Nigeria at turning point with Renewed Hope Agenda – Abbas

 

Speaker House of Representatives Hon Tajudeen Abbas has said the challenges of food insecurity in Nigeria are “driven by factors such as general insecurity, unavailable infrastructure to scale up production, and economic instability.”

Speaking Thursday as a special guest of honour at the 22nd Daily Trust annual Dialogue and Presentation of Daily Trust Unsung Heroes (2024), Abbas said “the greatest culprit has been years of diverted focus from the agricultural sector.” 

The speaker said the situation worsened in the country, when Nigeria moved from its focus on agriculture and its potential to drive the national economy and focused more on the petroleum sector, undermining agriculture which is “the backbone of our nation.” 

He, however, said Nigeria was at a turning point as the renewed hope agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu had made it clear that ensuring food security required a renewed focus on agriculture.

Represented by Chairman House Committee on Food Security Hon Deacon Chike John Okafor, the speaker said with the Tinubu administration identifying only 35% of arable land in Nigeria as being presently cultivated, it’s subsequently committed to increasing this figure to 65% within four years. 

He said: “Other commitments include strengthening farm cooperatives, improving access to finance, rural infrastructure development, irrigation, and water catchments. These initiatives aim to significantly enhance agricultural output and ensure food security. 

“On the legislative front and as I stated earlier, economic growth and development is a core component of our legislative agenda. Under this programme, we are paying special attention to economic diversification and agricultural development.” 

Recalling “the era of groundnut pyramids, the cocoa prosperity of the 1980s, and the continuous bountiful cultivation of crops in all regions of the country,” the speaker said: “Sadly, the oil boom in the early 1970s took attention away from agriculture, resulting in the concentration of investment in the oil sector.” 

He, however, said “despite this disruption in the agricultural value chain, Nigeria still maintains high agricultural output though not at the level expected. 

“According to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), the agricultural sector contributed 16.8% to Nigeria’s GDP in the first quarter of 2024 and 22.61% in the second quarter. Interestingly, these are mostly from subsistence, small-scale, and medium-scale farming. 

“Today, regardless of our fertile arable land which is estimated to cover an area of 36.9 million hectares, the country’s large and young population, and efforts by past administrations to rejuvenate the agricultural sector, the sector still contributes under 30% to our gross domestic product (GDP). This does not only have economic implications but also consequences for our national food security.”

…On climate change, urban migration, others     

While speaking further on the factors that had worsened the situation in the agricultural sector, the speaker said: “One significant factor that cannot be ignored is the role of climate change. Climate change has caused unpredictable weather patterns impacting negatively on food production, and disrupting agricultural activities, leading to reduced crop yields. 

“For example, recent floods in parts of Nigeria destroyed about 16,488 hectares of farmland across 27 states of the federation, leaving many farmers without a harvest. Reports from the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) indicate that some 227,000 persons, mostly farmers, were negatively affected by the floods.

“Another critical reality we must confront is the rapid and ongoing shift toward urban migration. At the time of our independence, less than 20 per cent of Nigeria’s population resided in urban areas. 

“Today, that figure has surged to about 53.9 percent. The implication of this for our national demography is significant. It indicates a transformation that affects crop production. 

“This trend, while reflective of broader global patterns, presents unique challenges for our nation, particularly in the agricultural sector. With the majority of farming in Nigeria still heavily reliant on manual labour, the exodus of able-bodied individuals to cities has led to a sharp decline in the rural workforce. 

“This not only hinders our ability, as a people, to cultivate and harvest crops efficiently but also threatens food security and economic stability in rural communities. 

“Furthermore, the dwindling interest in agriculture among the youthful population, who are increasingly drawn to urban opportunities, exacerbates the situation. 

“Sadly, these youths are sometimes drawn to quick-money syndrome.  I have no doubt that we need a national rebirth to help redirect the minds of many of our youths. Quick money syndrome births more agony for the family and nation than hard work, focus and consistency do”

 …Insecurity as a factor

Speaking further on the challenges hindering the development of the sector, Abbas said:  “We cannot effectively discuss issues impacting poor agricultural yield and food insecurity in Nigeria without a mention of the devastating effect of insecurity across the country on the farming communities especially. Insecurity in Nigeria has led to a decline in agricultural productivity, displacement of farmers and poor yield. 

“Today, the federal government is making every possible effort to address this and ensure that farmers return to their communities and lands because the decline in productivity leads to food shortages and economic loss for both the country and the farmers. 

“Insecurity has also made it difficult for Nigeria to achieve its national goal of becoming a hunger-free nation, as displaced farmers can no longer farm and those who farm are stopped from harvesting their crops. “In some parts of the country, non-state actors hold farmers to ransom and ask for all manner of taxes before they are allowed to harvest their crops.” 

