ALFRED DIXON (“Dr. Cassava”), [email protected] IITA.covenant-capital.org/website/downloads/agricseminar/Alfred Dixon... · Nigerian Youth Service Corps (NYSC) About 150,000 graduates

ALFRED DIXON (“Dr. Cassava”),

Project Leader, Cassava Weed Management

Project, IITA

[email protected]

• Head of the Partnership Coordination Office at

IITA.

• “Balogun Agbe”of Ikoyi, Osun State.

• Pioneer Director General of the Sierra Leone

Agricultural Research Institute, Sierra Leone.

• PhD in Agronomy (Kansas).

• MSc in Genetics (Kansas).

• BSc in Agriculture (Sierra Leone).

• (Co-)Authored 350+ scientific publications.

A member of CGIAR consortium www.iita.org

Addressing the Technological Constraints of Agribusiness in

Nigeria

An IITA presentation at the Covenant Capital Seminar: “SME Opportunities in Nigeria’s Agribusiness Value chain”, 22 August, 2015, The Covenant Place, Iganmu, Lagos.

Alfred Dixon PhDHead, Partnership Coordination & Leader,Sustainable Weed Management Technologies,

International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (II TA), Ibadan, Nigeria.


Presentation Outline1. IITA-Who We Are.2. Nigeria’s Huge Untapped Agricultural Potential.3. Youth Unemployment.4. IITA Youth Agribusiness Agripreneurs (IYA) Model. 5. IITA Business Incubation Platform (BIP).6. Cassava Value Chains.7. Concluding Remarks.


� Established in 1967.

� Our mission is to work with partners to help small holder farmers raise agricultural production and productivity, improve food security, and increase incomes in SSA.

� Mandate on cassava, maize, yam, soybean, banana/plantain, cowpea.

� Farming Systems in the Humid Tropics.

� Headquarters in Ibadan, Nigeria, with research Hubs in West, Southern, East, and Central Africa.

International Institute of Tropical Agriculture


Huge Untapped Agricultural Potential for Economic Gr owth in Nigeria.

• Nigeria is importing what it can produce in abundan ce.


Youth Unemployment: a Time Bomb

� Threat to national security.

Youth stampeding in Abuja Stadium for 5,000 immigration jobs.

IITA gate: casual work by graduates (accounting, mass media, ICT, engineer, etc).

• 23% unemployment rate in Nigeria, 60% of which are youth.


Latest Headlines for AfricaFrom “The hopeless continent – May 2000” … To “Africa rising –

Dec 2011”

Where are the Youths in this?


� Production system is smaller-holder, subsistence, fragmented and manual.

� Low Use Of Inputs.

� Rudimentary Technologies.

� Large Post-harvest Losses.

� Minimal Processing.

� Unreliable Supply

� Uneven Product Quality

� Low Producer Prices

� Costly Marketing Structure

Ageing farming population: Average age of farmers in sub-Sahara Africa is 60 years, underscoring the need for youth engagement in the Agric. sector.


Exploiting agribusiness to unlock jobsIITA’s vision for youths: Agripreneurs’ Initiative

Benefits of Youths Engagement in Agriculture• Reduction in unemployment.• Agricultural sustainability and future food security.

Youths: Untapped Resources in Agricultural Transformation


Creation of the IITA Youth Agripreneurs (IYA)Nigerian Youth Service Corps (NYSC)

About 150,000 graduates / year and 50-100 pass through IITA.

Their options:

� Absorbed by the job market.� Continue school at Master level.� Remain jobless (more than 50%).



Steering Committee

Partnership and Marketing

Administration and Logistics

Production and Operation

Marketing & Processing

Capacity Building

Communication, ICT and M&E

Roots, Tubers & Vegetables

Fisheries & Livestock

Cereals & Legumes

The IYA-Model � Acting as various units as an organization

(Organogram).

• Business Plans


Hypothesis� Agri-business can provide employment for youth’s

income of US$ 700 per month in three years.

� Youth will create an independent agribusiness enterprise.

� This model will be replicated in the IITA hubs and in SSA countries.


IYA’s strategyVision built on:

� Skills development in agriculture and Business Development Services.

� Access and use of improved technology and value chain options (cassava, maize, soybean, banana, vegetables, and fish, Livestock).

� Strategic alliances and partnerships at local, state, and continental levels.



Commodity Value Chain Groups Formed and Linked to Supervisors & Facilities


Agripreneurs Training in Crop Production and Agro-processing


Visit to Seed Companies and Link to Large Scale Processors


IYA – Crop Production Activities


Seed Processing Activities

Certified Maize Seeds Ready for Sale.


