Adebajo: We’re Making Agriculture Attractive to Youths
Mrs. Adepeju Adebajo is the Commissioner for Agriculture in Ogun State. In this interview with Jonathan Eze, she speaks on steps taken by Governor Ibikunle Amosun to arouse the interest of youths in agriculture and improving on farmers’/herdsmen relations
May we meet you please?
I am Adepeju Adebajo. I am privileged to have had over 25 years’ experience spanning various industries and finance. I am currently the Ogun State Commissioner for Agriculture. Previous roles include MD, Project Management Office & Geocycle at Lafarge Africa Plc. I previously headed strategic planning, brand management and product development at United Bank for Africa and was a qualified case leader at Boston Consulting Group and as well as a financial analyst at Citibank, both in the UK.
I hold a Bachelor of Engineering (Chemical Engineering) from the Imperial College of Science & Technology, London; a Master of Engineering (Chemical Engineering) from the University of London; and a Master of Business Administration, Harvard University, Boston. I am also an alumna of INSEAD.
I supported the Federal Ministry of Budget and National Planning in development of the 2017 – 2020 National Economic Recovery and Growth Plan among other responsibilities.
Tell us about your ministry. Since you were appointed the Commissioner, what have you observed and what are the potentials of the Agric Ministry that you have been unlocking?
The Ministry of Agriculture was founded 40 years ago at Ogun State’s inception. The Ministry formulates policies that drive the agricultural sectors in the State. It supports the people of Ogun State in the agricultural sector through various programmes and activities such as agricultural land allocation, providing subsidised inputs such as fertilizer to smallholder farmers, provision of efficient agricultural extension services and sourcing for industrial off-takers. The Government’s job after all is to provide an enabling environment.
The key to taking agriculture to the next level lies in increasing productive alliances between different value chain actors. One way to do this is through backward integration, spearheaded by private sector actors and supported by government policy.
Backward integration refers to the process in which a company purchases or internally produces segments of its supply chain. In the case of fish feed producers this would mean taking part in the production of maize, sorghum and/or soybean to provide raw materials to work with. An increasing number of larger companies are following this model of operations from dairy processors to ethanol producers. A related model of backward integration is the use of out grower networks by larger processors, in addition to their own production. The processor enters an arrangement with farmers who will supply their products to him. The processor can support his outgrowers through training, provision of inputs, etc. all with the aim of increasing yields and as a result providing more guaranteed and better raw materials for the processor.
How can your explorations and exploits in the Agric ministry impact on the economy of this state especially with the increasing calls for diversification from oil to agriculture?
There are 46 sectors that contribute to Nigeria’s economy. The largest contributing sector is Agriculture, responsible for almost a quarter of Nigeria’s GDP and the largest employer of labour in the country with 70% of Nigerians involved in the sector in one form or the other.
As the terrestrial gateway to the country’s largest commercial and population centre, Lagos, Ogun State understands she has an important role to play in agriculture.
The State has huge farming potential with 1.2 Million hectares of arable land, of which less than 30% is currently under cultivation, tropical climate and high average rainfall. Furthermore, the diverse agricultural landscape means a wide variety of crops can be grown. Major crops currently grown or cultivated in the State include cassava, rice, maize, fruits, vegetables, cotton and soybean, cocoa, oil palm and cashew. In addition, the state has one of the largest poultry populations in the country and houses the largest fish cluster in Africa at Eriwe in Ijebu Ode. Despite these advantages, we have a large gap between supply and demand across many value chains, which presents a huge opportunity for producers and investors alike. This is why the state is focused on productive alliances with the private sector and Development Organisations, to see how we can urgently narrow this gap. Our mode of operation is collaborative, with our stakeholders, for example, ongoing discussions with cassava farmers and offtakers across the state. This is being replicated across all our crop, livestock and fisheries value chains.
Agriculture isn’t just limited to farming. It involves participants from the seed producers, to the fertilizer manufacturers, to service and logistics providers, to the major agro allied industries and formal/ informal food markets. Ogun State, thanks to her proximity to Lagos already is a major industrial hub, with 75% of FDI coming into Ogun state. With the infrastructure, security and housing being put in place, the role of Ogun state as a major agri business destination will only increase.
With an abundance of land, an ideal climate and landscape, we expect growth in agriculture to lead to more industrialization, thus improving wealth creation, economic diversification, employment generation, import substitution and enhancing export potential.
A shift or upgrade from manual farming to mechanised using modern technologies will boost food production. How soon can we get there in this state?
Nigeria has the potential to be one of the top agricultural forces in Africa and the rest of the world. However, boosting food production is subject to several factors and not just limited to the transition from manual to mechanised farming. The key lies addressing the agricultural value chain as a whole. When it comes to productivity, promoting good agronomical practices, and using good quality inputs to improve yields is important.
