USAID set to boost Agricbusiness in Kaduna

Rural smallholder farmers at work

A ground-breaking agricultural initiative tagged 'Feed the Future' under the aegis of USAID, has been unveiled in Kaduna state to strengthen the business enabling environment, promote private sector investment and broaden access to finance to boost food security, with special emphasis on the ease of doing business in the state's agricultural sector.

This renewed move, Cubinks learnt, is focused on seven states of Benue, Cross River, Delta, Ebonyi, Kaduna, Kebbi and Niger, where no fewer than five thousand small and medium enterprises are expected to receive credit from financial institutions to the tune of 200 million dollars between now and the end of the year 2023, for accelerated agricultural development.

Apart from empowering small and medium enterprises in the sector, 'Feed the Future Nigeria Agribusiness Investment Activity, with Cultivating New Frontiers in Agriculture(CNFA), as the prime implementing partner, aims to viably and sustainably link thousands of micro, small and medium size enterprises(MSMEs) and producer organizations with high-performing commercial actors in the rice, maize, soybean, aquaculture and cowpea value chains.

Declaring the Agribusiness Finance and Investment Summit open, Kaduna state Governor, Malam Nasir el-Rufai who was represented by the Permanent Secretary of the newly-created Ministry of Business and Innovation and Technology, Dr Haliru Musa Soba, reiterated the state government's commitment and determination to move the agricultural sector to enviable heights, noting that the coming of the USAID's Feed the Future project into the state was timely and would undoubtedly lead to a win-win situation for the state.

Responding, Managing Director/Chief of Party of the five-year agricultural programme, Dr Adam Saffer, expressed delight over the impressive turnout of all stakeholders in the sector, assuring that given the enormous potentials of Kaduna state in the field of agriculture, coupled with streamlined regulations, more effective policies, improved production and processing practices as well as significantly increased finance and investment flows, the project would increase competitiveness and returns of both large and small scale agricultural enterprises in the state.

While maintaining that the essence of the project was to identify the challenges, opportunities and solutions and see how agriculture could become a profitable venture for all stakeholders in the sector, Dr Saffer explained that the project would also work assiduously towards expanding access to financial services across the value chain, through informal, community-based savings plans; formal and informal credit guarantee programmes; and insurance offerings as the case may be.

On his part, the Permanent Secretary of the state's Ministry of Agriculture, Mr Sani Sabiu, who spoke on the need to create a more conducive environment for agribusiness investment, disclosed that the state recently procured 300 tractors as part of its renewed effort to make the sector more attractive and technologically-driven to enhance and promote what he called out-grower/off-taker relationship in the sector.

Meanwhile, the Managing Director of Da All-Green Seeds Limited, a Kaduna-based seed company, Engr Stephen Yakubu Atar - one the resource persons at the event - in a brief interview with Correspondents, commended the effort of USAID for championing the Feed the Future project, revealing that his outfit is working tirelessly in the area of improving seeds and seedlings for increased productivity and profitability in sector.

The one-day finance and investment summit which attracted experts from the Bank of Agriculture, Agronomists, Finance Managers, micro, small and medium size enterprises, cooperative societies, individual farmers and other critical stakeholders in the state's agricultural sector, ended with the organizers' assurance that it would facilitate 200 million dollars in new lending and 100 million dollars in new investment across the seven states earmarked for the project.

Comments

Kaduna CSOs move to track 2020 Budget implementation

A n elaborate template for budget tracking and monitoring of the 2020 budget - with special emphasis on procurement status, level of compliance, budget source documents and payments - have been put in place to identify bureaucratic bottlenecks, militating against optimum budget implementation in Kaduna state. This renewed impetus of the Open Government Partnership (OGP), was a fallout of a 2-day partners budget reflection meeting for all stakeholders working around budget in the state - put together by Partnership to Engage Reform and Learn in collaboration with UK aid - touched on trend analysis of budget in key service delivery sectors of Health, Education and Infrastructure, between 2016 and 2020 as well as a comprehensive review of citizens' engagements around 2020 budget development process with a view of making 2021 more effective and result oriented. Dr Elisha Auta Menson, who is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Economics of the Kaduna State Univer...

Why States may be unable to pay new minimum wage -Commissioner

Citizens listening with rapt attention By YUSUF GOJE C ommissioner, Planning and Budget Commission Kaduna state, Mohammed Sani Dattijo has queried the rationale behind the proposed upward review of the minimum wage, which he said compels even states that are not viable to play ball. Making the assertion at the recently concluded Citizens' Consultation forum on Medium Term Expenditure Framework 2019-2021 held in Kaduna, Dattijo said:"The minimum wage should be moved from the exclusive to the concurrent list, even though Kaduna state is healthier than most states, there are states that cannot afford the increase in minimum wage. If this is not done, the increase in minimum wage will only be on paper but difficult to implement by many states, resulting in labor disputes". He stressed that the exclusiveness of this piece of legislation which empowers only the Federal government to de...

TRIBUTE: Dr Bala Takaya 1930 - 2018

Bala John Takaya (2nd Left) at a function recently By Nasiru Jagaba Again, with rude shock, death has come upon us in the early hours of Sunday, 27th May, 2018. It is with deepest regret that the Middle Belt Youth Wing of Middle Belt Forum mourns the death of our President, Father, Mentor, and a tireless advocate of equity, fairness and justice, Dr Bala John Takaya, the President of Middle Belt Forum has silently closed the door of life and departed from us, never to return. 68 years old Takaya, an unparalleled University Senior Lecturer, a distinct politician who served as the Secretary to State Government of the old Gongola State, a member of the 1987 Political Bureau. On the fight to restore democratic system of governance, he worked hand in hand with Chief Solomon Lar. Also, in 1999 he was the governorship candidate of the All People’s Party, APP later ANPP. He is much esteemed in the community of Middle Belt and generally recognized as on...

SEMA engages Zaria communities on disaster risk reduction strategies

Executive Secretary, Abubakar Hassan (center) and his team at Zaria By EDDY OCHIGBO V ulnerable communities and wards in and around Zaria and its environs have been sensitized and strengthened to tackle possible disasters, ranging from gully erosion, insecurity, fire and rape vis-a-vis the ongoing environmental hazards awareness campaign across Kaduna state. Keen watchers believe that the move - which is aimed at system strengthening on emergency coordination and response strategy - in collaboration with the United State Agency for International Development's Nigeria Early Recovery Initiative (NERI) would drastically reduce peoples' vulnerability and possible disasters in the state. "To prevent disasters, we must get the people equipped and prepared to understand what constitutes hazards, risks etc., as well as what they should do to identify early warning signs and signals. The exercise is taking place in all the wards and communities in Tudun Wada, Sabon Gari, Zaria Ci...

Making a case for Kaduna's Agric sector

By Yusuf Goje I t will be most appropriate to start by commending the Kaduna State House of Assembly for breaking the jinx of holding a legislative public hearing for the first on the 2020 draft budget. This provided citizens and civil society partners the avenue to make submissions on the various sectors of interest towards improved public service delivery and value for money. The Coalition of Associations for Leadership, Peace, Empowerment & Development (CALPED), a civil society working on governance reforms, submitted a memo and made a presentation making a case for increased funding for the agricultural sector and use of technology to collect data for effective planning, among other critical issues. Our presentation aligned with the words of Akinwumi Adesina, the erudite and charismatic President of the African Development Bank, who rightly posited that, “making agriculture profitable and ‘cool’ for young people in Africa is key to lifting millions out of pove...

Cubinks NEWS

Search This Blog