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N igeria is said to have accounted for one_third of the increase in

investment in agricu ltu ral researc h and deve lopment (R&D) in Sub-Saharan Africa which increased by more than 20 per cen t from 2001-2008,

This growth in investment is atlIibuted to increased Federal Government commitment to agriculture in general and to agricultural R&D in particular,

Spending in most of the region has stagnated ' or ' fallen , according to the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRIf's r'eport which noted that most of the growth in Sub Saharan Africa in agricultural research and development occurred in only a handful of countries.

" Country-leve l data reveal that the region wide spending and capacity increase of roughly 20 per cent during 2001-2008 was largely drive n by only a handful of countries as more than one-third of the growth in public agricultural R&D spending during this period is attributable to a $110 million increase in spending in Nigeria ,"

In a survey of 32 African nations, the study found that investment in agricultural R&D !lad rebounded in many of the large r countries, primarily Ghana, Nigeria, Sudan , Tanzania, and Uganda,

However, in 13 countries , spending actuaUydeclined. Even where funding did increase, much of the money went to boost low sa laries and rehabilitate infrastructure arid equipment after years of neglect.

The report explained that Nigeria has the largest agricultural research system in Sub Saharan Africa in terms of investments, capacity, and the number of govern ment and higher education agencies,

':<Vter a period of stagnation during the late 1980s and early 1990s, public agrj~ultural R&D more than doubled during 2000-2008. "

~he report added "This was ~ the result of renewed

government commitmen t to agricultural R&D that increased salary levels and substantial investments in resea rch infrastructure and equipment.

"In addition, Nigeria's agricultural research stalling levels grew steadily during the same period , Notably, the role of the higher education sector in ;i'gricultural research increased during this time . Although growth in Nigerian agricultural R&D spending and capacity was striking, growth only served to offset years at severe under-investment in the 1990s," The report regretted that despite the remarkable increases , investment levels remain below those required tq.. ' restore facilities to prior levels 6

and to sustain the co untry's agricultural research needs .

The state of agricultural R&D is particularly grave in

... ", "

Nigerian Delegation at the IFPRI conference on J..everaging Agriculture for improving Health and Nutri­tion held in New Delhi, India, From L-R Dr, Oyedele Oyedeji of the Nigerian Institute of Animal Science ,Prof. Yusut Abubakar , the Executive Secretary of Agricultural Research Council at Nigeria and Prof. Placid Njoku ,

Agricultural R&D in Africa: , Nigeria leads in investment ... spending stagnated in most countries

Francophone West Africa, where insufficient national investment has left programs debilitated and dangerously dependent on volatile externalfunrling ,

Many ot these countries are also struggling with a rapidly aging pool of scientists, many of whom will approach retirement within_~.!1ext.?~_c:~~e., ______ . .

Mosi countries in the .study are facing human capa,ity challenges, such as recruitm'ent treezes, retention problem's, and

researchers who either lack high_level training or are old and nearing retirements, according to the report.

IFPRI's Agricultural Science and Technology Indicators (ASTI) initiative conducted the survey in collaboration with more than 370 agricultural

. _ .research agencies . ASTI is spearheaded by IFPRI on behalf of the CO!lsultative Group on International Agricultural R~search (CGlAR) ,

"Studies show that investments in agricultural R&D have greatly contributed to economic growth, agricultural development, toad security, and poverty reduction in developing regions over the past Ii ve decades," said Nienke Beintema, head of ASTI, "New agricultural technologies and crop varieties hav e helped to increase yields, improve nutrition, conserve natural resources, and expand rural markets ."

Researchers call for greater focus~on 'Fertilizers for Forest' mitigation in West Africa

T ow-input farming for cocoa, .L..cassava and oil palm has resulted in widespread detorestation and degradation of West Africa's tropical forest area, according to a new study by .researchers at the International Institute for Tropical Agriculture (IITA) and th e Cen ter for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) .

The study was publi shed online this week in the peer­reviewed journal, Environmental Management.

