Agricultural exports ready to substitute oil – Commissioner
Jameel Zakari is the Nasarawa State Commissioner for Agriculture. He speaks to on government’s efforts in boosting agricultural exports.
What you make of agriculture being the frontier of Nigeria’s export base? do
We all know that the era of oil being the major export of Nigeria is gradually diminishing. As such, the Federal Government is looking for other sectors of the economy to develop to full capacity and serve as major export profit earner as prices of crude oil is still reluctant in appreciating to a reasonable level.
One of such vibrant and promising sectors of the economy is agriculture which if properly harnessed, will go a long way to earn large proportion of profit.
What are the efforts that government has put in place to boost agricultural production?
There has been several efforts put in place both at the federal and state levels but most importantly at the federal level, we have the Anchor Borrowers Programme (ABP) and various other agricultural lending schemes which are being midwifed by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Bank of Industry (BOI) where so far billions of naira have been disbursed to farmers to encourage large scale production and subsequent export.
These initiatives are necessary because of the high food importation which sometimes increases inflation rate of the country and also displaces local production. As it is, Nigeria has the capacity to produce several cash crops that can be sold to different countries of the world.
What are some of these cash crops that can attract large profit to Nigeria if exported?
A lot of cash crops have so far been exported to other European and Asian countries but ginger, cashew nuts, sesame, cassava and yam have very big potentials of replacing the dwindling fortunes of oil. So far, analysis has shown cashew nuts alone earned Nigeria over N10 billion in exports, while ginger also has followed suit in bringing millions of naira to the coffers of Nigeria’s treasury. These crops can be carefully exploited to earn the country foreign exchange, expand income options and lift many out of poverty. This is vital because the recent release by the National Bureau of Statistics to mark Nigeria’s exit from recession clearly indicated that agriculture was one of the driving sectors that facilitated the exit in the second quarter of 2017. After all, agriculture alone accounts for more than 65% of our Gross Domestic Product. By implication, it is a sector that has potentials and prospects and can form a large proportion in the net export sector of the country and the Green Alternative Policy encapsulates it all.
Has the green alternative policy of the Federal Government policy been yielding positive results?
The green alternative is a policy initiated by the Federal Government through the Federal Ministry of Agriculture. It was birth after due consultations from November 2015 through April 2016. The policy regime tagged Agricultural Policy Promotion (APP) is aimed at reforming the agricultural sector to solve emerging challenges of the country especially in terms of export, and also attaining sufficient food security and aiding sustainable income and job growth from 2016-2020.
So far the green alternative policy has been set rolling, although food security and self-sufficiency has not yet being attained, there is no doubt that the unfolding programmes in the agricultural sector, set to mobilise, stimulate and provide incentives will be attained with time.
Does the Federal Government carry the 36 states of the federation along in this process?
The Federal Government cannot achieve this quest without involving the 36 states of the federation. The Federal Government through the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, is involving all the states’ ministries of agriculture in ensuring that the process is achievable and attained and I think it should not hesitate in engaging the states to achieve this goal especially states that farm these cash crops in large proportion in order to boost agribusiness in Nigeria.
It is commendable that the Federal Government has begun great moves to replace oil business in Nigeria by turning attention to other key sectors like the agriculture and mining sectors which in no distant time will replace oil if properly enhanced to full capacity.