‘Now Is The Time To Discuss Methods Of Promoting Increased Food Production’
ith recession facing many countries, the dip in oil prices, growing population, many countries are exploring farming as another alternative. Stakeholders at a recent event in Lagos have also called on government to encourage farming to avoid food crisis and promote overall national development
WORRIED by the looming food crisis due to low agricultural activities and lack of proactive action that will support farmers and farming, stakeholders have called on the government at all levels to formulate policies that will not only attract farming but that will make land available for farmers.
The call was made at the 18th Annual Public Lecture and luncheon of the Lagos Chapter of the Obafemi Awolowo Muslim Graduates Association (UNIFEMGA) which held at the Grand Ball Room of the Sheraton Hotel, Lagos, with the theme: “Nigeria’s Agricultural Revolution: Opportunities and Options for Muslim Professionals.”
According to the organisers, the lecture became imperative as experience has shown that the oil sector alone cannot sustain the nation and that is why there must be a revival of the agric sector to enable the country produce enough food to feed its teeming population, provide jobs for the youths and generate more revenue into the coffers of the state.
In his welcome address, Chairman, Lagos Chapter of UNIFEMGA, Alhaji Taiwo Ayanboade, stated that food is one of the basic requirements for human beings to survive, stressing that the population of the country estimated at 198 million makes investment in food production an inviting prospect. According to him, reduction in food production, food insecurity, increase in food prices, and youth unemployment have characterised the poor present day status of the Nigerian economy.
“These problems have been associated with an increase in population without a corresponding increase in agricultural productivity and favourable poli- cies,” he said.
“Now is the time to discuss methods to promote increased food production, poverty alleviation, food insecurity, empowerment of small scale farmers and the need for holistic agricultural research encompassing various stakeholders in the government and nongovernmental sectors of the agricultural value chain,” Ayanboade said.
He described agriculture as the “major and most certain path to economic growth and sustainability, adding that the current state of the sector is “only a shadow of what it used to be”.
He said the guest speaker and the panelists were carefully selected based on their experience and knowledge, adding: “I eagerly look forward to learning from them and from others present.”
In his remark, the Chairman of the occasion and Group Chief Financial Officer, Honeywell Group, Alhaji Sikiru Rufai, said agriculture was an important sector that required paying greater attention to, stressing that a nation has failed if it cannot feed its population.
“Agriculture is an area that the whole country has realised that it’s not only for food sufficiency but also to save the country from spending hard-earned foreign exchange in importation of food and also in generating employment for our people,” Rufai said.
“So agric is a very important sector for cover. If you look at the Nigerian demography and you realise by implication, you see a lot of the people are in agric but the kind of agric that we do has become outdated. There is a need for us to talk about the modern ways of agric in order that we can achieve higher yield and generate higher revenue as a nation and increase the fortune of the country, “he noted.
Rufai, however, described the invasion of farmlands and destruction of crops by herdsmen and their cattle as a national challenge and discouragement to those wishing to go into agriculture.
“I’m sure the government will find a way to address this in order that people will be encouraged to go back to farming. It’s a challenge for the government and I’m sure it will be tackled so that it will not inhibit people from farming.”
The Guest Speaker and Managing Partner, Sahel AgriBusiness Managers Limited, Mr. Mezuo Nwuneli, stressed that Nigeria’s large and growing population makes it imperative for more attention to be given to the agricultural sector.
He said population growth is the main driver for the demand for consumer goods, food and services, noting that concerted effort is required to address issues militating against the growth of agribusiness in the country.
According to him, there has been a gradual increase in agribusiness investment in Nigeria over the past 10 years, with over $133billion in foreign investment between 2007 and 2016.
However, Nwuneli noted that even with the increase in investment, over $5billion was still needed to provide required financing for farmers and agribusiness.
He said: “I think there are a number of issues that are important to help the raw sector. One is looking at irrigation in particular so that farmers can be able to do more cycles. There are a number of irrigation projects in the country that should be revitalised.
“For example, in my home state of Anambra, there is irrigation the government has done 30 years ago that the pumpings of some of such are not working. The amount of money required to fix it is not a large amount. So that needs to be addressed so farmers can be able to do two to three cycles in rice production in a year. “Power is also important for the sector. So we need improved power for the growth of the sector. The other one is looking at how government can support fertilization, and support the clearing of lands to enable farmers has more land for farming. As I mentioned earlier, the biggest cost is around clearing. Clearing is roughly N150, 000 per hectare. How many farmers can afford that? Farmlands can be cleared for farmers by the government to open lands that they can then use.”