Government of President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday clocked one year. JOHN OBA, examines the achievements of the administration in the agricultural sector so far.
Agriculture under the previous administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan is one sector experts scored his government high as many believed that he did credibly well, especially with several innovations introduced by the former Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, and current President of the African Development Bank (AfDB), Dr. Akinwumi Adesina which earned Nigeria applause from both local and international observers.
Adesina actually based agricultural development during his time on four key principles in executing the programmes. The first principle called ‘subsidiarity’ touches every part of the country’s agricultural value chain. The second approach, involves working within a framework of strategic partnerships with the private sector, civil society and particularly farmers. The third principle is to treat agricultural endeavour as an investment which must generate return like any other viable business, while the fourth focuses on using bottom-top approach to engender accountability and delivery of results in the entire programme.
Though, at the pick of electioneering, the All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Organisation, (APCPCO) accused the President Goodluck Jonathan administration of failing woefully in the sector, saying all the self-praise of the administration on agriculture is simply a ruse.
An accusation that the APC government could be said to have eaten up as President Buhari and the current minister in the ministry, Chief Audu Ogbeh, at every giving opportunity praise the achievement of Adesina in the sector and also adopted his policies and programme.
President Muhammadu Buhari assured the Nigerian public when he met with permanent secretaries in the agriculture and water resources ministries in Abuja that there would be no change to the agricultural policies already going on. He particularly pointed out the Growth Enhancement Support Scheme (GESS) which he applauded as a good initiative.
“There will be no policy change, the GESS is the most effective, transparent and accountable way of ensuring farm inputs get directly to the farmer without intermediaries and without all the various corrosive behaviour that used to tempt the process. So, we are on course with the project and we have the support of all the states. “So it is a continuum, we did not envisage much change in terms of policy, but ensuring that those things that work, work , and correcting those things that are not working very well to ensure that we derive maximum efficiency from our efforts,” he added.
On several occasions, he enjoined Nigerian’s to join hands with his government in ensuring that agriculture is made the mainstay of the country’s economy considering the falling price of crude oil.
Stating that “we must produce what we eat,” while reiterating his administration resolve to prioritize agriculture so as to ensure that the country is sufficient in the production of rice, wheat among other crops, and also encouraged investors to commit to agricultural production so as to support his government’s plan
He promised that his administration would evolve and implement policies that would help Nigeria become self-sufficient in food production because continued importation of food could expose the country to more external shocks. “We developed a mono-product economy and lost opportunities to diversify in the past. We have great potential for agriculture and solid minerals; we are now determined to exploit them to the fullest,” he once said
With this mindset, the very first decision the President took was to officially launched the N40 billion Anchor Borrowers Programme (ABP) and the commencement of the dry season farming organised by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for rice farmers across the country.
Though, many still believe that the president is not serious with his declaration as the believe that the budgetary allocation to the sector is far below expectations as education and health has the highest allocations
Though the proportion of capital allocation in the 2016 agriculture budget is higher than the recurrent expenditure allocation, critical details on how the capital allocation will affect small-scale farmers is conspicuously missing.
The allocation did not also demonstrate the government’s commitment to the Maputo/Malabo Declaration by significantly increasing the overall allocations to agriculture towards 10 percent of the total 2016 national budget which would have help to show that it understood the potential of agriculture to contribute significantly to its aim of diversifying the economy and creating jobs.
Adding that the N77 billion, which is 1.26 per cent of the total budget allocated to agriculture was `grossly inadequate.
Though immediately he took over the ministry, Chief Audu, outlined several plans of this administration which includes making Nigeria self-sufficient in rice production in three years, producing one million trees of Ogbono in 2016 and planting two million cashew trees over a three-year period with the nurseries starting January 2016, growing jute bark industry which will employ close to 10,000 Nigerians and provide grazing up the North for our cattle rearers, one-meal-per-child a day project which is part of an egg and one pint of milk for school children while the government was set to begin cattle breeding through artificial insemination, starting with 200 farmers and to reach 1,000 farmers by the end of 2016, among many other promises.
With all these promises, lack of fund seems to be working against every plan the minister may have in mind as most of the programmes of the previous administration in the sector are either not being partially implemented or completely put on hold. When Blueprint went out to sample some opinions, it was glaring that the expectations of most Nigerians are yet to be met, as many believe that more activities ought to have been going on as what is happening now is not commensurate with the level of change promised.
Speaking with Blueprint recently, the President, Potato Farmers Association of Nigeria (POFAN) and the Vice National President, All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN) Root and Tuber Crops, Chief Daniel Okafor, said the agricultural model in this current administration has changed. “Since the government has changed the way agriculture is being practiced in Nigeria, the farmers are now being carried along; they are now being included in the areas of policy development.
The government is now friendly with the farmers and they are trying to do things as it should be by carrying everybody along. the contribution of the farmers are needed for proper policy formulations. Farmers are supposed to be involved in decision taken on how agriculture should be run in the country. So what is happiness now is different from the previous administration.
