Rice. Rice. Rice. Yet more rice. Rice, again. Rice. Rice. Rice.
If you believe the federal government, rice has become the most critical item on the agenda of Nigeria. It determines policies, influences the development finance role of the Central Bank of Nigeria, occupies 80 percent of the resources and time of the Nigeria Customs Service and is the centre point of our trade relations.
Rice. Rice. Rice and more rice.
As Nigeria pushes to strengthen its agriculture value chain in diversification efforts, official activities have focused on rice. The FG and the Central Bank of Nigeria have been at the centre of this overwhelming emphasis on rice.
It is a disturbing déjà vu. We got here because Nigeria for more than 40 years focused only on petroleum out of its abundance of minerals, agricultural and other resources. We are walking the same path now with agriculture. Rice is the preferred and only commodity in the lexicon of officialdom.
Nigeria has a vibrant bouquet of commodities in the agriculture value chain that deserve attention. We must go beyond rice. We must bring to fruition all the programmes and efforts at a holistic appreciation and boost of Nigerian agriculture.
Initiatives to promote agriculture include the Anchor Borrowers Program (ABP), the Presidential Fertilizer Initiative (PFI), the Youth Lab, the Presidential Economic Diversification Initiative (PEDI), and the Food Security Council.
Despite these, the statistics in exports remain poor. Agricultural exports account for less than two per cent of the country’s total exports. Yet agriculture contributes a significant 25 percent to total GDP.
In 2016, total agriculture exports stood at N60.7 billion or 0.7 percent of total exports for the period. In 2017, total agricultural exports grew by 180.7 percent over the previous year to close at N170.4 billion, and it accounted for 1.3 percent of total exports. By 2018, agriculture exports increased by 77 percent over 2017 to close at N302.3 billion and accounted for 1.6 percent of total exports.
Sesame seeds, cashew nuts, fermented cocoa beans and superior quality raw cocoa beans – with a combined total export value of N210.2 billion accounted for 69.5 percent of total agriculture exports in 2018. Others are frozen shrimp and prawns, natural cocoa butter and soya beans.
There is palm oil. Nigeria has a comparative advantage in its production. Palm oil is one of the crops with an extensive value chain.
Many other crops exist for the country to promote to have a balanced basket. They include wheat, maize, cotton, soybeans and cassava. Many of these crops, such as cassava or cotton, have significant industrial applications.
The obsession with rice is at variance with its contributions. Rice has become a significant staple like bread. The emphasis on bread led the country into a wheat trap and issues with importation and dependence.
One of the primary goals of the emphasis on rice is said to be the need to conserve forex. It would seem sensible to do more to promote the crops that earn forex for the country. Why not do so to earn more and thus serve as a substitute.
We invite the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Trade and National Planning as well as the Central Bank of Nigeria to take a few steps back, assess and reflect, then draw up a more holistic road map for agriculture promotion. A single crop emphasis will not yield the results that we seek.