Vegetable Production Activities

•Over 10 types of vegetables cultivated: C/B- 1:20.


IYA – Fisheries Activities


Fish Revenues by the Agripreneurs


IYA Livestock Activities

• Established piggery.


IYA – Agro-processing Activities



IYA – Communication


Partnership, Resource Mobilization & Advocacy


AdvocacyAdvocacy


Replication of IYA in IITA HubsPan-African Youth Agripreneurs


Component 1 Agripreneurs! Novel approach of involving university-educated youths in agriculture

Component 2 Go Youth! Agribusiness capacity strengthening for skilled rural youths

Component 3 Youth for Youth! Networking of young agri business entrepreneurs

Component 4 Go Girls! Improvement in gender equity in agribusiness

Component 5 Go Learn! Introduction of practical skill s In agricultural education institutions

Component 6 Bank on Youth! Improving access to financial support

Component 7 Go Team! Efficient program management

Enable Youth Program

Road Map to a PanAfrican Program


Lessons Learnt�Mindset change of youth about agriculture.

�Counseling activities to motivate youth.

�Connect IYA to excellent source of technology and knowledge.

IYA can be formalized as a pillar of IITA BIP.



� Mechanization.

� Land acquisition and clearing.

� Rural infrastructure.

� Market information and linkages.

� Funding.

Challenges


Creation of IITA Business Incubation Platform (BIP)


IITA Business Incubation Platform


Aflatoxin Mitigation in Africa

� Death, liver cancer in Human.

� Impacts animal productivity.

� Negatively impacts trade.

Highly toxic Aspergillus flavusfungus in maize & groundnut.


AFLASAFE™: proven solution for controlling hazardous aflatoxins in cereals and grain legumes.


Aflatoxin Research by IITA


Inclusion of aflasafe™ on maize in Nigeria

� Beneficiaries: 200,000 farmers treat 0.5 ha = 100,000ha /yr.

� Returns:1.8 to 13.5% premium sale to poultry producers.

� Return on investment of up to 500%.


Product Types and Scale up in Africa

Aflasafe-West TM

Aflasafe-East TM

Aflasafe -South TM

National Products

Products registered/ready for registrationProducts under testing

Strain development in progress

Aflasafe-Nigeria TM

Aflasafe-Senegal TM

Aflasafe-Kenya TM etc…

Regional Products

Senegal Mali

BurkinaGhana

Nigeria

Kenya

Tanzania

Mozambique

Zambia


Potential annual export revenues assuming Nigeria maintained its 1961 market share*Measure: Millions of USD

Current export Oil Palm Cocoa Groundnut Cotton Potential export

revenue Potential additional export revenues† revenue* DoreoAnalysis, FAO

|

Potential annual export revenues


Nodulax ™: Legume inoculant product designed to increase biolog ical nitrogen fixation by grain, tree and forage legumes .


The Cassava Industry of Nigeria� Nigeria’s 2013 production of about 54 million metri c tones(MT)/annum (Global

leader) & expected to double by 2020 (FGN/UNCTAD,20 12; FAO, 2013).� Nigeria is not an active participant in cassava trade in the i nternational

markets: primarily subsistence in nature and unable to supp ort, industrial leveldemands.

Cassava Value Chains



Former President launched 40% High Quality Cassava Flour Bread by IITA on 30 November, 2011 and challenged the private sector to commercialize.


Annual Projected Number of Jobs in Primary ProductionMeasure: Thousands of Jobs

Annual Projected Number of Jobs in the Value ChainMeasure: Thousands of Jobs

Primary Production Jobs Value Chain Jobs

Cassava Job Creation Targets – 1.2 Million Jobs by 2015


• Youth constitute one of Africa’s biggest untapped r esources.

• Successful models exist for tapping youth potential in advancing the continent's agriculture.

• Evidenced-based policy support is crucial.

• With good training, exposure to good agricultural technologies and mentorship and institutional support, youths without fore-exposure to agriculture can be productively engaged in the agricultural sector.

• IITA available technical inputs will be valuable to assist in facilitating value chain development through strengthened partnerships .

Concluding Remarks


Youths need to take initiative and innovate positively!




Documents

ALFRED DIXON (“Dr. Cassava”), [email protected] IITA.covenant-capital.org/website/downloads/agricseminar/Alfred Dixon... · Nigerian Youth Service Corps (NYSC) About 150,000 graduates