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The Buhari administration has resurrected interest in agriculture, particularly among small holder farmers, writes Godspower Akpude

President Muhammadu Buhari has hordes of fanatical followers. He has also fanatical aides, one of whom is his aide on social media, Lauretta Onochie. Thus, at every opportunity, Onochie takes to the social media to list what her principal achieved in various sectors. It was no wonder that recently, when the Alhaji Atiku Abubakar Campaign Organisation alleged non-performance on the part of President Buhari, she was quick to come out with another long list contained in a statement, where she enumerated 64 achievements of the government in the agricultural sector. As a foundation for all other things done in the sector, first, she noted that the anti-corruption drive of President Buhari has blocked exogenous leakages in the agricultural sector to encourage, empower, and enhance the locally made farm produce thereby increasing Nigeria’s internally generated revenue (IGR) index and foreign exchange capacity as well as reserve to over $45bn in cash and bonds.

According to her, the home grown feeding programme, designed to end importation and market monopoly of farm produce that could be grown here in Nigeria, is a pilot vehicle to sustainable economic, agricultural, academic and job creation across the length and breadth of the nation.

Other very important developments she noted included the inauguration of the Standing Inter-Ministerial Technical Committee on Zero-Reject of Agricultural Commodities and Produce/Non-oil Exports in Nigeria. Nigeria benefited from 13.1billion Euros honeybee project and commencement of steps to improve the standards of Nigeria’s agricultural exports to align with global standards due to the rejection of our produce at the EU border controls by developing standards and quality control measures.

“Under President Buhari administration, at the end of 2016, agricultural goods as share of total trade got N212.73 bn and 4.02 per cent and agricultural goods exports were 2.7 per cent higher in the fourth quarter 2016 than third quarter 2016. Sesame seeds contributed N6.4 6billion to agricultural product exports in the fourth quarter of 2016. In 2017, and first, second and third quarters of 2018, the agricultural sector has continued to contribute to Nigeria’s GDP.

“In the fourth quarter of 2016, frozen shrimps and prawns chipped in N4.4 billion to agricultural product exports under PMB’s administration; flour and meals of soya beans contributed N2.59 bn to agricultural product exports and cashew nuts in shell contributed N0.95 billion to agricultural product exports. Crude palm kernel accounted for N0.62 billion of the total agricultural exports in the fourth quarter of 2016,” Onochie said.

She is optimistic the agricultural universities coordinating agency is being revitalised as stipulated in the enabling act, and that it would work closely with the Nigerian University Commission and development partners to re-focus the universities of agriculture in the country to continue to boost the sector.

In her view, the Livelihood Improvement Family Enterprises (LIFE) programme initiated by the Buhari administration to bring life back into rural communities through the empowerment of youth, women and other vulnerable groups across the country would actualise its mandate and further help in agricultural production.

Noting that through the Anchor Borrower’s Programme (ABP), the Buhari administration has been providing money for dry and wet season farming in many states, she said the “Anchor Borrowers’ Programme is an intervention of the administration aimed at fasttracking access of rural farmers to finance productivity.”

The ABP of the Central Bank of Nigeria under the Buhari-led administration has made available N82 billion in funding to 350,000 farmers of rice, wheat, maize, cotton, cassava, poultry, soy beans and groundnut who have cultivated about 400,000 hectares of land. There has also been provision of agricultural credit for financing the production of rice, wheat, ginger, maize and soybeans in Kebbi, Niger, Kaduna, Kano, Enugu, Benue, Zamfara, Anambra and Kwara States.

The administration has established 40 large scale rice processing plants and 18 high quality cassava flour (HQCGF) plants with a stake commitment of China EXIM (85 per cent) and Nigeria Bank of Industry (BoI) (15 per cent) through concessional credit facilities of US$383,140,375.60 for the rice mills and US$143,722,202.40 for the HQCF plants.

Added to that, through the Ministry of Agriculture, the government is distributing rice mills of 10 tonnes per day capacity, 20 tonnes a day, 40 tonness a day, 50 tonness and a few 100 tonnes. This is to collectively increase the capacity for rice milling a day nationwide and it is expected to close the gap between paddy availability and mills to process it.

“Under President Buhari, the Bank of Agriculture (BOA) has been strengthened for improved delivery of services through consolidation and recapitalisation in collaboration with the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) to ensure loan disbursement at a single digit interest regime in the agricultural sector as obtainable in developed and emerging economies.

“The President Buhari administration has approved the restructuring, re-capitalising and repositioning of the Bank of Agriculture and has secured the approval of a grant of $1.1 million from the African Development Bank for the restructuring of the Bank of Agriculture, aimed at staff training to strengthen service delivery.

“Now, the government is embarking on National Soil Map Data, and the aim is to use soil-specific fertiliser formulations and application in prescribed dosages based on soil types, and the government has signed an agreement with Morocco to supply fertilizer, raw materials on concessionary terms to boost local blending that will facilitate the production of soil and crop-specific fertilisers,” she said.

SESAME SEEDS CONTRIBUTED N6.46 BN TO AGRICULTURAL PRODUCT EXPORTS IN THE FOURTH QUARTER OF 2016. IN 2017, AND FIRST, SECOND AND THIRD QUARTERS OF 2018, THE AGRICULTURAL SECTOR HAS CONTINUED TO CONTRIBUTE TO NIGERIA’S GDP