THISDAY ' THURSOAY,OCTOBER 4. 2012
34
DEVELOPMENT
BUSIN ES5WORLD
Fresh Start for a Reeling Agric Sector Crusoe Os~e reviews the Ni~ agri~tuJ'al sector, which has largely been gropmg for over half a cenrury lhc colonial ,llUVJL... or Nigeria's
rt!5Oun:e be. seI the ~
~ltlUal
3I'e it1d ' peodence interestingly . a vi ,rant xctor Ulal almost
single-hand IIv fhanoed a societv chewed up by self ing ",estern overlords. Although It! rek!ti rely efficient agricultural sedor WitS dld ,. flcl.e k Brih!;h industnal l\"\'oIubor\ it did not fail to establish Nigeria as a global a ricukwe pov.-erhouse. with tJv West Africhn nation leading the wOOd in the supply of various nmmoditie5 in the IIle 19505 and 19h1s. ~..J::b-&r ill ld just alter 1960, N'183ia had Its v;uioJs ,1gnH'COIogKal zones expertly outlined Iof"'ll11Ote II e proregalion r:J~ crops m II'P I'ariol.ls regions.. While the Wesb!r-I parts of tM rouptry Wen! pnm~ to d~ clop COCOiI ~ a m.~ror cash crop. ttl( Norlh>rn piIIrts of thr muntry fCJCU!jl!() on groundm.ts as maror-l.").porl cummod\be5. f..a!l1'm Ni;ena.. and ill rt"gJOO L1ter allied the Mioiwet. ieo.-doped oil palm and rubber, 1eedi!'F the :ountry to gkhal gbfy
~omm
"rough .. " .... Ounflg !Ii! eruiy Indt1Je!vieuce yean. Nigeria was he world', largest producer oi sroundnuts ith IIVI!rage outpu t ol712.600 lonncs a lhe.M?l;ond largest producer 01 rocoa with a out 21(.000 tonnes, lIod GhaNI was the anI. COCOII oulpu
mUll~
ahead of Nigcrh. in
Oil palm I;Jl the Midwest and Eastern Nigeria su~1led hA.f the workt's export 01 palm kernel JKY7.an 101nes) and 70 per mit of ~ palin oil ~ports ,lit 160,(100 tOf\fll'5 per annum. these I ~modities drove the growth ~ the naial's economy through its N~ Easten and We!§tem restons. But ultur II triumph 300n began to make wa for de--eal From contribuhng about 70 cent of the nation's revesu.e, lind yield al'Ol.l TlII 6S per cent o f Gross DomEstic uti. ~ ~ bEpl III plununet
the[.
projects (ADI'). While eat::h of Ule above programmes soughl to improve food productiOf!, the ADPs represented the fU'St major practical dl!fT\OllSttatlon 01 the mtegr.Hed apptOildt to agricultural development In Nigeria. ThP eJI~rnent stlIrted With World Bank f\mding. with prqedS at Funtua (1W4), Gusau (1974) and Combe (1974), bklsolomed into Ayangba (197l), ufia (197l), Bit.ta (19'i'1J), 1I0rin (19IIJ), Eldll and Akoko (1981) and Oyo-North (1982) agricultural de\'eiopment prqects. It late!' spread 10 other parts of the "'""tty. It appears however that all titer initiatives were introduced for reasons other than the primaIy ptlrpo!II! of ~ !he growth and ~t d the ~tumlledtt, bec:auge the .sector actuaUy became comawse m the midst 01 all thee well-inlended programmes, "hich were fle'I/E'I' implen-etled appqmal8y. Minister 01 Agriculture and Rural DevelOPITlf!nt, Dr. Akinwunmi Adeshina, has acknowledged that by 19'75, the rution had become a net importer of basic food item.... He lamented that agriculttual productivlly had fallen to il5 lowest level, int.emifying the food security chal.IeJ,ge, even UlOUgh Nigeriil possesses enonnou5 agricultural potential. ~Ln the great years, Nigeria IICCOWlted for over 60 per CBlt of Ule gklbaI supply of palm . J5 rent of groundnut. 23 per cent 01 UI oil and 25 per cent of coma and m'IeB from iilll parts of the muntry reaped the fruits oe their labour," he saki A fallJ'le!' and leader 01 Ute AU Fanners Association of Nigeria ba!ied in KadtD1il State. SMdrac:k MadUon,. abo s:pc:lkr 011 the neg1ect of the agricultural sector. blaming \I mostly on tht:' \.ad: of comlilitmeni of successive governments and discovery of crude oil. According to him, due to the disrovery of the crude oil. whkh is a relatively easict'
~
;,!"'!.= i"""'eJ''''h~ rL
te in the late 1~ and 1 focus the ~bon the • the eclinr of the m:twhUe mainstay of amy was rapul. As the 19'70s up, he conlribution of the ) GOP dropped to an
In CJIoibm,I the
finite
FASTFACIS
,,~
A"griculture contributed 65 pet' centtoGDPlnthe 19605 Agdc contribution to GOP dropped to33 percent in the
1980.
