Much has been said, policies crafted in order to resolve the food import bill in Nigeria. Governments have come and gone, yet the core problems remain. Yes, there have been actions and results but compared to what is possible, we are way off the mark. There is no doubt that so far, it is difficult to say if indeed there are foods eaten by majority of Nigerians that cannot be grown at home, however, it has become shameful seeing us import just anything including semi processed and processed foods thereby damaging our capacity to thrive in multibillion ways in agriculture.
Are we simply doomed to not be capable of doing the hard work to feed ourselves and even export? What are the real challenges militating against our match to agricultural buoyancy? Why should we import dairies, chicken and beef? Why should we import palm oil in 2019, even when palm oil is actually more expensive in real terms than crude oil?
What is wrong with us? Our cocoa sector has been all talk no action. The other day, the Minister of Agriculture, Audu Ogbeh lamented the fact that between Oyo and Ogun states for example, there are at least 35 dams, yet none of the damns is put to use as we speak, this simply means when we complain of lack of infrastructure, we may just be lying. There are other interests we wish to serve.
Also, because we practice land tenure systems that make it easier to get access to land and for smallholder farmers and their communities to secure land rights, you just begin to wonder what is holding us back at that level. We are aware that from the farmers’ point of view, when they make real effort, they lose the value of their crops due to glut in the market which forces them to sell far below their investment. This cannot encourage a return to farm in the succeeding planting season. Price volatility does not encourage farmers. We have storage issues and we have other issues like access roads, cash, security and transportation among others.
In the continent, it’s not any better. The issues that confront us in Nigeria, torment other African nations, yet we don’t understand what heads of states go to the African Union to do. We however welcome the African Development Bank AfDB’s new initiative to assist African countries deal with the thirst for mindless food imports in Africa.
The recent commentary by the President of AfDB and the 2017 World Food Laureate, Dr Akinwumi Adesina, is that Africa spends $35bn dollars annually on food imports when it has the capacity to feed itself and even earn foreign exchange from exports, is very disturbing.
Adesina, a former Nigerian minister of Agriculture made the revelation in his Norman Borlaug Lecture delivered at Iowa State University, entitled “Betting on Africa to Feed the World”, recently in Des Moines, Iowa, United States. He lamented the negative effects that huge food imports had on the continent. “Africa’s annual food import bill of $35bn, estimated to rise to $110bn by 2025, weakens African economies, decimates its agriculture and exports jobs from the continent. Africa’s annual food import bill of $35bn is just about the same amount it needs to close its power deficit. To rapidly support Africa to diversify its economies, and revive its rural areas, we have prioritised agriculture. We are taking action”. We are hopeful, although we need to see the detailed plan.
For us, Nigeria’s estimated $22bn annual food import bill is scandalous. Nevertheless, we commend the present administration of Muhammadu Buhari for its sustained efforts to ensure food sufficiency for the country through various agricultural policies. It is hoped that in the coming years, the country would take its rightful position as a major exporter of food and cash crops and earn the much needed foreign exchange to boost its economy that has been import dependent decades after attaining nationhood. We need to take palm and cocoa production very seriously. We have comparative advantage over these crops’ production yet we are doing below par.
The latest initiative by the Central Bank of Nigeria in collaboration with some states whereby 900 hectares of land will be earmarked by participating states is a welcome relief. This programme must see the light of day. Similarly, cocoa production should be revved up. If these two crops initiative alone are properly implemented, it will take off more than two million people out of unemployment market. The same way we think that if animal farming is properly organised it will create more than a million jobs within three years. Yet, we keep going round in circles.
_________________
