Concerted effort, legislative backing, essential to grow organic agriculture in Nigeria – stakeholders

Stakeholders in the push to grow organic agriculture in Nigeria have called for concerted effort from the formal and informal sectors as the way forward.

The stakeholders made the call in a communique signed by Dr Olugbenga AdeOluwa, Country Coordinator, Ecological Organic Agriculture (EOA) Initiative in Nigeria and Prince Bakare, Co-Chairman Local Organising Committee, captured a broad range of prioritised issues.

The communique reads;

About 120 participants gathered (physically and virtually) for the 2021 National Organic Agriculture Business Summit (6th edition) held at Nigerian Export Promotion Council Headquarters, Abuja Nigeria from November 2 – 4, 2021 representing organic agriculture stakeholders from all the geo-political zones of Nigeria, Ghana, The Netherdlands, United States of America and Italy.

The attendance represented a circle of enthusiasts in Organic agricultural input supply, crop production, processing, packaging and consumers. Also at the gathering were representatives of Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) of the Federal Government of Nigeria related to organic agriculture, especially from Industry, Trade and Investment, Agriculture and Rural Development, Health, Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Environment, Information and Culture, Finance, Budget & National Planning, Education and Science & Technology, as well the ECOWAS Commission.

The summit’s deliberations centred on the theme, “Organic Quality: Guarantee for National Development”.

RESOLVED

That stakeholders of organic agriculture in the country should have good understanding of the principles and practice of Organic Agriculture;

That the level of organic agriculture trade (domestic and export) in Nigeria although growing, is still on the low side, compared to leading countries in the organic sector of Africa;

That relevant Government Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) need to contribute to policy formulation and implementation of organic agriculture policy in the country;

That funding for organic agriculture/ Ecological Organic Agriculture activities in Nigeria is low in relation to the needs of the sector;

That while appreciating the current MDAs investment in Organic Agriculture related issues in the country, the level of investment is still low in relation to the expected development in the organic sector;

That there is huge technical knowledge gap on Organic Agriculture production system for export in the country;

That the issue of agricultural extension services to facilitate Organic Agriculture in the country needs to be addressed;

That understanding of the required procedures for certification of Organic produce and products for both domestic and export trade is still low;

That appropriate attention should be paid to the organic agriculture sector for enabling environment for development of the sector;

That there is the need for a definite engagement of youths and women in Organic Agriculture for meaningful livelihood development;

That there is the need to put in motion necessary apparatus that can lead to increase in Organic market share (in terms of produce, products and services) from Nigeria at the global market and participation in BioFach (which holds yearly in mid-February at Nuremberg, Germany);

Stressed the need for MDAs to contribute toward funding of the annual National Organic Agriculture Business Summit in order to extend its benefits to more stakeholders, thereby contributing to national development;

Stressed also the need to increase efforts on mainstreaming Organic Agriculture into existing curricula for agricultural training at all levels of education in Nigeria

RECALLING

That Nigeria subscribes to the Sustainable Development Goals; specifically, Goal 2 (Zero Hunger), Goal 3 (Good Health and Well-being), Goal 5 (Gender Equality) and Goal 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production) that are relevant to Organic Agriculture;

That export value in Organic Agriculture sector of the country is much lower, compared to some countries in Africa that are smaller in land size and population;

That available facts reveal paucity of scientific evidence to support Organic Agriculture in Nigeria, especially for policy, exportable produce and product;

That Organic Agriculture is yet to be reflected in the existing curricula relating to agriculture in academic programmes at all levels in Nigeria;

That agricultural funding policies of the government are yet to give adequate attention to the Organic Agriculture sub-sector

WE URGE

All tiers of government in Nigeria to fully explore opportunities in the decision of the African Heads of States and Governments on Organic Farming [EX.CL/Dec.621 (XVII), 2010];

That Federal Ministry of Information and Culture should ensure proper public awareness of the benefits, principles and practice of Organic Agriculture in the country;

That ECOWAS Commission should support the annual National Organic Agriculture Business Summit to enable more entrepreneurs in Organic sector of Nigeria tap into ECOWAS open-doors for exports such that Nigeria as a country would have a robust multi-ministerial/sectoral policy on organic agriculture to be led by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development in order to provide enabling environment for development of the sector in the country;

That consistent and proper monitoring of Organic Agricultural enterprises by relevant or appropriate governmental and private stakeholders is required to uphold the integrity of the Organic Agriculture sector of the country;

That the MDAs relevant to organic agriculture sector like Federal Ministries of Industry, Trade and Investments, Agriculture & Rural Development and Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC), Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Bank of Agriculture, Bank of Industry, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) and such other financial institutions should support the processes of improving quality of organic agriculture produce and products from Nigeria with respect to development and organic certification for export market;

That all MDAs relevant to organic agriculture in Nigeria should include organic agriculture activities in their annual budgets;

That appropriate bodies involved in capacity development of stakeholders of organic agriculture in the country like the ‘Nigeria Go Organic Project’, NICERT limited and others to should step up efforts in training stakeholders in having good understanding of the principles and practices of Organic Agriculture;

That Organic Agriculture Innovation Platforms in Nigeria (comprising Directors of Agricultural Extension, Desk Officers for Organic Agriculture at State level and technical experts in the field of organic agriculture) and National Agricultural Extension and Research Liaison Service (NAERLS), be strengthened to support activities of stakeholders in the organic sector and regularly provide solutions to their operational challenges;

That activities of the Ecological Organic Agriculture (EOA) Initiative in Nigeria should be encouraged and appropriate stakeholders should join the EOA stakeholders for better promotion of Organic Agriculture in the country;

