News

World Bank Scores Nigeria’s Agric Sector Low

Published

7 years ago

February 14, 2018

The World Bank Group yesterday in Abuja said there was a need for governments to strengthen laws that govern the agricultural sector in the country.
The Programme Manager at the World Bank, Mr Farbod Youssefi made the appeal at a workshop organised by the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), in partnership with the World Bank Group.
The workshop was on the Enabling Business of Agriculture (EBA, 2017) report for Nigeria. According to him, Nigeria has weak laws and regulation in areas that deal with seeds production, marketing and transportation of agricultural products.
“There are other areas such as finance, fertilizer, machinery where the scores in Nigeria are actually higher than in other countries but still there are areas where planning improvement can be made.
“The presentation highlights those opportunities to improve regulation for agribusiness in Nigeria. “The EBA measures and monitors key elements of countries’ regulatory framework that affect agribusiness value chains.
“It identifies and analyzes legal barriers for the business of agriculture and quantifies transaction costs of dealing with government regulations, while at the same time providing indicators that can be used to benchmark the regulatory environment of different economies.
“The globally comparable data it presents can inform policy dialogue and reforms, which promote private sector investments in the agricultural sector,” Youssefi said. Dr Kehinde Makinde, Country Manager, AGRA, said that business needed an appropriate environment to flourish, adding that this was an opportunity to get feedback from stakeholders in case of lapses from the report.
“So what this report does is to go through different countries to see their business environment in terms of agricultural business value chain and the regular chain framework.
“We are talking about sectors like seed, fertilizer, machinery that have been indicated in this report. “We want to show how each country is performing on the benchmark against other countries.” Makinde said that there were 62 countries that were covered in the report which showcased how Nigeria was doing in relation to other countries.
“The essence is to provide information that policy actors like the private sector, policy makers and media can be used to be able to see what level Nigeria is and see what needs to be done to improve on these indicators.
“This is a world bank report on enabling business for agriculture for Nigeria. It is clear that to do this, they consulted with many partners.
“The quality of data you get depends on those people that provided the information.” Makinde said World Bank is a credible institution’ which had been in the business over time.
“People may have one or two reasons to disagree with this report but it doesn’t mean it applies to everywhere in the country. “They are looking for an average for the nation. In a particular state, they may have a different situation maybe a little higher than average or little below.
“But what is important is to see the general situation of things and look at the general situation that the report talked about. Makinde maintained that the report spoke about the country and not a particular area, adding, “if there are issues with the report, this is a platform to get feedback from stakeholders.
“We will look through this together then we inform future reports where we see there are errors. But I think in large measure, what we have seen here has been validated by others,” he said. On his part, Mr Waziri Ahmad, Commissioner for Agriculture, Adamawa, faulted the report on machinery. Ahmad stated that the report only considered the legal area without looking at the reality on ground. According to him, the record scored Nigeria high in machinery while the country barely has less than 30,000 functioning tractors for farmers. “With our population, we should have more tractors in the country.
Talking about 300,000 to 400,000 tractors but we have less than 30,000 functioning tractors in the country right now. “On the other hand, the EBA assessment score is very high but in reality it is not like that. So there is a disconnection in that aspect.
“We find ourselves in a situation where smallholder farmers are over 90 per cent of the farming populace and we will be with that for a long time,” he said. Ahmad said that officially, the Federal Government and most states had not taken cognizance that there should be two-track approach.
“That is mechanisation for large scale farmers and the other is for the smallholder farmers who are the large majority,” he added. He, however, urged those reviewing the draft before presenting the final report to look at the issue of mechanisation in order to improve productivity in the agricultural sector.
The World Bank Group report scored the country’s seed sector 48.85 per cent and markets 49.24 per cent. Others are transport 46.30 per cent, water 32.03 per cent, ICT 50.00 per cent, fertiliser 57.79 per cent, machinery 63.07 per cent and finance 57.21 per cent.
Youssefi welcomed observations from some stakeholders while and said the report was collated before June 2017. He assured that the transformations that had taken place in the agricultural sector from June 2017 till date would be captured in the 2018 report.

