Sani Dangote urges FG to encourage smallholder farmers to sustain agric growth

President of Nigeria Agribusiness Group (NABG), Alhaji Sani Dangote, has urged the Federal Government to encourage small holder farmers through cooperatives and research institutions to enable the country sustain its agricultural growth.
Dangote made the call at the 6th Edition of the 2017 AgrikExpo and NABG Conference in Abuja on Monday.
The president, who noted that one of the challenges facing agriculture in the country was sustainability of development, said that engaging the small holder farmers in cooperatives would enable them improve agricultural production.
Dangote, who said that the conference was apt with theme: `Harnessing Nigeria’s Agricultural Potential for Food Security, Youth Development, Nutrition and Wealth Creation’, noted that it would help stakeholders fashion out ways of involving youths in agriculture.
According to him, we also need to encourage our agro-industries to grow so that growth in agriculture will be sustained.
 “We want to use this opportunity to discuss  the issues of agriculture and encourage our youths, women and fashion out better ways to move the sector forward to encourage better performance in the agriculture  value chain.
 
“Agriculture is no longer what it used to be. It is now a business activity that will give sustainable income,’’ he said.
 
Mr Aliyu Hameed, the Chief Executive Officer of the Nigeria Incentive Based Risk Sharing Lending (NIRSAL), regretted that agricultural lending represented 3.2 percent, which was below what other developing countries offered.
 
Hameed said that losses and transaction costs were high and small holder farmers faced difficulties getting loans, adding that banks did not consider agriculture as a profitable sector to lend to.
 
According to him, the good news is that we are making good effort to fix this problem.
 
He said that NIRSAL, in August, disbursed over N2.63 billion to 24,732 rice farmers for the 2017 wet season and profiled under the CBN Anchor Borrowers’ Program (ABP), profiled over 53, 319 farmers and voted about N17.09 billion for the scheme across the country.
 
Prof. Gloria Elemo, the Director General of the Federal Institute of Industrial Research (FIIRO), reiterated the need to diversify the country through agriculture to develop, create wealth and ensure food security to reduce poverty.
 
Elemo, represented by Dr Bolanle Oyedoyin, the Asst. Director, Planning Technology Transfer of the institute, said the institute had developed enormous technologies to add value to agriculture produce.
 
Mr Emmanuel Ijewere, the Coordinator of the NABG, said that agriculture was more sustainable than oil.
 
“There is no better time for the conference than now. There is a lot of consciousness for agriculture in the country.
 
“The whole idea of the conference is to chart a proper route for the private sector,” he added.
 
In a message, Mr Fillipo Amato, the Counselor and Head of Trade and Economics Section of the European Union, regretted that exportation drive in Nigeria was still done in a small scale.
 
Amato said the country had the needed potentials to diversify in agriculture but lacked the exportation strategy.
 
“What Nigeria needs is diversification of its export potentials,’’ he said.
NABG, is an organised private sector platform working together to grow Nigeria’s agricultural economy, create jobs and lift millions of people out of poverty.