Agric _ gnowth drupped beto" 1 per cent per annnn
ITOm1969 · 1983 Population ofhungry Nigorians rose from 29percentto33per cent between 1999 and2010 NDGs target of the populortlon ofhungry people Is 14.5 per cent by the year 2015 Agric_growth _lor 2011 was less t han 3 per cent
I
mwre of foretgn exchange ea~ £arming has been largely abandcrted and young people that could have been gainfully ('m.pIo~ in
the agricultural sector, migrated to urban centres in .-arch of prosperity. llus rq;Ie:t. he Slid. had resuhed in a dedJne in agriculture to the extent that betw1!en 1969 and 1985, agriculture production fell to Ie9s than ~ per mu annual growth rale at a lime when the population growth was between over three peT o."f\l
Economic Irony 11te Nigerian economy IS such an lIuny. While most nabanS of the world 0lfT)' out extensive r1!5earches to identify sect0f5 that can drive their economic growth and deliver the lofty goal of poverty al.Ieviation,. Nigeria appears lost in the maze of 100 many oconomic segments with overwhelming potentials. As a maritime MOOn with a vast popuIottion of aixnJt 160 million people and cOastline measuring approximately &53 JWomeln!s. fISh production as an enterprisr ~ the opacity to tr.msfonn the e\We Nigerian
"""""'y.
Out of the J6 states in the muntry, nine are IocIled along the roast. whm! the waves of the Atlantic CJtmn emlnce the land and abo. OYer half 01 the nation', larximasB is suitabN! for rash fanning in artifldal water bodies. Bu l patadoxkally, at the moment, Nigeria spends over NlOO billion annually on rlSh impor1a tion. to maNge the enormous fish consumption deficit in the country. With an annual fISh demand in the country of abou t 2.66 million tannes, and a paltry domestic production of about 78O.(IXI tonnes. the demand-supply gap stands at a staggering 1.8 million tonnes,. acmrding to stati5tX::s supplied by Ute Federal Ministry of Agriculture.
Oil j)aImin the Midwest anaEastern Nigeria supplied baH tlfe world's export of palm kernel (407,200 (onnes) and 70 ~ cent of global palm oil exports at too,boo tonnes per annum Mr. Emmanuel Apyi, agreed that with aU the ineffidencies in input 5UppUCS being tadded and dependence on food impor1alion being addre!zged. it woukl only be II maUer of tilT1t" befure the sector rebound~ But the proviso, ar;nxding to him. is that steps must be taken 10 ensure that the initUillves are sustained. Acmrding 10 Ajar', Rlf after the Pre5eflt
Jonathan administnttion., the C1.IJ"mlI
m.m.r:sl("!'
is rdieved of his job and all thesI! v.itiatives are cast aside, thet there clearly would not have been sufftdent time for their effect to be felt bei:aise agricul~ ~ a pennantnl M"I back of 1000g gest;ltion penods."
Tadding UnemJ,lloymenl
Wi th so many disinusioned youths roaming the stJceb aimJes5;ly out of unemployment espuiaIly after graduatim &om !he UI'1J\It'ISItie the menace of unemployment has illtained dizzying heights in the country. And with farming bemg peREiv@d as WliIttractive and a prolessmn for poor tlliterate5 .w.t old peuJHe, Ute pH for young peopt.! to e\ga~ in agricuJture has been nothing but an a ttempt to st~ Willer In a basket. Reviving Agriculture Group Chief Executive offK.yn; of Noton! However, the tap stale' 3OVenurw."lli <llcmkal Company, Nigeria's unly fertiliser seemed 10 have di!;cove,w Ule so\utjoo to manufacturer, Mr. Jite Okoloko, however. the problem through its Agricultural Youths remains optimistic about the chances o f the Empowerment Scheme (AGRle-YES) ""hich sedor in !he mming)'l'5llS. 1'he policy direction the comm~ described a.s an effor1 on oC the ~t administration suggesI:!I that the the part of the stlIte gbvemmenl to develop Federal Govemrnmt is now prepared to tum fUst das,o; agro professiOn.lls on iI landoirape of the tide of the .gncultural sector." he staled. :m hectares oC f.tnnIand and modem Ieanung OkoIoko (')tplained that the Agno.lltural fiKilitie5 and internet access. Participants lt1e !tdec1ed after passmg Tl'ilJl$lormation Ageoda of the AdesirY· 1cd Federal Ministry of Agriculture had shown aptitude and 010\1 tests for a period 01 six months Ir.tining m otquacultul'1". poultry, promise, chief of which is Ute commllment of the government to ensuring that whatever ;mimal husbandry and gn.-en house farming subsidy Is intended for (ill'1I'Ie'IS get 10 actual with another- six months internship Of! full scholar3hips {accommodahon, feeding and ~m""" This Wa5 not the case in the piISI, 115 in ihaPe monthly stipmds} at the estabLishmenl On completion of the progrAmme the 100 daya,. agricultural inputs such as ferti1i!ier and seeds were subsidised with huge amounts by ~ pel'aJUr.!Ii!8I'1" gI\Ul a two-bcdn:un government to help ~ But unfortunalety: ap8JIIra1t I'BJJ miIIim and put in II CIXlpt'!'iItr."I! this subsidy Wa5 a1wa~ hijacked by politi- of 20 persons each. 1h& inncor.Itim by lagas arvJ ottu a:n:emed cally connected lJl(hviduais and the inputs got to farmen late and ill higher prices than state is a step 1Jl the right dirt'ction.. and N'tgeri;I's return 10 ilgricultU~ (lin only bode urHUbsid.i5ed items. Managing t:JUu:to' of the Bia5aadt Conpany; web lOr iIIn aimg ecommy ~ hwwy obzms.