C`OMMERCE Minister Idris Waziri has called on all cassava interest groups in the country to unite and form a viable apex association.

Waziri made the call recently in Abuja at a national meeting of cassava stakeholders, which is a follow-up to the national cassava stakeholders' forum held about a month ago.

He said that forming an apex association would enable them to articulate their interests and speak with one voice in defence of their national corporate interests as well as influence the market.

Furthermore, he said that the association would help to sustain the momentum generated by the cassava initiative, irrespective of any change in policy or government.

Its other advantage include being in a better position to access financial facilities from the federal, state and local governments, financial institutions and donor organisations.

The minister noted that Nigeria's membership of many international commodity organisations such as the Cocoa Producers Alliance and International Coffee Organisation among others was yielding benefits in the area of scientific information.

According to him, Nigerian was also benefiting through acquisition of improved seeds and seedlings, market research and training.

He added that the association also constituted fora where producing and consuming countries come together to determine the way forward for the global commodity trade and to enhance the development of their commodity sectors.

"The farmers who produce the commodities, the processors, machine fabricators, merchants and exporters as well as researchers and research institutes, all have important roles to play in this regard.

"Collectively, we owe it as a duty to bring out the glory of this wonder crop and to answer the clarion call of the president for the development of the cassava industry," the minister said.

Responding, the participants identified high cost of production, poor quality of export products and packaging, as well as high transportation cost as some of the major issues requiring urgent attention.

Other problems they identified included non-availability of improved variety, mechanised farming, relevant equipment for processing, planting and harvesting according to specified methods.

They also called for the setting up of cluster farms and farmers, cottage industries as well as processing centres in various parts of the country.

The participants also suggested that future meetings, seminars and workshops should be held at the grassroots in order to be able to identify the real farmers.

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... Places projects, judicious utilisation as criteria for selection

Mobil Producing Nigeria Joint Venture has planned a budget of N400 million for 2004 to assist various Nigerian Non-Governmental Organisations which have touched the lives of Nigerians in different ways being it  economy or socio-political development of the Nigerian state.

The company said that the selection of any organisation to benefit from the scheme depends primarily on the project and its impact, and level of prudence in the utilization of funds it gets from it.

Already, the company at its 2004 donation and sponsorship ceremony in Lagos  disbursed N38.3 million  to 32 beneficiary organisations which activities transverse all sectors of the nation’s economy. THe beneficiaries  sectors include education, sports, professions, skills acquisition and health, among others. The company also last week released an additional N68 million to other projects located in Eket, Akwa Ibom.

The various projects that benefited  include Science Teachers Association of Nigeria (STAN)which got  N5.4 million for sponsorship of science quiz on radio and television, Ikoyi Club, N2 million for library project and N1 million for sponsorship of squash classics, Victoria Island Secondary School, N5million for upgrading of borehole and treatment plant, National Orthopaedic Hospital Igbobi, N2.5 million for procurement of special hydraulic beds, General Hospital Lagos and College of Medicine, University of Benin N2 million each.

Others are All Stars Football Club of Lagos under the auspices of Organisation of International Friendlies N300,000, Kanu Heart Care Foundation and Bears Foundation, N2 million each for treatment of heart patients and reconstructive surgery for impaired children respectively.

Mobil’s Executive Director, Udom Inoyo who spoke   on what informed the annual donations and sponsorship, said that although “the company’s core business and competence is to explore and produce oil and gas, but when it comes to reaching out to over 120 million Nigerians in 36 states of the federation, it cannot do it alone. We depend on reputable organisations whether international, governmental organisations or NGOs, professional and social bodies to help us.

We try to select credible organisations and sometimes visit and monitor what they do with the monies given to them. Sometimes we get shocked but overall, we take pride in the fact that there are so many of these organisations that are doing the right things.”

He explained that Mobil by end of the year would have disbursed nothing less than N400 million noting that in disbursement of this fund, the company would access the programmes of the organisations, and apply all laid-down selection processes putting in the best of ethical practices and transparency.

However, Inoyo frowned at the move by some organisations to blackmail Mobil for withdrawing its support. He said recently an organisation portrayed the company in bad light because it gave the beneficiary organisation notice in 2002 that by 2005 it will discontinue its support.

