Experts charge new agric. ministers on implementations to boost food security

By Onome Amuge.

The agriculture sector is one of Nigeria’s  major sources of investments with high income

yields for local and foreign entrepreneurs. This is underpinned by the fact that the most populous black nation is one of the most agriculture dependent economies in the world

contributing to food security and poverty reduction, employment generation, rural

development and huge revenue generation.

Over the years, the agriculture sector has undergone various policies implemented by subsequent governments, but the almost-exclusive dependence on crude oil as a major source of export revenue  in the last five decades has resulted in the attendant low investments in the agricultural sector.

Consequently, the agriculture sector has been hampered by poor productivity,inadequate financing,insecurity,among other factors  amid the consecutive food inflation hike as food inflation rose to 26.98 per cent, the highest level in 18 years, since September 2005.

Amid these challenges, the United Nations’ also warned of global food shortages due to global warming and climate change effects, signalling more danger for Nigeria’s already-endangered food sector that seeks urgent attention to resolve.

President  Tinubu, in a bid to drive food security and lead the charge of revamping the agriculture sector, declared a state of emergency on food security, including an immediate,medium and long-term plan  to address the country’s food crisis and its adverse impact on the citizens.

The Tinubu administration  renamed the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD) to the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security (MAFS).

The president also appointed Abubakar Kyari as Nigeria’s minister of agriculture and food security  and Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi as minister of state ,agriculture and food security, both saddled with the responsibilities of leading the charge towards the restructuring  the agriculture sector, attaining food security and promoting increased economic diversification via the agricultural sector.

The appointments of Kyari and Abdullahi come with  expectations of achieving significant results and not make the ministry a conduit pipe for draining state resources with unrealistic policies as experienced under previous administrations.

Speaking on the tasks before the new ministers, Kayode Oyeleye, an agriculture business expert, emphasised that the new ministers need to be on the field most of the time to oversee developments in the sector rather than spend the huge chunk of their activities in the offices awaiting reports from subordinates in the ministry.

Oyeleye lamented that as seen in the case of previous agriculture ministers, reports presented to the ministry are filtered and distorted, leading to pronouncements and policies that do not reflect the reality on the ground.

He, therefore, advised the new ministers to alternate field visits and inspections as often as possible as well as unannounced field inspections to experience for themselves the true state of the sector to help in the implementation of decisive policies

Oyeleye, who served as media adviser to the agriculture ministry under the Goodluck Jonathan administration, also pointed out that there must be a deliberate effort in actually playing up insurance in Nigeria’s agriculture, noting that insurance is a component of agriculture that is found wanting in the country.

“When I talk about insurance in Nigerian agriculture, I am not talking about the way it has been done in the past 20 years or more, in which case it is domiciled within a government setting. It has not worked and I think the private sector needs to be brought in to play leading roles,” he said.

Oyeleye described agriculture as a business that needs to be taken more seriously with the involvement of Insurance companies in which  insurance practitioners are given a free hand and support to create and develop a business model in partnership with the government. “Government can’t afford to dictate when it comes to this. Government must learn from practitioners, invite competent players to pull ideas together for the benefit of the country,” he added.

The agriculture expert also identified the relevance of  research institutes and how their research works and collaborative field works have helped improve the country’s food production over the past decade.

He recommended that the agriculture ministry needs to draw upon their research findings by going to the research institutes for consultations,rather than waiting for the research institutes to come to the ministry to present their reports.

“It shouldn’t be the case that the directors of research institutes will come to a minister’s office and wait for two to three days and cannot see a minister. It is not a good way of helping people because I saw this happening in the past.

They should make themselves accessible so we would be able to draw upon the knowledge in all of these research institutes, universities of Agriculture to serve the country through research and not just to produce graduates,” he said.

Oyeleye also advised the agric ministers to take the issue of flood emergency preparedness very seriously as weather forecasts show  a high likelihood of serious floods in many states, particularly the agrarian ones  which could lead to waste of farm products as experienced last year.

To curtail this situation, he said efforts must be made by the agriculture ministry to avert the floods  and in situations where it cannot be averted; there must be a backup plan for dry season farming.  He also stated that the workings of the federal government and sub-nationals should be devoid of politics as they must work together for a common purpose, which is to feed Nigeria.

Speaking on advanced technology in food production, Oyeleye noted that technology, if applied consistently in a coordinated manner, would definitely play a significant role in boosting production.

However, he lamented that many farmers  are unable to gain access to farm technologies,resulting in poor yields.  This, he explained, is where the government needs to come in, not necessarily by supplying the facilities but by creating an enabling environment  for private/indigenous establishments in the technology sector to get involved.

 Africanfarmer Mogaji, former chairman,agric and agro-allied group,Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), noted that previous administrations have been unable to extensively harness agriculture because a lot of focus has been placed on projects and programmes and not people-oriented developments.

The sole business of the ministry of agriculture,he explained, is to create an enabling environment for the private sector to take advantage of the opportunities,make profit and create impact.

“The ministry of agriculture is supposed to focus on the 11 parastatals under them. Once those parastatals operate effectively and efficiently, every other thing will work,” he said.

Kabir Shitu, vice president,Federation of Agricultural Commodity Association of Nigeria (FACAN), charged the  newly appointed ministers in the agricultural sector  to approach the sector as a business, rather than just a governmental duty of harvesting resources.

The agriculture minister, he said, should dedicate ample time to engage with various farmers on the field and possess the ability to formulate effective strategies for every state’s unique agricultural needs.

Shitu also noted that the agriculture minister must also work in conjunction with water resources to ensure that moribund dams are being resuscitated.

Omoyele Omonira, the chief executive officer, Ultiads Resource, a company that deals in provision of modern farming techniques, charged the minister of agriculture to provide more incentives for young farmers, as well as  provide an enabling environment for them to thrive in their agribusiness venture.

Speaking during the launch of Farmlinkup platform, an innovative hub  and marketplace for farmers to link up or project their farm produce or  services to the world, Omonira advised the newly sworn-in Minister of Agriculture and Food Security  to carry the youths along in his programmes.

The agro-economist from the Obafemi Awolowo University Ile-Ife,  said: “The minister of agriculture and food security should not leave the agric sector to the elderly ones alone, he should try to provide more incentives for the younger farmers too.”

 “We should not leave the farm to our fathers that are their late 60s and 70s, we should find a way to empower the younger ones that are into farming, the minister of agric and food security should create incentives for the younger ones because agriculture is the food basket of the nation and if we manage it well it will produce food for the world, nobody can survive without eating.”

Omoyele also advised the government to assist  youths in agriculture with soft loans, and create an enabling environment for them to thrive in that sector.