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BUSINESS | AGRIC
Sanctity of Truth
Friday, June 20, 2014
Agric ministry may be renamed – Adesina REBRANDING The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to bear new name soon
T
he Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development is looking forward to rebranding and this is coming with a name change, New Telegraph can confirm. Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr Akinwunmi Adesina, said at a press briefing in Lagos that the ministry may soon be renamed. Adesina said that President Goodluck Jonathan is giving
the name change a serious consideration. He said that there is the need to rebrand agriculture in Nigeria, because branding can go a long way in changing orientation. The minister said that the name change would enable people know that the sector is a collection of different businesses. Adesina also spoke about opportunities available for the establishment of co-investment and joint ventures between Nigeria and Kenya, disclosing that a meeting has been scheduled to hold on June 30 to discuss how Kenya can do the agribusiness in Nigeria. The minister has called on the private sector to come up with advocacy groups that
will make investors accept the new face of agriculture and reminded stakeholders about the need not to personalise issues relating to agricultural management. Said he: “The sector is not mine; it is where it is as result of the collective effort from you all. You will realise that there will be a huge difference when you all keep talking about the difference you intend to see in the agricultural sector.” The minister charged the private sector to be factual and progressive in its engagement on issues. “You should be able to get Nigerians to understand how things have changed, why things have changed and the direction we need to go in the sector, ”Adesina advised.
The Nigerian Agribusiness Group (NAG) after a meeting with the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr Akinwunmi Adesina, in Lagos recently
Varsity trains 120 farmers in Ogun Kunle Olayeni Abeokuta
he Agricultural Media ReT(AMREC) sources and Extension Centre of the Federal Univer-
sity of Agriculture, Abeokuta (FUNAAB), has empowered no fewer than 120 farmers with skills in integrated agriculture, value addition and marketing of agricultural products as well as agricultural financing. The empowerment was implemented during a pre-season training organised for farmers drawn from the four agricultural zones of Ogun State. Coordinated by the AMREC Director, Professor Carolyn Afolami, the event was attended by the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Development), Professor Felix Salako, who represented the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Olusola Oyewole; and General Manager, Ogun State Agricultural and Multipurpose Credit Agency (OSAMCA), Mr. Samuel Adeogun. Others were the representative of the General Manager, Ogun State Agro Services Corporation; representative of the Justice Development and Peace Mission (JDPM), Mr. Oluwafisayo Adesanya; representative of the National Agricultural Seeds Council (NASC), and farmers’ representatives. In his address, the Vice Chancellor expressed delight at the theme of the training, “Integrated agriculture for the promotion of food security,” which, he said, will assist farmers in combating hunger and poverty in Nigeria. He expressed the hope that the training will further strengthen collaboration between the university and stakeholders in the agricultural sector. Professor Oyewole opined that training and re-training of farmers is central to enhanced productivity among them and implored the farmers to take
Cargill sees 2013/14 cocoa deficit A
gribusiness Cargill expects a global cocoa deficit in 2013/14 with potential for another to follow in the coming year, its president of cocoa and chocolate told Reuters. Speaking on the sidelines of the World Cocoa Conference in Amsterdam, Jos de Loor said that Cargill expects a smaller 2013/14 deficit than the 75,000 ton shortfall forecast by the International Cocoa Organization (ICCO), but declined to give an exact figure. Expectations of a cocoa deficit have helped push up cocoa prices this year, with ICE cocoa hitting a near three-year peak of $3,119 per ton penultimate Thursday. If cocoa prices remain at these levels or higher into 2014/15, he said: "there is a price elasticity question there." After several years of chocolate consumption growth above the historical trend of 2 to 3 per cent, de Loor said that the pace
of growth was expected to slow. "In 2014/15 we will see a decrease compared to where we were over the last couple of years," said de Loor. "We are still positive about consumption long term; we think that we will continue to grow at 2 to 3 percent."
Cargill is one of the world's top cocoa processors. Processing margins have come under pressure in recent months, partly due to firm prices on the physical cocoa market, causing some processors reduce their factory operations. There's also an ongoing issue of global overcapacity. "Processing margins have been going down, that's clear," de Loor said. "You already see some response." The profitability of cocoa processors depends on the combined cocoa ratio, which is based on sales prices for cocoa butter and powder relative to bean prices.
When a cocoa bean is processed it makes roughly equal parts butter and powder. Cocoa powder demand rose sharply a couple of years ago, driven by emerging market demand for chocolate flavoured products including beverages, ice cream, biscuits and cakes, before high prices choked off demand. Powder prices are now trading at a historically wide discount to butter. "I think it would be good if both products are bearing their fair share of the price. It will adjust at a certain stage, the question is when," de Loor said, adding that low powder prices would have a positive impact on demand. "We expect that the increase in powder demand will be bigger than the increase in butter demand in 2014/15." Future supply More than half of the world's
cocoa comes from the top two growers Ivory Coast and Ghana. The biggest growth potential for future supply is in Indonesia and Latin America, de Loor said. Indonesia, the world's third largest grower, has seen output decline in recent years partly driven by problems with disease. Cargill shares the general market view that Indonesia's 2013/14 crop will be 400,000 to 415,000 tons, de Loor said. This is down from around 450,000 tons the previous year. "Indonesia will have challenges in order to get production up given the trend," de Loor said. "If we look to South America, from a production perspective that is very promising - it's growing in Peru, Brazil and Ecuador." Cargill's cocoa operation's future growth could come from a combination of acquisitions and organic growth, de Loor said. "There are many opportunities for us besides growing in cocoa to grow in (industrial)
full advantage of the training to broaden their knowledge base for improved agricultural production and healthy living. AMREC Director, Professor Afolami, in his speech, said that the centre had started disbursement of short term loans to interested farmers in FUNAAB catchment area. She observed that the agricultural sector of the Nigerian economy was facing challenges which require urgent efforts from stakeholders for its transformation, adding that the training was timely, urging farmers to embark on integrated agriculture in order to benefit from the full potential of combination of agricultural enterprises with a view of alleviating poverty and ensuring food security in Nigeria. The don stressed the need to have access to high quality agricultural inputs, finances, efficient technologies and proper farm management techniques. Professor Afolami, therefore, sought the support of various agro-allied arms of governments to make their services available and accessible to farmers in order to improve agricultural production. She noted that the training would be an eye opener for the farmers by building their capacity in integrated agriculture, agricultural seeds production, value addition and marketing of agricultural produce. At the training, farmers were linked with agricultural inputs service delivery organisations in Ogun State and exposed to modern management of various agricultural production enterprises for increased income and improved livelihood. The representative of the farmers, Alhaji Oladunjoye Akorede, commended AMRECFUNAAB for organising the pre-season training, saying that it would boost farmers’ production.
chocolate and compound." In April Cargill's competitor Archer Daniels Midland said it wants to sell its chocolate business. Asked if Cargill could be interested, de Loor said: "If there are consolidation opportunities we will always look at it, if there are no opportunities but there are opportunities for organic growth then we will go for organic growth." Earlier this week CME Group confirmed plans to launch a London-based cocoa contract. (ID: nL5N0OQ2WF) De Loor said that as liquidity was crucial to its success and cocoa is a small market it was unclear whether the market could support three contracts. "It's a relatively small market with a relatively low liquidity and by adding another exchange I don't think that will help to increase liquidity. For all the players in the market liquidity is absolutely key," de Loor said.