi commended the Ogun State Government for partnering with the government at the centre for the effort in supporting farmers with inputs that would bring about yieldings for local consumption and likely exportation.
She noted that government is supporting rice, cassava and maize farmers with inputs worth N212,000; N189,000 and N186,000 respectively.
The Permanent Secretary in the State Ministry of Agriculture, Mrs Kehinde Jokotoye, who represented the Commissioner in the Ministry, Bolu Owotomo, stated that traditional farmers are critical in food production, hence the need to encourage and support them with inputs that would bring about desired results during harvesting.
Owotomo said: “Let us make good use of this opportunity, so that the success of this phase will make farmers benefit more from the state and federal governments of Nigeria.”
Earlier, State Coordinator, Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, Dr. Oluwatoyin Ayo-Ajayi, appreciated the present administration for partnering with the federal government for the initiative, adding that the programme is designed to support farmers at the grassroots level in cassava, rice and maize with inputs such as, seeds, pesticides, herbicides and fertilizers, to boost their production and enhance their livelihood.