Despite the calls for the total or partial diversification of the economy, Rivers state government seems to be looking the other way to the detriment of agriculture. GODWIN EGBA writes that the sector is going extinct.
From all indications, the leading roles being played by the present administration led by President Muhammadu Buhari alongside other state governments and corporate organisations in Nigeria’s agricultural revolution towards food security is not making much in-road in Rivers state.While many states in the South-east like Ebonyi, Anambra, Benue, Niger and Plateau states in the North-central, among others and also those in the North-west and South-west pride themselves for promoting agriculture beyond mere subsistence into a sustainable business in place of oil and gas, the government of Rivers state seems to be comfortable with mere lip service.
Many states in the country are receiving kudos for their campaign on food security,Rivers appears to enjoy remaining in its snail-pace mode while oil theft, cultism, kidnapping and other brazen criminalities make waves in print and electronic media space but agriculture which can occupy the overwhelming youth population of the state does not seem to have any place in the mind of the present administration in the state.
Why it’s amazingRivers is the immediate host community to a world-class fertiliser plant (Train-1) Indorama petrochemicals in Port-Harcourt which produces 1.5 million metric tons of urea brand of fertilizser per annum to ensure that farmers across the 36 states of the country are adequately served including the company’s free agronomy services which trained 500,000 farmers across the country in 2017 and 2018 and additional 400,000 in 2019, respectively. However, the question many people are asking is how much percentage of Rivers genuine farmers benefitted from these free services.
No continuity of projects
Across-section of farmers in Port-Harcourt who spoke with Blueprint said that the immediate past governor of the state and now transportation minister, Hon Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, tried as governor to establish four fish farms at Buguma, Andoni, Opobo and Ubima and a banana farm in Ogoni sitting on a 250 hectares of land.Those farms he started were aimed at creating jobs for hundreds of rural dwellers since it is not everybody that has the opportunity to find a job with an oil company or banks in the state capital.
Another exciting farm project established by Amaechi’s Administration was Rivers Songhai Learning Initiative that had a centre for training, agricultural production for livestock, citrus and vegetables, among others.The farm project occupied 314 hectares of land in Bunu-Tai, an agrarian community in Tai Local Government Area of the state. It was estimated to be 20 times the size of the Songhai model in Porto Novo in Benin Republic. The integrated farm combines livestock, arable farming, fishery, snail farming and poultry.Facts available to Blueprint reveals that the Songhai farm project came with the cost of $140 million designed to have 300 farming houses for workers, agro processing and 3,000 hectares for cultivation. But it is sad to know that all the above projects are as good as dead, destroyed or gone extinct because the spirit or commitment to continue from where Amaechi and his administration ended their tenure fizzled or also died out since the present administration came on board in the state. Rivers state ranks high as one of the fastest states in the oil-rich Niger Delta region. By estimation (2006 National Population Census), it controls a population of 6,015,031. Nigeria’s population is projected to increase from 2010 million (2019) to 307 million in 2050, which means 71 percent increase in food demand. Therefore, it is imperative for every government at all levels to situate agricultural revolution strategically in its socio-economic blue print.
The need to separate politics from food security
Also, some critics in their opinion while speaking with Blueprint in Port-Harcourt noted that Governor Nyesom Wike allowed the political differences with his predecessor, Amaechi, to undermine the importance of agro- projects in the state which is far above political disagreement with a person or group of persons.“We already know the capability of the sitting Governor Wike. He is not known for failure in anything he is set out to develop in Rivers state because his already-accomplished projects speak volumes, but he should take food security as a journey of success and a destination,” a cross section said. They pointed out that on January 23, 2018, Governor Wike was quoted in a special newspaper report where he allegedly revealed that Songhai Farm and the multi-million naira Banana Farm both in Tai Local Government established under the former governor, Amaechi, were secretly owned by private individuals in collaboration with some Mexicans.He said the collapse of the Banana Farm was due to multiple litigations against the state government by members of the host communities who felt that their land were forcefully acquired and were not properly consulted before its establishment.But his critics noted that Wike was part of the Amaechi’s administration as Chief of Staff when the project was conceived. The project was one of the several projects initiatives conceived after roundtable consultations which looked at the state beyond oil recommended that agriculture may point the way of the future in terms of investments and employment.That consultative forum led by a permanent secretary, Pastor Briggs took months to come up with an articulate plan.Some people are of the view that the Banana plantation which has since been destroyed under the watch of the current administration in the state was perhaps as part of a carefully woven plan to degrade the legacy of a former administration, regretting that when two elephants fight, only the grasses suffer.
