Mixed reactions have trailed the blueprint of the country’s agricultural sector development under the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari. However, as the country marked her 59th years of attaining national independence on Tuesday, looming threat over food availability is setting. Taiwo Hassan reports
As the country celebrates another Independence Day, it gives another opportunity to assess and evaluate the performance of the country’s agricultural sector in the last 59 years.
Particularly, a lot have changed in the country’s agric sector in terms of different agricultural policies from past administrations to make agriculture the mainstay of the nation’s economy.
Nigeria’s agricultural sector has been under the spotlight following government’s renewed support with lots of positives.
However, of late, the achievements in the country’s agricultural sector, based on government’s policies, have not transformed into positive impact on the common man.
Ideally, there are similarities that the current administration is trying to thread the path of the 60s agriculture blueprint when Nigeria got her independence by making agriculture the hub of the country’s economy.
For instance, the policy direction of the present administration is to ensure that Nigeria attains self-sufficiency in agriculture and for the sector to create jobs for teeming Nigerian youths.
In reality, these set objectives have not really gone in the right way as planned by this government as tales of lamentations have greeted its agricultural policies with insinuation that they are meant to fulfilled ‘northern agenda’ rather than capturing development of the entire nation.
Based on this, there have been continued farmer herdsmen attacks, ruga settlement scheme controversy, Benin-Seme border closure, coupled with increasing prices of agric produce, especially local rice.
Border closure
Recently, the Federal Government announced the closure of borders around Nigeria-Seme routes for security purposes and to reduce incessant smuggling of rice into the country.
This pronouncement to shutdown the borders has been one of the most defining actions taken by this administration in the last 59 years of the country’s independence.
President Buhari had indicated that the exercise, code-named, ‘Ex-Swift Response,’ which culminated into a partial closure of Nigeria’s border with Benin Republic, was undertaken to curb massive smuggling activities, especially of rice, taking place on that corridor.
The exercise is being jointly conducted by the customs, immigration, police and military personnel, and coordinated by the Office of the National Security Adviser.
However, this has not gone down well with members of the private sector as the border closure is not the solution to smuggling of agricultural produce into the country.
The OPS stated that the closure would worsen inflation just as firms exporting local goods to ECOWAS countries have also been deprived opportunities to make profit.
Ruga settlement scheme
One of the most challenging issues threatening the country’s agriculture is that of ruga settlement scheme, which has continued to generate controversy despite its ‘technical’ suspension by government.
According to the Federal Government, the Ruga settlement pilot scheme was designed for 12 states with the aim of addressing incessant clashes between Fulani cattle herdsmen and farmers.
But the plan was meant with huge criticism nationwide.
Agric stakeholders cautioned the Federal Government on its planned Ruga scheme, saying that it will bring set back to the little achievements recorded in the country’s agric sector.
In addition, they noted that extending the scheme nationwide won’t address government’s objective but would rather further the acrimony being anticipated.
Increase in price of local rice
Another fallout is the multiplier effects of Seme border closure on prices of food items in the country, especially local rice.
Indeed, Nigerians are already feeling the negative impact as prices of some food items have skyrocketed, even while local rice production has experience a boom.
For instance, a bag of 50 kg foreign rice, which sold for between N13,000 and N15,000 before the closure now goes for N16,000, N18,000 and N20, 000, depending on the brand.
Already, rice processors, under the aegis of Rice Processors Association of Nigeria (RIPAN), have put their weight behind the border closure.
The association said the closure of Seme, a border town between Nigeria and Republic of Benin, would save the Federal Government about $400 million, which would have been lost to rice smuggling into the country.
They also insisted that they have pegged the price of rice at N15,000 per bag of 50kilogrammes (Kg).
Global cashew glut
Another important challenge facing the country’s agriculture in recent time is that of increasing glut in cashew export.
It was reported that Nigeria’s quest to realise about $1.7 billion from cashew nut export this year alone have been ticked following sudden glut in the commodity at the global market as price volatility, bad conditions of Apapa roads and rejections marred government’s revenue target for 2019.
Unfortunately, cashew nut farmers operating in the country’s agricultural space are not finding it easy this year.
However, to make matters worse, investigations by this newspaper showed that Nigeria’s major markets, Vietnam and India, have refused to take delivery of Nigeria’s cashew nuts because of their government refusal to give out loans to processors this year.
Flooding havoc
Another major problem is perennial rainfall resulting to flooding across the country.
Consequently, agric stakeholders have warned that the country’s agricultural output volume is set to be reduced significantly with their investments at risk, unless the federal and state government intervene.
Chairman, All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN), Lagos State chapter, Otunba Femi Oke, told New Telegraph in an interview in Lagos, that this year’s flood is set to bring poor harvests due to droughts, which delayed planting at the start of the 2019 season.
He noted that when it finally rained, it became rather excessive, as was witnessed in some parts of the country in recent times.
Oke explained that this year’s flood could halved the country’s 25 million tonnes maize production, while other crops too are expected to suffer same fate, with local farmers set to go bankrupt amid disruption of their farmlands.
Last line
There is no doubt that the past 59 years of independence have been challenging in all fronts in the country’s agric sector despite claim of government support as food shortage, high cost of foodstuff, poverty and flooding among others are becoming the order of the day.
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