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Business/Agric
Agric: Huge budget, low result By Dada Ahmed
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HE cultivation of crops and the rearing of livestock are. perhaps. the oldest occupations in
history. These two forms of agric ulture are so basic to human existence, as no man can survive without food. sociologists say. In the Nigerian context. agriculture remains the predominant source of livelihood. as available statistics reveal that 70 per cent of the country's population of 140 million are engaged in subsistence farming. Ironically enough. in spite of Widespread agricultu ral activities in Nigeria. the country's food security has yet to be stable. Observers. nonetheless. recall that agriculture was once the mainstay of the national economy. particularly in the First Repub lic. Mrs Fatima Bamidele. the Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. re-echoed this viewpoint at a recent public function in Abuja. " Prior to the discovery of petroleum in Nigeria. agriculture contributed more than h alf of the country's Gross Domestic Product (GDP);' she said. The ve racity of such sentiments could not be questioned, as the importance of agriculture in Nigeria experienced a downward trend, particularly du ring the oil boom era of the 1970s, as !heprimary focus of the whole country and its citizens became fIXed on petroleum and its Significant earnings. However, observers mai ntai n that the advent of petroleum was not the only factor responsible for the remarkable decline in agricultural production and the people's interest in farming. Mohammed Ogelebe, a livestock dealer in Lafia , says that factors, such as lack of good roads, potable water and electricity have also contributed in making the people's interest in agriculture to wane considerably. " These fac tors have made life difficult for the rural farmers and they have hindered their ability to produce maximally;' h e says. " Bes.ides. an average rural farmer cannot afford fertiliser, hire tractor and build storage facilities. due to paucity of funds or high prices, as well as the lack of access to loans. , 'The farmer is also unable to transport h is produce to the cities because of the deplorable roads and the development has dampened the morale of many farmers • across the country. "The picture is bleak, as Nigeria continues to record a sustained exodus of youths from the rural to urban areas in search of better life, leading to a serious depletion of farming communities across the country;' Ogelebe adds. However, experts maintain
He. also 'urges the govern ment To that end, the government to go beyond the programme by had completed the construction of some silos for the storage of creating an enabling environment agricul tural produce to reduce . for rural farmers to have access to loans and improved extension servpost-harvest losses, he says. Abdullah says that the govern- ices. He also ,vants an effective mechment will also continue to provide subsidy support to farmers via th e anism to be put in place to enable the impact of the various agriculFertiliser Marketing Stabilisation tural policies and programmes to Programme (FMSP). be felt by rural fanners in order to e disclosed that in 2010 alone, the improve their productivity: Arosanyin stresses the need for government spent the government to strengthen its over N22 billion to strategic food reserve scheme, so as provide a 25 per-cent subsidy for to avail. farmers a marketing rhanthe procurement and dist ribution nel oflast resort for their produce of 900,000 metric tonnes of ferat a minimum guaranteed prices. to tilisers to the 36 states and FCT. , 'This intervention represents stabilise their income. He also implores the governthe h ighest provision in any single year since the inception of the ment to prOvide adequate social amenities such as potable water, programme in 1999. "The ministry in its efforts good roads, health facilities and to ensure that the subsidy reaches electricity, particularly in ' 'areas . the desired farmers has collabo- where peasant farnlers live. Arosanyin, who is the immerated with International Fertiliser Development Centre (!FDC) and diate-past Chairman of the Kogi other stakeholders to scale up State chapter ofAFAN, stresses that , ' for farming to become attractive the implementation of Fertiliser to youths and potential investors, it Voucher Scheme in the country;' must be mechanised at every stage Abdullah says. The Fertiliser Voucher Scheme and it should be profit-driven~ He wants the Federal Govern(FVS) was introduced by the International Centre for Soil Fertility ment to revisit its recent policy on and Agricultural Development, the importation of tooth picks, fish. International Fertiliser Develop- poultry products and starch. so as ment Centre (IFDC) in 2009. to protect local