Farmers under the umbrella of Moringa Productions, Marketers, and Farmers Welfare and Empowerment Association of Nigeria have called on the Federal and State Governments to encourage youths to engage in moringa farming as a means of job creation and economic empowerment for national development.

Speaking at a media briefing in Nyanya, Abuja, on Monday, the Association’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Ashimashiga Akoloaga, emphasized that moringa farming could contribute approximately $3.75 billion monthly to Nigeria’s economy if 50 million youths are supported to venture into its production. He urged the government to provide access to hectares of land and farm inputs to facilitate this process.

Dr. Akoloaga highlighted that promoting moringa farming would help address insecurity caused by youth unemployment, including banditry, kidnapping, ritual killings, and other social vices. He stressed that empowering citizens economically would reduce the need for the country to borrow funds for infrastructural development.

While underscoring the economic and health benefits of moringa, he noted that the plant serves as a raw material for pharmaceutical industries, food production, fertilizers, and animal feeds.

He further disclosed that the Association has started exporting moringa, capitalizing on the high global demand for Nigerian moringa due to its superior quality. According to him, moringa farming has huge foreign exchange potential and can also mitigate climate change and global warming through its cultivation.

To boost production and create more jobs, Akoloaga announced plans to introduce agricultural inputs, consultancy services, and equipment leasing by next year. He added that the Association provides loans to farmers at 9% interest rates and ensures the off-take of produce from its members and other farmers.

In his remarks, the Association’s Secretary-General and National Coordinator, Dr. Shuaibu Adamu, called on the government and stakeholders to support moringa cultivation as a tool for tackling youth unemployment and poverty.

Adamu also advised State Governments to avoid politicizing developmental issues, especially those impacting the welfare of citizens.

To strengthen its operations, the Association plans to organize an International Moringa Summit and conduct general elections at State, Local Government, and Ward levels to enhance its management and coordination nationwide.

By Friday Idachaba, Lokoja.

Kogi State is positioning itself to become the nation’s leading agricultural hub by 2025, according to the State’s Commissioner for Agriculture, Hon. Timothy Ojomah. Speaking after defending the Ministry of Agriculture’s 2025 budget at the Kogi State House of Assembly, Ojomah outlined the state’s plans to enhance its agricultural production, making it a significant player in the national and regional food supply.

Ojomah pointed to Kogi’s impressive performance in food production in 2024, despite the challenges of flooding in several local government areas.
He emphasized that the state is currently the top producer of cassava and cashew in Nigeria, with growing interest from buyers across the country. “The demand for Kogi’s agricultural products is a win for our local economy, empowering our people and boosting the state’s GDP,” Ojomah stated.

Looking ahead to 2025, Ojomah revealed that the government plans to expand agricultural production from 10,000 hectares to 50,000 hectares.
Key to this expansion is the focus on mechanized farming, supported by the World Bank’s Agro-Climatic Resilience in Semi-Arid Landscapes (ACReSAL) project.
This initiative will provide essential equipment like bulldozers, tractors, and excavators to support large-scale farming in the state.

In addition, the state government is refurbishing old farming equipment to make it accessible to farmers, helping transition from traditional subsistence farming to mechanized agri-business.
“Our vision is to make Kogi State a leader in food production, not only for Nigeria but for Africa,” Ojomah concluded.

The Cocoa Roundtable Initiative (CORI) has called on President Ahmed Bola Tinubu to provide strategic support for Nigeria’s cocoa industry, specifically requesting funding and the transformation of the National Cocoa Management Committee (NCMC) into a statutory board. This appeal, outlined in an open letter to the President, emphasizes the need to sustain and grow Nigeria’s cocoa economy by supporting critical regulatory bodies and providing subsidies to farmers.

The open letter, signed by CORI’s Director-General Comrade Adeola Adegoke, also urged the federal government to fund the National Task Force on the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) to safeguard Nigerian cocoa from potential sanctions by the European Union, which recently extended its deadline for sustainable cocoa compliance by another 12 months. According to CORI, adequate support for the Task Force would help address EU regulatory requirements, protecting Nigeria’s cocoa exports valued at billions of dollars.

CORI commended the significant progress made by the Nigerian cocoa sector in 2024. Data from the National Bureau of Statistics indicates a remarkable 304% increase in cocoa exports in Q1 2024, rising to N438.7 billion from N108.6 billion in the same period last year. Cocoa accounted for 42.4% of Nigeria’s N1.04 trillion agricultural exports, becoming a vital source of foreign exchange amid economic reforms.

Despite these gains, CORI stressed that the unregulated cocoa market has left smallholder farmers vulnerable to low productivity, post-harvest losses, and quality issues. The establishment of the NCMC by the previous administration in 2022 was seen as a positive step, but CORI argues that insufficient funding has limited the committee’s ability to carry out essential duties like quality control, climate resilience initiatives, and monitoring child labor.

“Funding constraints have undermined the NCMC’s ability to address critical issues and enhance Nigeria’s position in the global cocoa market,” said Comrade Adegoke. He also highlighted that, given President Tinubu’s campaign promise to establish regulatory boards for key agricultural commodities, cocoa deserves priority as a top foreign exchange earner and a source of livelihood for many rural farmers.

CORI is also calling for subsidized inputs to support smallholder farmers, believing that this would boost productivity and position Nigeria to overtake Côte d’Ivoire as the leading cocoa producer in West Africa by 2027. According to CORI, providing affordable resources and infrastructure could lead to transformative prosperity for Nigeria’s cocoa farmers.

The appeal concludes with CORI’s assurance of continued collaboration with all stakeholders to advance the Nigerian cocoa sector, deepening sustainable practices and ensuring prosperity for cocoa farmers. The initiative also calls upon governors of cocoa-producing states and other industry leaders to lend their support for the industry’s growth and sustainability.