3. Food Security and Agriculture:
Sufficiency of food production is paramount in assessing the success of any system of government. The emphasis of President Yar’Adua‘s government will be on food sufficiency and the development of the agricultural sector. This will entail the application of contemporary technological tools in the modernization and development of agriculture. Investment will be made in the area of research so as to improve the quality of plant seedling and ultimately their yield. The reforms in the agricultural sector will lead to massive domestic and commercial output and the technological know-how transferred to local farmers. Government policies in the first instance is to create an enabling environment to encourage subsistence farmers get improved yield by creating easier and subsidized access to genetically improved crop seedlings and fertilizer; the next step is to enact and implement policies that would engender a paradigm shift from subsistence to mechanized agriculture by making revolving loans available for mechanized/industrialized farmers. This "double-barrel" approach will ensure that food sufficiency is attained within a time to be identified.
Agriculture contributes 42% of Nigeria’s GDP and engages over 65% of the country’s workforce. The sector is constrained by enormous challenges, and it is characterized by low output, inefficient and antiquated production tools and infrastructure. Approximately 66% of the country’s total land mass of 92.377 million hectares is suitable for agricultural production but under half is currently cultivated. The various problems faced by this industry have rendered it uncompetitive in local and international markets. For example, non-affordability of modern equipment and production inputs, low access to credit/finance and poor infrastructure all combine to make local production uncompetitive. Poor funding has led to the total collapse of the research and extension services in the sector and ineffective regulatory framework for enforcing grades and standards for farm produce have made farm output growth difficult.
As part of the 7-point agenda, the government will ensure the optimal performance of agriculture. Critical areas for intervention will include strengthening agribusiness through institution of a profitability and price support mechanism, land tenure changes, aggressive development and supply of new land resource, technological empowerment of the sector, increased access to credit finance, strengthening of farmer support groups through commercial farmers, improvement of rural access infrastructure, and resuscitation of the River Basin Development Authorities (RBDAs).
Central to these mentioned strategies, is the urgent need for the introduction, on the supply side, of the Commercial Farmer in order to professionalize agribusiness in Nigeria. Additional land for cultivation and idle irrigation facilities around our dammed water bodies will provide excellent opportunities to increase farm output and employment prospects in rural areas. On the demand side, the re-introduction of the Commodity Boards and its licensed Buying Agent will be undertaken to boost the marketing prospects of our farm produce. Furthermore, the new National Policy on Agriculture launched by the previous administration will be made to, among other things, strengthen national foods security, increase production and local processing of agricultural raw materials, and increase employment generation opportunities in the food sector.
The Government will embark upon the preparation of a comprehensive National Food Sector plan (NFSP). The plan will be the tool for realizing the desirable goals of the intervention recommended above. The NFSP will be the product of collaboration between all significant stakeholders in the Food Sector.
Sufficiency of food production is paramount in assessing the success of any system of government. The emphasis of President Yar’Adua‘s government will be on food sufficiency and the development of the agricultural sector. This will entail the application of contemporary technological tools in the modernization and development of agriculture. Investment will be made in the area of research so as to improve the quality of plant seedling and ultimately their yield. The reforms in the agricultural sector will lead to massive domestic and commercial output and the technological know-how transferred to local farmers. Government policies in the first instance is to create an enabling environment to encourage subsistence farmers get improved yield by creating easier and subsidized access to genetically improved crop seedlings and fertilizer; the next step is to enact and implement policies that would engender a paradigm shift from subsistence to mechanized agriculture by making revolving loans available for mechanized/industrialized farmers. This "double-barrel" approach will ensure that food sufficiency is attained within a time to be identified.
Agriculture contributes 42% of Nigeria’s GDP and engages over 65% of the country’s workforce. The sector is constrained by enormous challenges, and it is characterized by low output, inefficient and antiquated production tools and infrastructure. Approximately 66% of the country’s total land mass of 92.377 million hectares is suitable for agricultural production but under half is currently cultivated. The various problems faced by this industry have rendered it uncompetitive in local and international markets. For example, non-affordability of modern equipment and production inputs, low access to credit/finance and poor infrastructure all combine to make local production uncompetitive. Poor funding has led to the total collapse of the research and extension services in the sector and ineffective regulatory framework for enforcing grades and standards for farm produce have made farm output growth difficult.
As part of the 7-point agenda, the government will ensure the optimal performance of agriculture. Critical areas for intervention will include strengthening agribusiness through institution of a profitability and price support mechanism, land tenure changes, aggressive development and supply of new land resource, technological empowerment of the sector, increased access to credit finance, strengthening of farmer support groups through commercial farmers, improvement of rural access infrastructure, and resuscitation of the River Basin Development Authorities (RBDAs).
Central to these mentioned strategies, is the urgent need for the introduction, on the supply side, of the Commercial Farmer in order to professionalize agribusiness in Nigeria. Additional land for cultivation and idle irrigation facilities around our dammed water bodies will provide excellent opportunities to increase farm output and employment prospects in rural areas. On the demand side, the re-introduction of the Commodity Boards and its licensed Buying Agent will be undertaken to boost the marketing prospects of our farm produce. Furthermore, the new National Policy on Agriculture launched by the previous administration will be made to, among other things, strengthen national foods security, increase production and local processing of agricultural raw materials, and increase employment generation opportunities in the food sector.
The Government will embark upon the preparation of a comprehensive National Food Sector plan (NFSP). The plan will be the tool for realizing the desirable goals of the intervention recommended above. The NFSP will be the product of collaboration between all significant stakeholders in the Food Sector.
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Food Sufficiency cannnot be attained with the current dependence on subsistence agriculture; we must mechanize in order to be and remain competitive among the leading food producers in the world. That should form the core of policies guiding this element of the 7 Point Agenda.
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