He advised the beneficiaries to bear in mind that Mobil did not enter into a contract in perpetuity with them neither is indebted or obligated to fund them. “We understand that under the ambit of corporate social responsibility and because we cannot reach out to all the constituencies that we want to reach, it is important to leverage on organisations like you. Therefore, if we stop funding a particular organisation, it does not mean that organisation has been blacklisted.

This is because at every point in time, we look at the project being undertaken by the organisation and also look at our own constraints, particularly the budgetary constraints. The Nigerain National Petroleum Corporation which controls 60 per cent of equity shares of the company determines how much money we have to spend and we go to the National Assembly to defend it.

When we have such budgetary constraints, we re-prioritize and deselect some organisations. If the projects of the deselected organisations remain beneficial to the less privileged or impacts the economy and society, we select them the next year. If any organisation does not utilize the fund judiciously, we blacklist it. It is disappointing if a company has confidence in an  organisation for its programmes and supports it, only to find out later that the money was diverted to other things than what it was purposed for".

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A silver lining may have appeared on the country's dark economic horizon as the United States (U.S.) has granted free passage for Nigeria's textiles and apparels under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA).

This was disclosed yesterday at the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meetings in Abuja.

It is the first time Nigeria would be certified to participate in the initiative pushed through the U.S. Congress by the President Bill Clinton administration.

Minister of Commerce, Ambassador Ibrahim Waziri told State House correspondents after the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting that "it is Christmas and Sallah day combined for all Nigerians. The efforts put in place by this administration towards improving the lives of Nigerians are now bearing fruits," he said.

Minister of Information and National Orientation, Chief Chukwuemeka Chikelu said at the briefing that Nigerians can now take advantage of the benefits of exporting these products to the U.S.

According to him, "for many years, Nigeria has not been taking advantage of it (AGOA). It had not had the benefit of this regime. Several other Africans have been exporting millions of dollars into the U.S. Nigeria has not met the qualification. What has happened today is that through Mr. President, working with the Minister of Commerce and the Special Adviser on AGOA, Nigeria has finally qualified and has received an AGOA passage for textiles and apparels. The implication is that Nigerian textiles and apparel industries have the opportunity now to export directly into the U.S. market duty-free. That is a major plus for our industry.

"This is another opportunity for us to create jobs and engage people. It is also in recognition of the reforms that are taking place in this country. We are very excited about it. And the beauty of it is that we have to ensure we take advantage of it so that our manufacturers and producers of textiles and apparels do what is necessary to actually access the market. They will need to partner with the people who will be able to take their goods across," he added.

Chikelu also added that the new certification for AGOA "also has implications for investment because it means that any of the major textile manufacturing firms across the world can actually come to Nigeria to cite their factory with the purpose of exporting to the U.S. market".

He added that such firms could take advantage of cheaper labour and other factors of production that they can get in Nigeria to produce in Nigeria, employ people and export to U.S. market.

Meanwhile, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Olu Adeniji yesterday gave an insight into how President Olusegun Obasanjo emerged the chairperson of the African Union (AU) as he hinted that the new office means that the President would travel more frequently.

Adeniji told State House journalists after the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting that Obasanjo, until the AU meeting in Addi Ababa, Ethiopia had refused to accept the offer of some African Heads of State and Government, nine months ago, for him to lead the union.

The Minister noted that "the process of saddling him with the chairperson of the AU started about nine months ago when some Heads of State in some African countries suggested that Nigeria should consider taking the responsibility of assuming the chairmanship of the union for the next one year. Their argument was that the next one year or two years will witness tremendous changes in the newly established AU. As you know, the present charter has the right to interfere in what was previously considered the internal affairs of member states.

"Though the President was very reluctant at the beginning, but as the pressure mounted, he had to yield and accept. The particular reason for suggesting that Nigeria should assume the responsibility is that the next two years will witness some degree of transformation in the re-building process of the AU", he said.

In the same vein, Former Head of State, Chief Ernest Shonekan has joined other world leaders in congratulating Obasanjo over his recent election as Chairman of the AU.

