Back to the Basics
Governor Godwin Obaseki’s Edo State is attempting to employ agriculture as one of its major tools for reviving and restructuring the state’s economy, writes Solomon Elusoji
That reviving agriculture, and positioning it as a major revenue earner, is one of the core focus of the President Muhammadu Buhari-led federal government is no longer news. But can the same be said of each state government? In the case of Edo, yes, judging from the various moves made by the Governor of the state, Godwin Obaseki, since he assumed office.
Although the state produces crude oil, limestone and quarry, for years, Edo State has been criticised for lacking an industrialisation structure, a factor which has been blamed for youth unemployment. But Obaseki is attempting to change that story, through the promotion of agriculture. And with a total land mass stretching up to 6,873 square miles, most of it arable and unoccupied, his reasoning appears watertight.
Reviving the oil palm sector One of the major areas Obaseki has focussed his torchlight on, in achieving his agricultural objectives, is the resurrection of oil palm as a major export commodity for Nigeria as a whole. Edo State is well placed to lead this charge. The state houses the Nigerian Institute for Oil Palm Research (NIFOR) and two of the biggest oil palm producers in the country, Presco Oil and Okomu Oil.
Recently, Obaseki was at NIFOR, alongside some top government officials for an on-the-spot assessment of its activities, while expressing hope that it was still possible for the country to bounce back to its place of pride in the production and exportation of oil palm, before it was overtaken by the East Asian tiger, Singapore, and Malaysia.
“The country is yet to maximise the potential of this institute, we should go back to the drawing board and retrace our steps and fix that which we missed years ago,” Obaseki said. “We will be travelling to Indonesia in a few weeks’ time to see how the country used oil palm to develop its economy; there are areas we have comparative and competitive advantage as a country, but there are certain things that we need to improve upon.”
He further said that the state would need to collaborate with the institute in sharing expertise with civil servants in the state and urged the country to use the God-given resources for the benefit of the country and future generations.
Meanwhile, when the management team of the institute paid Obaseki a courtesy visit at the Edo State Government House, the Acting Executive Director of NIFOR, Dr. Napoleon Aisueni said the institute was prepared to carry out its mandate of ensuring adequate research in the production of oil, coconut, raphia and rate palms and sustain its status as an international centre of excellence in crop production, processing and improved technological know-how.
Obaseki then expressed the state government’s interest in strengthening the relationship with the institute which aligns with the vision of his government. “We want oil palm to be our own crude oil and therefore, we will partner and work closely with you,” he said.
Opening up agrarian communities Also, as part of his agricultural transformation agenda for his state, Obaseki has said his administration would rehabilitate the old roads connecting agrarian communities in the state to encourage investments in the agriculture sector.
The governor said this recently when he received a report presented by the Technical Committee on Infrastructural Development, set up to review the state of road network constructed when Edo was under the old Midwest Region. Obaseki lamented that most agrarian communities in the state were disconnected from the Trunk A roads constructed by the federal government, which he noted have been hampering agricultural activities in the communities. He said his administration would encourage investment in these communities by reconstructing the old road infrastructure linking the agrarian communities which would be expanded when necessary.
“When the colonial masters designed these roads we inherited, they connected communities because the communities were the economic nerve centres of the then Mid-West region. But with the construction of Trunk A roads, these communities were forcefully relocated and deprived of the huge commercial and economic activities they used to host,” he said.
Obaseki assured that the old roads would be given priority attention when the state commences road reconstruction and rehabilitation work in the dry season.
This is a bold step in reclaiming the future of Edo, as accessibility is one of the major problems torturing farmers in this part of the world; completing the roads and linking up these agrarian communities would inevitably lead to a wider access market for farmers, which suggests more profits and more incentives to continue to ramp up production, while attracting more youths into the sector. Training tomorrow’s farmers Nowadays, agriculture is less about muscle than it is about the mind. Gone are the days when success is determined by the number of hands; now it is about technical and scientific know-how, and the ability to implement best practices in the best coordinated fashion. All these, however, cannot be acquired in a vacuum.
This is why, apparently, Obaseki has prioritised the quality of education potential farmers receive in Edo State. Recently, the government approved the temporary closure of the College of Agriculture, Iguoriakhi, with immediate effect. The closure notice, signed by the Secretary to the State Government, Osarodion Ogie, explained that the action was in line with “the state government’s determination to reposition the college to achieve the goal and objectives for which it was established,” adding that “a team has been put in place to assist government in repositioning the college.”
The team, headed by Professor Anthony Durojaiye Ologhobo, include Prof. Sylvester Oboh and representatives of Presco Oil; Okomu Oil; Nigeria Institute for Oil Palm Research (NIFOR); Rubber Research Institute of Nigeria; Rubber Estate of Nigeria and Leventis Farms Ltd. However, after a strategy session to revamp the College, Obaseki decided to inaugurate a 15-man Governor’s Council on Agriculture to reposition the state’s agricultural sector.
According to the governor, the expanded Council would take a broad view of the state’s agricultural sector and outline strategies that would make the state the number one crop enterprise zone, specifically, oil palm, tubers, cocoa, rice, vegetables, aquaculture and livestock amongst others.
The Council would also tackle the issue of manpower dearth for modern agricultural activities by transforming the College of Agriculture, Iguoriakhi into a world class institute that would deliver the desirable graduates to service the agricultural sector.
Obaseki urged the Council to break into subcommittees that would handle the referenced areas and meet quarterly to review their work. He added that he expects the transformed College to be able to train between 2,000 to 5,000 capable students that would contribute to the development of the sector in the state, and assured that 200,000 hectares of land would be provided for the graduates to display their skills.
Advocating youth Participation Recently, Obaseki was on inspection duty at a 450 hectare maize farm, a Public Private Partnership (PPP) initiative of his administration with Saro – Agro Sciences Ltd, to accelerate the mainstreaming of agriculture in the state’s economy.
During the tour, he urged youths in the state to embrace the initiative, which would enhance their socio-economic status by providing them with bankable jobs.
“We flagged off our Accelerated Agriculture initiative three months ago and this maize farm is a product of the initiative,” he said. “There were few challenges encountered by the farmers and we will go back to the drawing board to ensure that there is significant improvement in the next phase.”
He further said that his administration adopted the PPP business model so that the youths for whom the programme was created can leverage on the expertise of major players in the agricultural industry and grow into big players themselves.
Meanwhile, in a bid to promote youth involvement in the sector and also assist victims of human trafficking in the state, Obaseki has approved an agricultural development scheme. Based on reports, over six million people, most of them young people, attempt to cross into Europe from Africa every year, due to a lack of economic opportunities in their homelands.
Obaseki explains that the scheme would go a long way in making the returnees responsible; build and enhance their capacity in agro-allied business and create a template for youth empowerment. “We are focused on helping to provide exemplary standard for intending migrants and ensure there is food security as part of efforts to end severe hunger, poverty and unemployment in the state,” he said.
According to the governor, about 150 returnees, who are the first batch of people to benefit from the initiative, will also assist in reintegrating and improving the technical know-how of other returnees to become self-reliant.