That appropriate committees of the Senate, House of Representatives and State Houses of Assembly should ensure that appropriate policies are put in place to provide enabling environment for practicing Organic Agriculture in the country using internationally acceptable guidelines;

That appropriate support should be given to the work in progress – proposed Organic Agriculture Bill with the focus of formalising Organic practices in the country;

That efforts of the umbrella body for Organic Agriculture in Nigeria,  Association of Organic Agriculture Practitioners of Nigeria  should be appreciated and all private stakeholders in the sector encouraged to join the Organic Association in order to ensure proper grassroots development and appropriate coordination of the sector;

That Ministry of Agriculture at State and Local Government levels should allocate lands for organic agriculture production on group basis;

That the annual National Organic Agriculture Business Summit (NOABS) be a statutory event of the Federal Ministries of Industry, Trade and Investments and be run on public-private partnership basis with stakeholders of the  Ecological Organic Agriculture (EOA) Initiative in Nigeria;

That each state of the country should have a Desk Officer for National Organic Agriculture Business Summit;

That the Federal Ministry of Education should work with its appropriate Departments and Agencies to include organic agriculture in academic curricula at all levels in the country.

CONGRATULATING THE 2020 NATIONAL ORGANIC AGRICULTURE MERIT AWARD WINNER, H.E., Lt. Col  Abubakar Zakariya Maimalari (Rtd), Former Military Administrator of Jigawa State and C.E.O Excel Standards Ltd., Kano as National Champion of Ecological and Organic Agriculture in Nigeria.

We agreed to meet in Oyo State in 2022, Eboyi State in 2023 and Plateau State in 2024 for the 7th, 8th and 9th editions of NOABS respectively to further pursue the drive for the development of Organic Agriculture businesses in the country.

APPRECIATING

Active participation of Ministers of Industry, Trade & Investments, Agriculture and Rural Development, Health and Education in the Summit;

The efforts of the Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) in hosting the event;

Active participation of the ECOWAS Commission in the Summit.

Otunba Niyi Adebayo,  the Honourable Minister, Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment , Mr Segun Awolowo, the Executive Director/CEO  of Nigerian Export Promotion Council, Dr. Olugbenga O. AdeOluwa, Country Coordinator, Ecological Organic Agriculture Initiative in Nigeria, Mr Elzakkar Bodewin, LoiusBolk AgroEco Institute (The Netherlands), Mr. Willem-Albert-Toose, Agro-Eco Loius Bolk Institute (Ghana), – Mr. Antsa Razafimbelo, IFOAM Organics International,  Dr. Jelili Adebiyi, Michigan State University (USA), Mr. Ernest Aubee, Head of Agriculture, ECOWAS Commission, Abuja, Engr. Tunde Bello  Director, Farm Input Support Services Department of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development for their insightful presentations during the event.

Funding from the Swiss Agency for Cooperation and Development (SDC) of Switzerland through Biovision Africa Trust Kenya for EOA Initiative in Nigeria,

Zenith Energy Enzymes Ltd , Amsaj Industrial Company Ltd, Florecer Global,  NICERT Ltd,   Gotomo Farms and allied Company limited, Raw Materials Research and Development Council,  Nigerian Export Promotion Council,  National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control and ECOBANK Nig Ltd for co-sponsoring this Summit.

Support of the Federal Ministries of Industry, Trade & Investments, Agriculture and Rural Development, Health. Humanitarian Affairs & Disaster Management, Environment, Information and Culture, Finance, Budget & National Planning, Education, Science & Technology and the ECOWAS Commission for development of Organic Agriculture in the country;

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) for always supporting organic agriculture development in Nigeria;

The efforts of partner organizations of the Ecological Organic Agriculture (EOA) Initiative in Nigeria, namely; Association of Organic Agriculture Practitioners of Nigeria (Country Lead Organization), Federation of Agricultural Commodity Associations of Nigeria (FACAN), Farmer Development Union (FADU), Ibadan Go Organic Multipurpose Cooperative Society, Justice Development and Peace Commission (JDPC), Uyo.

Also, Organic Research Teams of University of Ibadan, Kwara State University and Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Ikot Ekpene Women Food Cash Crops Multi-purpose Cooperative Society and Healthy Food for Consumers Initiatives, under the chairmanship of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development for organizing the National Organic Agriculture Business Summit and contributing to the development of Organic Agriculture  systems in Nigeria;

The consistent support of the Farm Input Support Services Department, Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development for chairing the Ecological Organic Agriculture (EOA) Initiative in Nigeria;

The Local Organising Committee organisations of the Summit, namely, Nigerian Export Promotion Council, Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Raw Materials Research and Development Council, Agricultural Research Council of Nigeria, News Agency of Nigeria, Federal Ministry of Health, Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Nigeria Customs Service, Central Bank of Nigeria.

Others are Federation of Agricultural Commodities Association of Nigeria, Organic Fertilizer Producers and Suppliers Association of Nigeria, GFHNews, The Nation, Bank of Industry, Daily Trust, Nigeria Agricultural Quarantine Services, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria, National Sugar Producers, Processors and Marketers of Nigeria, Bank of Agriculture, BFA Food and Health Group, Cocoa Association of Nigeria, Vanguard.

Agricultural and Rural Management Training Institute, Food Farm News, Gotomo Farms, Organic Fertilizer Producers and Suppliers Association of Nigeria, Cofarms Limited, Ginger farmers association of Nigeria, Healthy Foods for Consumers Initiative, Nigeria Tribune, North East Commodities Association, National Sunflower Growers and Marketers Association of Nigeria, NICERT Limited