Agriculture
‘Electricity, Bane Of Food Preservation Research’
The officer in-charge, Nigerian Stored Products Research Institute, NSPRI, South-South and South Eastern states of Nigeria, Mr Simon Robert says that inadequate supply of electricity was a major factor militating against progressive and sustained research into food preservation and storage in the country.
Mr Robert who stated this in an exclusive interview in his office recently in Port Harcourt with The Tide explained that although emphasis was now placed on crude oil for the economic needs of the country, some Nigerians were still into agriculture.
He said unfortunately these farmers who were mainly from the Northern part of the country and partly from the middle belt, South West, South East and South South were faced with problems of preservation and storage of their harvested crops.
He explained that this situation has often led to food wastages occassioned by pests insects moulds and crude methods of transporting food items from one region of the country to the other items from one region of the country to the other.
According to Mr Robert who is an industrial chemist, the mandate of NSPRI was to device ways and means toward the effective preservation and storage of all kinds of crops and vegetables for their availability at any given time of the year.
“And so what we do here is to see that we preserve and store all these foods so that pests and other wastage of food in the society is prevented and controlled to make for food abundance in the society.
“At any given time in the season or in the year, to be able to have one commodity or the other, because there are some seasonal food like mangoes, pineapple, orange, all these things are seasonal” he explained.
He said that so long as farmers and market women and men adhere to the professional advice given to them by NSPRI, the likelihood of the availability of food all the year round could not be ruled out.
“But if you now preserve all these food items in the way we have adviced people to preserve them, we will be having all these things (food) available all the year round”, he counseled.
Mr Robert stressed that agriculture could not be separated from preservation and storage and warned that any venture into agriculture without consideration for preservation and storage was bound to fail.
He explained that it was due to inadequate application of preservation and storage methods that most seasonal foods like corn, oranges, tomatoes and their like were mass consumed at their season leading to scarcity of such products on the short run.
“Now we are all struggling to eat corn or maize. When you go over there they are roasting and cooking corn.
“So they have almost finished everything, then at the end of the day, the cost of corn will be very high.
“And you know, when the cost of corn becomes high, even to the poultry farmer corn will be high and this will certainly affect the price of chicken. These are some of the situations we in NSPRI are trying to reverse”, he added.
He listed some of the products available to farmers and traders to include, fish driver, which he said has the capacity of drying an average of six cartons of iced fish within an interval of three to four hours, plastic ventilated crates for transporting and storing perishable crops like tomato, oranges paw-paw and vegetables.
On the challenges facing the organisation, Mr Robert listed them to include in-accessable terrain of the riverine areas of the zone, inability of farmers to buy their own fabricated preservative items due to lack of funds and poor funding from government.
Also speaking, the agricultural extension officer, Mr Samuel Duru urged local government chairmen to avail themselves of the opportunity available by sending their staff for training in order to make the technology of storage and preservation get to the grassroot level.
If chairmen of local government areas in the state organize their people well, if will drastically reduce the wastages experienced at that level especially during seasonal harvesting of crops like corn, mango, pineapple and other agricultural products that were identified with the areas”, he added.
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.
The Niger State Government has mapped out 10,000 hectares of farmland in Gbapo Community of Katcha Local Government Area of the State for smallholder farmers to benefit from the state government’s agricultural intervention programme.
Two thousand out of the 10,000 holders of the farmlands have already received inputs.
At a flag-off ceremony in Yinti Village, the facilitator of the programme, Shinkafan Nupe, Malam Idris Usman Makanta, assured the farmers of increased distributions to the mapped-out ten thousand (10,000) farmlands if farmers respond positively.
He explained that the commencement of the two thousand is to measure the positive response of farmers before obtaining full-scale support.
Malam Makanta stated that this initiative aligns with the farmers’ initial commitment through Niger Foods, whose mission is primarily geared towards establishing efficient and profitable agricultural businesses to support the present administration of Governor Mohammed Umaru Bago’s quest to boost agricultural productivity in the state.
He also commended Niger Foods for their steadfastness and resilience in the effective implementation of the input financing scheme.
Makanta reiterated the commitment of the State Governor in making judicious use of the arable land in the state.
Shinkafan Nupe, therefore, urged the farmers to support the Governor by using the inputs wisely so that the dream can be actualised.
The Gombe State Government has empowered a total of 573,429 farmers and entrepreneurs under the 4th phase of the GO-CARES programme.
The programme was officially flagged off by Governor Inuwa Yahaya in another major step towards alleviating poverty and supporting the state’s vulnerable populations.
The Governor, while inaugurating the disbursement in Akko Community of Akko Local Government Area, restated his administration’s commitment to the welfare of vulnerable citizens in the state.
He was represented by the Commissioner for Budget and Economic Planning, Salihu Baba Alkali, who is also the Chairman of the Steering Committee on GO- CARES implementation.
“The 4th phase of GO-CARES will directly and indirectly impact a total of 573,429 citizens across the state. Of these, 152,429 individuals will benefit directly through cash transfers, livelihood grants, agricultural inputs, and operational grants to small businesses”, he stated.
The Governor added that, “421,000 people will be indirect beneficiaries through infrastructural projects such as classroom blocks, healthcare facilities, WASH services, and rural infrastructure projects like culverts and drainages”.
Yahaya, reaffirmed his commitment to ensuring that the state’s most vulnerable citizens are not left behind in the state’s development.
According to him, “Earlier this year, on June 25, 2024, we flagged off the distribution of improved seedlings, fertilizers, and herbicides to less privileged farmers in Malam Sidi, Kwami Local Government Area, signaling the commencement of the 4th phase implementation of GO-CARES under Result Area 2”.
The Governor reiterated that these initiatives have had a significant impact on the livelihoods of beneficiaries and the overall agricultural sector.
He explained that, “Today’s ceremony marked the simultaneous launch of activities under all three GO-CARES Result Areas for the 4th phase. These areas include: State Cash Transfer Grants: 2,500 direct beneficiaries; Labour Intensive Public Works: 2,700 direct beneficiaries; Livelihood Grants: 10,000 direct beneficiaries; and Basic Services: 405,000 indirect beneficiaries”.