News

Shettima In Ethiopia For State Visit

Published

2 days ago

June 27, 2025

The Tide

Vice President Kashim Shettima has arrived in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, for an official State visit at the invitation of the Prime Minister, Dr. Abiy Ahmed.

Upon arrival yesterday, Shettima was received at the airport by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ethiopia, Dr. Gedion Timothewos, and other members of the Ethiopian and Nigerian diplomatic corps.

Senior Special Assistant to the Vice President on Media and Communication, Stanley Nkwocha, revealed this in a statement he signed yesterday, titled: “VP Shettima arrives in Ethiopia for official state visit.”

During the visit, Vice President Shettima will participate in the official launch of Ethiopia’s Green Legacy Programme, a flagship environmental initiative.

The programme designed to combat deforestation, enhance biodiversity, and mitigate the adverse effects of climate change targets the planting of 20 billion tree seedlings over a four-year period.

In line with strengthening bilateral ties in agriculture and industrial development, the Vice President will also embark on a strategic tour of key industrial zones and integrated agricultural facilities across selected regions of Ethiopia.

News

RSG Tasks Farmers On N4bn Agric Loan ….As RAAMP Takes Sensitization Campaign To Four LGs In Rivers

Published

2 days ago

June 27, 2025

The Tide

The Rivers State Government has called on the people of the state especially farmers to access the ?4billion agricultural loans made available by the State and domiciled in the Bank of Industry.

This is as the State Project Implementation Unit (SPIU) of Rural Access and Agricultural Marketing Project (RAAMP), a World Bank project, took its sensitization campaign to Opobo/Nkoro, Andoni, Port Harcourt City and Obio/Akpor local government areas.

The campaign was aimed at enlightening community dwellers and other stakeholders in the various local government areas on the RAAMP project implementation and programme activities.

The Permanent Secretary, Rivers State Ministry of Agriculture, Mr Maurice Ogolo, said this at Opobo town, Ngo, Port Harcourt City and Rumuodumanya, headquarters of the four local government areas respectively, during the sensitization campaign.

Ogolo said apart from the ?4billion, the government has also made available fertilizers and other farm inputs to farmers in the various local government areas.

The Permanent Secretary who is the Chairman, State Steering Committee for the project, said RAAMP will construct roads that will connect farms to markets to enable farmers and fishermen sell their farms produce and fishes.

He also said rural roads would be constructed to farms and fishing settlements, and warned against any act that will lead to the cancellation of the projects in the four local government areas.

According to him, the World Bank and Federal Government which are the financiers of the programme will not condone such acts like kidnapping, marching ground and other acts inimical to the successful implementation of the projects in their respective areas.

At PHALGA, Ogolo asserted that the city will benefit in the areas of roads and bridge construction.

He noted that RAAMP was thriving in both the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja; Lagos and other states in the country, stressing that the project should also be given the seriousness it deserves in Rivers State.

Speaking at Opobo town, the headquarters of Opobo/Nkoro Local Government Area, the project coordinator, RAAMP, Mr.Joshua Kpakol, said the programme would reduce poverty in the state.

According to him, both fishermen and farmers will maximally benefit from the programme.

At Ngo which is the headquarters of Andoni Local Government Area, Kpakol said roads will be constructed to all remote fishing settlements.

He said Rivers State is lucky to be among the states implementing the project, and stressed the need for the people to embrace it.

Meanwhile, Kpakol said at PHALGA that RAAMP is a project that will transform the lives of farmers, traders and other stakeholders in the area.

He urged the stakeholders to spread the information to their various communities.

However, some of the stakeholders at Opobo town complained about the destruction of their farms by bulls allegedly owed by traditional rulers in the area, as well as incessant stealing of their canoes at waterfronts.

