Nigeria turned 64 a few days ago. This independence anniversary has offered another opportunity to examine the state of agriculture in the country.
The Nigerian President, Bola Tinubu gave a national broadcast on the state of the nation while some stakeholders also appraised the sector and gave robust blueprint on how farming can be enhanced in the nation signifying a promising future for agriculture in the country.
According to the President, the government had restored peace to hundreds of communities in the North, and thousands of our people have been able to return home.
“It is an unfinished business, which our security agencies are committed to ending, as quickly as possible.
As soon as we can restore peace to many communities in the troubled parts of the North, our farmers can return to their farms.
We expect to see a leap in food production and a downward spiral in food costs. I promise you, we shall not falter on this.
“The central concern of our people today is the high cost of living, especially food costs.
This concern is shared by many around the globe as prices and the cost of living continue to rise worldwide. I commend the governors particularly, in Kebbi, Niger, Jigawa, Kwara, Nasarawa, and the Southwest governors that have embraced our agricultural production programme. I urge other states to join the Federal Government in investing in mechanised farming.
We are playing our part by supplying fertilizer and making tractors and other farm equipment available.
Last week, the Federal Executive Council approved establishing a local assembly plant for 2,000 John Deere tractors, combine harvesters, disc riders, bottom ploughs and other farm equipment.
The plant has a completion time of six months”, Tinubu said.
Meanwhile, an entrepreneur, Abdullahi Abdullahi, has commended the President for focusing on agriculture.
“My key takeaway from President Ahmed Bola Tinubu’s speech is the announcement of plans to establish assembly plants for John Deere tractors and other agricultural machinery; is one of the leading companies in the world for agricultural equipment.
The plant, which is set to be completed within six months, will produce 2,000 John Deere tractors, combine harvesters, disc riders, bottom plows, and other essential farm equipment. Given my passion for large-scale agricultural mechanisation, this is incredible news for scaling up our agricultural operations”.
An economist with the Lagos-based think tank Stears, Dumebi Oluwole, quoted the World Food Programme, as saying that close to 26.5 million people in Nigeria face food insecurity in 2024, up from close to 19 million in 2023. “The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), too, has attempted to tackle the high inflation by increasing interest rates several times; however, results are still marginal for ordinary people.
There was a slight dip in food inflation because we are in the harvest season [but] if you do a pulse check people are still feeling the brunt and purses are squeezed”, Oluwole said.
On his part, the President of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), Mr. Gabriel Idahosa in his message titled, ‘Nigeria at 64: The Fight to Stabilise the Economy’, stated that the diversification of our economy has been a topic of focus for a long time, and our continued dependence on oil revenues questions our claim of being a diversified economy, saying “we must diversify our revenue by developing other sectors like solid minerals, gas, and agriculture to reduce our dependence on oil revenues. The growth of 1.41% recorded for agriculture, 1.28% for manufacturing, and 0.70% for trade are comparatively low compared to other sectors that grew above 4%.
This also indicates the threats facing these sectors that power Nigeria’s real sector. The woes in these two sectors are responsible for the frightening rise in our inflation rate.
The LCCI charged the Federal Government to sustain its targeted interventions in selected critical sectors like agriculture, manufacturing, and export infrastructure, tackling insecurity and freeing more money from subsidy payments.
The chamber observed that in the last decade, the security situation in the country deteriorated, assuming a very worrisome dimension, saying this had impacted investment inflow and worsened the country’s perception and image by the global investing community.
“Today, insecurity is a critical factor driving an unbearable inflation rate in Nigeria.
Agricultural production bases have been negatively impacted, leading to food scarcity and rising food inflation”, he added.
Idahosa stated that “as we reflect on our journey and current challenges, bold and innovative actions are needed to steer Nigeria toward macroeconomic stability, sustainable growth, and shared prosperity.
He called for revenue diversification, as it is imperative that we move away from our over-reliance on oil revenue.
We must prioritise more investments in food and livestock production, transport infrastructure to improve logistics and introduce and sustain fiscal concessions like tax reliefs and import duty waivers, all targeted at subsidising production because these sectors hold great potential to create jobs and generate revenue”.
However, the Country Director, ActionAid Nigeria (AAN), Andrew Mamedu, observed that the removal of the fuel subsidy had triggered an unsustainable rise in fuel prices, making transportation, food production, and energy costs increasingly unbearable for ordinary Nigerians while an Ibadan-based farmer in Oyo State, Daniel Bello, enjoined relevant stakeholders in the agriculture to put in place a better environment such that more farmers can have easy access to funds and inputs without leaving out women, and people living with disabilities that are actively into farming in Nigeria.
