Shonga Farms is made up of 13 commercial farmers invited by the government of Kwara State, Nigeria, to revolutionize agriculture in the state as well as promote job creation, improve productivity and enhance food security. [1] The Shonga Farms were taken over by Assets Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) due to about N1.7bn debt by the Farm. [2]
The Government of Dr. Bukola Saraki in a bid to revitalize the agricultural sector in Kwara State instituted the Back-to-Farm Project. This project was meant to encourage commercial agriculture in the state. The government cleared large hectares of land, procured agricultural inputs like fertilizers, herbicides and insecticides, and distributed lands to farmers. The Back-to-Farm project recorded 14 percent success, for various reasons, including inadequate commercial farming experience on the part of the farmers. [3]
It was a learning experience for the Kwara State government which decided to seize the opportunity of the situation in Zimbabwe, where white farmers were being displaced by the Zimbabwean government, to offer the farmers an opportunity to farm in Kwara. The bold step was met with a lot of enthusiasm by a lot of the Zimbabwean farmers and led to the development of the pilot scheme, Shonga Farms involving 13 farmers, who have now relocated and settled in Shonga, Kwara State. The farmers were each given 1,000 hectares of land under a 25-year renewable lease for commercial farming purpose. [4]
The state government provided the initial equipment for land clearing and guaranteed initial credit facilities for the farmers. The government compensated the local community and further gave them incentives, in addition to relocating them to some other lands to farm. [5]
The Kwara state decided to invite the Zimbabwean farmers in order to meet the state's food requirement, produce raw materials for its agro-allied industries, and also produce for export. The state also embarked on this project because of its enormous job creation potentials.[ citation needed ]
Shonga Farms Holding Limited (SFH) was incorporated as a Special Purpose Vehicle to facilitate public-private partnership in respect to the commercial farming project of Kwara State Government under the leadership of the Governor, Dr. Bukola Saraki. SFH was specifically established to finance activities in the farm. The five banks involved in the financing of this initiative are Guaranty Trust Bank, Intercontinental Banks, Unity Bank, Fin Bank and Bank PHB. The banks own seventy-five percent equity while the state government owns twenty-five percent equity.[ citation needed ] The Shonga Farms Holding on the other hand owns sixty percent equity in each of the 13 farms, leaving the farmers with forty percent equity. [6]
The Shonga Farms Holding Nigeria Limited, through its subsidiaries engages in mixed, dairy, and poultry farming. It produces commercial crops such as maize, rice, cassava, ginger, soya bean, milk and poultry meat. The company is an independent entity of its own, separate from the state government.[ citation needed ] [7]
The Shonga farms have greatly enhanced food production in Kwara State. Currently[ when? ], the Farm's chicken processing plant produces 2,500 processed frozen chickens per day, but at full operational capacity will produce 10,000 chickens per day. Also the dairy farm has the capacity to process up to 50,000 liters of milk per day. [8] The farm's priority is to focus on serving the local market of Kwara State before other states.[ citation needed ]
The farm supplies 2500 liters of raw milk to WAMCO [9] (producers of PEAK MILK) daily. [10] The poultry farm, whose facility has the capacity for 12 million broiler chickens per annum, currently supplies chicken to the fast food company Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) in Lagos. [11] It also supplies bananas to the retail store Shoprite. [12]
The success of Shonga Farms has led to several new developments in Kwara State. Through the farm alone, up to 3,000- 4,000 are employed during the harvesting season. [13] The residents in the neighboring villages now enjoy power supply, water and access to healthcare facilities. Several investors like WAMCO and Olam are currently operating in Kwara State, creating employment opportunities for its residents, while several others are showing interest in investing in the Kwara state agricultural sector.[ citation needed ]
The Shonga Project is centered on three farming activities; mixed farming, [14] dairy farming [15] and poultry farming. [16]
| Farm | Specialty/capacity | Produce |
|---|---|---|
| Hatty Farms Ltd | cassava farming | |
| Hellam Farms | cassava cultivation and processing | fufu, flour, garri |
| Mafunzario Farms Ltd | cereal crops | maize, soya bean, ginger |
| Wona Farms Ltd | cereal crops | maize, soya bean, ginger, rice |
| Helton Estate Farms | capacity of over 1800 L of raw milk/day | raw milk |
| Pine Leigh Farms Ltd | capacity of over 1800 L of raw milk/day | raw milk |
| Danjen Farms Ltd | capacity of over 1800 L of raw milk/day | raw milk |
| New Ventured Ltd | capacity of over 1300 L of raw milk/day | raw milk |
| Rosedale Farms Ltd | capacity of over 2000 L of raw milk/day | raw milk |
| Carpe Diem Farms Ltd | poultry meat, soya bean | |
| Dixie Farms Ltd | poultry meat, soya bean | |
| Rihunt Farms Ltd | poultry meat, soya bean | |
| Time-P Farms Ltd | poultry meat, soya bean |
A farm is an area of land that is devoted primarily to agricultural processes with the primary objective of producing food and other crops; it is the basic facility in food production. The name is used for specialized units such as arable farms, vegetable farms, fruit farms, dairy, pig and poultry farms, and land used for the production of natural fiber, biofuel, and other commodities. It includes ranches, feedlots, orchards, plantations and estates, smallholdings, and hobby farms, and includes the farmhouse and agricultural buildings as well as the land. In modern times, the term has been extended so as to include such industrial operations as wind farms and fish farms, both of which can operate on land or at sea.
Free range denotes a method of farming husbandry where the animals, for at least part of the day, can roam freely outdoors, rather than being confined in an enclosure for 24 hours each day. On many farms, the outdoors ranging area is fenced, thereby technically making this an enclosure, however, free range systems usually offer the opportunity for the extensive locomotion and sunlight that is otherwise prevented by indoor housing systems. Free range may apply to meat, eggs or dairy farming.
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Abubakar Bukola SarakiMBBS is a Nigerian politician who served as the 13th president of the Nigerian Senate from 2015 to 2019. He was elected the President of Nigeria’s 8th Senate on 9 June 2015 under the All Progressives Congress (APC).
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Intensive animal farming, industrial livestock production, and macro-farms, also known as factory farming, is a type of intensive agriculture, specifically an approach to animal husbandry designed to maximize production while minimizing costs. To achieve this, agribusinesses keep livestock such as cattle, poultry, and fish at high stocking densities, at large scale, and using modern machinery, biotechnology, and global trade. The main products of this industry are meat, milk and eggs for human consumption.
Many farmers in India depend on animal husbandry for their livelihood. In addition to supplying milk, meat, eggs, wool, their castings (dung) and hides, animals, mainly bullocks, are the major source of power for both farmers and dairies. Thus, animal husbandry plays an important role in the rural economy. The gross value of output from this sector was 8,123 billion Rupees in FY 2015–16.
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