In his congratulatory message to the President, Shonekan said he had no doubt that as a statesman and true pan-Africanist, Obasanjo's period at the helm of the AU "will be employed with distinction in fostering the foundation principles of unity, co-operation and good governance within Africa.

"We pray for your success in this endeavour, as we also pray for Africa to overcome its numerous challenges and command its rightful place in the comity of nations of the world," Shonekan wrote.

BANANA and plantain are both food and cash crops. As export crops, they are foreign exchange earners to the tune of billions of dollars. They are staples in some places while they consumed elsewhere in a variety of forms. Most of the 10 percent of the world's bananas and plantains, which are grown for export, come from Latin America and the Caribbean. One of the top five internationally traded tropical commodities, they have an annual export value of more than US$5 billion. They hold promises for Nigeria's diversification drive in agriculture.

The International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Ibadan, has provided a lot of insightful information on these crops from the works done to date on them, even hosting web pages on them. According to the institute, "about 90 percent of the world's bananas and plantains are grown on small farms and consumed locally. An estimated 20 million people eat banana or plantain as their major source of dietary carbohydrate. They are particularly important in East Africa where they constitute the main staple food for about 50 percent of the population. In this part of the world the annual consumption reaches over 400 kg per person".

According to FAO, more than 58 million tonnes of bananas and 30 million tonnes of plantains were produced worldwide in 2000. India was the largest producer of bananas (11 million tonnes) and Uganda was the largest producer of plantains (9 million tonnes). Nearly half of the world's bananas were grown in Asia, while almost 75 percent of the world's plantains were grown in Africa.

Approximately 90 percent of banana and plantain production takes place on small-scale farms or in back yards. They may be incorporated in mixed farming systems, and used to provide shade for other crops such as cocoa, coffee, black pepper, and nutmeg. The remaining 10 percent is produced on commercial plantations, mainly in Latin America and the Caribbean.

In 2000 about 5 million hectares were planted with plantain and nearly 4 million with banana. The average world yield was 15 tonnes per hectare for banana and about 6 tonnes kg per hectare for plantain. Highest yields of both banana and plantain were in the Caribbean region, in Nicaragua and Honduras respectively.

Banana and plantain production has a number of constraints. The major pests are the banana weevil and parasitic nematodes. Studies have revealed that if plantains are infected with both weevils and nematodes, yield losses may reach 85 percent.

Black Sigatoka leaf spot disease, fungal leaf spot, Fusarium wilt (Panama disease), banana streak virus, banana dieback virus, and cucumber mosaic virus are the most important diseases. Plants infected with these diseases produce significantly lower yields. For example, plants infected with banana streak virus have lower bunch weights, fewer hands, and less fruit with yield losses up to 60 percent. Similarly, black Sigatoka leaf spot disease reduces yield in banana and plantain by up to 40 percent.

Another major constraint of plantain and banana is that the fruits are highly perishable. At ambient tropical temperatures, plantain and banana have an average market life of 1-10 days, compared to several weeks for yam, for example.

During the past two decades farmers in highly populated banana/plantain growing areas have experienced serious yields declines because of decreased soil fertility due to shortened fallow periods.

IITA's work on banana and plantain improvement is from a holistic perspective, combining improved varieties, integrated pest management, and better crop husbandry technologies.

IITA's scientists have been working on developing and introducing new varieties that are high yielding, drought resistant, disease and pest resistant, and have durable fruit quality. Several improved varieties have been successfully disseminated in collaboration with national agricultural research systems (NARS) and non-governmental organisations (NGOs).

The fruits can be fried, baked, or roasted, and are also sold in pulp form, as chips, and in confectionery. In some countries they are used to produce alcohol. The leaves and pseudostem are also often used, for example for wrapping food, for thatching, and in textile manufacture. The fruits can also be used as animal feed.

One of the most tangible achievements of Musa research at IITA has been the breeding of plantains with resistance to black Sigatoka leaf spot disease, which halted the spread of this potentially devastating disease. In 1994 IITA received the King Baudouin Award of the CGIAR for this achievement. Recently, IITA has been focusing on controlling banana streak virus in Ghana and Uganda through deployment of resistant varieties in infected areas.

