The massive production of agricultural produce to cushion the adverse effects of the economic distress being faced by Nigerians cannot be over-emphasized. Food is a cardinal need of man, without which survival is impossible. Countries that have overcome food shortage are in most cases ahead of others as the impact of recession or economic downturn is not likely as severe as those still struggling to overcome such basic needs.
When the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led government of Muhammadu Buhari took over power almost two years ago, it made food security via accelerated and boosting of agriculture one of its cardinal programmes. Since then the administration’s officials have made it their sing-song. No less a person in this advocacy is the Minister of Agriculture, Chief Audu Ogbe, who recently spoke on this truism. He was in Kano state for this year’s Wheat Harvest Programme held at Garin Mallam Local Government.
Ogbe said the country is broke and if agriculture is not strengthened and food security guaranteed, the country would run into chaos. “At this material point agriculture is the only way out of the mess,” he said, adding that, this would be fully consolidated if farmers in the state get the attention and support of the government.
He noted that Kano is the biggest producer of rice, and would relieve the country in its quest to avert hunger. In the last few months when agriculture and related byproducts became an imperative of government, there has been concomitant proliferation of rice mills across the country to underscore the new thinking.
The minister, who reiterated the importance of agriculture as the main stay of any economy, also said it is a top priority of the Buhari administration.
The propriety of this new direction can be located in the waning influence of oil in the international markets, which also endangered the revenues accruing to the federation account. Subsequently, day-to-day and efficient running of government is tough; meeting contractual agreement is becoming difficult, while paying workers has been problematic because of liquidity squeeze and lack of money in the system.
The minister also said Nigeria is poised to benefit from the bilateral agreement entered into with the Moroccan government on fertiliser supply, which invariably would make the commodity available to farmers.
The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Nigeria and Morocco was expected to lead to the production of 1.3 million tones of fertilizer in the country. The Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation Group Managing Director (NNPC GMD), Dr Maikanti Baru, had disclosed then that the Moroccans had supplied enough phosphate for blending in 11 plants that were already in operation.
This may be a good idea in the interim, but for the most populous country in Africa with 170 million people to rely on Morocco, a country of 33.1 million population, is certainly not sustainable. The government should rather resuscitate and revive moribund fertilizer companies and even build new ones to meet up with rising population and demands/need for more fertilizers. This is a more enduring strategy than continued dependency on other countries less endowed than Nigeria.
Although it is gratifying that the Federal Governments complimented by some states has made agriculture their product of focus, a lot still needs to be done to make food security realizable. Importing fertilizer is definitely not a panacea. Government should walk the talk, make agriculture implements available and affordable.
Enough of paying lip service to issues concerning agriculture and other fundamental issues affecting the lives of Nigerians. After almost two years, Nigerians are yearning for results in form of less cost and availability of agricultural products. It is disheartening that in the 21st century, Nigeria is still dependent on subsistent farming. Mechanised farming is the only viable solution to food security.
Over the years, Kano state has been playing a leading role in agricultural production, small scale agricultural industries and food outputs in general. The government Governor Abdullahi Ganduje should be commended for sustaining these efforts. The wheat harvest programme is one of such efforts. We urge the Federal Government to encourage the governor and other states desirous of investing, producing and ready to feed their citizens. All these will coalesce into food sufficiency for the people of Nigeria.
