Of Red Gold and Our Food System

After the madness, the season after. As a few baskets of tomatoes are trickling into our market stands one can only hope that the lessons of this tomato scarcity are not lost with the euphoria of seeing the worlds most popular fruit on display again.

We all heard the stories, we all experienced it in our own unique way. In my house we replaced the efficient rice and stew with the festive jollof rice but we were not celebrating. A different kind of party was starting that would really make me take a hard look again at our food value chain. As a farmer and an avid foodie, the picture was grim. The tomato scarcity was buzzing on social media, conventional media and every neighborhood media. Some people started the Tomatoeless stew, Tomatoeless jollof and all sorts of Tomatoeless recipes. Bride price was calculated in tomato baskets!! It was just insane. I found it quite telling that the buzz about the scarcity was everywhere while not much was said two months earlier when tomato farmers and sellers were cursing their luck with the glut of products in the market. Big baskets of tomatoes were going for 2000 naira and nobody raised any alarm. Why was it so suddenly abundant,? How were tomato growers faring? Can this process be sustained? The truth is after every season of abundance invariably comes scarcity.

The main cause of the scarcity was attributed to a form of tomato disease ravaging the three key Northern states that grows majority of the countries tomatos and all other vegetables for that matter. Also there were stories of massive paste manufacturing companies opening up across the country competiting with the open market for tomatoes. All this factors combined to create the worst tomato scarcity that the Nigerian economy had experienced. The main lesson I drew from this scarcity was that 1. Today it's tomato tommorow it could be rice, ground nut oil, egusi, yam or palm oil 2. Large scale agribusiness isn't a silver bullet to solving the issues of food security.

Our politicians have collectively made our consciousness irritated by certain words. Food security is one of such words. But don't be fooled by the hype the threat is real. Our food systems needs to be designed to be able to withstand any disruption to the production or supply pattern. The continued emphasis on monocropping by big Agro firms is not just dangerous but diabolical. Monocropping increases the chance of pest infestations, disease proliferation and destruction of soil structure. The other more serious issues is of our disjointed food systems. When the food we eat comes from miles away, their is a high level of threat to our food security. Not only is food with high mileage bad for the environment it creates a level of ignorance amongst the consumers leaving them susceptible to eating anything you put on their plates without thought of how it was produced, where and how the rice on your plate affects the livelihood of the grower. The disconnect between grower and food consumer damages our environment our economy and more importantly our health.

The tomato scarcity for one made alot of people start asking questions about Tomatoes, what is happening? Is this from Jos? Kano? Or a greenhouse down the road? I explained with relish the various cultivars of tomatoes their taste and texture differences with keen interest from buyers because tomato had suddenly become red gold. The various factors that shape our food prices became objects of interests to the consumers. Which can only be a good thing. Don't get me wrong, this scarcity was not a blessing but rather an opportunity to restructure our food system in this country and all over the globe to gain resilience. Various innovations are coming into agriculture which can help. The rise of Community Structured Agriculture (CSA) where farmers grow in smaller micro farms to cater for the need of a specific community is becoming popular and essential. These farmers boycott the traditional middletraders I. E. Supermarkets, distributors, wholesalers to sell directly to homes and restaurants. There is also a case for farming using urban spaces that lay to waste thereby distributing production closer to the consumer. This is very much in tune with the 21st century approach to production where the consumer becomes a prosumer - a producer-consumer. They dictate the production process and products to their own needs and tastes. Agriculture has adopted this model with high level of success. Feeding people locally helps create resilient communities and generate a deeper level of connection that is absent in the current food system. If you know the family that would eat your chicken, you would think twice about what antibiotics or feeds you use on the birds. The other rewarding aspect of locally produced food with low mileage is that food prices are relatively stable all season long and not subject to other factors like fuel costs.

There is no silver-bullet for food security challenges but a diversified approach and more public inclusiveness in the food systems would help avoid another tomato scarcity like the one we just experienced. It's time for our communities to claim back our food value chain.

- KOA

Obasanjo and AGRA Cohorts Launch Africa Food Prize

Participants at the just concluded 12th Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Program Partnership Platform (CAADP PP) in Accra, Ghana have called on the private sector to translate Malabo commitment into bankable business plans that can attract required resources necessary for accelerated implementation.

