Over the years, a number of policies and programmes have been put in place to enhance the economic fortunes of the country. These efforts cut across different sectors with impressive, and at time, little returns to show for the initiatives. This time around, a Professor of Agricultural Development and Environmental Economics, Luke Okojie, has offered an area to focus on that could bring about bumper economy for the nation.
The professor charged Nigeria to, without any further delay, adopt embrace green growth strategy compliance, which is more climate-friendly in order to boost its revenues, especially in the area of increased foreign exchange earnings, and do away with the old form of ‘slash and burn agriculture’. He made the call in Abeokuta, Ogun state while delivering his inaugural lecture, titled: ‘Agriculture and Inclusive Green Growth Strategy in a Distressed Economy: A Giant Leap for Sustainable Development’. He disclosed that green growths are investments that have the capability to reap in high returns to capital through climate financing from international agencies mandated to support developing countries in their set low-emissions targets and climate-resilient pathways.
Okojie stated that green growth strategy should be strongly-pursued to enhance green debt swaps that expand the national fiscal scope to address nature and conservation and yet free up fiscal resources to focus on other development priorities. He said there should be deliberate efforts to communicate to the global community ‘loud and clear’ that the destination for carbon trade through reforestation and afforestation in Nigeria, because of the low positions that the nation ranks in Africa in terms of cost of carbon sequestration. The lecturer charged the government to put in place an enabling environment to ensure that some of the quality recreation centres and ecotourism sites in the country “are not environmental luxurious goods, as they currently are, to enable citizens afford time to rest and get re-invigorated to enhance national growth and development process”.
He added that “agricultural waste should be converted to wealth like from cassava peels to goat feeds”. The don said there was the need for investment by government and non-governmental organisations in rural infrastructure development to complement the efforts that were being made in the urban areas, as a very strong correlation existed between infrastructure presence and enhanced food production, to eradicate poverty and hunger. He, however, disclosed that the focus of his lecture “is on fostering economic growth and development through agriculture while ensuring that natural assets that contribute major inputs to the process are managed in such a way that they can continue to provide the resources and ecosystem services on which human life-existence on earth depends”.
The don urged the federal government to enforce green growth strategies in agriculture to enhance foreign exchange earnings and address pressing macroeconomic challenges in the country. Highlighting the transformative potential of green growth strategies in agriculture, he emphasised that the implementation would unlock Nigeria’s potential for sustainable economic growth, environmental conservation, and social development and that embracing the approach would equally free up resources for national development while positioning the nation as a key hub for carbon trading. Okojie informed that Nigeria has great potential to become a prime destination for carbon trade, given its competitive edge with lower costs compared to other African nations.
The expert in Agricultural Development and Environmental Economics stressed that such recognition could attract significant investments and generate new revenue streams for the country. To ensure environmental sustainability, he called for the creation of strict emission standards for cement dust pollution in farming areas and enforce the “Polluter Pays Principle” through the National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA). The Professor also advocated for greater accessibility to quality recreational centres and ecotourism sites, arguing that such facilities should not be treated as luxury goods. “Providing access to these amenities will enable citizens to rest, recharge, and contribute meaningfully to national development”, he stated.
Okojie did not stop there, he showcased the importance of rural infrastructure development as the complement to urban advancements, noting that improved infrastructure directly correlates with poverty reduction and enhanced food production. He further called for the integration of digital technology in agricultural enterprise combinations to ensure environmentally-sustainable practices while driving economic growth. Earlier, the inaugural lecturer had said that the “environment is very important to human and should be maintained at all point, as urbanisation is a major problem affecting environment”, calling on policy makers, leaders as well as stakeholders to take proper look into environment in order to preserve the climate, and that the people should encourage afforestation.
In conclusion, what we need to put in place to have the green growth strategy compliance that is climate-friendly and can increase revenues for the nation are: jettisoning ‘slash and burn agriculture’, reforestation and afforestation, promoting recreation centres and ecotourism sites, conversion of agricultural waste to wealth, more investment by government and non-governmental organisations in rural infrastructure development, better enforcement of green growth strategies in agriculture, and the establishment of strict emission standards for cement dust pollution in farming areas, among others.
