Agric 2011: Hur es For Agricu ture By OIukayode Oyeleye J\RT from the efforts needed to ensure
N
y~.
,,,
Nigeria plays well the global and reional politics, the nation is expected to manage well every fund and material support it will garner from the internatinoal communi ry this year. The International Development Association (IDA, the World Bank's fund for the poorest) will provide US$90 million of the total cost of the project, while the Food Price Crisis Re'sponse Trust Fund will contribute USSI9 million. The rest of the funding will include contributions from the participating governments. "Achievement of the maximum potential of agricultural growth will take place in West Africa as long as the countries work in partnership to generate, share, and adopt improved agricultural technologies," said Abdoulaye Toure, the Word Bank Team Leader for the Program. ''The WMPP will facilitate this process and contribute to achieving the six per cent agricultural growth target set by the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD)." Launched in 2007, the first phase of WAAPP has already shown successful results in Ghana, Mali, and Senegal by setting up centres of specialisation for agricultural research and increasing cooperation among researchers and institutions within the participating countries. . Another critique by Ademola Oyejlde, A. Ogunkola and A. Bankole on importation of agricultural products indicated that Nigeria's import prohibitions have balance-ofpayments implications, which must be carefully weighed a/?ainst the backdrop of the entire economy. In using import prohibition as a major trade policy instrument, Nigeria has hoped that its balilnce-of-payments problems would be alleviated, and that the protection offered would induce increased output and employment of the domestic industry." Against these postulated positive outcomes must be set several possible negative consequences of import prohibition, including raiSing the domestic prices of importbanned products, disrupting other sectors which use the prohibited imports as raw materials, depriving government of tariff revenue and creating vested interests among domestic producers of prohibited products and among smugglers. Nigeria's balance-of-payments situation, the review pointed out, is determined primarily by developments in the world oil market; hence it has not been amenable to changes induced by import prohibitions. "In any case, it seems clear that protection of domestic producers is the real force behind the use of this policy instrument. But there is little evidence that it has produced the desired result here either_ For instance, a recent study of the textile sector - the single most important target of import prohibition policy of the past twenty years - shows that both its output and employment have stagnated or declined." "There appears to be recognition both within government and among producers that the import prohibition pobcy is rendered virtually impotent by large-scale smuggling and that this has continued in spite of stiff penalties imposed on those involved with the importation, transl?0rtation, storage, display or sale of prohibited items. This recognition has not, however,led to the abandonment of the policy," noted the critique. It went further to observe that severallessons can be drawn from Ni~eria's import prohibition policy experience. Perhaps the most general of these is that the coherent and consistent pursuit of good trade policy requires not only a robust and appropriate domestic institutional framework and process for trade policymaking but also a supportive and institutionalised multilateral arrangement for trade policy surveillance_ Weaknesses in both of these may be responsible, in varying degrees, for the persistence of Ni~ria's import prohibition policy. Nigeria s internal trade policy surveillance mechanism consists largely of the domestic framework and trade poficy-making process, both articulated at length in the Trade Policy of Nigeria." However, it affirms, "the country's actual trade policy-making deviates quite substantially from what this document stipulates.
Mr. Emmanuel Ogunnaike, CEO of FOl-HOPE.