Former Nigeria President, Olusegun Obasanjo with Alliance for Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) President , Dr. Agnes Kalibata, at the launch of the Africa Food Prize at the just concluded 12th Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Program Partnership Platform (CAADP PP) in Accra, GhanaFormer Nigeria President, Olusegun Obasanjo with Alliance for Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) President , Dr. Agnes Kalibata, at the launch of the Africa Food Prize at the just concluded 12th Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Program Partnership Platform (CAADP PP) in Accra, Ghana The call formed part of the recommendations made at the end of the CAADP PP meeting which focused on, “Innovative financing and Renewed Partnerships to Accelerate the Implementation of CAADP.”

The CAADP PP, brought together over 400 African and global leaders from international organisations, African Governments, including parliamentarians from AU Member States, private agribusiness firms, farmers, NGOs and civil society organizations. The 12th CAADP PP was designed to deliver on the AU Malabo Declaration on Accelerated Africa Agricultural Growth and Transformation and the AU Agenda 2063, through speeding up CAADP implementation as a result of financial innovation and partnerships. Delegates at the meeting underscored the need to innovate so as to address the gaps in the financial products and delivery of financial services. The meeting also highlighted the need to implement the Malabo Declaration with greater coordination across sectors on the continent and within regions. The participants added that development finance policies and efforts exist but the delivery of the development finance services is clearly the weakness. On innovative delivery financial services, participants asked the stakeholders to consider how the digital revolution in financial services could be used to collect the much needed data for planning and risk management.

Participants also called on stakeholders to educate the smallholder farmers and the small and medium enterprises on how to conduct business and improve business skills. On agriculture and food insecurity risk management, it was agreed that stakeholders shall address the quality of data requirement collectively together with the national planning data and financial services to reduce the unit cost of investment, but to also create the opportunity for this investment to be considered as a public good. “Member states shall continue to out in place the necessary infrastructure, building capacity and creating a good environment for the risk management markets to make it more attractive.” One of the key messages from the meeting is the call for a coherent linkage across regional markets that ensure coordination but also address the multi- sectoral dimensions of agriculture and rural development. It was noted that the public sector needs to do the heavy lifting so as to create an attractive environment for the private sector. The meeting also reaffirmed the vital role for agriculture in leading African development and serving as a catalyst for the needs of the youth and women. Speaking during the opening session, African Union Commission (AUC) Commissioner for Rural Economy and Agriculture, Tumusiime Rhoda Peace, reiterated that the only way to sustainably deliver on the Heads of State Commitments on Malabo was to, “mobilize our own continental human and financial resources and build strong partnerships for an accountable and efficient implementation of the CAADP Agenda.” She informed the gathering that the Malabo Declaration, in line with Africa’s Agenda 2063, reiterates a call for action and delivery of results and impact and an expedient process of translating the commitments into results. “We have made a tremendous effort to align the global indicators set in the SDGs with those of the 10-year Plan of Agenda 2063 stipulated in the Malabo Declaration and translated into the CAADP Result Framework and Implementation Roadmap. “This will facilitate our Member States to customize both the SDGs and the CAADP-Malabo targets,’’ she said. “Agriculture is proven to reduce poverty 11 times compared to other sectors. Hence my plea to all Member States is to follow through on their 2003 Maputo commitment reiterated in their 2014 Malabo Declaration to invest at least 10 % of their public budget in agriculture.” Tumusiime said renewed partnerships built on mutual accountability would help Governments, the Private Sector, Farmers and Farmers organizations as well as development partners to deliver on results and Impact for a transformed Agriculture and reach the targets set by the CAADP, Malabo Declaration and the SDGs.


Ghanian Deputy Minister of Food and Agriculture, Ahmed Yakubu Alhassan, said the agricultural sector was of critical importance to stimulate broad economic growth as he called for more enhanced investments from the private sector into agriculture. Speaking during the opening ceremony, the CEO of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD), Ibrahim Assane Mayaki, said that agriculture still remains the best sector that offers the continent escape from poverty. He said of all the challenges that Africa faces, agriculture is one that transcends and embraces all the other. “Agriculture, which employs or provides livelihoods to 60% of the population while contributing 20-30% to Africa’s GDP, is the sector that could by itself enable to save the greatest number of Africans from extreme poverty while giving them their dignity back.” Speaking yesterday at the opening of the 12th CAADP PP taking place in Accra, he said regrettably, agriculture attracts less than 5% of lending from financial institutions on the continent, leaving farmers and agricultural enterprises starved of the capital they need to operate and grow their businesses. “Our continent today runs the risk of missing a unique opportunity to develop and offer its youth the jobs it has the obligation to provide if it wants to avoid social implosion. Dr. Ibrahim Assane Mayaki said “Africa can only make it happen if we collectively innovate and collectively agree to account for the resources injected and results and impact that ensue. Indeed, as a continent, with a community of destiny, we cannot afford to invest into our agriculture the same way we have been doing thus far.’’ Dr. Mayaki urged Africa to demonstrate how proactive it is in injecting its own resources into agriculture and to have a more inward looking approach into self-reliance on domestic resources. During the opening ceremony also, Tumusiime chaired a session that saw President. Obasanjo, President Kufour and Dr. Agnes Kalibata, launch the Africa Food Prize.