Cocoa production in West Africa i~ an important

· c'cimm~rC:ig) sector and a source of li""lihood for about two million households in the region.

For the last 20 years, Cote d'Ivoire h as been the largest producer botb in terms of output and numbers of producers, followed by Ghana, Nigeria, and Canleroon with these four countries now accounting for 70% of global cocoa supply,

According to the study, cocoa

production in West Africa's Guin'ean Rainforest region doubled between 1987 and 2007, but most of this increase was fueled by clearing forest areas resulting in large losses of biodiversity and high carbon emissions.

The Guinean Rainforest (GRF) of West Africa, identified over 20 years ago as a global biodiversity hotspot, had reduced to 113 ,000 lon2 at the

.,start of the new millennium, "which was 18% of its original

area, according to the report. Th e principal driver o[ this

environmental change has been the expansion of low_ inp ut

.smallholder agriculture that depends on environmentally destructive proctices like s lash and burn and land cle.aring, -

Researchers at IITAtound that increasing fertilizer us e on cocoa timber fanns wDuld have spared roughl y 2 miilion hectares of tropi<: :u forest from being cleare d or severe ly

. degraded, On average, farmers. are using less than 4kg of total nutrients per hectare in the region.

The study suggests that fanners could have achieved the same outputs without rampant deforestation th rough the intensified use of fertilizer and agrochemicals coupled w ith improved crop husbandry,

According to IITA, by doing so farmers woul d have doubled their incomes and helped to avoid deforestation and degradation on 2.1 million hectares and in the process, generate a value of over $1,600 million on 1.3 billion tons of C02 emission that would not hav~ come from deforestation.

The findings should be taken into consideration in discussions arollnd effo rts to reduce EI" ir.si ons from deforestation ,

. Sd Y researchers . Instead of "(llls idering complicated C ~t :'I tegi es involving monetary or i Tt !~i nd transfers to farmers or f.'ol;ul1unities for altering their LJ: ~ i use behaviour.

BRIEFS '

Farmers get Nlbnagric loans in Edo

Seven hundred and twenty co operative societies in

Edo St.te have benefitted from the state's N 1 billion Cooperative Farmers' loan.

Speaking at the presentation ceremony at Sam Ogbemudia Stadium in Benin City, Governor Adams, 'Gl'shiomh.ole said adequate efforts were made to ensure that the loan facility gets to the actuallarmers,

According to him, "coming from a small village, the highest government ollicialthatwe used to see was the driver of tl)e Ministry at Agriculture, when they came to share lands to farmers and we heard stories about how government voted billions of naira for Agriculture, but the actual farmer never saw one naira , They set up the Nigerian Agricultural and Co_operative Bank to provide loans to farmers , then all of a sudden, every retired military general became a farmer, every retired Head of Service became a farmer, every serving Permanent Secretary became a farmer. The actual farmer never got one naira.

"So today I feel happy, and I'll like you to join me to salute the Deputy Governor who headed the committee that we set up to ensure that the d efinition of farmers does not change tor the purpose of this facility,

"By the grace at God, with the small loan we are about to give you, you will get improved yields from your farms ,. Whe.n the Nigerian governin'ent says th e economy is growing by 46%_ 47%, it is you farmers that are making the economy to grow, because our industries have all closed down , the only industry that is still in operation is farming," '

Fadama III farmers get N83

loans in Oyo

T h e Oyo State Government hasdistIibutedagricu1tura11oans

totalling N83.9 million to farmer groups under the Fadama ill project and two other agI;cu1tural projects,

A breakdown ot the figure showed that N34.45 million was disbursed to 13 Fadaroa Conuilllnity Associations (FCAs) while N41.58 million was disbursed to nine fanners under the National Programme on Food Security (NPFS), thefanne,,;' apex group.

The sum of N7 ,9 million was disbursed to 23 fannelS underthe Root and Tuber Expansion Programme (RfEP)

Presenting the cheques to the beneficiaries in !baden last week, the Commissioner for \griculture, Mr Kunle !shol", urged I':,em to utilise the loan judiciously and pay back at the l;ghttime.