‘Heavens help those who help themselves’, that appears to be the advice of the United States to the government of Nigeria on agriculture. This can be deduced from the statement made by David Greene, US Charge dAffaires in Nigeria, recently. He said, We know that agriculture in Nigeria has lots of incredible potential. The US will do a lot in the sector of course, but I cant say precisely what we might do in the future. We got investment in Ikun Dairy Farms and cocoa production in Ekiti and the rest.” He was speaking at Ipao Ekiti, in the Ikole Local Government Area of Ekiti State.
He was there to visit Agbeyewa farms, a portfolio of Cavista Holdings. Mr. Green suggested to the government to prioritise investment in agriculture, so as to tackle the prevailing food crisis and put an end to hunger in the country. He said if the federal government work towards harnessing the abundant arable lands, fertile soil and favourable weather endowments in Nigeria, it will not only be able to provide food for the citizenry, but also have enough for export.
The American official was encouraged by the development at Agbeyewa Farms, and therefore asked the government to build on the agricultural potentials of Nigeria for it to achieve food security and better economy. He said this is because the country will not only be providing food for the people it will also, through farming, create jobs for millions of people in the country. He said, We are aware of the food security challenge and the post-harvest losses in Nigeria. With Investments and leadership like this, I think the lives of a lot of Nigerians can be changed for the better.” He, however, said that the United States would be willing to give support where necessary, but he appeared to say to the government that the country to be helped should at least show promise that whatever support it gets will be put to good use.
For instance, he said, USAID sees the future and is offering a lot across board to the Nigerian producers collaborating with donors including the World Bank and others. With the kind of economic innovation, we see here, we need to work together with the people of Nigeria to benefit the people.”
Agbeyewa Farms has 15,000-hectares of farmland, with 8,000 hectares of active cultivation, and it is involved in agro-allied farms doing some other agro-products. It is also engaged in research to improve methods of farming. John Olajide, Chairman of Cavista Holdings, noted that the multimillion-naira investment in agribusiness was to ensure adequate supply of foods, improve nutrition, create jobs and foster community development. Mr. Olajide said that his farm is also trying to help small-holder farmers in the state to grow.
Hear him: So, the investment is all about job and to create more opportunities for a lot of people. We are doing (an) experiment on cassava that can help farmers improve the yield. The local farmers here are doing eight tonnes per hectare yield, we have (an) experiment we are doing 35, 40 tonnes per hectare, those seedlings are given to the farmers to improve their lives. We also have our grower programme farmers. A typical farmer can do one, two hectares on their own but with the support from Agbeyewa Farms, they can do up to 10 hectares and get better yield.
The Cavista Holdings will also provide the market for the farmers’ products and ensure that waste will be reduced greatly. He said, One important thing is that these farmers always struggle to get access to the market, so we are working on the early stages of cassava revolution project of public partnership with the state government. They want to get at least 100 thousand hectares of cassava cultivated in the state and the good news is that all the cassava cultivated and everything that our hardworking Ekiti farmers do will have ready market and all would be bought by us and processed.”
That way, the concerns of the small-holder farmers would have been addressed. And that is because Agbeyewa Farms is fully aware of the challenges they face in the area. He said, There is a story about 60 per cent post-harvest loss. Our goal is zero post-harvest loss, so that Ekiti farmers can create wealth through farming. Farmers are kings so says a popular saying. Indeed, we want to ensure that farmers are kings. So, when we have farmers in Ekiti, they could become wealthy through farming. This is exactly what we intend to in Ekiti and by the special grace of God as we are joining hands with the government and our partners in America, all of these would be made possible.
Mr. Olajide is of the opinion that creating wealth through agriculture will also solve many other challenges faced by the state and its people. According to him, Agbeyewa Farms has addressed the challenges in its immediate area, The key to address all these insecurity (problems) is investment. The place we are used to be a kidnapping haven in Ekiti state. But look at what we have been able to do in those hundreds of hectares cultivated here. This is not where kidnappers come to. So, economic investment and job creation are the key to addressing insecurity.
He said over 400 persons work on the farm on daily basis, adding that, In different times, thousands of people have worked on the farm and our goal is to make sure we employ tens of thousands more. We wouldnt have to employ all of them as they can work as out growers in our ecosystem. But like I said earlier, everything they produce we would buy.
He added, Agbeyewa is spearheading the development of vibrant and inclusive agro-allied with business model centered around the cultivation, aggregation and distribution of three key crops: Cassava, Yam and Maize. In addition to this, cultivate a diverse range of crops such as vegetables, tomatoes, pepper, plantain, melon and many more.
The objective of Agbeyewa Farms is further projected by the cooperation of the State government. The State Commissioner for Agriculture and Food Security, Mr. Ebenezer Boluwade said the state decided to enter into a Public Private Partnership (PPP) arrangement with Agbeyewa Farms for them to do inclusivity for the farmers in the state. He said, We have seen what has been done here, so we can replicate it in any part of the state and bring our farmers within that space helping them to have the good natural practices and their market is already guaranteed.”
So, as part of efforts to encourage the small holder farmers, the state government, according to Boluwade, “is clearing land for cluster farming and it is designed to replicate what you are seeing here. We are not taking over their land but to make it productive because productivity has to be entrenched in our land in natural production activities. The administration of Governor Biodun Oyebanji is not stopping at that. The government, conscious of the daunting security situation in the country, Boluwade said, We are also providing other necessary infrastructure, especially security. Policemen, soldiers and other security agents and the local government is supporting them with local hunters, vigilante. They have been experiencing zero security threat because the investment here has actually driven away insecurity.