The Africa Food Prize is a transition from the Yara Prize, Africa’s most prestigious award recognizing outstanding contributions to reducing hunger and poverty. It is also a response to the recommendation by AU Heads of State and Government in their Malabo Declaration to institutionalize a system for peer review that encourages good performance on achievement of progress made in implementing the provisions of the Declaration and to recognize biennially, exemplary performance through awards. Agnes Kalibata, AGRA President disclosed that the US $100,000 accolade will recognize outstanding individuals and institutions that are changing the reality of farming in Africa from a struggle to survive to a business that thrives. “Winners will be selected by a panel of independent and distinguished leaders in African agriculture chaired by President H.E Obasanjo. “The Africa Food Prize will shine a bright spotlight on bold initiatives and technical innovations that can be replicated across the continent to help millions of smallholder farmers deliver a new era of sustainable food security and economic opportunity. “We encourage you to embrace this opportunity to honour the best and brightest in African agriculture by nominating candidates for the Africa Food Prize who are dedicated to putting smallholder farmers at the centre of Africans growing economies.”

By Babatunde Jimoh

N12bn Worth of ‘Strange Projects’ Discovered in Agriculture Ministry’s Budget

Minister of Agriculture, Audu Ogbeh and his team have reportedly found 386 strange additions worth N12.6 billion in the ministry’s budget proposals – which were believed to have been inserted by the National Assembly.

The said projects were allegedly fixed into the budget after the N40.918 billion earlier proposed had been reduced to N31.618 billion.

A source told the Nation Newspapers that Ogbeh and his team were shocked at the strange inclusion found in the budget after they discovered about 3 projects that aren’t linked with agriculture in the budget.

Some of the projects are erosion control in Federal University, Kashere, Kwadon and Garin Alhaji at N200 million, N100 million and N45 million.

A source reportedly told the news outfit that: “In the Agric sector, 386 projects were inserted, which totalled about N12.6 billion.”

“While N5.3 billion of the main ministry’s budget is taken away, about N7.2 billion is infused into almost 40 agencies and parastatals of the agric ministry.”

Also, 58 boreholes for 29 rural communities worth N175 million as well as another 50 boreholes for 50 communities worth N150.4 million were also added to the budget.

According to the source “curiously, the communities are not named.”

“Similarly, of the N90 million allocated to the Cocoa Research Institute in Ibadan, various sums are allotted the following ýof the seven sub-heads: provision of rubber seeds and seedling in Igbotako, Okitipupa, (N5m), training and empowerment of youths in poultry farming in Oluyole, Ibadan(N20m) and provision of cassava processing plant in Etsako East Local Government Area of Edo State(N10m).”

“Of the four sub-heads under the Rubber Research Institute, Benin, two areas are equally outside the focus of rubber. These are training and empowerment of youth and women in fish farming in Ndokwa, Delta State as well as fabrication and installation of cassava processing machines in Owan West Local Government Area of Edo State at N10m and N20m.”


“Also, N1 billion was allocated to two projects in Kwara South Senatorial District, including the construction of rural roads for N700 million as well as empowerment of women and youths in agricultural products for N300 million.”

Meanwhile, a member of the House of Representatives Appropriation Committee has revealed that the projects were fixed into the budget without the knowledge of the committee’s members.

“We are happy that the Speaker hinted that the issue of the budget will be revisited this week. But what some of us want is the understanding of Nigerians on this matter.”

“The issue of this controversial budget has to be carefully done this time around because some persons who think they were smarter had already led the entire parliament into collision with the executive and indeed Nigerians.”

“They have done this by inserting projects without the knowledge of others either in the appropriation or relevant sectoral committees and presenting same as the collective decision of the house or the entire parliament.”

“To the best of my knowledge, as a member of both the appropriation and agriculture committees in the House of Representatives, I did know that we reduced the ministry’s N40.9 billion proposal by about N9.3 billion.”

“But the surprise here is that while a decision was not taken where to infuse the reduced sum, some of us were surprised to see that so many projects were passed on to the President for assent, which he declined.”

“The implication is that if the President did not insist on details, most National Assembly members would not have had the opportunity to know what went behind them.”

