#GEJAchievements in Agriculture: Job Creation
Through our comprehensive Agricultural Transformation Agenda program, we have recorded many landmark achievements. Through agriculture we have created thousands of jobs across the country. The provision of inputs in 10 Northern states enabled dry season farming; and profitably engaged over 250,000 farmers and youths even during the dry season. #GEJAchievements Compare #Nigeriab4GEJ

#GEJAchievements in Agriculture: Boosting Economy through Agriculture Initiatives
Through our comprehensive Agricultural Transformation Agenda program, inflation fell to 7.8% in October 2013, its lowest since 2008, as a result of higher domestic food production. #GEJAchievements Compare #Nigeriab4GEJ

#GEJAchievements in Agriculture: Growth Enhancement Scheme
We launched the Growth Enhancement Scheme to provide targeted support for seeds and fertilizers to 5 million farmers per year or 20 million farmers within four years. Through the scheme, we are providing subsidized inputs to farmers via an e-Wallet program. In fiscal year 2013, an estimated 4.2 million farmers received subsidized inputs. As a result, in 2013, we produced 1.1 million metric tonnes of dry season rice across 10 Northern states; and over 250,000 farmers and youths in these states are now profitably engaged in farming even during the dry season. #GEJAchievements Compare #Nigeriab4GEJ

#GEJAchievements in Agriculture: Promotion of Private Sector Investments
We launched Staple Crop Processing Zones to support investments in the entire agricultural value chain. At present, there are significant private investment commitments from agribusiness ventures such as: Flour Mills of Nigeria, the Dangote Group, Syngenta, Indorama, AGCO, and Belstar Capital.
#GEJAchievements Compare #Nigeriab4GEJ

#GEJAchievements in Agriculture: Cassava Exploits
In 2012, 2.2 million metric tonnes of cassava chips were exported, exceeding the Agricultural Transformation Agenda’s target by over 100%, while the 40% substitution of cassava for wheat has been achieved through research and collaboration with the IITA and Federal Institute for Industrial Research. Similarly, there has been a decline in wheat imports to Nigeria from an all-time high of 4,051,000 MT in 2010 to 3,700,000 MT in 2012. #GEJAchievements Compare #Nigeriab4GEJ

#GEJAchievements in Agriculture: Reduction of Food Import Bill
Under our administration, Nigeria produced over 8 million metric tons of additional food. As a result, Nigeria’s food import bill reduced from N1.1 trillion in 2011 to N648 billion in 2012. Moreover, last year, we produced 1.1 million metric tons of dry season rice across 10 Northern states, employing over 250,000 farmers and youths in these states. #GEJAchievements Compare #Nigeriab4GEJ

#GEJAchievements in Agriculture: Training and Capacity Building
One of the key reform areas in our Transformation Agenda is agriculture. About 200 women in Benue State were trained on how to make compost for farming and 360 farmers in the same state, were trained on climate change adaptability in agriculture.
The environment and farming in Benue state got a boost from about 600 men and women in Benue state who participated in training on how to be environmentally better farmers.

#GEJAchievements in Agriculture: Environmentall Friendly Agriculture
We established community woodlots of 10 hectares each in Plateau and Kogi (10ha) states. We restored 10 hectares of degraded forest in Achareni Forest Reserves in Kogi state and rehabilitated 10 hectares degraded forest reserves in Niger state. Our administration also launched Presidential Initiative on Coastal and River Bank protection on flood in Asa River (Kwara State). We established two skill acquisition centres to train people on the fabrication of solar -powered grinding machines in Kaiama and Baruten in Kwara State. #GEJAchievements Compare #Nigeriab4GEJ

