One of the priorities of the Federal Government is to diversify the economy mainly through agriculture and solid minerals development. Agriculture, in times past, was the mainstay of the Nigerian economy.
But, that changed with the coming of oil and its easy megabucks, on which the country subsequently over-depended. The times are bad now, and the wisdom in going back to agriculture is clear to all. Apart from our natural endowments in the sector, food remains the first need of man and no country can be regarded as great which cannot feed its citizenry. So, the clamour for a return to agriculture has been on for some time now, with the immediate past Goodluck Jonathan administration prioritising the cultivation of tubers, roots and cereals, especially cassava. Nigeria was restored to its prime position of being the biggest producer of cassava in the world.
The intensification of efforts to return agriculture to its former pride of place has continued under the present government. A solid vehicle for this drive has been the Anchor Borrowers Programme (ABP) of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). Under the ABP, emphasis has been placed on the development of seven main agricultural products – rice, cocoa, cashew, sesame seed, maize, palm produce and cotton. The successes recorded in this programme in the last two years have been amazing. The country is now moving from being a net importer of rice towards self-sufficiency in its production. Nineteen states have keyed into the ABP, with seven more expected to come on board this year. The initiative has led to the harnessing of the nation’s vast potential in rice, with varieties such as “ofada” and “Abakaliki” now popular across the country. We must strive to replicate this success with the other six products.
The real challenge, after attaining local food self-sufficiency, is how to add value to the raw agricultural products for the export market. There are ongoing efforts towards this goal. There is also emphasis on seed improvement, better land preparation, access to better and, sometimes, crop-specific fertilisers, access to credit facilities and general extension services for farmers.
For the farmer, it is very important that he is able to access loans at single digit interest rates, preferably five per cent. Reports of the extensive and revolutionary changes that governments in places like Brazil, Israel and the United States introduced for the growth of their agricultural sectors tell us that there is still a lot more our government can do to fully harness the potential in agriculture for the needed diversification and rapid growth of the economy.
Our farmers have to rapidly move away from manual to mechanised farming. The fact that we are still grappling with high food prices underscores this point. Although we have abundant labour, the more our farmers embrace modern practices and innovations in agriculture, the better our chances of optimising our potential in the sector. The strict enforcement of the import prohibition law with regard to some food items can be better sustained if we take advantage of our local capacity to grow them and adequately fill the present gaps in their supply.
This is why the recently announced provision by the CBN of a N500 billion agriculture loan to our farmers to boost local food production is welcome at this time. This is an area that requires the collaboration of all levels of government with other stakeholders to achieve the desired goal. The demand for our food products at home and abroad is growing and we must optimise our potential to feed our home population and exploit the export market for foreign exchange.
Crops like cashew, cassava, yams and banana can do much better in the international market if real value is added to them. Locally too, the wastages from these crops, fruits and vegetables like tomatoes, mangoes and onions must be curtailed through processing and proper packaging.
To achieve our dream of self-sufficiency in food production and boost exports, government must pay attention to the latest threat to food production and wholesome development of the agricultural sector – the herdsmen/farmers clashes. In the last few years, many traditional farming communities have been sacked from their ancestral homes and occupations, thus greatly impeding their capacity to grow food and contribute to the effort to feed the nation.
This is a grave danger to the successes achieved so far in agriculture. Let government summon the political will to find a lasting and permanent solution to the herdsmen menace and the threat it poses to our food production goals.