The Budget Minister, Udoma Udoma is expected to meet with the president on Monday, April 18 to brief him on the impasse.


Article by

Adebayo Emuleomo for ynaija.com

Q & A : Does Agriculture Need A New Revolution ? Interview with Head of IFAD

ROME, Apr 16 2014 (IPS) 

- The Millennium Development Goals deadline of 2015 is fast approaching, but according to the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), poverty still afflicts one in seven people — and one in eight still goes to bed hungry.Together with the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and the World Food Programme (WFP), IFAD unveiled the results of their joint work Apr. 3 to develop five targets to be incorporated in the post-2015 development agenda."We have a growing global population and a deteriorating natural resource base." -- Kanayo F. Nwanze, president of IFAD annouced along with the new targets of IFAD.
These targets include access to adequate food all year round for all people; ending malnutrition in all its forms with special attention to stunting; making all food production systems more productive, sustainable, resilient and efficient; securing access for all small food producers, especially women, to inputs, knowledge and resources to increase their productivity; and more efficient post-production food systems that reduce the global rate of food loss and waste by 50 percent.



IPS correspondent Silvia Giannelli interviewed Kanayo F. Nwanze, president of IFAD, on the role of rural poverty and food security in shaping the current debate on the definition of a new development agenda.

Q: Do you think it is time to rethink the strategies to achieve the Millennium Development Goals?
A: It’s not only that I think, I know it. And that is why we have Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that are being fashioned. The SDGs are an idea that was born in the Rio Conference on Sustainable Development in 2012. The crafting of a new global development agenda is a unique opportunity to refocus policy, investments and partnerships on inclusive and sustainable rural transformation.The intent is to produce a new, more inclusive and more sustainable set of global development objectives that have application to all countries. These goals – once agreed by governments – would take effect after the current MDGs expire in 2015.And measurement will be crucial if we are to achieve what we set out. This is why we are talking about universality but in a local context. The SDGs will be for all countries, developing and developed alike. But their application will need to respond to the reality on the ground, which will vary from country to country.

Q: How do the five targets revealed this month fit in this discussion on the post-2015 development goals?
A: The proposed targets and indicators are intended to provide governments with an informed tool that they use when discussing the precise nature and make-up of the SDGs related to sustainable agriculture, food security and nutrition.These are five critical issues for a universal, transformative agenda that is ambitious but also realistic and adaptable to different country and regional contexts. The targets can fit under a possible dedicated goal but also under other goals. So, it is for governments to decide whether or not they wish to include these targets in the SDGs.

Q: Why does agriculture represent such a critical aspect within the post-2015 development agenda?
A: We have a growing global population and a deteriorating natural resource base, which means more people to feed with less water and farmland. And climate change threatens to alter the whole geography of agriculture and food systems on a global scale.It is clear that we need a new revolution in agriculture, to transform the sector so it can fully live up to its potential to drive sustainable development. Target areas should address universal and context-specific challenges, but context-adapted approaches and agendas are the building blocks for any effort to feed the world.

Q: Why is the focus on rural areas so important in order to overcome inequality?
A: The world is becoming increasingly urban, yet cities are still fed by the people working the land in rural areas. And it is in those rural areas where 76 percent of the world’s poor live.At IFAD we see that the gap between rich and poor is primarily a gap between urban and rural. Those who migrate to urban areas, oftentimes do so in the belief that life will be better in the urban cities.However they get caught up in the bulging slums of cities, they lose their social cohesion which is provided by rural communities and they go into slums, they become nothing but breeding ground for social turmoil and desperation. One only has to look at what is happening today in what was described as the ‘Arab spring’.


Q: But beyond the issue of exclusion and turmoil, why is key to addressing rural poverty?
A: Because the rural space is basically where the food is produced: in the developing world 80 percent in some cases 90 percent of all food that is consumed domestically is produced in rural areas. Food agriculture does not grow in cities, it grows in rural areas, and the livelihoods of the majority of the rural population provide not only food, it provides employment, it provides economic empowerment,[…] and social cohesion.Essentially, if we do not invest in rural areas through agricultural development we are dismantling the foundations for national security, not just only food security. And that translates into not just national security but also global security and global peace.

Q: What risks are we facing in terms of global security, if we don’t face and take concrete action to ensure food security?
A: We just need to go back to what happened in 2007 and 2008: the global food price crisis, as it is said, and how circumstances culminated in what happened in 40 countries around the world where there were food riots.Those riots were the results of inaction that occurred in some 25-30 years due to these investments in agriculture and the imbalances in trade, across countries and across continents. Forty countries experienced serious problems with food riots, and they brought down two governments, one in Haiti and another one in Madagascar. […] We’ve seen it, [and] it continues to repeat itself.