an agricultural enterprise based in Ibadan, receiving an award from the
sor Placid Hjoku. during the pig summit held in Ibadan ... recen.ly
Nigerian Institute of Animal Science ProfesPHOTO: OLUKAYOOE OYELEYE
rules in the WIO. "There appears to be recognition both within government and basic How Nigeria applies SPS rules even for locally produced foods still remains to be clear_ A reamong producers that the import prohibition policy is renport on National Rice Development Strategy (NRDS), prepared for the Coalition for African dered virtually impotent by large-scale smuggling and that Rice Development (CARD) in 2009, with an inithis has continued in spite of stiff penalties imposed on those tiative for doubling rice production in the SubSaharan Africa in the next ten years, involved with the importation, transportation, storage, display has identified four distinct proje~ts that it will pursue in order to sustamably Increase nce or sale of prohibited items. This recognition has not, however, production within the next 10 years. It gave ItS projects, in order of priority, as processing and led to the abandonment of the policy," marketing; land and irrigation development; These deviations largely explain the lack of per cent (for finished consumer goods). seed development and rice production; and coherence between policy statements and A report written by Chukwuma Agu, An- project management (coordination, monitorpolicy actions; this probably also derives thonia Ifeyinwa Achike and Moses O. ing and evaluation). from the absence of focal ownership of the Oduh, and published in the International trade Iiberalisation policy which appears to Journal of Liability and Scientific Inquiry in 'T'O achieve the goal of this programme a have been induced by the World Bank-IMF 2010, very recently on Economic Partner- .1 number of public and private sector instisupported structural adjustment pro- ship Agreements, Common External Tanff tutions will actively participate in the impleand prospects for staple food items in Nige- mentation of the programme. These gramme. ria. examined the potential impacts of the institutions are those into seed development '1'IE World Bank had recently warned that proposed Economic Partnership A,I!;ree- and production, input procurement and dis.1 theiist of banned items in Nigeria was too ment (EPA) between African, Caribbean tribution, irrigation and land development, long and that neighbouri~g co.unt~ies were and PaCific countries and the European extension, publicity, trai~ing, group organisataking advantage of the SituatiOn, Just as It Union (EU) on agriculture and food pro- tion, post-harvest handling (processmg, storwas also favoulng corruption In the cus- duction in Nigeria. It assessed possible age) and marketing. toms. It estimated that over N750 billion is changes In production arising from the imIts set goal was to double rice producton in lost yearly to smugglers and corrupt cus- plementation of a Common External Tariff Nigeria from 3.4 million tonnes paddy in 2008 toms officials as a result of the ban on textile (CET) and/or EPA on three crops considered to 12.85 million tonnes by the year 2018. In alone_ The report said, "Whenever tariff du- critical for livelihoods and food security: order to create viable fertiliser marketing and ties differentials do exist between two neigh- rice, cassava and sorghum. distribution, the report disclosed that the projTheir findings indicate that aggregate ect would strengthen the distribution netbouring countries, the tariff wedge provides opportunities for customs officials to extract imports will increase, leadin~ to possible works, make the private sector the driving crowding out of domestic agncultural out- force behind fertifiser marketing and distrirents from imports and smuggling." A report by Philip Osafo Kwaako and Ke- put given their low processing quality. "The bution, increase local production, and ensure hinde Ajayi and published by the Interna- production of rice and sorghum will suffer availability at affordable prices. These being so, tional Development Research Centre (IDRC), major falls. The fall in cassava, presently it remains to be explained how far has looked into the adoption of Common Exter- not much imported, will be less but not al- NFRA has gone in the past year and what is it nal Tariff (CET) originated by the West together negligible." The work recom- up to in 2011. African Economic and Monetary Union mended closer attention to the provisions (WAEMU) - composed primarily of states in of ECOWAS Common Agricultural Policy "Aggregate imports will increase, francophone West Africa - it was observed (ECOWAP) as a possible stop-gap measure that, "for ECOWAS members not part of the to ameliorate the negative consequences leading to possible crowding out WAEMU, the adoption of the CET was neces- of the EPA if it must be adopted In Nigeria. of domestic agricultural output Looking at the technical issues relating to sary to support the goal of deep economic integration throughout the West Africa. The importation and exportation, the Sanitary given their low processing quality. CET is intended to serve as the most- and Phytosanitary standards (SPS) of WIO favoured nation (MFN) tariff that ECOWAS wants to ensure that every consumer is The production of rice and member states can apply to third countries being supplied with food that is safe to eat, and also to non-preferential products traded and at tlie same time, to ensure that strict sorghum will suffer major falls, . within the ECOWAS region_ health and safety regulations are not being The fall in cassava, presently not It proposes a four-band tariff structured as used as an excuse for protecting domestic follows: zero per cent (for products with so- producers. An agreement on how govern- much imported, will be less but cial sIgnificance, such as medicines), five per ments can apply food safety and animal cent (lor necessities and raw materials),10 and plant health measures (sanitary and not altogether negligible." per cent (for intermediate goods), and 20 phytosanitary or SPS measures) sets out the ThIs concludes the piece that started last week