30
THISDAY • TUESDAY, DCTOBER2.2012
BUSINES5WORLD
AGRIC.
Ter1minating Poverty by Ovterhaulirig AgricUlture Cmsoe Osagie examines the importance of agriculture in winning the war against poverty. citing the efforts of the lagos State Government in reversing lhe perilous trend of unemployment and food. insecurity tudu!s tv vt" shown th.ll inlll5hng irl .,gri·:ulture is twiCl" as efft.'Clive
S
'~I.educi 18 poverty
as inveshng In
oIh"r "-'C: Of5. So, iltlle Ia~el of any W" em<n ~ isactuaUylo hit povt.'rty al iISCOft'. then api::ulture is the fasl:e!.t optim. In N1geqa "'h!'te about 70 pef cent of the wuriang pGp' dablJl is employed in ~ developing t ~ set !(If makes common !.e\5e lb:! "'.lids allhe Pn!sidmt of tJr lnltm\JlQ\aI. Fund r.:. AwxW,u -ill DrveIoprnenl (lFAD). Or; Ka~yo NW,t nl.t' Ire instructive <11'1 tlus ISSue. He submiltN tha "dt!\eIoptnent cannot be imp:a!d fll..-r'l OUIt ide aoy OiItior . He added. ~5'1 131' only JUm!Ied when it 15 dm'ell by countras them :elves and implemented by H
_ci~·
I..agI;5 Stjlll.' IIIC'li 1fB'l1n)' ~ at ttr c;'Olrtry. r\'C{Uires ~ Oil food security. ronsidenng its ~1ti JXIO'Jabm. arguably the highest in Ni~ Comn~ of agriculture and cu-operati\'t'S in IN! stabe, 0xI1ahan lawai. ttnnJy~'Bf It'at with !he w.::rl1's ~ reported Iu \"'W hi! !eVeI1 bilUon in 2011 and WidelY£E:'Cled 1.1 increase to nine billion by 2050. tI.r "eS\I kvel ci gIobaIloDd prodl..ldbl must ' b) ~O per Cb\I in ordei- to bridge any rnalOt' $upply de6dt. The unda-Iying ~ ci lavnl's ~tian W~ aho t.,,,ught to light by the statement 01 NWilIll<!. who noted catq;urically !hal Nigeria may Pl'll lIE: able to swvive the Impact of its populahor povott , which is expecIed 10 dcdIIe by 2050, .... ,thout a vibrant agm:ultural map thai embr.kl!5 J'"t-pooI" ba!ed researches and youths' potrtial'a'Klr\. He r'IOtfd tha I y,-aslmperatwe for g0vernments 10 r;re.Ilto 'ibJant ruraJ I!COnOmIe5 that oller- atir...tive Oflt IOI'tl.InIbe; 10 young people in Nigeria b!C\U':if' Cf the need 10 double Its food pnxIuttim by:all to Dll'l'l ~ demand.. Acmnfi~ to oW n. "With N",p's ~tion expml'd 10 daub! ~ in 2lm the questialls; what
is Ulr IeYeI 01 ilw(!stl'nl.'nt In the youthJ d today.
to supplemml its land ronstraInts.
not short em becall:!!e N"~ ·s future will not be viable without a vibrant agrirultwal map. Oil money has no! transformed Nigeria in the last 40 )'t'.iUS and II will not ~ so:neone changes that." he SOlid It is lndisput21ble therefore that the gJoIM1 quest for Ilunge" reduction and !RJSta~ dl.'Vt'lopment are inevr.w;:ably ~ and only a better govemancr of agriculture and food s),stems can aduevr both tugets.. ThIs is why a re>pOI1Si~ guvenmen! shoukt glVe prUity atlll.'ntion ID the .gricultural sectt in ~ to !iI.'CUre the future of its fX'OJ*! and provide rrelringfuI anpIoyment trw its lIHlung youths and nuaI dweim. ~ this would also stem the tide 01 ruraJ to wban migraticn
in boc5ting 6sheril's. Iiveslodc. and vegetable production ;IS well as agn>-pror:essing with emphasis on rice and cassava with linkages to markets and the wtde \oalue cham well integrated into the equation. He slated INI the aggregare food suppUed UllemaUy was le!I5 than 10 ~ eml of IOta! o:numpIion. but the stale is poased In ~ this to 2S per cent within the nexl five years.