Mechanisation also has a role to play in improving yields, reducing manual labour and attracting new cadres of farmers, particularly the youth. Land clearing and preparation is a major challenge to mechanized farming and the cost of land development is a huge outlay, potentially deterring many farmers. The State is poised to address this challenge and has invested in land clearing equipment. The State is also procuring labour saving implements, particularly for the cultivation of rice and cassava to improve productivity in the sub-sectors. We are also improving our extension service delivery to enhance the dissemination of modern farming technologies to boost food production. The state is also promoting cluster farming in key crops of rice, cassava and fish, in 2017. We are in the process of promoting rice clusters in Eggua, Cassava in Owowo, and Fish across the 3 senatorial districts.
Before now, there used to be issue of flooding especially when the Ogun dam is released and farmers are often affected massively. What measures has the state taken to prevent and manage this?
We have focused on carrying out enlightenment programmes for the local farmers on weather forecasting, as released by the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NIMET). Furthermore, we advise farmers in different sectors from fisheries to crops, who may be affected by the dam, on how and when best to evacuate the products, especially in areas prone to flooding. Fish farmers have been told to clear their drainage structures and harvest their stocks earlier, crop farmers have been advised to harvest what they can move to better areas. The State will liaise with Ogun-Osun River Basin development Authority to make regular announcements on when water from the Dam will be released.
Tell us about your Anchor Borrowers and Civil Servants Agricultural Scheme?
The Anchor Borrowers’ Scheme targets value chains and so fits our strategy on a value chain approach. The state is currently supporting a number of private sector players in cassava, poultry, fish etc to access Anchor Borrowers and the State will anchor Rice in 2017. The Civil Service Agricultural Scheme is a project approved by His Excellency that will ensure that civil and public servants participate in agricultural development in the State. This is directly in line with the Constitution of the Federal Government of Nigeria that approves agriculture as one of the sectors civil servants can participate in while still in service. Therefore, civil and public servants will have access to land for farming. The State Government assists with access to inputs, funding etc to encourage this scheme. There is a high degree of interest in this program and it will help with financial independence.
What is the State Government doing to make agriculture attractive to youths?
The State recently hosted a Youth Summit, exposing youth to different options for employment and empowerment. There was a high degree of interest in agriculture, across crops, livestock, fisheries and vegetables. These youth, over 3000 of them, will be accommodated in the various specific intervention projects for 2017, where they will be given practical on the job training alongside experienced farmers. In addition, a number of private sector companies have committed to taking some of this youth on. Our expectation is that these youth will learn new skills, improve employability and indeed be employed as entrepreneurs or employees.
The implementation starts with deployment of youths to corporate farms and directorates of the Ministry for practical training in specialized areas of Agriculture. The youths will be trained at our farm settlement in Owowo, some have been drafted into FADAMA 111 Youth Empowerment Programme. All other areas for training are our directorates of Fishery services and Livestock services, Cassava revolution, and corporates, to mention a few.
Worthy of mention also, is another training arrangement with the support of Michigan State University. The programme is supported by MasterCard foundation and IITA for 700 youths in Ogun State. The Length of training will be determined by harvest cycle (poultry- 6-8 weeks, fishery- 6 months)
The State also has a number of other Youth Empowerment projects eg The Owowo Model Farm Estate, where 40 youths are given a residential opportunity to train in poultry, Fishery and Arable crop businesses. The Kotopo Green house Technology project is another Youth Empowerment programme. The initiative was designed to train youth in greenhouse technology for guaranteed supplied of tomatoes among other high priced vegetables.
What is the state government doing to address gender inequality in Agriculture?
There is no better time to support women’s economic empowerment and strengthen a critical part of the Nation’s population through agriculture. Women typically receive very little remuneration for their effort in agriculture, because land tends to be family-owned and they have limited access to financing and inputs. We have designed a program to empower 2,000 rural women with Ten (10) Five (5) week old free range chickens each. The chickens are a hardy breed, a cross between layers and broilers and can be reared with little maintenance. This will be done in the Three (3) senatorial districts of Ogun State. After Twelve (12) to Sixteen (16) weeks the women can sell the chicks, enabling them to replenish their stock and earn a living.
Even though the state had not witnessed any major attack from the herdsmen, what is the state doing to prevent such?
Ogun State has in the past experienced cases of clashes between Herdsmen/Pastoralists and indigenous farmers leading to loss of lives and property. To avoid future occurrences of these incidents the Ogun State Government instituted a committee on the Harmonization of the agreement governing the relationship between Fulani Pastoralist /Herdsmen and their Host Communities.
The committee was constituted on November 14, 2013. Members include representatives from the Executive Government, Local Government, Fulani Communities, Farmers Associations, the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Agriculture. Other sub committees were then created to address the conflicts and initiate corrective action.
The Conflict Resolution Committee and Implementation Enforcement Committee was inaugurated on January 15, 2014. The members of the Committee include Security Personnel, Host Community Representatives, and representatives from the Fulani/Cattle Herdsmen communities.
In addition, the Ministry monitors the activities of herdsmen through reports from field officers and has regular dialogue with the leadership of the herdsmen in the State.