As stakeholders demand for Bank of Agriculture for Nigeria’s oil region, there is urgent need to build cross-border infrastructure to unlock Niger Delta’s hidden agriculture treasure, writes Ignatius Chukwu
The summit in Calabar, Nigeria’s first capital and now Cross River State capital city, may be the final push in the efforts to restore agriculture to the status of backbone of the economy of Niger Delta. The push, arranged by Partnership Initiative for Niger Delta (PIND), is aimed at stimulating agric investments in the oil region, according to Sam Daido, the executive director. To achieve this, all hands were brought on deck from regional, national to international stakeholders to rebuild the region’s agricultural treasure; just as it was the case in despoiling the region forest and fauna, in deposing its original economy.
Daibo welcomed the multi-sector participants by revealing that PIND was set up to encourage multi-stakeholder activities to impact on communities in the Niger Delta through four major programmes – economic development, capacity building, peace building, and advocacy. “The theme aligns with the Federal Government agric transformation agenda,” he said.
The experts agreed that agric in the Niger Delta was big, but required investment drive to unlock it, hence the discussion. “There is need to build cross-regional infrastructure to unlock the agric sector. From the 2013 forum, which focused on SMEs, opportunities emerged for partnerships.”
The summit marked itself out with a call for setting up of Bank of Agriculture for Niger Delta, saying it would help to trap funds specifically for farming and agric development purposes, and also create a direct link between oil revenue and agric development and answer the lingering poser – what next for the Niger Delta after oil.
An instant poll in the summit revealed the desire of the 650 first-day participants, thus; that agric investments in Niger Delta should be boosted significantly; that efforts be made to boost agric with youth and women participation as the bedrock; that massive awareness be created in youth and women groups for greater attention to agric, and that to boost agric, there should be financial access to more willing segments.
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The state governor, Liyel Imoke, represented by his agric commissioner, James Oniyom, led in the call for the Bank of Agriculture, saying the time had come for Niger Delta states to shift focus to agric for a new economy. “This is because before oil agric had sustained a vibrant economy in the region, especially with palm oil. A majority of the 31 million people in the region then found jobs in agric. It is therefore important to formulate policies that would promote agricultural investment, bearing in mind issues such as land, technology, access to finance, market, private sector involvement, aging farm population, etc. Asia is focusing fully on agric and Africa must wake up,” he said.
Imoke said Cross River was greatly focused on agric, food, and security, and “so, there is huge effort in road rehabilitation, health to rural people to farm, targeting pipe-borne water in every village in the state.”
There is need for a regional policy framework on agric, he said, saying this will increase competitiveness, access to market, as the Federal Government agric policies were great, but there was the need to boost private sector participation for acceleration.
Head of one of the partner organisations, Charles Abani, said technical skills were very important in modernising and developing agric, as “there is need for massive inclusion of women and youths, and the participation is very impressive.”
He said therefore that all hands must be on deck to bring about an agric revolution in the oil region, adding that discussions would get the people to the right target and strategies.
Frank of Market 11 said there was need to focus on access to market, saying “we support rice, cocoa, cassava, soya bean, etc. Financial institutions with capacity should support women and youths for greater participation (50-50 ratio). Farmers do not know that there are opportunities for loan.”
Another resource person added that it was important to share experience and support each other for collaboration.
The Niger Delta Development Commission’s Tyoyo Omatsuli, executive director, finance and administration, represented by Alfred Mulabe, said all the speeches focused on development of the Niger Delta, thereby helping their mandate, as “we saw PIND’s efforts and decided to support them.
We were thrilled by their UFFA’a project and we have decided to work with them more. You may have spent much money but do not expect much financial profit. Be satisfied with the huge awareness you are creating in the Niger Delta towards mass participation in the region agric development.”
The PIND director showed optimism in attracting agric investment into the Niger Delta, all to move agric to a business. “We agree that there must be measurements in the system and this is an issue. There must be indicators for achievements made over time and we will bring this up for discussion by stakeholders.”
He named the 2014 summit objectives as identifying investment opportunities in the Niger Delta so all stakeholders can act; to attract local and foreign investors; to reach action points to unlock agric treasures in the region; and to identify specific niches for women and the youths to massively move into agric. “This forum will strive to craft a path and role for both the government and business leaders to help. Outcome expected is; massive investment into the Niger Delta; and reduction of conflict and violence to attract involvement of more women and youths in agric business”. He said the approach was by influencing policies in the region.
