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Banks should lend more to the agriculture sector – Dashiell

By BusinessNews Staff on April 21, 2015

Deputy Director General, Partnership and Capacity Development, International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) Dr. Kenton Dashiell, spoke to Goddy Egene on what the institute is doing to improve the lot of farmers and Sterling Bank Plc’s contributions to the agriculture sector. Excerpts:

IITA was established 48 years ago and will be 50 in 2017. Would you say that the Institute has really achieved the purpose for which it was established?

I will say yes and no. Yes we have done a lot in terms of embarking on researches to provide answers to a lot of the challenges in the agriculture sector, but ’’no’’, because we still have a long way to go. In our 48 years of existence we have made substantial progress in conducting research to benefit the small scale farmers in Africa and in Nigeria in particular. We have developed technology to the benefit of farmers for production and cultivation. IITA is an international research institute funded by some countries including Nigeria. I must say that Nigeria has been a major supporter of IITA.
What are the major challenges facing the sector and the farmers based on your interaction with the stakeholders?
I will say that the major problem is the competition from ‘cheap’ imports. It creates an environment that makes it more difficult for farmers to sell their produce after they have invested their time and money to grow their crops and raise their live stock. This is a major challenge and we really appreciate the fact that the government is doing something to checkmate this trend. The second major challenge is finance. The farmers are knowledgeable, they know what they need to improve their yield; they know they need tractors to clear the farmland; they know they need fertilizer to increase their harvest; need to buy quality seeds and even employ labour, but the question is where will the finance come from?. Although governments at various levels have come in to support the sector in this area, banks must come in to provide finance. Banks must begin to see it as a responsibility to come in and support the sector. That is why l must commend Sterling Bank for its support to the Agriculture sector. The other time l was discussing with a delegation from the bank, l was told that the bank, in 2014, committed five percent of its total loan portfolio to Agric alone. It was a pleasant surprise when l was told that this would increased to 10 per cent in 2015. That level of commitment must be commended and l hope other banks will emulate this to grow the sector. Apart from these major challenges, there are also problems associated with the country’s infrastructural deficit. The problem of poor road network makes it difficult for farmers to get their input to their farmlands for planting and for harvest to be transported to the market. This is purely the responsibility of the government but financial institutions must step up their game and make finance available to farmers. Schemes implemented in Nigeria and other African countries have shown that the pay back on loans taken by farmers is as high as 99 percent. I know that bankers, as business men and women, will be looking at the risk factor associated with agriculture but like l said, models have shown that bankers working with farmers get their money back in record time. Despite these challenges, we have noticed that things are changing in the rural landscape. We are beginning to see more rural farmers coming out of poverty, taking farming as a means of livelihood and seeing farming as a business.
Can you be specific on countries in Africa in this category?
Some of the countries that readily come to mind are Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya and Ethiopia. But l am particularly happy that Nigeria is doing well in the area of agriculture and the government is also supporting this growth. Nigeria is a beautiful place – good weather, good people and the government is also interested in improving the sector. It also has the resources to progress as a nation in the area of agriculture.
What is the role of research in Agriculture?
Research is mainly to develop technology that would enable farmers to increase yields and improve the quality of food or fiber or raw materials for industries. And just to give you a couple of examples. In the 80s, there was a pest called Cassava Lilyburg destroying Cassava in Nigeria and across Africa. This really affected the farmers as yields and income dipped considerably for farmers in the continent. This insect came from South America. And so our scientists went to South America and they found that there was a small insect that could kill the pest. So we brought it to Nigeria, tested it to make sure that it will not hurt any other plants in Nigeria and across Africa. When the result was positive, we released the insect. Since then, you cannot find Cassava Lilyburg anywhere in Africa because the little insect had wiped them out. That is research for you. Research helps in solving problems.

Can you also take us through some other major breakthrough recorded by IITA through research?
I will share two of such with you. We previously had one pest called Avisafe. This is a microorganism that attacks maize and groundnut and some other crops. But you unfortunately can’t see it, you can’t feel it and can’t even smell or touch it. It creates a toxin, a poison called Aflatoxm. We have developed through research, a new product to stop it. I don’t want to elaborate on this. Interested members of the general public as well as institutions should contact IITA. The second one is called Nijumex. This is for Soya beans farmers. It is a little black powder that contains an organism and when mixed properly by farmers with seeds for planting, the seeds grow 25 percent better than other seeds.
As a way of further contributing to the development of agriculture, is IITA involved in skill acquisition?
Yes. We are very much involved in skill acquisition and l am happy you asked that question. We started a programme called IITA Youth Agricprenuers Scheme about two and a half years ago. We started with a group of youth Corpers that finished their service year at that time with IITA. We invited them to a meeting and came up with a workable agreement. So what we do is to work with them and give them the right skills to become what we call Agroprenuers. This scheme has been very successful so far.
Are you in partnership with any institution, private or government in this regard?
Yes, we are into partnership with the federal government on its youth empowerment scheme. We are also in partnership with state governments in this regard. Specifically, we are into partnership with the Ondo State government’s youth agriculture training scheme. They have a centre located in Ore, Ondo State. The government has improved the infrastructure in the area and we have planted a lot of cassava and other crops with the youths. As for private partnership, we expect financial institutions like Sterling to come on board based on what the Bank is currently doing in the sector.
How would you assess government policy on Agriculture?
Good, in fact excellent. All that we need to do is to ensure that all these beautiful policies are well implemented. In Africa, we need to lay emphasis on agriculture. We also need to be consistent in our policy on agriculture.
Talking about the support of private sector for agriculture, you mentioned Sterling Bank earlier, how would assess contributions of Sterling Bank to the growth of the sector?
The commitment of Sterling Bank to the growth of agriculture in Nigeria is legendary. Despite the fact that the bank ventured into agriculture finance barely three years ago, it has received a lot of accolades in the sector, where it currently ranks among the top three banks. Like l said earlier, the delegation from the bank that visited me recently told me that the bank,in 2014, devoted five per cent of its loan portfolio to the sector and 10 per cent this year. This is great. The presentation of the award as the Best Bank in Commercial Agriculture Credit Scheme (CACS) to the bank by President Ebele Jonathan is a testimony of its soaring pedigree in the business of agriculture finance in the country.
Now to your background, when did you join IITA?
I have worked in IITA Ibadan for 21 years. I was here from 1983 to 2001 and left. I was delighted when l was offered a job to come back here three years ago.
You left IITA in 2001 and was reabsorbed three years ago. Any developments while you were away that caught your attention?
Yes, there were some positive changes that l noticed when l came back. For instance, l noticed that in the Northern part of the country- Kaduna, Kano, Katsina to be precise, there was a major transition as more farmers are now engaged in the production of maize while a lot of farmers adopted Soya Beans also as a major crop.

[ThisDay]

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