The speaker also reflected on the policy interventions of past governments to gain a clearer and more informed perspective on food security.

He listed such interventions to include: The national special programme on food security (2002) and national economic empowerment and development strategy (2004), aimed to reduce reliance on oil and promote agriculture and the root and tuber expansion program (2008) which  encouraged the production of cheaper staples such as cassava, garri, yam, and potatoes, as well as the agricultural promotion policy (2016–2020) and the national agricultural technology and innovation policy (2022–2027), and the operation feed the nation (OFN) of 1979 which aimed at increasing food production and reducing dependence on imported food among others.

“All these efforts were geared toward addressing one major issue –food insecurity. Recently, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has been instrumental in the implementation of significant initiatives to bolster the agricultural sector,” he said. 

“A prominent example is the Anchor Borrowers’ Programme (ABP), launched in 2015 to provide financial support to smallholder farmers and enhance agricultural productivity. 

“As of march 2023, the CBN reported disbursing approximately ₦1.09 trillion in loans to over 4.67 million farmers cultivating key commodities such as maize, rice, and wheat,” Abbas further added.

 …Plea to youth

He called on the Nigerian youths to embrace agriculture more “just as I call on the relevant institutions of government to provide the necessary incentives to encourage participation in agriculture by the young people. 

“I believe that we must collectively strive to enhance agricultural production, lower costs, and build the infrastructure needed for the agricultural and allied sectors to thrive. I do not believe that food security is a privilege. It is a fundamental right. No citizen of our dear country should go to bed hungry because of the contest between availability and affordability. 

“With the right focus, which is now being driven by the renewed hope programme and keenly supported by our legislative agenda, I firmly believe that food insecurity in Nigeria will become history. 

“We are not far from achieving this. I therefore expect that the robust discussion here today will enrich us with actionable points that will help our resolve to collectively address the issue of food insecurity in our country. 

“For us in the House of Representatives, we are ready to partner with the media on any legislation that may arise from this dialogue to ensure food security in Nigeria,” Abbas added.

Minister of livestock development 

Also speaking at the event, Minister of Livestock Development, Alhaji Idi Mukhtar Maiha, said Nigerians should work towards activating the nation’s potential rather than just mouthing them.

He said the nation’s agriculture policies should focus more on how to change the issue of subsistence farming which takes care of only the family food needs, with little or nothing to sell.

The minister who called for a change in “the way we do things in the agricultural sector, for us to get a different outcome,” regretted that insecurity and related challenges had taken its toll on food access, and therefore called for large-scale dry season farming as a way out. 

…Expert on flaws in today’s agric system  

In his remarks, Chairman of the occasion who is also Founder/Director General Songhai Farms in Benin Republic, Rev Fr. (Prof.) Godfrey Nzamujo, said the fundamental flaw in today’s conventional food and agricultural systems laid in their reliance on practices that ignored the planet’s natural principles and patterns. 

Nzamujo said: “Central to this oversight is the disregard for microorganisms-essential components of the ecological and tropic pyramid that underpin the food chain. 

“These microorganisms are the unseen architects of soil fertility, plant health, and nutrient cycling, forming the foundation of a thriving ecosystem. 

“However, chemically-intensive agricultural methods systematically erode these critical elements, depleting soils and disrupting the intricate balance necessary for ecosystem resilience and sustainability. 

“This unsustainable approach not only destabilises the ecological balance but also imperils the long-term viability of global food systems. 

“To ensure food security and environmental health, we must transition to regenerative, eco-centric agricultural models that restore and amplify the life-supporting functions of microorganisms.

“The consequences of this flawed agricultural system are stark; environmental degradation, soil erosion, rural decay, mass migration from rural areas, and escalating unemployment in Nigeria, over 60% of the soil is degraded, costing the nation approximately 13% of its GDP annually.

“Alarmingly, despite these clear warnings, we fail to fully comprehend the severity of a population surpassing 200 million, facing a diminishing and rapidly degrading per capita land area. This situation is a ticking time bomb, threatening the nation’s future stability and prosperity.” 

…Media Trust explains conference

Earlier, Chairman Media Trust Board of Directors Malam Kabiru Yusuf, in a poser, queried: “Why are our citizens not having enough food to eat? This is why we are here. That is the question. Statistics in Nigeria paint a grim picture and the anecdotal evidence. Look around you. We may change things we take for granted.

“We have to look at this issue. How do we cross this divide, if it exists.  I don’t know what the expert will say between availability or affordability. We are not producing enough because people cannot afford it.”