#GEJAchievements in Agriculture: Testimonial by Hajia Meimuna
My name is Hajia Meimuna. I am a widow and in my 60s. I have a farm that I inherited from my late husband. It was overflooded some years back, I lost all that I had put in it for that year and the next. Many people died, many of us lost our properties. When they told us that most of these problems in our area are mostly as a result of us not taking care of our environment, we have become wiser. Nobody should pray for that kind of flooding we experienced. So they have put some machines in our towns to tell us when a big flood will happen again, so we can all run where the floods will not get us. We thank Allah and we thank the government for being concerned about us. #GEJAchievements Compare #Nigeriab4GEJ

#GEJAchievements in Agriculture: Key Reforms and Achievements
When our administration came to office, Nigeria was spending annually on the import of wheat, rice, sugar and fish, alone. This put enormous pressure on the currency and of course, that situation was not sustainable fiscally, economically, and neither was it politically acceptable.
We started looking for a way to move Nigeria from a net food importer status to a net food exporting country, while ensuring domestic food production, and creating jobs, especially for the youth. Nigeria used to be a major player in global agricultural markets; however, our administration inherited Nigeria as one of the highest food importing countries in the world.

The good old days are coming back again, thanks to our Agricultural Transformation Agenda (ATA). The primary goal of our reform is to achieve rapid growth in the agricultural sector, ensuring food security, job creation, wealth creation and a diversified economy away from oil. #GEJAchievements Compare #Nigeriab4GEJ

#GEJAchievements in Agriculture: Ending Corruption Seed and Fertilizer Sectors
When we launched the reforms particularly the Growth Enhancement Scheme (GES) Scheme in 2012, we ended four decades of corruption in the seed and fertilizer sectors within 90 days. We ended direct procurement and distribution of seed and fertilizers by the government. Private sector seed and fertilizer companies now sell directly to farmers. We developed cell phone based system to send subsidies via electronic vouchers (e-wallets) directly to farmers via their cell phones. Nigeria is the first African country to develop the e-wallet for input delivery to farmers. We reached 1.5 million farmers and impacted 7.5 million people within the first one year. #GEJAchievements Compare #Nigeriab4GEJ

#GEJAchievements in Agriculture: Standardised Systems and Processes
We developed the first database of farmers. 4.2 million farmers were registered in 2012 and 10 million in 2013. Commercial banks lent N3.7 billion to seed companies and agro dealers. We recorded 0% rate of default on Growth Enhancement Scheme (GES) loans. Through our initiatives, quality of fertilizer and seeds produced domestically has been of high quality in the majority of cases as demonstrated by the increased productivity of farmers. #GEJAchievements Compare #Nigeriab4GEJ

#GEJAchievements in Agriculture: Increased Productivity
Rice yields of farmers participating in our Growth Enhancement Scheme have gone from 1.5MT to 3.5MT on average during the wet season and 4MT on average in the dry season. Maize yields of farmers participating in our Growth Enhancement Scheme have also gone up from 2MT to 3MT on average. Our dry season rice support policy, has led to the total production of high quality paddy and massive jobs creation as fields are jam-packed with workers. #GEJAchievements Compare #Nigeriab4GEJ

#GEJAchievements in Agriculture: Flood Recovery Food Production Plan
Out of an estimated 1,760,364MT of rice paddy production in 2012/2013, at least 1.1 million MT was harvested from 264,000 hectares of dry season rice in 2012 across the 10 northern States of Sokoto, Kebbi, Zamfara, Jigawa, Kano, Kogi, Niger, Bauchi, Kastina and Gombe using the Flood Recovery Food Production Plan. #GEJAchievements Compare #Nigeriab4GEJ

#GEJAchievements in Agriculture: Major Achievements in North-West Zone
Our reforms in agriculture and the real sector have led to great improvements in agriculture and manufacturing in the North West zone. There has been improved access to fertilizer, the number of seed companies in North-West region has increased, and over 370,000 thousand farmers in the region have been provided with critical farm inputs. We have developed and supported dry season rice cultivation. And to arrest desert encroachment and revive the ecosystem in the North West Zone, we have granted the sum of N10 billion to kick-start the Great Green Wall afforestation programme. #GEJAchievements Compare #Nigeriab4GEJ

