By: Nneji Godwin Amako
Following the quest to reposition the agricultural sector to serve as one of the key drivers of the Nigerian economy, while contributing substantially to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), President Muhammadu Buhari had recently blazed the trail by strategically putting the most populous black nation at the agricultural world map.
The latest move was the unveiling of 13 rice pyramids stacked with a total of about 1.2 million bags of grains in Abuja, the nation’s capital, which was beamed live across the world. Buhari, who had always reiterated his unwavering stance in boosting food production since he assumed power in 2015, had during the groundbreaking ceremony promised that the agriculture revolution embarked upon by his administration would deliver food sufficiency across the country before he leaves office in 2023.
”I am indeed delighted that the Anchor Borrowers’ Programme continues to receive commendations, since its introduction six years ago, as it has become one of the reference points in the administration’s agricultural revolution effort,” he had said.
According to him, the country can boast of producing over 7.5 million metric tons of rice annually, with over four million farmers benefiting from the programme. Since his emergence as President, Buhari has repeatedly spoken about Nigerians being able to “produce what we eat, and eat what we produce.”
Speaking with A-Z Magazine’s Nigeria Bureau Chief, Prof. Mary Yeye, National Coordinator of Accelerated Varietal Improvement and Seed Delivery of Legumes and Cereals in Africa (AVISA), confirms that President Buhari “has been able to empower over 200,000 farmers in advancing loans, inputs and cash to farmers.”
She added: “It has helped in advancing technology and mechanisation with a view to support smallholders’ farmers over 3.1 farmers have been financed so far.”
Nigeria’s Agricultural Policies Pre-Buhari’s second coming in 2015
Nigeria was a leading agricultural economy in the 1950s, being the largest producer of palm oil, groundnut, cotton and cocoa globally. However, the discovery of crude oil in the 1950s progressively led to the neglect of the sector.
To remedy this, agricultural policies have been rolled out by different leaderships of the country in order to reorganize the sector to support food security. Yakubu Gowon, rolled out the National Accelerated Food Production Programme (NAFPP) in 1972 and the establishment of the River Basin Development Authority (RBDA) policy in 1973. Operation Feed the Nation (OFN) was introduced by the federal military government headed by Olusegun Obasanjo, in 1976.
In April 1980, the Shagari administration introduced the Green Revolution Programme to ensure self-sufficiency in food production. In 1986, Ibrahim Babangida established the Directorate of Food, Roads and Rural Infrastructure (DFRRI). Olusegun Obasanjo, in April 2003, established the National Special Programme for Food Security (NSPFS).
Under Umaru Yar’Adua’s seven-point agenda, the National Food Sector Plan (NFSP) was launched to ensure food security. Finally, in 2011, the Agriculture Transformation Agenda (ATA) was launched by Goodluck Jonathan before the second coming of President Buhari, who strived to ensure that he reversed the negative balance of payment on food importation.
Buhari’s Interventionist Programmes in the Agricultural Sector
Upon assuming office, President Buhari hits the ground running by launching out his anti-corruption drive to block leakages in the agricultural sector.
A-Z Magazine authoritatively gathered that Buhari initiated the Home Grown Feeding Programme which is designed to put an end to importation and market monopoly of farm produce that can be grown in Nigeria.
According to the latest report from the Presidency, the Anchor Borrowers Programme (ABP) of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) launched by President Buhari on November 17, 2015 has made more than 300 billion Naira to more than 3.1 million smallholder farmers of 21 different commodities (including Rice, Wheat, Maize, Cotton, Cassava, Poultry, Soy Beans, Groundnut, Fish), cultivating over 3.8 million hectares of farmland.
Also, the Presidential Fertilizer Initiative launched as a government-to-government partnership between the Nigerian and Moroccan Governments, in December 2016, produced 12million 50kg bags of NPK 20:10:10 equivalent in 2020, bringing total production since inception to over 30 million 50kg bags equivalent; and number of participating blending plants increased to 44 from three at inception.
The Presidency promised that the Special-Agro Industrial Processing Zones (SAPZ) Programme, a partnership between FGN, AfDB Group, and other stakeholders including IFAD and BOI. Under the SAPZ programme, agro-processing centres have been established across the country. The agro-processing centres will be provided with basic infrastructure such as water, electricity and roads as well as facilities for skills training. Seven (7) States – Ogun, Oyo, Imo, Cross River, Kano, Kaduna, and Kwara and the FCT were selected for the pilot phase, which commenced in 2021. The Green Imperative – a Nigeria-Brazil Agricultural Mechanisation Programme – aimed at boosting agricultural production in Nigeria has been out in place.
