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AfDB boss,Adesina reveals how to make agriculture work for Africa and the world
I would like to thank you Louise for your very kind invitation and your gracious comments. I would also like to congratulate Wageningen University & Research on its 100th anniversary. Wageningen is one of the best universities in agriculture in the world. As Professor Louise Fresco will tell you, “it is the best.” Oh well, I am not going to disagree with my big sister. Hearty congratulations!
Louise you have called us into a discussion to talk about what is extremely critical to our world. Let us just all be clear that there are certain things we should never get used to. The abnormal should never become normal. Not having food is abnormal.
https://iso.keq.mybluehost.me/nigeria-zero-hunger-forum-proffer-steps-to-end-hunger/
In the world today, the number of hungry people has increased from 777 million in 2015 to 815 million people in 2016. In the case of Africa, climate change will add an additional 38 million people that are hungry by 2050, according to the International Food Policy Research Institute. Let’s also be clear, we are not yet winning the war against global hunger and malnutrition.
We have a moral responsibility to tackle this problem. It’s one that we can collectively address. In the case of Africa, there is absolutely no reason for food insecurity on the continent.
Africa has 65 percent of all uncultivated arable land in the world to feed 9 billion people by 2050.
Therefore, what Africa does with agriculture will determine the future of food in the world. The greatest agenda we have is how to unlock Africa’s agricultural potential. As my late mentor, Dr. Norman Borlaug used to say, “you cannot eat potential.’
Let’s talk about the opportunities in agriculture.
First and foremost is the size of food and agribusiness in Africa, which will be a one trillion-dollar industry by 2030. Quite naturally, this is a money-making sector to help not only to feed Africa, but also to create an enormous amount of wealth for Africa. The irony is that Africa is spending US$35 billion on food imports each year, which if nothing is done will rise to 110 billion dollars by 2020.
Just think of the Savannas of Africa. There are 400 million hectares of Savannah, of which only 10% is cultivated. That is, a mere 40 million hectares.
https://iso.keq.mybluehost.me/unleashing-the-great-potential-of-africas-youth-to-achieve-sustainable-development/
If Africa can get the right tech to raise productivity, transform its savannahs, turn agriculture into a business and address the issue of nutrition – Africa can feed itself in 10 years and contribute to feeding the world in the years to come.
What is the African Development Bank doing to unlock that potential?
- The Bank has launched the Feed Africa strategy, investing US$24 billion in agriculture over the next 10 years. Our focus is scaling up technology to reach millions of farmers.
- As part of this plan, the Bank is building and developing agricultural value chains that will allow Africa to process and add value to everything it produces.
- Third, we support the production, distribution and availability of nutritious food to address malnutrition and stunting and finally,
- Turn agriculture into a wealth creating sector and not one for managing poverty.
Key programs we have rolled out.
- Technologies for African Agricultural Transformation (TAAT). This is a billion-dollar initiative the Bank is working on with several partners, including the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIR), the private sector, the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA). TAAT is focused on making sure that existing technologies that can transform agriculture are taken off the shelves; We seek to impact 40 million farmers with different commodities. TAAT is about technology without borders, and we have rolled out the program in 15 countries.
- The second key program is Enable Youth. This is an innovative strategy for getting younger people interested in agriculture. Better still, investing in a new generation of young commercial farmers, agribusiness entrepreneurs to make agriculture cool and attractive and we are investing a US300 million in 5 countries.
- The third area of our investment is the African Leaders for Nutrition program, which is endorsed by African Union with a goal of developing an African nutrition index to rate and rank countries in terms of their progress on nutrition. The point here is to have political accountability on nutrition, because we know the solution to it and we want it to be scaled up. And to eliminate the scourge that has afflicted 54 million children today.
- I would like to say something about the savannahs. We have launched an initiative to transform Africa’s savannahs using the best technology available and we have started in five countries already including 10,000 ha in northern Ghana.
