Remarks by Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, Honourable Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, at the Youth in Commercial Agri business Development Programme and the flag off of the 2012 Agricultural Season in Ekiti State. April 30, 2012.

1. Remarks by Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, Honourable Minister of Agriculture and
Rural Development, at the Youth in Commercial Agri business Development
Programme and the flag off of the 2012 Agricultural Season in Ekiti State.
April 30, 2012.
Let Nigeria be Green
Your Excellency the Executive Governor of Ekiti State, my dear brother and
friend Dr. Kayode Fayemi. I bring you warm greetings from H.E. Dr
Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, GCFR, President of the Federal Republic of
Nigeria and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces.
I am delighted, as always, to be with you. Let me use this occasion to
commiserate with you on the loss of your loving and dear mother. May God
comfort and strengthen you. It was a big loss, but she would be happy to know
she left a worthy son behind, one who cares for the people of Ekiti State.
Your Excellency the deputy Governor H.E. Funmi Olayinka. Secretary
to the State Government. Honourable Commissioner for Agriculture, Mr.
Babajide Arowosafe, and all other Honourable Commissioners and members
of the State Executive Council. Local Government Chairmen. Dynamic and
resourceful farmers of Ekiti State, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen.
I wish to congratulate the Governor and the entire State for the
remarkable job that you are doing on agriculture. Your program of Youth in
Commercial Agriculture, which you are launching today is very important for

2. Nigeria. Nigeria has 4 million youth that enter the labor market each year but
are unable to find jobs. While the economy is growing at 7.8% per year, it is
not creating jobs enough.
Mr. President has therefore directed that the focus of the government should
be on “jobs, jobs and jobs”.
There is no other sector that can create jobs faster than the agricultural
sector. To unlock the potential of agriculture to create jobs, we must engage
the energy, dynamism and entrepreneurship of the youth. We are no longer
treating agriculture as a development program. We are treating agriculture as
a business. Our goal is to make Nigeria an agriculturally industrialized
economy. Under the Agricultural Transformation Agenda our goal by 2015 is
to add an additional 20 million MT of food to the domestic food supply and
create 3.5 million jobs across the agricultural value chains.
Subsistence agriculture is not able to feed a nation. What is needed is
commercial agriculture, which can be done by small, medium and large scale
farmers. We must modernize, to be able to attract the youth into agriculture.
We must expand the level of use of tractors in the country. The country
does not have more than 20,000 functioning tractors. During the recent
agribusiness investment forum that my Ministry organized with business
leaders in Washington DC in April, attended by the Executive Governor of
Ekiti State, my Ministry initiated discussions with AGCO, the largest
manufacturer of Marcy Ferguson tractors. They will soon establish assembly
plants in Nigeria for tractors. Nigeria needs at least 300,000 tractors, to enable

3. our youth to get into agriculture as a business, and to expand our food
production.
We must raise the level of use of improved seeds. Nigeria currently uses no
more than 8,000 MT of seed. The potential demand for seed in Nigeria is 1
million MT. So, we are working with local seed companies, to expand their
access to financing to supply seeds for our farmers.
We are doing so, in innovative ways. For the 2012 season, the Federal
Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development financed the entire seed
supply for the country, to the tune of 2.7 Billion Naira, without spending one
Naira of government. We used guarantees for banks to lend to seed
companies. For the first time, many seed companies got loans from banks, at
single digit interest rate, from a guarantee issued by the Ministry of Finance
and Ministry of Agriculture.
The same goes for fertilizers. In the past and for decades, fertilizers were
bought and distributed by the Federal Government, through the state
governments at subsidized prices. We found that only 11% of the fertilizers
bought and sold by government ever gets to farmers. That means that some
89% of farmers never get the fertilizers bought and sold by the government.
The system was corrupt, inefficient and displaces the private sector.
Under the present administration, we have ended all of that. The Federal
Government has ended buying and distribution of fertilizers. As a
government, we have moved to the use of mobile phones, called E-Wallet, to
target farmers and reach them with their fertilizers directly. The system is

4. being rolled out across the country from this season. Our goal is to reach 5
million farmers this year, and a total of 20 million farmers by 2015.
We have completed a database of farmers, which we continue to upgrade,
which allows us to have information on farmers. This will reduce corruption
in the system of accessing fertilizers. We will empower real farmers, not
political farmers.
The Federal Government was able to secure financing for the supply of
fertilizers for 2012, at the level of 27 Billion Naira from commercial banks,
using guarantees from the Ministry of Finance. This will make loans available
to agro-dealers all across the country at 7% interest rate. Many of these agro-
dealers are in Ekiti State and will be supporting the roll out of the E-wallet for
farmers.
In Ekiti State, together with the State Government, we will provide subsidized
fertilizers to 60,000 farmers. The volume of fertilizer targeted for the season is
3000 MT of Urea and 3000 MT of NPK, valued at a cost N690 million. The
Federal Government and Ekiti State Governments will contribute N165
million each in terms of Growth Enhancement Support for farmers.
We have 27 agrodealer and redemption points already across the state, where
farmers will collect their seeds and fertilizers. Two companies, Notore and
Savanah Seeds Company will be supplying fertilizers and seeds, respectively,
in the State. We have completed arrangements with Savannah Seeds
Company to supply seeds of improved rice varieties NERICA 8 (upland rice