au.. - . ............................ "'"
Lagos Action against Hunger In Nigeria il is not only the responsibility or the Federal Govl.'!'TUnenl to devdop the agricultura.l :wctor as all hands must be on deck al all Je,.-els of governancr 10 save the nation from an impending food crisis. II was in Ugh! ollhis thai ~ l...agm state govonmenI ~ on lIeIieI of agricultural pn:;ects .. its areB of amparatn-e and.onpetiIive ad~ 10 provide employmenl for lis IIlBning youth populatm,. 0&111' wealth to.- its c:ifr«nfy. while al50 averting looming rood c::riseL Aa:urding to Uwa!. in v1t-w ol U~ low
d incn!ase d
"*
agrn.1twaI pnxh.:tim woidwidr.
ne stale ~ has a::n:entral('d efforts
O1anging Problems 10 Opportunities The mourussioner discIoI!Ied that Nigeria is tilr ...:und hlghest net importer 01 rice after1"hilippine5 and spends about NI billion a day lu import pctished rice of low nutritious val....., wtud! have been stored lOr moot 10 year.; from other muntries.. To him,. however, highly ootrilJDus man be grown and ~ here in the wuntr}'. espOOa1Iy in Lagoa. because 01 the ~ m$WilII1p)' Iowbnd and uplands. which Is W!ry suitable for rite cultivation. ~ &Iatl'd dwt l..agos o;Jn!II.IITIe5 !m,{lXMf 01 fire arnJiIlIy and It1iIl it _ po!iI5IJIe to pnxIuae al least 25 per <enl of thai Ioc:aIly because 01 the impor1am.Y 01 food aecurity and we.lIth cmltXn Ani in • ~ manner the stale has ~ the land under rice cultivation £n.wn 20 au Jtn hectares undt'I" the 'rice for pb' initiative at 11Dikin. ltoga and IdmiJ ill1!a5 of the state. Thr ....... job· ... """""'" _
a roncerted effort has to be taken to pn!Ymt
and capacity building tOr 5fll fanners
millg ptirI's and food .shortages in the next
the rice vaJue cham and training for machine ~ D both maIe..-d UnaIe iimIus wtn W1!re scm during a tuur 01 the farms oper:ating various rarm mad1ines Iil:c! tradonI,. planlQs and harve5lerll .her only few months 01 trairung. The sua::e<B 01 the sct..me. ~ is hinged on the ~t 01 the state-of-the-art
few years." He nored that. despite its high industrial popubtion density .nd pre.!IIUIe on land for non-agticu1lwaJ putpOI'I.'S. l..aguo has intensified productive fannir1g activities in the areas w~ it has a:mparalive eroIogil3I and
status,
has gone as rar as oblaining agricullurailands in other stale
~ advantages...-d
iICJt&i
2O,.(lD.fT per aIVIWJl lmota rice mill capable d proch.drt; «Xl.OOJ CD&> bIIg'I rl rire annually
by the state governmenL 1be rn.ilI5f:'fV~ lIS a ready off..taM-r fur I1Cf' farmers under the scheme who neiti-.er ruJ\·e to wony about poor SOlk5 nor post han.'e:;t los&. Acwrding to the offICer lO<harge of the rn mill, AkinoIa OyeboIa, the!il:hrme IS also poised (or exprubl· with two new Ilres 0( produdlm soon 10 be IIl'itaIIed lit the null beoIU!lI.' expansion IS c:onstdered a policy by the stalt> lJllfU5try of agnculture and rooperatl\"t!S. Abo speaking during a lour of the mill, the.Lagos stale rice a:nsuilanl., Rotinu Fashoia. said that they specify what farmers produre and also provide improved seeds and other inputs free of chaf8t' to the f"armenI: in ordeI- to gu.tr.1ntao gIlOd and ~ quaUty d tw:r pn:dln'd lid packaged by the mlU In 5, 25, and 50kg bags.
Aquaculture lnitiative Lawai further pointed oul that Lagos Iafgel5 to do one million metric tomes d fish by 2015 £rom its pre!BlIl2!5,D.»nt. 10 meet tul5lIIl1pIuI demand. whkh is at over SOO)D)mt out of the 780,(XX)mt imported by Nigeria annually He said that Nigena ~ II 101: olllU1l'1 tu import fish and that any country thiU omnoI provide its own food IS vu.inEnbIe i!Ind at lht mcn:y or Ihr exporting COI..Intne( trade ~ stressing that a rountry must be able 10 do what II has the ecoIogicaJ support for. To remedy lht situabon the iYle ~ deYeIopo:I a rl!;h!ann e>I&Ite at Il.orodu. ~ ins 179 f~ hou.~holds with produdJon
OIpadty cJ 294.18 MT matured fish per annum and about IOO.(OJ fingerlings monUlly. After cmducting II Rapid Rural Appr.Usal (RRA) exemse the urtismaJ Input servioe detivery programme was CJJOOeivoed by the slale government to take OIre of the m~ valur chain in the artisanal fishenes 5Ub5ecIor from production. storage. proce55ing. transportatim