- And finally, we are investing in the idea of Staple Crop Processing Zones that will impact rural economies, enabling investments in infrastructure like power, water, and roads that will support private agribusiness and agro allied industries to be located in and around the rural areas. This will add value to agricultural products and turn rural economies from zones of economic misery to zones of economic posterity via agricultural industrialization.
- In conclusion, I believe these initiatives will help us significantly raise agricultural productivity and change the perspective on agriculture. They will get young people into agriculture, help to focus on the cultivation of nutritious foods and structurally transform agriculture into a dominant sector for food and nutrition security. The productive base of African economies will also be diversified even as they become competitive in the global markets through value addition to everything that they produce.
- At the end of the day, it is all about having partners on board, and involving stakeholders in the private sector, the CGIR, national governments, civil society, universities and research institutions, financial institutions, multilateral and bilateral donors.
I just want to say that what the Bank does is in alignment with the development policy of the Netherlands. I am delighted to be here in the Netherlands with a great partner in agriculture.
We will build a bigger alliance to ensure zero hunger in Africa.
The House of Representative member representing Ibarapa East/Ido Federal Constituency, Oyo State, Engr. Aderemi Oseni has felicitated with Barrister Akeem Agbaje, a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), on his birthday.
Oseni, who also chairs the House Committee on Federal Roads Maintenance Agency (FERMA), in a statement by his media aide, Idowu Ayodele, described the celebrant as a man of integrity and an accomplished legal practitioner whose contributions to politics and governance in the state remain exemplary.
He commended the APC stalwart for his unwavering commitment to democratic ideals and party development, adding that his leadership qualities and dedication to service had earned him respect across political and professional circles.
“Barrister Akeem Agbaje is a brother and friend whose wisdom, integrity, and passion for public service stand out. He has remained one of the pillars of support for our great party and has consistently championed policies that uplift the people,” Oseni said.
The lawmaker lauded Agbaje’s efforts in mentoring young professionals and supporting initiatives that promote education and youth development, noting that his impact extended beyond politics.
Oseni prayed for his continued success, good health, and prosperity.
Nigeria’s Net Foreign Exchange Reserve (NFER) reached $23.11 billion by the end of 2024, marking the highest level in over three years. This significant rise reflects improved external liquidity, reduced short-term obligations, and renewed investor confidence.
According to a statement from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the latest figure represents a remarkable increase from $3.99 billion at the close of 2023, $8.19 billion in 2022, and $14.59 billion in 2021.
NFER provides a more accurate measure of the country’s foreign exchange buffers by adjusting gross reserves to account for near-term liabilities such as FX swaps and forward contracts. Alongside this, Nigeria’s gross external reserves also grew to $40.19 billion from $33.22 billion at the end of 2023.
The CBN attributed this reserve expansion to strategic measures aimed at reducing short-term foreign exchange liabilities, notably swaps and forward obligations. The central bank also credited the improvement to policy actions designed to rebuild confidence in the FX market and enhance reserve buffers, bolstered by increased foreign exchange inflows from non-oil sources.
“This improvement in our net reserves is not accidental; it is the outcome of deliberate policy choices aimed at rebuilding confidence, reducing vulnerabilities, and laying the foundation for long-term stability,” stated CBN Governor Olayemi Cardoso. “We remain focused on sustaining this progress through transparency, discipline, and market-driven reforms.”
Despite seasonal and transitional adjustments in the first quarter of 2025, including significant interest payments on foreign-denominated debt, the CBN noted that the underlying fundamentals remain strong. The bank expects reserves to continue strengthening over the second quarter of the year.
Looking ahead, the CBN anticipates a steady increase in reserves, supported by improved oil production levels and a more favourable export environment. These factors are expected to enhance non-oil FX earnings and diversify external inflows.