Q: What role are developed countries expected to play in the achievement of these five targets?
A: All countries will have an essential role to play in achieving the SDGs – whatever they end up looking like. Countries have agreed that this is a “universal” agenda and developed countries’ commitment will have to extend beyond ODA [Official Development Assistance] alone.At IFAD we [are] seeing that development is moving beyond aid to achieve self-sustaining, private sector-led inclusive growth and development. For example, in Africa, generated revenue shot up from 141 billion dollars in 2002 to 520 billion dollars in 2011. This is truly a universal challenge, but it also requires local and country-level ownership and international collaboration at all levels. 

BREAKING NEWS : STUDIES CONFIRM BIOFORTIFICATION OF TUBERS (Sweet Potatoes)

A study published today in the Journal of Nutrition provides conclusive evidence that orange sweet potato (OSP) provided significant amounts of vitamin A to malnourished Ugandan children and women and that a modest improvement in vitamin A levels in the body was measurable in some cases.Vitamin A deficiency (VAD) is a major public health concern in poorer countries and accounts for more than 600,000 deaths a year among children under five years of age. In Africa, VADprevalence is estimated at 42% among children under five.Uganda is among the African countries reported to be at high risk, with 28% of children and 23% of women estimated to be vitamin A deficient. VAD can impair immunity and cause eye damage that can lead to blindness and even Annually, up to 500,000 preschool children go blind from VAD, and about two-thirds will die within months of going blind.

Biofortification is the process of breeding new varieties of foods crops that contain higher amounts of nutrients to improve nutrition and public health. Agricultural approaches, such as biofortification, are now being looked upon to fill the nutritional gap for vitamin A and other nutrients.Traditionally, white or yellow sweet potato varieties are grown and eaten in Africa, but these provide little, or no, vitamin A. OSP was conventionally bred, not just to provide more vitamin A but also to be high yielding and drought tolerant.From 2007–2009, HarvestPlus and its partners disseminated new OSPvarieties to more than 10,000 farming households in Uganda for whom sweet potato is a key staple food.

The project provided OSP vines for farmers to grow, as well as extension services and nutritional information so that farmers could incorporate OSP into their cropping systems. Since sweet potato is available for about 10 months a year, it can be a rich and steady source of vitamin A.The project resulted in 61% of households adopting the vitamin A-rich OSP to grow on their farms. They were also willing to substitute more than one-third of their traditional white and yellow sweet potato consumption with OSP. This level of substitution was enough to push large numbers of children and women over the threshold, ensuring that their daily requirements for vitamin A were met.Vitamin A intake increased by two-thirds for older children and nearly doubled for younger children and women by project end. For children 6–35 months, who are especially vulnerable, OSP contributed more than 50% of their total vitamin A intake.The high prevalence of inadequate vitamin A intake among a subset of children 12–35 months who were no longer breastfeeding fell from nearly 50% to only 12% as a result of the project. This is a very positive finding as young children who have recently stopped breastfeeding are at higher risk of VAD. This is because breast milk has been their primary source of vitamin A and their vitamin A needs continue to be high.Researchers were also able to measure a small positive impact of eating OSPon the amount of vitamin A in the blood among children 5–7 years that had lower levels of vitamin A at the start of the project. At project end, researchers also found that women who got more vitamin A from OSP had a lower likelihood of having marginal VAD. (VAD was unexpectedly low among the women sampled in this study, thus making it harder to detect changes.)“Overall, these results add to the growing evidence base that OSP provides large amounts of vitamin A in the diet,” says Dr. Christine Hotz, former HarvestPlus Nutrition Head who led the nutrition study. “We were also able to show a modest increase in vitamin A blood levels among children, despite this being challenging to measure given the changing nutritional landscape over two years under real-world conditions.”This project was undertaken concurrently in Mozambique where results showed even higher levels of adoption—and consumption—of OSP by vulnerable households.“We now have evidence from two very different countries and contexts that show that farming households are willing to adopt OSP, incorporate it in their diets, and get the vitamin A that they need,” says senior IFPRI economist, Dr. Daniel Gilligan.HarvestPlus is now scaling-up OSP to reach another 225,000 households by 2016.