IITA researchers have also developed and are promoting hot water treatment to rid plants of nematodes. Farmers in Uganda, Rwanda and Mozambiques have been trained in the procedure, to produce clean planting materials and reduce the spread of nematodes. Scientists have also been working on minimizing the damage caused by the pernicious beetle, by introducing the practice of chopping up fallen stems into little pieces so that the beetle cannot lay its eggs there.

Another research priority, according to IITA, is the development of sustainable resource and crop management practices to reduce soil degradation and improve yields in highly populated banana and plantain growing areas. For example, new measures introduced in Uganda include the building of earth dikes on sloping banana plots to prevent the top soil from being washed away, planting of grass or bushes which can be cut down and scattered to supply soil nutrients, and the use of dung and agricultural waste for making compost.

These research advances have contributed to vast improvements in banana and plantain production. In Uganda, for example, the average weight of a bunch of bananas rarely used to reach 20 kg; today it is almost double that, and under controlled conditions can be as high as 65 kg.

IITA scientists are also working on ways to make new varieties of banana and plantain as appealing to consumers as possible. Some of the new varieties may in fact be preferred over traditional varieties, for their smoother texture. And post-harvest researchers are experimenting with creating new products from banana and plantain, such as bread, wine, vinegar, soap, and industrial starch.

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PROCEEDS accruing from the 10 percent rice surcharge introduced by the Federal Government in 2003 as part of efforts to discourage rice importation would now be ploughed back encourage local production of the commodity in which the Nigeria currently ranks a the second importer in the world.

Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Mallam Adamu Bello, who disclosed this in Port Harcourt last week, said the decision to impose the surcharge was informed by the government's determination to ensure that the nation attained self sufficiency in rice production in the short term and to even produce for export subsequently. Part of the surcharge according to him had already been released for rice production

activities in the country.

In an address delivered by the Minister, who was represented by a Director in the ministry, Magaji Ibrahim at the opening ceremony of the Presidential

Initiative train-the-trainer workshop on rice production and processing for the South-South zone, which held at the ADP headquarters, Port Harcourt on Tuesday, noted that rice was one of the most important staple foods in the country. Consequently, the nation had experienced a rapid growth in rice

per capital consumption within the last three decades from 5kg in the 60's up to 25 kg in the late 90's.

Bello explained that Nigeria produces about 3million tonnes of rice per annum out of its estimated demand of 5million tonnes, leaving a demand gap of 2 million

tonnes per annum. To meet local demand the country resorted to rice import which prompted import to rise steadily from $259.0 million (N22, 015bn) in 1999 to $756.0 million USD (N96.012bn) in 2002. The ban on rice import from 1985-1995, he observed, had given a boost to local production which was reversed when the policy was later discontinued.

Presently, he stated that the government was determined that the nation achieved self sufficiency in rice production. To attain this, the minister said a durable national strategy and action plan for increasing production with the private sector including farmers providing leadership are being considered while the government on its part would provide the necessary enabling environment.

The strategy, according to him, would give consideration to a wide range of ecological conditions under which rice grows in Nigeria, which include rainfed and upland lowland, irrigated deep water, floating and mangrove surveys ecologies. Others are production constraints which include inefficient and inappropriate technologies, irregular supply of inputs, inadequate farm power, poor processing, ineffective farmer organizations and cooperatives, environment problems which the minister assured are being addressed.

"Official estimate indicates that rice imports represent more than 25 percent of agricultural imports and over 40 percent of domestic consumption. Nigeria has thus become a major rice importer in the world and only second to Indonesia in the last five years. It has become the destination for dumping rice of low quality from other parts of the world. The present administration is committed to attaining self-sufficiency in rice production in the short term and to produce for export subsequently. It has approved that the proceeds from the surcharge on rice imports be ploughed back to rice production" he said.

The Director of the National Cereals Research Institute (NCRI), Badeggi, Dr. Anthony Ochigbo. noted that it was an Herculean task to meet the 2.5 metric tonnes million shortfall in local production to make up for the 5million needed locally. He however, expressed optimism that with the government's policy on rice production the nation should be able to achieve positive results in that direction.