production and The scheme aims at making engender profits in agricultural available farm inputs such as ferti- ventures. Mr BeUo Yakassai of the Interlisers, herbicides. seeds and loans, national Fertiliser Development as well as extension services to Centre (IFDC) - one of the sponfarmers. .. Similarly, renewed efforts sors of the scheme - says that the are being made to promote the FVS has started to make some complementary use of organic impact on the lives of farmers in and inorganic fertilisers by fann - some parts of the country. FD C is a multinational. ers, while improving Ihe soil connonprofit organisation ditions and enhanCing crop prothat promotes the interests duction to increase the farmers' of the people of the most income; Abdallah says. impoverished areas of the world, Dr Tunde Arosanyi n. a national executive of All Farmers Asso- with a focus on agribUSiness and soil ciation of the Nigeria (AFAN), fertility solutions to achieve global describes the FVS as a progranlme food security. Yakassai says that no fewer than 140,000 fa rmers in that will liberate rural farmers from the drudgery of the archaic Kano State and 80,000 farme rs in Ta raba State have benefited from farming system in the country. , ' It will eliminate middle men, the programme. He recalls that farmers in ensure subsidy benefits to farmers and guarantee quality farm inputs Taraba testified, for the first time, that the scheme made it possible at moderate prices. The farmers will be better for it;' he says. for them to benefit from the FedArosanyin, nonetheless, urges eral Government's fertiliser subthe Federal Government not to Sidy schem e. Yakassai expatiates that the allow incessant changes of ministers and other political appointees scheme is aimed at strengthenas well as constant policy fluctua- ing the private sector's capacity tions to mar the goals of the FVS. to provide farmers with access to so as to enable the farmers to high-quality seeds, cheaper ferti derive maximum benefits from it. liser and credit facilities. as part of efforts to increase agric ultural productivity in the country. , ' Th is way. fertil iser diversion :'r I or adulteration and using fertilisers " 0 :;;.:.1of political patronage will soon be eliminated;' he says. 'f,', Observers believe tha t with the current determination of the Federal Government to tackle the challenges facing rural farmers in the country, the fa rmers will soon have a cause to smile, as their wellbeing will also translate to the production of more food in the country. (NAN).
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that middlemen's activities in the value chain process of ag ricultural inputs and the lack of continuity of agricultural policies also accounted for the decline in agricultural production and the people's interest in farming. The pitiable economic standing of most Nigerian farmers has made many prospective farmers to lose interest in taking up farming as a career. n account of an incident that recently occurred in Owo. Ondo State, tends to illustrate the point. Yusuf Otaru. a man in his early 50s, suddenly slumped and died. The circumstances behind Otaru's death somewhat com pelled his family members to lament about the miserable life he lived as a farmer. One of the family members, Musa Adagiri, moans that O taru struggled hard throughout his lifetime as a man engaged in subsistence fa rming with no wherewithal to even purch ase fertiliser and other basic inputs for his farming activities.
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, 'Each time he had a cause to reflect on his work, Otaru used to lament about the drudgery of the average rural farmer and always expressed the hope that things would soon change for the better;' Adagiri says. , 'However, Otaru's dream was never fulfilled, as he died a pauper;' he adds. However, the Federal Government says it is not unmindft)! of the va rious socio-economic challenges facing the rural farmers and the need to overhaul agriculture in the country. Prof. Sheikh Ahmed Abdullah Abdallah, the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, pledges the commitment of the current admjnistration toward repositioning agriculture by strengthening of the value chain process for sustainable growJh and development. The m in ister stresses that the Federal Government intends "to strengthen the agricultural value chain process as an imperative means of enabling the farmers to overcome problems which decelerate thei r p roductivity".
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He disclosed that ,in 2010 qlbneAhe gov-
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: ernment spent over N22 billion to prdvid~ a 25 per':c~nt subsidy for die procurement anddistributidn 'of 900~odo rhetric tonnes fertili~ers to the 36 states and ,
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