The International Potato Center (CIP) plans to scale-up OSP to reach more than 600,000 households in 10 countries by 2015, including 120,000 households in Mozambique.About the ProjectFrom 2007-2009, HarvestPlus and its partners disseminated orange sweet potato—to see if VAD could be reduced—to more than 24,000 households in Mozambique and Uganda. HarvestPlus leads a global effort to breed and disseminate micronutrient-rich staple food crops to reduce hidden hunger in malnourished populations. It is part of the CGIAR Research Program on Agriculture for Nutrition and Health (A4NH). It is coordinated by the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) and the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).Journal Article Introduction of β-Carotene–Rich Orange Sweet Potato in Rural Uganda Results in Increased Vitamin A Intakes among Children and Women and Improved Vitamin A Status among Children. Journal of Nutrition.Partners in Uganda Association for Strengthening Agricultural Research in Eastern and Central Africa (ASARECA) and Regional Potato and Sweetpotato Improvement Network in Eastern and Central Africa (PRAPACE), Farming for Food and Development Eastern Uganda (FADEP-EU), International Food Policy Research Institute, International Potato Center (CIP), Makerere University, National Agricultural Research Organization, Natural Resources Institute, University of Greenwich, Uganda Bureau of Statistics, Volunteer Efforts for Development Concerns (VEDCO).

Thanks go to the district and provincial officials in Uganda (Bukedea, Kamuli, Mukono) and to the many people of Uganda who participated in the project and the research study.DonorsThe Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation provided a direct grant that made this research possible. Additional HarvestPlus core funding was also used to support this work, which included support from (in alphabetical order): Denmark (DANIDA), Sweden (SIDA), the Syngenta Foundation, the United Kingdom (DFID), the United States (USAID), and the World Bank.

Media ContactYassir Islam, Head of Communications (Washington, D.C.) y.islam@cgiar.orgTel: + 1 (202) 862-560

Pumping up potatoes for poor communities - iron biofortification

Iron deficiency is the most common nutritional disorder in the world - affecting 50% of pregnant women and 40% of preschool children in developing countries, according to the World Health Organization. Since potatoes are naturally good sources of iron, the International Potato Center (known by its Spanish acronym CIP) is working to add further nutritional value through breeding, or biofortification, of potato.


It is a very promising alternative for improving health in poor communities, where access to meat is limited and people cannot afford commercially fortified foods and vitamin supplements.The bioavailability of iron in potato is also important, and can be greater than that from cereals and legumes. Potatoes have high levels of ascorbic acid, which promotes iron absorption. They also have low levels of phytic acid, which inhibits of iron absorption. CIP efforts are focused on identifying and breeding varieties that are rich in both iron concentration and bioavailability.Health consequences of iron deficiency include impaired physical and cognitive development, increased risk of morbidity in children, and reduced work productivity in adults.

In the Peruvian highlands, up to 60% of preschool children suffer the stunting effects of malnutrition, with iron deficiency as the main contributing factor.The potato is recognized as a key food staple, but its potential for combating malnutrition is not well known or exploited. “For example, in Huancavelica in the Peruvian highlands, women and children consume an average of 800g and 200g of potato per day, respectively,” explains Gabriela Burgos, who leads the Quality and Nutrition Laboratory at CIP. “So improving iron concentrations and bioavailability in potato can have real impact in these areas.”Five years ago, with funding from the HarvestPlus program, CIP started to screen the potato germplasm in its genebank for micronutrients (iron, zinc, vitamin C, and phenolic). Initial screening of 579 native Andean potato varieties and 315 improved varieties showed a wide variation for iron and zinc concentration and a large genetic diversity that could be exploited in breeding programs.CIP agronomist Walter Amorós explains: “We selected a group of potatoes for their high levels of iron, and we have done a whole series of crosses with them and studied the progeny,” he says. “From a baseline iron content of 19mg / k, we’ve achieved levels as high as 40mg / k after two selection cycles.”The future challenge is to combine these cultivars with CIP’s advanced breeding lines that have disease and pest resistance, high yield, and high acceptance from farmers.

http://cipotato.org/press-room/press-releases/pumping-up-potatoes-for-poor-communities-iron-biofortification

‘MOST AGRICULTURAL POLICIES AREN’T WORKING’

Hope Abah, a versatile and prolific young journalist with Daily Trust who frequently covers Agricultural reports, caught up with Dr. Simon Penda of the University of Agriculture, Markurdi an expert in agric business and financial management to discuss policies, problems and the state of Agricultural sector in Nigeria.


Excerpts:


What solution would you suggest to the agricultural transformation effort of Nigeria, given its potential as an agrarian economy?