5. variety) and other varieties requested by farmers in the State. The seeds of
NERICA 8 are on display in 25 kg packs here today.
The Federal Government will strongly support all States across the
Federation in their drive to transform agriculture and create jobs. For all
parts of Nigeria can produce food and do so competitively. We are working in
new ways with State governments. This week, the Federal Ministry of
Agriculture and Rural Development started its decentralization of the
Ministry to the states, with the appointment of 36 new directors at the state
levels. They will work closely with the states, so that together we can
transform agriculture, in partnership.
I am especially pleased that H.E. Governor Fayemi has already put in place
an Agricultural Transformation Implementation Committee, which he chairs,
that will drive new investments in agriculture across the State.
The Federal Government will support your efforts in the state on cassava,
rice, oil palm, cocoa and fisheries. To further support the State government in
its drive for cassava production, Federal Government will facilitate the
establishment of a large scale cassava flour processing factory, with capacity
of 240 Tons per day in Ekiti State. It will be run by the private sector.
In addition, we have already audited and will be upgrading 4 SMEs producing
high quality cassava flour. To expand markets for farmers, we have concluded
arrangements for the export of 500,000 MT of cassava chips to China, with
total expected of 1 million MT. This will earn our cassava farmers and

6. processors up to 40 Billion Naira in income. Farmers in Ekiti State will benefit
and dried chip exporters have been linked to 14 locations in the State.
As we begin the cocoa season in Ekiti State, let me assure you that the Federal
Government will be here to support farmers. We are targeting 10,000 cocoa
farmers in the state. We will support farmers to have access to fertilizer
blends for cocoa, fungicides and insecticides. We will distribute 3 million new
seedlings of cocoa, to plant 2,700 ha of cocoa.
I am happy to announce here today, that the 3 million new cocoa seedlings will
be distributed for free to farmers in Ekiti State! This will allow farmers to
quickly replace their old cocoa trees with high yielding cocoa hybrids that can
give up to 500% increase in yields than existing varieties. The new cocoa
hybrids mature in just 24 months, compared to 50-60 months with existing
varieties. We will enroll 3,500 farmers in 100 Farmer Field and Business
Schools.
Federal Government will also support Ekiti State in oil palm value chain.
Field planting target for the State is 2,063.7ha. Planting will commence in late
July. We will distribute 310,000 sprouted oil palm seedlings in the State.
The Federal Government will also support aquaculture and fisheries in Ekiti
State. This year, we are targeting fish seed production of 50 million and table
size fish production of 15,000 MT. We target fish feed production of 22,500

7. MT and processed fish production of 5,000 MT. We will also provide 4 fish
transport trucks with cold storage.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development is working closely with
the Central Bank of Nigeria for the roll out of a new financing framework for
banks, to support agricultural value chains. The NIRSAL initiative will
reduce the risk of banks in lending to agriculture. Ekiti State will benefit from
the program.
I want to assure the good people of Ekiti State, that Mr. President strongly
supports the farmers of the State and the efforts of the State Government, as
we together work to improve the lives and livelihoods of farmers in the State.
Your Excellency, Governor Fayemi, you are doing a remarkable job in
transforming Ekiti State. I cannot wait to come back later in the year, to
witness the bumper harvests in the State. I cannot wait to come back to see
hundreds of youth being empowered here today, with their commercial farms,
earning good incomes and making agriculture a commercial business.
I am very proud of the youth of Ekiti State who today are going into
agriculture as a business. This is the time to revolutionize agriculture in
Nigeria, and the youth are the bed rock of our drive to transform agriculture
as a business.

8. Mr. President will soon launch a massive youth in agribusiness program all
across the country that will put several thousands of youth into agribusiness.
This, when launched, will be the largest such effort in Africa. I look forward
to working closely with the Governor to build on and expand the exciting
youth in agriculture initiative being launched today by HE the Executive
Governor.
As we flag off the agricultural season today, may our fields yield their
increase. May our silos be filled with plenty. May children dance in our fields,
as Nigeria celebrates bumper harvest this year. May Ekiti prosper and may
her farmers prosper. And may your Governor, prosper. Let the work begin!
For God is with us.
Let Nigeria be green!