#GEJAchievements in Agriculture: Value Chain Development
Agri-business and related value chain development is creating wealth and jobs in the North West zone. Our Growth Enhancement Scheme and other efforts aimed at encouraging private sector development have led to a rise in the number of private firms in the region producing key farm inputs such as seeds, pesticides, and herbicides—from only some six firms before the administration to about 65 by 2013. This has created thousands of direct and indirect jobs in the region. #GEJAchievements Compare #Nigeriab4GEJ

#GEJAchievements in Agriculture: Revolution in Rice Cultivation
Rice yield and cultivation in the North West have increased significantly. Our ATA has achieved a revolution in rice production and processing across the country as a result of which Nigeria is now on target for self-sufficiency in rice production. As at 2014, for instance, over 1.9 million hectares are cultivated in 22 states (this will amount to 10.45 million tonnes production, which is unprecedented in Nigeria’s history). #GEJAchievements Compare #Nigeriab4GEJ

#GEJAchievements in Agriculture: Increased Rice Production
The introduction of accelerated dry season farming in rice production in ten states, five of which are in the North West, has led to increased rice production. In the North West a total of 974 metric tons of paddy rice was cultivated, specifically: Jigawa 74,872 farmers produced 299,888mt of paddy rice; Kano 31,491 farmers produced 125,694mt of paddy rice; Katsina 3,334 farmers produced 13,336mt of paddy rice; Zamfara 32, 391 farmers produced 129,564mt of paddy rice; Sokoto 46,087 farmers produced 184,348mt of paddy rice; Kebbi State 55,473 farmers produced 221,892mt of paddy rice. Yield in rice has also improved from about three tons per hectare in 2010 to over five metric tons per hectare now as a result of the introduction of improved seeds. #GEJAchievements Compare #Nigeriab4GEJ

#GEJAchievements in Agriculture: Post-harvest Conservation and Processing
Under our administration at least seven private rice mills have been established, leading to the creation of more jobs in the North West zone. Better technology has been introduced by our administration to improve post-harvest conservation and processing of rice and reduce damage and impurities in paddy. We have allocated N10 billion (over $50 million) to support the creation of 17 new private rice-processing companies.
As a result of our Agricultural Transformation Agenda, there has been an upsurge of integrated rice mills across the country, including at least seven in the North West (compared to none before our administration). These include Labana Mills in Kebbi, IRS Mills in Kano, Umza Mills in Kano, Attajiri Rill Mills in Sokoto, Atahi Rice Mill in Jigawa State, Kare Hi-Tech Mill in Zamfara. These mills have created thousands of direct and indirect jobs in the zone. The Umza Mills located in Kura, Kano, which has 75,000mt per annum capacity, directly employs 260 staff, for example. #GEJAchievements Compare #Nigeriab4GEJ

#GEJAchievements in Agriculture: TESTIMONIAL BY GEORGE ZANGI:
My name is George Zangi, I work for Value Seeds as the President and Founder. We are in the business of agricultural research, seed production and seed distribution. I’ve been in this sector for more than two decades helping Nigerian farmers to have access to top quality seeds of improved varieties. In 2011, there were just a few companies then, say a handful, precisely not more than seven.
The Federal Ministry of Agriculture under the leadership of Dr. Akinwumi Adesina summoned a meeting of stake holders in the sector and presented a very robust program, He wanted to use that to help Nigerian farmers to improve access to top quality seeds by farmers. Until then the Ministry was rife with corruption and so many things were completely not okay, so we went there, and he said, “Look I understand your challenges, I understand what we should do to give you the enabling environment to flourish. We have called you so you can indicate your interest in going ahead with the Federal Government in Agricultural transformation.” It was welcome news. We were all willing and as he said he actually understood our weakness, our challenges which in the main had been finance and access to affordable funding.
Sincerely when he started we thought it was a joke, companies that could barely produce hundred tonnes, hundred and fifty tonnes, three hundred tonnes suddenly could access funds to produce bigger quantities, some of us doubled, others with bigger capacity tripled their turnovers and that was in the first year. 2011 was the formative year and he provided the linkage to banks; fortunately banks were willing to also go with the Federal Government in Agricultural Transformation and a few banks supported us the early seed companies and we got funding, affordable funding, and single digit interest rate. That is how the transformation journey started, all sectors and all players in the Agricultural sector were touched. #GEJAchievements Compare #Nigeriab4GEJ