Agriculture contributes up to 40 percent to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and more than 80 percent of the Nigerian population is engaged in agriculture. The funny thing however is that we have remained an importing nation, which means that the production is not enough even to feed the entire population. As economic planners, we are thinking that with the resources at our advantage, Nigeria should not only be able to feed its people but it should be able to earn income from agriculture not even oil - its main economic stay. The problems are wide; farmers have not been supported properly, the seeds today are not the type that would bring optimal yield and so per hectare yield in Nigeria is still very low. I had an experience when I visited a crop research institute in Vietnam. I discovered from the researchers that a per hectare yield of rice in that country is eight tons and they produce three times in a year which totals 24 tons per hectare in a year. But, in Nigeria the rice yield per hectare in a year is just two tons maximally and we produce once in a year because we depend on rain-fed agriculture. This means that we must improve on our irrigation system because depending on rainfall agriculture will not move us any forward considering that of the country’s arable land which amounts to 80 million hectares only 8 percent is currently irrigated.


How do you evaluate the federal government’s efforts in tackling the situation?


As far as I am concerned, I would say categorically that most agricultural policies introduced by past and present governments are not working very well. Despite the huge resources, wide land for agriculture and even though we have a large population of potential youths as workforce, we still remain the highest importing nation in the world. What do you think will make these policies effective?We must as a matter of fact face the challenges that this country is ours. Corruption is the bane of what has placed Nigeria in its current position.


The University of Agriculture, Makurdi (UAM) occupies at least 8,000 hectares of land with very large portion of it not utilized. What can be done to put it into use as a research institute?


Most of the agricultural institutes in the country have large land for research and practice. But as you are already aware, agriculture is capital intensive. So, if the universities are not supported to go into direct farming, it would be difficult to utilize the space. It is regrettable that universities in the country, including universities of agriculture are poorly funded such that the land is available but other inputs to develop it are lacking. I can speak for the University of Agriculture, Makurdi that we are blessed with a large land up to 8,000 hectares and if government can support the university, it has the capacity to feed the state.How much employment do you think would be generated if UAM cultivates 2,000 hectares for each of the three senatorial zones of the state?Agriculture is a sector that can employ a whole lot of idle hands. So, if the university for instance cultivates 2000 hectares for every zone of the three districts in the state under irrigation which would produce three times in the year, the result will be overwhelming. From the people who would harvest, those who will take produce to the stores and those who do other jobs in the farms, I can assure you that there would be massive employment such that I can not quantify. This is because a 2,000 hectare farm cannot create less than 2,000 jobs.


How do you think our local farmers can be supported to increase production?


I will like to say that supporting local farmers does not end with fertilizer. The beginning is actually done with research. Agricultural institutes in the country should be financially supported to conduct researches. Some of them have even conducted researches that have brought about good varieties but to get them to the farmers has become a problem. To multiply these seeds has also become a problem. So government has to support the researches and ensure that the seeds get to the farmers so that they get good varieties for planting.Fertilizer is another issue which is militating against farmers’ capacity to generate bumper harvest as oftentimes government would talk about input for farmers when actually they did not get it at all. A lot of inputs have to be considered such that we must shift from primitive to mechanized agriculture. If we take a country like Indonesia for example, they use 240 tractors for 1000 hectares while Nigeria uses 10 tractors for 1000 hectares. So agriculture in Nigeria needs a lot of government support. Before oil, agriculture was the mainstay of Nigeria’s economy.


Do you think the lost glory of this sector can be restored?

There was a time when agriculture boomed in this country but we never sustained the production due to the advent of oil which caused everyone to surrender even as farmers too relaxed. The thinking of the country totally shifted to making money from something else other than agriculture. I think that consciousness that we will feed ourselves has to be developed first in order to see any changes; the consciousness when Nigerians would have to choose between local and foreign rice, which is the stage of repair that would enable us as a country to feed ourselves and the whole world.


What harm do you think the delay by government to accent to the bio-safety act portends to the country’s quest to rely on agriculture?


I don’t think that it is a delay so to speak. I want to believe that there is something government wants to see in the bill fashioned properly before the presidency accents to it. It is not just to accent to the bill in a hurry but it must be given to farmers in a way that it becomes sustainable. Despite the belief by some that Genetically Modified foods which the bill is expected to give passage are poisonous, Nigerians are consuming the products already. However, I don’t think that is why the presidency is yet to sign the act. Policy makers do have their reasons which I do not know.





Published on Thursday, 25 July 2013 by Hope Abah, Makurdi Daily Trust Agriculture section.

