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UN Prescribes Commodity-Based Industrialisation For Africa

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A United Nations economic report says sweeping political and economic changes over the last half a century have set the stage for Africa’s emergence.

As an emerging global economic power, the continent should take advantage of the opportunities offered the changes through a commodity-based industrialisation strategy to launch the continent on the path of growth.

A United Nations statement on the report made available to newsmen in New York last Wednesday stated that massive industrialisation based on commodities in Africa was imperative, possible, and beneficial.

The 2013 edition of the Economic report on Africa was co-authored by the UN Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) and the AU.

It noted that the report, entitled, “Making the most of Africa’s Commodities: Industrialisation for Growth, Jobs and Economic Transformation”, argued that Africa needed to frame specific policies for commodity-based industrialization for each country.

It needs to ensure initiatives that fostered linkage development and acceleration of that process.

The statement said that process should leverage Africa’s abundant resources and high commodity prices and the changing global production process.

“Individually and collectively, African countries must embark on a ‘bold transformation’ towards a commodity-based industrialisation strategy that would allow the continent to take charge of its own development.”

The report said the transformation was necessary if African countries were to be able to address youth unemployment, poverty and gender disparities, and other challenges.

The report also set out ways African countries can design and implement industrial and other development policies to promote value addition and economic transformation and to reduce their dependence on producing and exporting unprocessed commodities.

“Making the most of Africa’s commodities requires appropriate development planning frameworks and effective industrial policies that are evidence-based which should take into account what influences linkage breadth and depth, as well as the structural and country-specific linkage drivers,” the report said.

It said by adding value to their raw materials locally, African countries could bring about diversification of technological capabilities, an expanded skills base and deepened industrial structures in individual countries.

The statement disclosed that the primary data for the report were collected and country case studies prepared for nine African countries in the five sub-regions, namely Algeria, Cameroon, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa and Zambia.

According to the report while some of those nations had made modest progress to forward and backward linkages to their commodity sectors, others still had some grounds to cover.

It also added that interventionist state policies and continental initiatives could help to improve the situation.

To further boost current levels of linkages, the ECA-AU report called for urgent moves to reduce the infrastructural constraints and bottlenecks in the continent.

The report also recommended improved policy implementation through coordination among relevant ministries in order to reduce the incidence of coordination failure, which had for long plagued the continent.

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Agriculture

FG, Ogun Distribute Inputs To 2,400 Farmers

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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.

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Agriculture

Niger Allocates 10,000 Hectares For Smallholder Farmers

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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.

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Agriculture

GO-CARES: Gombe Empowers 573,429 Farmers, Entrepreneurs

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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”.

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