#GEJAchievements in Agriculture: Increased Access to Farm Inputs
Focused implementation of our Agricultural Transformation Agenda (ATA) over the last four years has promoted a significant increase in farmers’ access to fertilisers and improved seeds. There was an increase in the number of farmers that use fertilisers, from 42.5% before our administration to 44.7% in 2013. There was a similar increase in the use of pesticides as they have become more available and cheaper for farmers in the zone. #GEJAchievements Compare #Nigeriab4GEJ

#GEJAchievements in Agriculture: Gains of Liberalisation
In 2012 when we launched the Growth Enhancement Support Scheme (GES), over 370,000 farmers in the North West were served with critical farm inputs. As at 2013, over 2.3 million farmers were served with seeds and fertilisers in the North West through the GES compared to zero before our administration. In addition, following the liberalisation of the sector, our support to the private sector has led to an increase in the number of private seed companies in the North West from only six, before the administration to 66 in 2013. This has increased farmers’ access to improved seeds and competition has also reduced prices and raised farm profits. #GEJAchievements Compare #Nigeriab4GEJ

#GEJAchievements in Agriculture: Cheaper Financing for Agriculture
Loans provided by banks through our Nigeria Incentive Based Risk Sharing for Agricultural Lending scheme (NIRSAL) under the Agricultural Transformation Agenda has been on the rise. A total of N18.01billion was lent to fertilizer and seed companies in 2014 by Banks/NIRSAL compared to N16.8billion that was lent to fertilizer and seed companies in 2013 and N5billion that was lent to fertilizer and seed companies by Banks/NIRSAL in 2012. Lending to agriculture increased from N128.4bn to N368.2bn by 2014 with farmers in the North West zone now having greater access to cheaper financing, under our NIRSAL. #GEJAchievements Compare #Nigeriab4GEJ

#GEJAchievements in Agriculture: Agricultural Lending Scheme
With the introduction of our Nigeria Incentive Based Risk Sharing for Agricultural Lending scheme (NIRSAL) under the Agricultural Transformation Agenda, commercial banks have been encouraged to lend to the entire agricultural value chain due to drastic reduction in the risks traditionally associated with such lending. Total commercial bank lending to agriculture has increased from N128.4 billion before our administration, to N368.2 billion by March 2014. #GEJAchievements Compare #Nigeriab4GEJ

@gej pls that is a very good one by gej and minister of agriculture, i want to ask you i am a young boy planing to go into agriculture this year how can i benefit from YOUTH EMPLOYMENT AGRICULTURAL PROGRAM (YEAP), i when to federal ministry of agriculture yesterday to make an enquire about the program non of them were able to tell me about it because they dont know anything about the program so i want to know access the fund the process and procedures of getting the fund. thanks GOD BLESS NIGERIA.

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nennin:
@gej pls that is a very good one by gej and minister of agriculture, i want to ask you i am a young boy planing to go into agriculture this year how can i benefit from YOUTH EMPLOYMENT AGRICULTURAL PROGRAM (YEAP), i when to federal ministry of agriculture yesterday to make an enquire about the program non of them were able to tell me about it because they dont know anything about the program so i want to know access the fund the process and procedures of getting the fund. thanks GOD BLESS NIGERIA.

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Try again. It is.

nennin:
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