FAO Award For Nigeria's Work Towards Ensuring Food Security

The Food and Agricultural Organization has commended and handed an award to the Federal Government of Nigeria for its sustained work towards ensuring food security to its citizenry. FAO data shows a noticeable drop in number of chronically under nourished individuals in the country from 19.31 million. (1990 -1992) to 13.38 million (2010-2012) which translates to a drop from 19.3% of the population to an impressive 8.5%. This positive figures indicates that the country is moving faster than the forecasted targets of 9.7% by 2015 in line with the MDG projects

The Minister of Agriculture & Rural Development Adewunmi Adesina confirmed this while handing over the award to the President. In his speech, he acknowledged the role played by policies enacted by the present government to ensure a consistent push towards reaching the goal of improved domestic food production industries and food security.

9 million metric tons of food has been added to the production chain within the last two years to our domestic food supply, and the success of dry season rice production in the country was a major talking point at the FAO summit in Rome earlier this week. In the last two years, Nigeria has managed to produce 1.8 million metric tons of rice per day which is 55 per cent of the target set for achieving self sufficiency in rice production by 2015.

The Minister, clearly excited by the award still had an eye on the greater picture stating that as long as any Nigerian goes to bed without food, the job of the government was still not completed. The President, Jonathan Goodluck was very appreciative of the minister and his team. 

"Let me use this unique opportunity to tell Nigerians and the rest of the World that we appreciate this award. We are yet to reach where we want to go but surely, we will get there."

Today's Hunger and Tommorow's Food

The food of the future are being discussed and designed while most are still wondering about todays food. The recent troubles of the global seeds giants Mosanto, against the backlash of popular opinion mainly powered by campaigns ochestrated over social networks (facebook, avaaz, twitter, etc) served as a reminder of unresolved debates about food and intellectual property patents and by a further stretch -organic agricultural methods vs conventional farming methods. 

A shift in policy emphasizing on re-investment and revamping of the agricultural sector has been noticed globally. "Food security" has slowly crept into the discourse of sustainability, climate change and the future ecomomy. The need for crops and livestock that can adapt to climatic changes and adverse conditions have gained prime importance amongst the first world economies. The developing economies, still battling hunger, poverty and unemployment face an uneviable task of proffering solutions for todays poor and ensuring the security of tommorow's food. Raising productivity of farmers in an emerging economies like ours is one way of reducing hunger, but that is just one head of the beast. Hunger is caused by poverty and inequality and definitely not due to lack of food. The world already produces enough to feed 10 billion people (the forecast for global population by 2050) but most of that population can't afford to buy this food. The reality is, most farmers live below the poverty lines. Combating hunger would require policies to foremostly address the conditions that ensure poverty amongst over 70% of our population. Access to sizeable plots of land for cultivation, financial facilities tailored to the peculiar needs of farmers, proper training and education are practical ways to reducing poverty and improving the quality of life of farmers.

The allusion that genetically selected or modified food is a ready made solution to overcoming the issues of food security is unfounded and probably wrong. The possibility that the crops our poor farmers would use in future are being patented today is extremely worrisome, this could go a long way in controlling the price and demands of tommorows food. Recently a news report in The Guardian annouced bodly :" The future wellbeing of millions of Africans may rest in the unlikely hands of a vegan hippy scientist working for a sweet company who plans to map and then give away the genetic data of 100 traditional crops"

These crops include yam, cassava and cocoa. The man of the moment : Howard-Yana Shapiro described rather poetically as "The Hippy from Mars". Since he joined Mars (Yes! the multibillion dollar sweets and chocolate factory), Shapiro has been credited with making the company go sustainable. Based on his influence as the Director Of Agriculture for Mars, the company announced it would "contribute $10m to a project to map the cacao tree genome and publish it for free to speed up the development of quicker-growing and more resilient varieties." The only snag to projects like these, is that while its a laudable step to include Yams, Cassava and other tropical crops that are not of interest to the other seed and food corporations, the main motivation for Mars is quite apparent - a steady supply of cocoa. While over three fourth of the world's cocoa is produced in Africa (mainly Ghana and Ivory Coast), the final products i.e. coffee, chocolate bars and beverages are consumed mainly by the first world economies. Those who can afford this products and actively purchase them represent quaint outliers of the overall populations here.

Decoding these 'orphan crop' genomes could make a huge difference to the national and global economy, saving millions of lives in Africa from poverty would require concerted investments on Agricultural training and developing an entrepreneurial approach towards agriculture. It is only then we can begin to influence the R&D departments that are churning out tommorow's food. It is only then we can assure today's food.