PRODUCTION DEPARTMENT PROFILE.
- Production and marketing department is composed of 4 sub sectors ie crop,animal,fisheries, and entomology.
- Knowing that agriculture is a source of livelihood .
- Agro industrialization gives great opportunity for Municipal to embark on its long term aspiration of transforming into a modern industrial economy.
- Agro industrialization shall provide avenue for promoting equitable growth.
- Apac Municipal shall have a positive trade balance in agro industrial products .
- It provides an opportunity to add value to agricultural raw materials in order to promote export expansion of higher value products .
- Provides avenue for import replacement and helps to address the high post harvest handling, stabiliz prices, and increase household income.
- The backward and forward linkages between agriculture and agro industries will enable Municipal to sustainably transform agro value chains to ensure sufficient supply for domestic industries to undertake transformatives sustainable manufacturing while creating employment for our youth.
- The vision 2040 emphasis on the establishment of economic lifeline industries including agro based industries to drive agriculture towards increased productivity.
- The department is mandated to increase household food security, income and improve nutrition status, increase commercialization and competiveness of agricultural production and improve agro processing
- Greater population still depend on agriculture due to
- Low agricultural production and productivity
- Poor storage facilities
- Poor market access and low competitiveness for products in domestic and international markets
- Low value addition
- Limited access to agricultural financial services
- Poor coordination and inefficient institutions for planning and implementation of agro industrialization.
Key results to be achieved over the next five years.
- Increase the total export value of processed agricultural commodities such as dairy ,fish, meat, maize and it products from 5 million to 10 million
- Reduce the total value of imported cereals and cereal preparation , vegetables fats and oil from 5 million to 3 million
- Reduced dependence on subsistence Agriculture as main source of livelihood from 60% to 20%
- Increasing the agricultural sector growth rate from 40% to 60%
- Increasing labour productivity in the agro-industrial value chain from 50 to 100
- increasing number of jobs in agro-industry along the value chain from 100 to 200
- Increasing the proportion of households that are food secure from 60% to 85%
Review of Sector Development Situations:-
- Agricultural sector registered improved growth rate in the last five years
- Notable improvement observed in the food crop (maize,cassava, beans, grew at an average of 4 % and cash crop (sunflower,soya, cotton coffee grew at an average of 5%
All food crops have significant benefits for food security ,can be produced massively, drought reistand(cassava), potential for multiindustrial use and food security(maize) ,cassava can be stored for more two years underground to mitigate against seasonal effects
Apac Municipal top 10 agricultural crop commodities:-
- Cassava
- Maize
- Beans
- Groundnuts
- Simsim
- Soya beans
- Sunflower
- Horticultural crops
- Fruits
- coffee
Agriculture is also hampered by other factors such as
- Climate change /Unpredictable weather
- HIV/AIDS
- Domestic violence
- Disability
- Poor attitude towards agriculture/farming
- Old age
Constraints to performance of the crop sub-sector:-
- High post-harvest losses
- High costs of improved/appropriate technology
- High prevalence of pest and diseases
- Inadequate credit facilities
- High extension farmers ratio( 1:2,000)
- Inadequate logistical support
- Low adoption
- Predominant use of rudimentary tools.
- Lack of organized marketing
- Declining soil fertility
- HIV/AIDS
- Poor infrastructure
- Lack of accurate crop data base
Constraints to performance of the livestock sub-sector:-
- Inadequate disease and pest control
- Poor production chain linkages
- Low production and productivity
- Inadequate livestock data and information
- Poor implementation of Policies and regulations in the delivery of agricultural Services
Constraints to performance of the fisheries sub-sector:-
- Inadequate physical infrastructure (road network). This constrains access to markets
- Inadequate staff
- In adequate funding for fisheries management at community, Division and Municipality levels.
- Inadequate data and information leading to poor planning and decision making
- In adequate social services due to high increase in disease levels including HIV/AIDS among others.
- Lack of capacity building for staff in respect to trainings (short courses).
- Inadequate facilitation of staff in terms of transport and funds.
- High fish seed prices and unavailability making it difficult for farmers to afford
- High cost of fishing inputs favoring few individual fishermen rendering most fishermen developing a culture of non-selective exploitation.
- Limited skilled human resource for fish farmers leading to inadequacy of technology transfer to farmers.
- Wide spread of illegal fishing gears (i.e. seine nets, monofilament nets, small gillnets etc) and methods which capture substantial quantities of immature tilapia.
Constraints to performance of the Entomology Apiculture (Vector control Vermin control )sub-sector:-
- Constant destruction of honey bee habitats
- Destructions of honey bee forage plants
- Few farmers are yet exposed to modern apiary technology
- Honey sold in local markets have poor quality thus facing low prices
- Poor data available on bee keeping leading to poor planning and decision making
- Tsetse control facilities and fill equipment’s are too expensive
- Farmers are not aware on how to control vermin control
Analysis of the Sector Potentials, Opportunities, Constraints and Challenges (POCC):-
Review of previous plan performance:-
| Achievements | unfinished activities | Emerging needs |
| Livestock mket constructed in Agulu | Construction /Building of simple modern abattoir in Atik Division near Arocha market | Distribution of seeds |
| 22 ox ploughs plus 7 pairs of oxen distributed to farmers | two more grinding mills to be distributed to 2 farmer groups in Akere and Arocha. | Provision of nutritional kits to HIV patience |
| 3 grinding mills distributed to FGS | Rehabilitating of cattle crush at Arocha division | Radio jingles on FAB |
| 12 Dairy cows distributed to FG and 122 local dairy under restocking | Construction of the plant clinics in Akere Division | Distribution of agro chemical for pest control |
| OWC distributed fruits seedling to FGS | Construction of livestock market in Arocha divisions | Distribution of silos as storage facilities |
| 01 irrigation machine given to Atik FG | Construction of farmers store at the H/Q | Distribution of fingerlings to FG |
| 01 silo given to FG under DPMG | Purchase of one lap top | Distribution of improved bull for breeding purpose. |
