Kaduna: We expect a good farming year – Commissioner

Commissioner of Agriculture HALIMA LAWAL is very optimistic that despite the COVID-19 pandemic and security challenges, the Ministry has put measures in place for a good farming season in Kaduna State, as she explained in this interview below

During this lock-down, the government regularly mentions groups of professionals that are exempted from the restriction of movement order because they offer essential services. Curiously, farmers are not mentioned in this category. Are their services not essential?

Well, farmers are not mentioned, because it is a given. Farmers offer essential services and especially during this season and because of the pandemic. All the individuals and entities in the agricultural value-chain are exempted and that is the Executive Order. People don’t hear it often repeated but all players in the Agric-value chain are exempted from the restriction of movement during the lock-down.

What measures has the Ministry of Agriculture put in place to enable farmers to engage in meaningful activities, given the security challenges that the country has been having, more so that the rainy season is here?

Even before the onset of the rain, we had recognised that security is a major challenge and have been in touch with our counterparts in the Ministry of Internal Security and also reached out to communities to be vigilant, look out for suspicious activities and report to security agencies when they notice such activities.

We have engaged with the Commissioner for Local Government Affairs and all 23 Local Government Chairmen as Chief Security Officers, are playing their role in the protection of citizens. It is a collective effort and the Government is always concerned about the security and safety of its citizens, including our farmers at this time. Appropriate measures are being put in place to ensure that we have a productive year without interruption in our farming activities to ensure food security and sufficiency, especially during and post-pandemic.

Kaduna State is an agricultural hub; it is the highest producer of maize and tomatoes and it has one of the best quality ginger in the world. What efforts are you making to ensure that COVID-19 does not affect agricultural yield in the state?

Despite the global challenge induced by the COVID-19 pandemic, the state has intensified efforts to ensure timely access to quality and affordable production inputs across the 23 LGAs for sustainable production in the 2020 cropping Season. Consequently, the Ministry is considering all alternative avenues to provide extension services that guarantee yield optimization and minimal physical contact to enhance production and curtail the spread of COVID-19.

We have reached out to our farmers through the media to ensure that they follow all government guidelines as they continue with farming activities for a productive season. The rains are looking very promising and I am very confident and optimistic that we are going to have a productive year.

You mentioned that measures have been put in place to ensure that farm inputs are affordable. How affordable are their prices, especially the price of fertiliser? 

There is a Presidential Fertilizer Initiative by the Federal Government which supplies N.P.K 20-10-10 at N5,500 per 50Kg bag. Thankfully, it recently considered a reduction to N5,000 only per 50Kg bag. Farmers and indeed the citizens of Kaduna state are enjoined to report any fertilizer sale above the approved Government price of N5,000 per bag to the following numbers: 0803 045 3360 and 0802 913 3240.

Other input suppliers in the value chain such as seed companies and the agro-chemical companies have offered to give some incentives to our farmers. These companies are giving those seeds at cheaper prices from the normal price that they would have otherwise offered. We are also making sure that they are taking these seeds and agro-chemicals closer to the farmers to ease transportation costs and risk of travel to far distances.

Can you mention some of these sales points where farmers can get these inputs without traveling long distances?

We plan to have kiosks or stands to be operated by seeds and agro-chemical companies to sell their inputs in every Local Government close to the fertiliser sale point. When a farmer comes to buy fertilizer, he can equally buy his seeds beside the existing points of sales. Stores are available and they serve as sales points in each Local Government Area.

What measures is the government putting in place to guard against price fluctuations if there is glut?

I don’t suppose we will have a glut based on the projections available. However, efforts by this administration gave birth to Kaduna Produce Management Company (KADPMC) under a joint venture arrangement designed to work closely with commodity associations to off-take produce for marketing and export. Other measures involve advising the Government on a buy-back into the strategic grains reserve, should the supply outweigh the demand.

Will the pandemic affect the government’s plans to leverage on its comparative advantage on ginger, so that it will rake in more revenue for the smallholder farmer and boost its Internally Generated Revenue?

COVID-19 is affecting everything, so ginger is not an exception. But be that as it may, our ginger farmers have planted and are still planting. The Ministry is working closely with its development and technical partners to ensure sustainable business models and atmosphere for ginger and other value chains of comparative advantage.

Value addition is one of the issues that is affecting the prices of our ginger in the global market, what is government doing to help farmers in that regard? 

We have had engagements with development partners over this issue. Of course, you can’t address it 100% but we have done a lot in that regard. We have conducted capacity building programmes for our farmers to make them realise that once they have quality ginger, they can also command a good price. In addition, our development agency, Kaduna Agricultural Development Agency (KADA), has conducted similar trainings.

Agro-Processing, Productivity Enhancement And Livelihood Improvement Support(APPEALS), a Federal Government of Nigeria/World Bank assisted project, is handling intervention in the capacity building, production, processing and marketing value chains. We have encouraged farmers to develop partnerships with Non Governmental Organisations (NGOs) that have helped build cottage industries. All these are part of a whole array of knowledge sharing to improve ginger production and improved quality.

What is the government doing to protect farmers from unscrupulous middlemen who often short- change farmers?

It is a very complicated issue, but the government is doing its best to help farmers to get real value for their commodity. Part of what we are doing, as mentioned earlier, is building the farmers’ capacity to understand the value chain approach, the actors and their roles, vertical and horizontal linkages that protect producer interests and curtail excesses of the middlemen. We are encouraging them to form cooperatives and deal with the government more; and even if they are going to deal with any other person, there should be a structure. When they form cooperatives, they will be on a stronger footing and they can demand more for their produce. As much as possible, that will reduce the impact of the middlemen.