I 18
DAlLY TRUST
Tuesday, January 17.2012
Business/ Agric
Agric and trans·formation agenda B~Tina
I
A. Hassan
N Nigeria. it has become tradition'for e\'Cry incoming gOY-
emm~nt to roll out series of
targets it irtt.!nds to dchieve before the expi~tionl of its administra-
tion,. The same trend ilso plays 'out in the \·Jrious Illin1stries under the \1lriousJ administrations where mds l mlnisl ets roU OUlpro- , grammes1and 'targe~ for the next
few)'e~
I
In ~19 ,Federal MmiStry. or" Agriculrurc and Rural Development, tJx:igu ...emm~nthasSctout . a NBUon;jJ ~4,.griculture Transfo r~ mation Agenda a~ at an overall devc\qpment of the agric secto r with ~er [dcus rin value chain devclop~ent ~ its! blueprint to R"sulting re\;ving
attai..Oing!
land'
ag,ncullUrr LO~ts former glory. AtOJ rding 0 thJMinister. Dr. Akin.wunmi esint thetnruformation ag~pda is intended at makingugricultllre worU for Nigerians espe~iaJly roral farr~ ' ers such thaI it beComes ap inc me lgenerating commercial act .ty and not a devei oPlllell1 progr.l.mme. The basic comp!merlts of the t ran~ronna!ion agfnda include the den'bl'ment Of \"alue chain in selected key crdps and these indud€ ca:;S3va transformation whucby fine cassava flour will be substituted by 20 percent ill Whtal for bre;id making; used for the formation of nOodles; starch; and othel- \'ariety of produce that can be dhil"ed frort, cassava and incr..'aSe pruduction br 17 million metfiic tors I I I In a natioo with high unem ployment rale, the agric trans formation agenda Ipromises the creation ofo\"er 3.5 million jobs to young poopl/': and women across Lheoountry. asituatlon that would definitely improve the lot ofNigerians onlr ifit,truly ~omcs to pass. Anothercrop under focus in the traoS formation valJe chain is rice s:l1d it ls capable rice pfOduction by 2
in post-harvest losses, impro\'a reduction of cost of production J mechanization, intensification ing linkages with industry with qf paddy production in rain-fed respect to backward integration. as weU as access to financial services lowl and and irrigated rice ecoloand markets, The Transformation gics and use of improved rice Agenda targetsruralcommunities varieties particularly women, youth and There is also the plan 10 work fanners associations, as wdl as with organizations offarmers in cluster groops to aggregate th em improving rural institutions and for access to improved technoloinfrastructure, feasibility studies gies, market and mWs_ across the various crops under the \'iLiue chain as addition for optiImproving quality managemumbenefiL ment along the commodit y chain · nder the rice value is also considered in orde r to chain, government says raise the quality, standard of rice its goal is to achievesdfthrough the avoidance of mixed sufficiency in rice production and seeds, mechanized post harvest complete substitution of imported &ctivilies such as threshing, drrricebyyear2015. ingand milling in modern mills . It is hoped that Nigeria would The agenda also includes the be able to totally depend on rice creation of an enabling environment for th ese changes to happen produced within the country' as well as develop the capacity to by enacting policies that enCOUfexport some o f its rice by the tar- age growth of the ri ce sector, accessibility to inputs such as fergel period. Products in focus are parboiled t ilizers and agrochemicals as well milled rice and unparboiled milled as linking farmers to agricultural white rice_ 111e target is 6.0 million financ.ing. metric tons per annum of locall)' States under target in the produced and intern3lionally - rice transformation include competitive mWed ricc by 2015 Ni ger. Nasarawa, Kaduna, Kebbi. Sokoto, Kano, Plateau, because rice is a staple food that is consumed across the country. Adamawa. Taraba, Benue. Borno, Anambra, Baydsa, Edo, Modalities for increasing efficiency awng the commodity Ekili. chain would make its price competitive_ This is been addressed through
I
U
needed to develop the Nige rian rice sector, The thrust of the transformation agenda is concentrated on import substitution for high value products that can be made locally within · Nigeria. such as bread from high qualil"Y cassava flour. starch and sweeteners among others. Policy interventions to support the industry include a mandatory 10% inclusion of !-ligh Qoality Cassava Flour (HQCF) in whea t flour; 12%corporatetax. waiver for bakeries which blend 40% cassava floor in bread; an increase in levies on imported wheat flour and grains; and 10% inclusion of fuel ethanol in petrol (E-IO)_ A key part of the action plan is the establishment of a Cassava Trade and r-.l.arkeling Development Co rp ora tion (CTr-.lDC) run by the private sector that will represent the sector before government and build the much needed market institutions around farm · ,~.
Although much of this lr.lnsformation agenda strategy is in draft and policy form , it is expected that government ....uuld be able to take the necessary steps in translating them into action for the benefit of Nigeriaru and small scale farmers who are largely responsible for proVidingthe food requirements of most Nigrnans. Stakeholders in the agriculture sector have expressed belJefin the present minister of agriculture to bring to bear the various components of the transformation agenda. Some of them who spoke with DniEy Tnut are of the opinion that for the first time in a long time. some lewl of ~ incerity can be
attributed to th e current minister because he has e;l;pressed willingness to work with stakeholders in the sector at the local level ccording a Mr. Akin Olusuyi. a cocoa farmer in Ondo State and Chairman of Cocoa Processors Association of Nigeria (COPAN), he is optimistic on thecurrl'.ntagriculture agenda because no policy is bad in itsdfbot it depends on the dri\-er of the policy. ~ Fo r once, we have a minister who is ClIT)'ing along the stakeholders. We have always had good agric policies but it is 31\\'a)'s centred around individuals instead of institutions so when such and individuals are gone, the policies fail-, he said_ According 10 him, there is nero for legal framework to be put in place for the pol.icies to be sustained. He said: -This current agenda is a focused agenda and we can see through the inte.rrelations and discussions we have had with him even as local farmers and we believe he is serious in transfOrming agriculture which is the strength of every nation.Professor Tunjl Aroko)"o is an agric e.xt.ension ex pert who strongly believes that the current minister has shown his willingness to move the .s«tor forward He said: -\ belie:\'e in th is agenda that is why I am ready to work for its realiution.1 know itmaybe difficult to belie\""(' in the govemment after successive failures and disappointments.. I fed thecurrentminiSler is ready and he: has aa:c:pted OUI criticisms in good faith unlike his predecessors_ This is just a new beginning and we hope. politiciaru would allow him ,,"ork for the roor.~
A