Some experts in identifying investment opportunities in the region, noted that by 1960s, the glory of Nigeria’s agric was high, such that 60 per cent of global oil palm supply was from Nigeria, mostly the Niger Delta region. They noted that by 1970s, there emerged negative growth in oil palm as crude oil took over. Contribution of agric to the gross domestic product (GDP) dropped in contribution to 48 per cent to 20 percent. It was agreed that key boosters for revival would focus on farm input, chemicals, fertilizers, and machines. Also, there must be adequate availability of marketing, insurance and other services.
Those venturing into farming were warned never to be an absentee investor in agriculture, but to engage technical experts in critical areas. The challenges were identified as access to land, infrastructure (bad roads, etc). “There are many institutions to help; just make the effort to find them.” The region and their partners agreed that the earlier they started the better.
Technical sessions were many and exciting, with expatriates paying great attention to details. The region demonstrated they were riverine people by trouping to the aqua-culture session because of fish farming. A female university professor of agriculture led the floor, saying aquaculture came into practice in Rivers State in 1962 in Buguma town. “It has faced constraints in recent times due to low productivity (low water quality), low PH affects growth of fish, so low harvest. (PH = potential of hydrogen; a term used to measure the acidity and alkalinity of water). Processing is only by smoking of fish, and this is not easily accepted in the international market. Fish market in the Niger Delta is saturated but there is funding constraint”.
She gave tips in investment opportunities, but said investors were needed to boost funding, training, etc. “Way out include free training to farmers, better water. She admitted that there is Bank of Agriculture for loans but interest rates should be lower for fish farmers, setting up. All stakeholders must help make aquaculture in the Niger Delta competitive”.
Chris Okwechime, vice president, UUFFA, Ekpan, Delta State, a renowned fish farmer, thrilled the audience when he recalled how 20 years before now, the nation had about four people in aquaculture, but now there are many clusters, up to 700 clusters. “My farm has over 2000 members, with 40 per cent being female. “A boy in my cluster now has 11 ponds, making 11 million tonnes per year. Be patient, it’s risky but desire will see you through”.
Fish feed experts told the audience that local fish feed or the home-made was not too good, but that training of farmers was essential because if farmers do not succeed, the feed sellers will not. They said PIND helped a lot. Tope Banjo, marketing manager, Grand Cereals Limited, Jos, said Nigeria feed was better. “We want you to succeed, that is why we organised 50 workshops and insurance scheme too. We also have market links to help farmers”.
On the government angle, the Cross River Agric Development Programme (ADP) official said they had constraints especially low number of extension staff due to ban on employment of workers. “Ideal ratio is one to 800 but we have one to 4000. This needs collaboration to overcome some of the pains. There is need for strategic positioning of farmers”.
This drew instant anger as the fish farmers said they believed that extension workers did not work for the farmers, going by their antecedents.
Lending to fish farmers was highlighted, Aigbobani Ferguson of ‘Lift Above Poverty’ (LAPO) micro-finance Bank, said; “We found that farmers do not get the right services, so we went back to the drawing board and found a new lending method with moratorium. This is because fish farmers cannot start paying immediately after collection. This new method will start in few months time”.
A big fish farmer corroborated this, saying his farm had accessed up to N4m loan at 2.2 per cent per month. Participants called for cheaper funds, but Ferguson said the federal government has created N220 billion package. “We (LAPO) got some of it and gave it out as stipulated at nine per cent per annum.”
Processing absorbed attention as an expert explained that smoking was the best, but feeding was the secret of fish farming. “Carbohydrates make it burn as fat; add protein more; do not add antibiotics. Breed at competitive rate, no benzene. Smoking kiln requires 100 kilo for N270,000 for nine hours drying, but my secret is – slow smoking is better; charcoal is better than electricity, for the sake of flavour, which is what people want.”
The two days were regarded as the sacrifice for proper takeoff of an agric revolution, as stakeholders called for return of agric extension workers because some states have as low as seven workers to attend to hundreds of thousands of farmers.
Ignatius Chukwu
