Nigeria is still dragging to reform its land tenure system and provide critical infrastructures needed to boost agricultural productivity despite numerous campaigns on diversification through the sector.
The economy decelerated to a 25-year low in 2016, after oil revenue collapsed the country’s main foreign exchange earner thus, making the Federal Government pick unwavering interest in the agricultural sector as the country attempts revenue diversification and import substitution.
According to Stakeholders for Nigeria to build a virile agric sector, the country must reform its land tenure system and provide critical infrastructure such as motorable roads to aid market access, storage facilities and power to stimulate economic growth and reach the target for diversification.
“We need to reform our land use act to ensure food security especially in a country Like Nigeria were are population is growing very fast,” Akin Laoye, executive director, FTN Cocoa Processors PLC told BusinessDay in an exclusive interview.
“In every nation lands are kept for housing, agriculture, industries and reserved for the future. In Nigeria this things are there but it is never followed because we lack institutions to drive these policies,” Laoye said.
He stated that a lot of lands meant for agriculture today are taken over by housing estates and which is not good for the country especially at a time Nigeria is looking at diversifying the economy through agriculture.
Jephtah Omavuega is a vegetable farmer who farms cucumber and cassava in Epe, said “Land ownership is a big problem. Most of the lands today are used for real estate and this is depriving framers from land ownership.”
“I use to lease 2 hectare of land for farming before but now a real estate firm has acquired the land and construction of houses has commenced on the land. I have friends that also want to start farming but have not been able to secure a land for over six months now,” Omavuega added.
Nigeria still operates the land use act of 1978, which vested land ownership to state governors or the president in the case of the Federal Capital Territory.
Apart from land reforms, rural land which is assuming increasing importance due to the intensity of agricultural activities lacks basic infrastructural facilities like motorable roads, storage facilities to increase production, experts say.
Abiodun Olorundenro, chief executive officer, Green Vine Farms, said “A big challenge to agricultural productivity and food security in Nigeria is lack of adequate infrastructure to support food production and distribution.”
“The government must provide critical infrastructure and create enabling environment that will encourage investments in agric value chain. We need proper linkages of our roads from the farms to the market,” Olorundenro said.
Olorundenro recommended the development of linkages between farmers and the market, stating that youths can only find agric attractive when such linkages are available.
Josephine Okojie
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