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World Bank Scores Nigeria’s Agric Sector Low
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.
My-ACE China, known as the Mayor of Housing, has won the 2024 Man of the Year. The award was announced by board of trustees of the DMOMA Awards Academy in Port Harcourt at the week.
The organisers also declared his company, the Construction and Housing Mayor Limited as the brand promoter of the year, the third in a row.
The award ceremony which was held at the Arena Event centre in the GRA area of Port Harcourt was attended by several dignitaries in the society.
The organisers led by Dr. Ezebunwo Nyeche (chairman) and Stephen Chidiebere Okoye (Awards organizer) said in a statement that China was picked for his support and impact to small and medium enterprises in Rivers State, his media footsteps and his consistent propagation and promotion of Rivers State.
They noted that China won over 10 prestigious awards in 2024 alone on his track to promote Port Harcourt as a brand destination and Rivers as a peaceful state.
Handing the award to China, the organisers said the Mayor of Housing always comes to the rescue of events that aim to promote Rivers State, saying the DMOMA Awards would be held in two more cities in 2025.
Responding, Mr China said there is need for more sponsorship of talents in Port Harcourt and the Niger Delta, saying what they lacked was support.
“There is more talent in Port Harcourt but there is more support in Lagos to artistes than in Port Harcourt. So, the top talents in Port Harcourt work 10 times harder than those in Lagos to attract sponsorship.”
He also said Nigeria has a treasure base which is Port Harcourt but that the treasure is not oil and gas but talents. He said he was highly elated to win the of Man of the Year Award with his firm winning brand of the year.
In an interview, My-ACE China said he was particularly impressed with the diligence demonstrated by the organisers and the processes they used to pick winners every year.
He also said the victory showed attention paid by the organisers to unveil the personality behind the corporate masquerade, not just focusing on the company. “It actually reaffirms one of my quotes that a brand can only grow as big as the character of the visioner behind it.”
On his plans to help Port Harcourt compete with Lagos, China said 2025 will meet him doing things with the youths of Rivers State to push the Port Harcourt brand in the social media and rally the traditional press to create a positive narrative of Rivers State beyond violence and political negativity.
“The Garden City has not been enjoying the best of media perception for some years now but this is the first time we have a governor committed to non-political bias in doing his work. He does not consider whether you are a member of his party or not before doing what is right. For the first time, we have a true father of the state to all, and he has been diligently following the blueprint that stakeholders developed at the last Rivers Economic and Investment Summit, making sure he is doing it without political cronyism.”
He said his company would be building the biggest estate and the best, the ‘Alesa Sustainable Smart City, to move from brand perception to brand experience so as to move Rivers State to the next level.
He appealed to entrepreneurs not to be carried away by the old perception but to join the new way. “Position yourself because there is going to be a boom. People are rushing into Port Harcourt and new entrants may take the ground. Think expansion not contraction, think investment not divestment. Else, you miss it.”
To fellow estate investors, he admonished them to gear up for regulation. “It is no longer going to be business as usual especially for land peddling and land grabbing. Try to grow up because tangible development is going to take over.
“It is no longer going to be who sells the most land but who develops the most houses. The housing deficit in the land requires effective land development strategies. Any serious land seller should grow into a housing developer because developments are going to be coming into Rivers State and a lot of people are coming into the state.”
He said those that have grown to be developers will be many times richer than those that are just starting or are mere land sellers and peddlers. People should also position themselves because all the foreign investments and local ones will take advantage of this influx.
“The value of influx is coming, so prepare and take advantage. Be one of those that are big enough to take advantage. Remaining small will not be good but grow big in your products, in your services, because the market is going to grow big.”
Rivers State Governor, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, has expressed shock and sadness over the death of a former military governor of the State, Major-General Godwin Osagie Abbe (rtd).
Late Abbe, who hails from Edo State, was military governor of Rivers State between August, 1990 and January, 1992.
Governor Fubara described late Gen Abbe as one leader who dedicated himself to the service and wellbeing of Rivers people and humanity during his administration in the State, saying that the death of the distinguished military officer, politician and administrator was a very huge loss to the State, the Niger Delta, and indeed, the entire country, having traversed the length and breath of the nation in the cause of his military and political careers.
“On behalf of my family, the Government and good people of Rivers State, I condole with the family of the Abbes, the Edo people, and the Nigerian military on the demise of this colossus, whose contributions to the unity, peace and development of the nation are legendary.
“While we mourn his painful exit at this difficult time, we pray for the eternal repose of his soul, and urge the family to take solace in the fact that late Gen Abbe lived a fulfilled life in the service of his fatherland.”
Wife of Rivers State Governor, Lady Valerie Siminalayi Fubara, has noted with delight that Rivers children are well behaved, and has admonished them to remain supportive of their parents while striving always to make a difference wherever they find themselves.
Lady Fubara gave the counsel at the 2024 Christmas Children Party, attended by children from the 23 Local Government Areas of the State, including non-indigenes, at Government House in Port Harcourt on Thursday.
The Christmas Children Party also witnessed the presence of Governor Siminalayi Fubara, who stopped over to share moments with them, walking from one canopy to another, waving at them, and at other times, shaking hands with them to leave lasting memories on them.
The Rivers First Lady pointed to the importance of the celebration of Christmas, which draws attention to the birth of Jesus Christ, demanding that people have a deep reflection of the love that is demonstrated and mission of the birth, which is to redeem mankind.
Lady Fubara recalled how she took out time to visit the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital and the Rivers State University Teaching Hospital, where she appreciated God for safe delivery of children born on Christmas day while felicitating with the nursing mothers.
She also stated the valuable time spent with motherless babies when she visited the Port Harcourt Children’s Home in Borikiri, old Port Harcourt Township, and celebrated their meekness, innocence and the beauty they bring to the world.
She said, “Even today, as we continue the celebration, efforts were made to extend invitation to our children in all the 23 local government areas of our State. In doing this, children from all classes of society, including the physically challenged, have been offered the opportunity to sit together as brothers and sisters, play, eat and dance.
“Whilst contemplating the uniqueness of celebrating Christmas on a Boxing Day, steps were equally taken to provide gifts for the children who are there, and also to pray for them, a qualitative fun session that will last in their memories.”
Lady Fubara advised all children in the State to remember that Jesus came into the world to make a difference, advising that they must emulate him so that they can positively impact their families and society.
She urged them to pray fervently to God to bless and prosper their mothers, daddies, aunties and uncles to better cater to their needs.
She added, “Be humble, obedient and supportive at home. Do household chores, and don’t forget to make excellent grades in school next academic session. Children are the joy of every home, and we are glad to have beautiful, well-behaved children in Rivers State.
“Thank you all for witnessing this 2024 Children’s Party, and I pray God Almighty to protect, shield and keep you safe from all negative companies in the name of Jesus. I wish you a Merry Christmas and a Prosperous 2025. God bless you all,” she said.
Lady Fubara expressed appreciation to her husband and Governor of Rivers State, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, for his absolute commitment to the growth of children, and the immeasurable support that ensured that Christmas Children Party was a success.
There were performances by Virtue Dancers, Kalabari Iria dancers, Wonder Time Children of Opobo Kingdom, Children of Rivers State Council of Arts and Culture, Diseye the Poet and DJ Arnold.