THISDAY • TUESDAY. JUNE 19. 2012
31
BUSINESSWORLD
AGRIC
A ~tI'op..-;It'" on. fvm
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Kwara: ffighlighting Agric for Sustained Economic Prosperity
In partnership with famous agriculture experts from Cornell Universil:)r, USA, Kwara State has kicKed off plans to provide for its people witl, gains from farri1ing, and to become fue major agriculture resource cenfre in ~est Africa. Crusoe Osagte -.;.Ilrites !'as, tnrl: to economk prospmty, which has been amenable to Nigena through the instrumenlality of the nation's vast oil wealth. has fran time 10 tune displayed ils unretiability and WlSU5talf\ability. When 011 pria'5 go up. the economy appears to be stable and when it comes down, there is the morbid fear of The
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Case Study
Kwara stale ~oemment. OYer the piI5l mauhs has shown by its categoric:al actions that it is ~. CXlI.Ir.il' out oIlhe ~te situatiCI'\ whl>re aD the states 01 the federation move 10 the Federal Capital1m1tory at the end of the months. with cap in hand, in order to obtiUn their 'sttMe' 01 the nabOll's wealth in the name of monthly a1IocaUon. Any time there is • delay in the disbursement 01 this Q'Iltral fund.. most of which is generaled through crude oil sales. then salarie\ 01 public servants in most oJ the states: lUl' ~ certain 10 remain wtpad. ~ leaders of the Kwara stale government ha\:e kdra:l aJO.Jnd !hem IIJd identified agn:ut.. I~ lIS one 01 the majcw paths,. through whlctl ~ will stir their people out of impending 1!ftInCX]\IC disaster thai is ce1ain to ocrur in a munb)' where 90 per cent 01 the states cannot pay municipal bills unless crude oil is sold at super normal prices in the ItIlem.ltimal market. To fully take advantil~ of lhe-edge which ~can provide. KWiJrI slale SO"'eIlIJ'II't'II taniecided to spend a 101 01 time. t'Ill'Il3 and l1lSOll/CI5 planning With the help of experts, Ehstitutioni and nations that have spent deadt:s ~.rod. reaping the ~ frwlS 01 effi>cbw agriCultural growth and cL.>veloprnenl
MoU Soost Kwua Stale'S boki U\lw tive on ~I
agriculture got a boost at the presentatim and signing of a Memorandum 01 Understanding between the stile govemmenl and the Cornell Uruversety of New York on the Kwan stale Agnculture Master Plan (](AMP). Governor Abdu1&.tah Ahmed, who 100 the Kwara delegation to the presentation of the KAMP document and the signing of the Moll In New York. signed on behalf 01 the state while Profe5l!iOt W. Ronnie Coffman. ComdI's Director of international Programme, signed for the University. ThI! ~ presents a dear IOiIdmap lor the expansiOn.. fundmg .rod. Impact of rom· mercial llgriculture in the stale for- the nex t five years. It is the product of a tJuee...month collaborative researo, by ComeO Prolessots and thar Nigerian COWlterparts led by the V~ ChanrelIor ol Kwara State University, Prof. Abchdrasheed Na' Allah.
ExpIainmg the significanre oJ the MoU, Pnll. Coffman said Kwara made hisIory by being the first stille government in the workt 10 sucreed ttl pannering the univestty whith is renowned globally lor its expertise in agriculture. 11 IS the first time this univesity is sigrung a Moll with any stale ~ \Ok are proud ol this partnership and we are confidenl that the MoU will produce good results, ~ he said. UnftiJing an Initiative Ahmed, in his address, pledged to Impiemen! the document to the letter, stressing
thai his administration would go ~ond the conventIonal s~em of measunng mput and output to measuring the Impact 01 the rne.a5Un!5 being tlken to " make Kwara the a~luIt' hub of \"kst Africa ." Stressmg the timeliness vI the I",b;]bve Ahmed said. " In add\11OrI 10 the N:s..a ......
have learnt, we want to make our dt!Ve1opment relevant for the 21st century. All the experts, from the United Nations Conference on TOOI' and Developmenl (UNCTAD) and pnvate equity tnSututions, exalt the benefits 01 activO! investments through Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) In the agriculture sector, as
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human capital are structured correctly. My adnunl5lratlOf1 agrees With this In totality." The governor lauded the piCll'le'efinS eHbrts of his predecessor. SenatOl" Bukola Saraki, m commeraal agriculture, noting that the opporturuly of ronlinuity m govem,ance III the stale has made it p:!S&ib1e for him to build on the fotmdation laid by the former- governor. As an evolving eronomy, Ahmed noted. dependmg on how one pm:eives Kwara State and Nigaia. inflows d capital are alo;o 5UpIXrt'd by several preferential trade agreements. '"The African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), Everythtng bu! Anns (EBA~ Ihr: IDs Emnomic Partnership Agreement (EPA) in e5fienCe: support these by giving preference to products from developing regions. "Just last month,. tht Chuna administrallm acknowledged the relevance of AEnciln romITlI!ftia.l agriculture in Kktressing global food needs ahe.vI 0( the G8 meetmg by anJlOUfICIJ'IH the Impending Pubhc Private Partnel'ship5
(PPPs) , ..it" "Y P"l"" ~ gIoI»J.~
~ PPPs lncIudl' oomparues m 5e'W!f'IIo1 countnes. Nigeria included, for the sake of 1l'I'lprIJ\'e..1 agnrultural prodUCb\'1ty t t l f t reg:.on. and fooJ security globall)~" he expbtned In hi.~ message, SmatOl' BukoIa SIUru comlJ'li:!f\ded the Ahmed . chrunislrahon for prodUcing KAMP, expressing confidl.:oce that Gov A1tmed. havrng served undef" the immed1i!te past adOW'USb'ahon as C~'r
lor Fmance and later f.D IflOIlUC iA!ve&opment" understands the vasil," an.! benefits of the agricultural revolutiJn in Nigena being champKJned by Kwal1l,
Foreign Support ~ by the lofty lleal.d KAMP iInd!he Sigrung of iUl MoU 10 .in Ie ilS implementation, the ~ of USAIO il N igena. Ms Sharon Pauhnf;. who personaOy att...-nded the Signing reremooy. pledgOO unrn",:lialuupport for the
progranune. "We are 100king blto
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With Kwara on rice arid rlSh productWJfl. \"k are expecting 10 see Kw Ira .'IS a leader III our dnve 10 support food pi xluctU. ttl Nigeria." thie USAID chief said ThI! Signing ceremon' - W .1S al50 Witnessed by members of the wplillruloc ccrnmunity Ul New York and \eading n.embefs oJ the Kwara Stal~ AssociallOO 01 Nrg.!na Nmh Ament:an Chaplef" (KSANG) and he leading members of Cornell UniYerSi!y
Condusion Anallv, although the po56iblc challenges that an:> associated W i th tht· implementation of such novel effort ttl 1'Olre.fonn a Slate into the mlIJOT agricultural reOU1Cl! centre 01 a sub regkJn cannot be oven;Ql«i. Kwara stale must be lauded if for nothuIg else, renamly for the Iorestght and romuutmer't 10 changing tht- W ilY the stale dnves Its ecun IffiJC development. It is tune for state SO'- emments In Nigena to wale up from the rul,htmaJe of economIC survival through rent roUectlon from the mm.mg of a fimte resourre, to l't'lflOITUt."":' thaI ~1e5 value from effa.b\ e nlafl."Igen'Il"nt <If the inrutile agricultural rl'SO.JrOS. whICh Nigeria IS abundanlly endow..-d With.