“The CBN remains committed to prudent reserve management, transparent reporting, and macroeconomic policies that support a stable exchange rate, attract investment, and build long-term resilience,” the statement concluded.
President Bola Tinubu has approved a major shake-up in the leadership of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, removing the Chairman, Chief Pius Akinyelure, and the Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO), Mallam Mele Kyari.
In a statement released in the early hours of Wednesday by Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President (Information & Strategy), Tinubu announced the removal of all board members who were appointed alongside Akinyelure and Kyari in November 2023.
The newly constituted 11-member board will be led by Engineer Bashir Ojulari as the new GCEO, while Ahmadu Kida takes over as Non-Executive Chairman.
Also appointed to the board is Adedapo Segun, who replaced Umaru Ajiya as Chief Financial Officer in November 2023. The board includes six non-executive directors representing Nigeria’s geopolitical zones. They are:
Bello Rabiu (North West)
Yusuf Usman (North East)
Babs Omotowa (North Central), former Managing Director of Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG)
Austin Avuru (South-South)
David Ige (South-West)
Henry Obih (South-East).
Additionally, Mrs Lydia Shehu Jafiya, Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Finance, will represent the ministry, while Aminu Ahmed will represent the Ministry of Petroleum Resources.
The appointments take effect from 2 April 2025.
President Tinubu invoked Section 59, Subsection 2 of the Petroleum Industry Act (2021) to justify the board’s restructuring, emphasising the need to enhance operational efficiency, restore investor confidence, boost local content, drive economic growth, and advance gas commercialisation and diversification.
He also mandated the new board to conduct a strategic portfolio review of NNPC’s operations and joint venture assets to align with value-maximisation objectives.
Since assuming office in 2023, President Tinubu has pushed reforms aimed at attracting investments into Nigeria’s oil sector. In 2024, NNPC reported $17 billion in new investments. The administration now targets $30 billion in investments by 2027 and $60 billion by 2030.
Furthermore, the government aims to increase crude oil production to two million barrels per day by 2027 and three million barrels per day by 2030. Gas production is also projected to rise to eight billion cubic feet per day by 2027 and 10 billion cubic feet by 2030.
Similarly, the new board has been tasked with increasing NNPC’s share of refined crude oil output to 200,000 barrels per day by 2027 and 500,000 barrels per day by 2030.
The new NNPC Board Chairman, Ahmadu Kida, hails from Borno State. A graduate of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, he earned a civil engineering degree in 1984 and later obtained a postgraduate diploma in petroleum engineering from the Institut Francaise du Petrol (IFP) in Paris.
Kida began his career at Elf Petroleum Nigeria before joining Total Exploration and Production in 1985. He rose to become Total Nigeria’s Deputy Managing Director of Deep Water Services in 2015 and, in 2024, served as an Independent Non-Executive Director at Pan Ocean-Newcross Group. Beyond the oil sector, Kida is a former basketball player and served as President of the Nigerian Basketball Federation (NBBF).
Engineer Bashir Ojulari, the newly appointed GCEO, hails from Kwara State. Before this appointment, he was Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Renaissance Africa Energy Company. He recently led a consortium of indigenous energy firms in acquiring the Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria (SPDC) in a landmark $2.4 billion transaction.
Ojulari is also an alumnus of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, where he earned a degree in Mechanical Engineering. He began his career at Elf Aquitaine as Nigeria’s first petroleum process engineer before joining Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria in 1991. Over the years, he held key roles in Europe and the Middle East as a petroleum engineer, strategic planner, field developer, and asset manager. In 2015, he became the Managing Director of Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company (SNEPCO). He has also served as chairman and board trustee member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE Nigerian Council) and is a fellow of the Nigerian Society of Engineers.
President Tinubu expressed appreciation to the outgoing board members for their contributions to NNPC Limited, particularly their efforts in rehabilitating the Port Harcourt and Warri refineries, which resumed petroleum production after prolonged shutdowns.
He wished them success in their future endeavours.
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