Nasarawa: The Making of Agricultural Hub

Agriculture

Igbawase Ukumba writes that the recent inauguration of the Pandagric Novum in Nasarawa State, with an investment of over N10 billion, coupled with its position as one of the top poultry feed producers in Nigeria, under the watch of Governor Abdullahi Sule, is shaping the country’s agricultural future

The 1,200 hectares Pandagric Novum Farm, located in the Panda Development Area of Nasarawa State aimed at making Nasarawa State become a hub for agriculture business is what Nigeria needs to boost her drive for investment and employment generation for the people. 

 Recently inaugurated by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo in the company of Governor Abdullahi Sule, the project has no doubt added to one of the achievements Governor Sule who since his assumption of office less than four years ago, has triggered the state to enter into not less than 13 Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) arrangements, and as well implemented about eight business environment initiatives.

 The state, therefore, welcomed a plethora of investments, especially in the agricultural sector of the economy. For instance, Flour Mills of Nigeria has signed an agreement for the development of 20,000 hectares of sugarcane plantation and sugar industrial estate in Nasarawa around the Toto Local Government Area. That has an investment initially put at a minimum of $300 million. 

In the same vein, the state also has the prospects of different investors coming to invest generally in the agriculture sector ranging from rice production to sugar and cassava production among others. It was these developments in the state around the agricultural sector that birthed the Pandagric Novum Farm at Panda.

 In May 2018, the Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) and Signature Agri Investments executed a Joint Venture agreement to establish an agriculture-focused fund for the development of large-scale integrated projects across Nigeria. Therefore, Pandagric Novum became the flagship project under that joint venture and has been developed as a platform for diversification and a path to enhancing Nigeria’s protein consumption per capita.

Vote of Confidence

 While inaugurating the NASIA flagship project at Panda, Vice President Osinbajo poured eulogies on Governor Sule for the visionary zeal he had deployed in three and half years of his administration, and in making Nasarawa State the number one agriculture investment hub in the country.  

“I think the completion of this project is a tribute to his (Governor Sule’s) commitment to making this state a notable state for agriculture. We were here a few months ago for the Nasarawa Investment Summit and so many commitments that were made then were made on the account of the fact that many notable investors feel comfortable working in the state. 

 “It is clear that your support for this project is fundamental not just for completing it, but also in all that we are hearing today about the great potential for other investments,” he said. 

Vice President Osinbajo, who was a special guest of honour at the event, noted with optimism that the inauguration of the Pandagric Novum project was a foretaste of many possibilities and opportunities for investments in agriculture and other sectors in the country. He consequently called for more private sector investments in the agriculture sector, assuring that the federal government would continue to create the enabling environment to encourage more private sector investments in the agriculture sector.

 The NSIA’s massive investment in the agriculture value chain in the country spanning over 10 years was lauded by the vice president, hence reiterating the passion with which President Muhammadu Buhari believes in the role of agriculture as a key driver of job creation and economic growth of the country.

 “President Buhari passionately believes in the role of agriculture as a key driver of job creation and economic growth of Nigeria. The NSIA has over the last 10 years invested in different subsectors of the agricultural value chain. In 2014, we know the Fund for Agricultural Finance was established by the NSIA in partnership with the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.  

“In 2016, President Buhari set up the Presidential Fertiliser Initiative to address the problem of cost and availability of fertiliser. NSIA was enlisted by His Excellency as the project implementing entity,” the vice president reminded.

It will be noted that Governor Abdullahi Sule’s administration has established the Nasarawa State Infrastructure Fund (NSIF) not only to build savings for the state but also to de-risk private sector investment infrastructure by bringing some level of comfort to investors coming into Nasarawa State.

Stimulating Nasarawa’s Economy

His administration has been deliberate about stimulating the economy of the state, building people’s human capacities and creating wealth and jobs for the people. Instituting a range of reforms as a commitment to ensuring sustainable growth and development.

 Speaking at the inauguration of the Pandagric Novum project, the governor reiterated his administration’s keen interest in promoting agriculture, considering its immense economic impact. He identified agriculture as the top two key pillars of the industrial revolution being undertaken by his administration.

 “Indeed, our state is fast becoming a home for agribusiness and playing host to several key agricultural ventures that continue to boost economic activities in our state. Agriculture is critical to achieving the aspirations of my administration. The competitiveness of Nasarawa is also tied to the agricultural sector given its huge arable land mass, available cheap labour, as well as a high proportion of smallholder farmers that can easily be activated to scale up connectivity to key states in the North Central Zone, especially the FCT.”

 The Nasarawa governor, therefore, expressed appreciation that Pandagric Novum, with the National Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) as the core Investor, has acquired about 3,500 hectares of land for maize and soybeans farming in Panda. Even though Nasarawa State was yet to be considered as one of the top ten states when it comes to maize production in Nigeria, however, Governor Sule pointed out that with the investment by Pandagric Novum, the state can now claim to be one of the top states in maize production in the country.

Caring for Smallholder Farmers 

He particularly appreciated that Pandagric Novum was not only targeting to harvest 10 tonnes of maize per hectare in line with international standards but that the company afforded local smallholder farmers to produce about five tonnes per hectare, instead of the 1.5 tonnes they usually harvest.

 “The biggest for us is the area of training that you (Pandagric Novum) have continued to train our local people. Today, they are also becoming farmers not only in the area of cultivation but also in the area of agriculture revolution,” Governor Sule maintained.

 For the immediate past Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA), Mr. Uche Orji, Nasarawa State was the best-kept secret in agriculture. Orji pointed out that Nigeria’s agricultural sector has largely been dominated by subsistence farmers and farming over the years, hence NSIA strongly believed that with improved modern methods, seedlings and better weather forecasting methods, agricultural yields could continue to grow.

 “The NSIA as an investment institution of the federal government has a mission to play a leading role in driving sustained economic development for the benefit of all Nigerians. The agency aims to develop the Nigerian agriculture sector enough to ensure increased production towards the satisfaction of local demand, as well as the development of requisite infrastructure to ensure improved product quality, facilitate import substitution and provide a driver of foreign exchange earnings from the exportation of agriculture produce,” Orji stated.

 The Nigerian agricultural sector is set for a boost to become a major global player in food production, processing, packaging and export as an agricultural giant. Pandagric Novum planned to upscale and make Nigeria a net exporter of maize with state-of-the-art technology and techniques, Managing Director of the Pandagric Novum, Bruce Spain, made the revelation at a media chart to herald the inauguration of the Pandagric Novum project.

 Spain, who was optimistic about the capacity of his company to galvanise Nigeria’s agricultural sector, explained that Pandagric Novum was poised to redefine the future of agriculture in Nigeria through its innovative farming practices that have been developed to guarantee increased yields and food sufficiency. 

He said: “As a company, we have developed crop cultivation and management protocols for achieving the highest yields. We have invested heavily in testing and trials over the years and have discovered improved crop nutrition practices to get the best growth and yield results.