At Ngo, Archbishop Elkanah Hanson, founder of El-Shaddai Church, commended the World Bank and the Federal Government for bringing the projects to Andoni.

He stressed the need for the construction of roads to fishing settlements in the area.

Also, a former Commissioner for Agriculture in the state and Okan Ama of Ekede, HRH King Gad Harry, noted that storage facilities have become necessary for a successful agricultural programme.

Harry also stressed the need for the programme to be made sustainable.

In their separate speeches, the administrators of Andoni and Opobo/Nkoro Local Government Areas, pledged their readiness to support the programme.

At Port Harcourt City, the Administrator, Dr Arthur Kalagbor, represented by the Head of Local Government Administration, Port Harcourt City, Mr Clifford Paul, said the city would support the implementation of the programme in the area.

Also, the administrator of Obio/Akpor Local Government Area, Dr Clifford Ndu Walter, represented by Mr Michael Elenwo, pledged to support the programme in his local government area.

Among dignitaries at the Obio/Akpor stakeholders engagement is the chairman, Rivers State Traditional Rulers Council and paramount ruler of Apara Kingdom, HRM Eze Chike Wodo, amongst others.

John Bibor

News

Tinubu Orders Civil Service Personnel Audit, Skill Gap Analysis

Published

2 days ago

June 27, 2025

The Tide

President Bola Tinubu has ordered the commencement of personnel audit and skill gap analysis across all cadres of federal civil servants.

The president gave this directive in Abuja, yesterday, while speaking at the International Civil Service Conference, reaffirming his resolve to achieve efficiency and professional service delivery in the civil service.

“I have authorized the comprehensive personnel audit and skill gap analysis across the federal civil service to deepen capacity. I urge all responsible stakeholders to prioritize timely completion of this critical exercise, to begin implementing targeted reforms, to realize the full benefit of a more agile, competent and responsive civil service,” the president announced.

Tinubu further directed all Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), to prioritise data integrity and sovereignty in national interest.

He called for the capture, protection and strategic publication of public sector data in line with the Nigeria Data Protection Act of 2023.

“We must let our data speak for us. We must publish verified data assets within Nigeria and share them internationally recognized as fruitful. This will allow global benchmarking organisation to track our progress in real time and help us strengthen our position on the world stage. This will preserve privacy and uphold data sovereignty,” Tinubu added.

President Tinubu hailed the federal civil service as the “engine” driving his Renewed Hope Agenda, and the vehicle for delivering sustainable national development.

He submitted that the roles of civil servants remain indispensable in modern governance, declaring that in the face of a fast-evolving digital and economic landscape, the civil service must remain agile, future-ready, and results-driven.

“This maiden conference is a bold step toward redefining governance in an era of rapid transformation. An innovative Civil Service ensures we meet today’s needs and overcome tomorrow’s challenges.

“It captures our collective ambition to reimagine and reposition the civil service. In today’s rapid, evolving world of technology, innovation remains critical in ensuring that the civil service is dynamic, digital” the President said.

Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Didi Walson-Jack in her welcome address told the President that his presence and strong words of commendation at the conference has renewed the morale and mandate of public servants across the country.

Walson-Jack described Tinubu as the backbone of driving transformation in the Nigerian civil service, and noted that the takeaways from past study tours undertaken to understudy the civil service in Singapore, the UK and US under her leadership, is already yielding multiplier effects.

Walson-Jack assured Tinubu that her office, in collaboration with reform-minded stakeholders, will not relent in accelerating the implementation of the Federal Civil Service Strategy and Implementation Plan, FCSSIP 25.

She affirmed that digitalisation, performance management, and continuous learning remain key pillars in strengthening accountability, transparency, and service delivery across MDAs.

Walson-Jack reaffirmed that the civil service is determined to exceed expectations by embedding a culture of innovation, ethical leadership, and citizen-centred governance in the heart of public administration.