Towards agricultural revolution in Nigeria

In spite of the fact that Nigeria is abundantly endowed with vast arable, fertile land and clement climatic milieu, it is regrettable that successive governments in the country have often neglected the agricultural sector. It has to be said, and emphatically so, that any development strategy which is concentrated on industrialization, while neglecting agriculture is doomed to fail.  Indeed, the continued neglect of the

Agricultural Sector, over the years, has been the bane of Nigeria’s economic development as it has only succeeded in hastening and exacerbating rural-urban migration, thereby worsening the existing imbalance in economic growth and development of the nation. The government and policy makers must begin to realise that Nigeria will neither make any meaningful economic progress, nor lift its citizenry out of the doldrums of poverty, if the nation continues to relegate the Agricultural Sector. This is because there is a nexus between agriculture and economic growth and development. Agriculture remains a major, key sector of the Nigerian economy accounting for 22% of the country’s recently rebased Gross Domestic Product in 2012. The dominance of agriculture as a source of employment, coupled with the fact that the sector has a lot of derivative value, business chains to propel the nation’s ambitious economic transformation and industrial revolution, underscores the need for governments at all levels to focus more attention and assign due priority to integrated agricultural development, including food/cash crops and commodities, livestock/animal husbandry, forestry, fishery, etc. The agricultural sector is critically germane to the economic growth and development of Nigeria as it will not only enhance the diversification and integration of the economy, but also become a major source of foreign exchange earner for the country, through the exports of food produce, agricultural commodities, raw materials and livestock.  Furthermore, increased agricultural production is not only essential in curbing inflation resulting from rising food prices, but is also  vital in meeting the food needs and requirements of the nation’s burgeoning population[which has been projected at 250 million, by 2050] as well as growing industrial profile.

Against this backdrop, it is gratifying that the Federal government has recently initiated the Agricultural Transformation Agenda [ATA], which is a comprehensive reform programme to harness the enormous opportunities and potentials in agriculture for national development, drive rural income growth, accelerate achievement of food security -and by extension, national security- and create employment opportunities, in order to ensure a diversified and sustainable economic growth and development. I am of the opinion that, if assiduously and effectively implemented, the ATA should substantially address the inherent challenges and seemingly intractable problems in the sector including rising domestic food prices due to declining agricultural production, as well as the increasing sporadic clashes between Fulani cattle herdsmen and Farmers over cattle grazing fields and agricultural farmlands. In order to make agriculture lucrative and profitable so as to encourage more people to embrace farming, institutional reforms as well as alternative dynamic policies and robust incentives should be put in place to ensure higher and attractive prices to farmers, especially small farm holders (peasants) who produce more than 90 percent of domestic food supply in the country. 

By increasing the economic value and attractiveness of farming, it is expected that the money/income incentive that usually influence the decision of rural dwellers, particularly farmers and their children, to abandon farming and leave the rural areas for the cities would not only be considerably reduced but also become unattractive. Furthermore, government should adopt innovative marketing strategies to assist farmers in their marketing efforts so as to boost agricultural production. In this direction, government can consider the setting up of “buy-back” marketing agencies across the country [akin to the marketing boards of yore in the former Western region] that will buy surplus agricultural produce from farmers so as to avoid wastages, encourage increased agricultural production and enhance farmers’ income. In order to make agriculture alluring to the educated youths and literate population most of whom see farming as outdated and unprofitable and to create a new generation of skilled, well trained young farmers, ‘Young Farmers Clubs’ [to catch them young] should be instituted and supported by governments and private organizations in all educational institutions [from primary to tertiary] as well as agricultural competitions/shows to sensitize, orientate and expose students at the very young age to the importance and benefits of farming/agriculture as a decent profession and lucrative career. 

Governments, at both state and Federal levels, through their Ministries of Agriculture and other relevant agencies, should also initiate and promote advocacy campaigns to encourage students, right from primary to tertiary institutions, to visit agricultural farms and extension settlements on excursion programmes. Apart from kindling and stocking their interest in agriculture, such farm visits will also create opportunities for practical and realistic exposure of the students to engage in various innovative skills and get acquainted with modern, emerging developments in the agricultural sector. In order to expand food production for both domestic consumption and export, the Agricultural Transformation Agenda should encourage farmers to move away from subsistence, small-scale, labour-intensive, to mechanized, technology-driven, large-scale farming by ensuring substantial investments in agriculture with due attention to the supply of heavy agricultural machineries/ technological devices and modern farm equipment, as well as necessary inputs such as seeds, fertilizers, insecticides, pesticides, among others. In addition, the agricultural reforms should ensure government assistance to farmers in the areas of provision of transport, storage, food processing and marketing facilities, as well as the training of farmers, farm managers and agricultural extension workers (presently, agricultural extension projects are poorly staffed, both in terms of quantity and quality). In order to ensure investment support to farmers, an agricultural development ‘revolving fund’  in form of a credit revolving scheme which may either be generated from taxes on food produce and commodities and complemented by contributions from government as well as donations from private sector organizations or a government guaranteed low-interest agricultural bank loans for farmers and/ or bilateral/international finance or funding from friendly countries and international organizations like the World Bank, among others, can be mobilized for this purpose. 

In furtherance of the agricultural transformation agenda, there is the need for government interventions in key sectors such as energy/electricity, as well as the rehabilitation of other critical infrastructure to increase farm productivity and generally enhance the resilience of agricultural production systems in the country. In this regard, efforts should be intensified by relevant government agencies in the area of integrated water resources management to improve farmers’ access to irrigation, drainage and other agricultural extension services. Altogether, government’s transformational efforts at improving delivery of agricultural services should be intensified through effective institutional arrangements and support from various departments, agencies and dedicated programmes, including, but not limited to, the National Accelerated Food Production Progamme (NAFPP), National Grains and Root Crops production company (NGRCP) ,  integrated Rural Development Programmes and the direct production and intervention activities of the various river basin development authorities, research institutes and farm settlements.

KAYODE OLUWA