The National Assembly has approved a loan for the financing of the program, which will involve development of 632 privately-operated primary production (mechanisation) Service Centres and 142 Agro processing (value addition) Service Centres across the 774 LGAs, and the re-activation of six privately owned partially-operational or moribund tractor assembly plants nationwide. It will also train 100,000 new extension workers.
The growing success story on agriculture in Buhari’s Administration has prompted more youths to commence full production in agriculture. More than 7 million Nigerians are actively employed in agriculture under the Buhari Government’s diversification agenda and the Ministry of Agriculture is working to ensure that Agriculture will offer 20 million jobs in the nearest future.
Buhari’s Agricultural Budget Allocation
In its Medium Term Plan for 2017 – 2020, the President Buhari-led government’s Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) preached inclusive growth through diversification of production, achieving maximum welfare for the citizens by ensuring food and energy security.
The Government had planned to use agriculture as a lever to achieve food security, create jobs, and save foreign exchange for food imports. To achieve this, the Federal Government increased budgetary allocation to the sector by three-digit billions for the first time in 2017. In that year, President Buhari’s government allocated N135.6 billion to the sector. In 2018 and 2019, the figures increased to N203 billion and N137.9 billion, respectively. In 2020, 2021 and 2022 it was I38.48 Billion, N179.4 Billion and 291.4 billion, respectively.
Buhari Orders Ban on Dollars For Food Imports
In August 2019, President Buhari ordered a ban on dollars for food imports. A year later (2020) the President reissued that ban on dollars for food imports, adding fertilizers in the restricted items.
“I am restating that nobody importing food or fertilizer should be given foreign exchange from the Central Bank. We will not pay a Kobo of our foreign reserves to import food or fertilizer. We will instead empower local farmers and producers,” the President had written on his official twitter handle.
Reacting to the development, Tope Fasua, an economic expert, commended Buhari for giving such directive, which he described as the right step in the right direction.
“I believe it is in the right direction but we need more than pronouncements. The boost in food production needed to bridge the gap cannot be left to the mere pursuit of profits. It should be strategically pursued using several instruments including mass mobilization,”Fasua noted.
Another economic expert, Zinab Abubakar, said that restricting food importers from buying dollars from banks would lead to preserving $20 billion annually. All thanks to Buhari.
Buhari Averts Food Crisis Amid Covid-19 Pandemic, Russia/Ukraine War
Amidst the upsurge of COVID-19 pandemic and global economic impact of Russia/Ukraine war, President Buhari was able to avert food crisis.
Proactively, Buhari directed the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD) and other relevant agencies to distribute relief materials in the form of necessary farm inputs to farmers across the country. He canvassed the need to exert more effort to increase food production and self-sufficiency.
A statement by the President’s Media Adviser, Femi Adesina, quoted Buhari as saying: “The coronavirus pandemic and the Russia/Ukraine war has illustrated more than any event in recent history how countries must strive harder to protect food systems. It has also exposed the limits of dependency on other countries.
“In the last five years, we have recorded notable achievements. Despite the decline in GDP by 6.1 percent in Q2 of 2020 as a direct result of coronavirus and the Russia/ Ukraine war the agricultural sector continued to grow because of government targeted policy.”
The statement added: “I am pleased to note that most Nigerians are taking advantage of the opportunities in the agriculture and agric-business sector. I want to assure you that this government will continue to support these initiatives and many more to come.”
Adesina also promised that efforts would be intensified to promote innovations in farming that will guarantee maximum output.
“To protect agricultural investments and boost confidence to our farmers, we have deployed thousands of agro-rangers and integrated rural communities to the formal economy by extending access to credit and inputs to rural farmers and building feeder roads,”Adesina disclosed.
Agric Contribution to Nigeria’s GDP
The Agricultural sector under President Buhari has made significant contributions to the country’s Gross Domestic Product, GDP.
“The Agricultural sector was one of the critical non-oil sectors which have made significant contributions to the GDP accounting for a 22.35 and 23.78 percent. This is contribution to the overall GDP in the first and second quarters of 2021 respectively”, Buhari had said in one of his recent speeches.
He added: “It was also instrumental in supporting the emergence of our economy from the recession in the second half of 2020, following the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Ensuring food security means ensuring availability and access across all demographics in the country”, the president stated.
Buhari Signs Plants Variety Protection Bill Into Law
On 25 May 2021, President Buhari puts smile on the faces of breeders as he signed the Plant Variety Protection (PVP) Bill into law.
The National President of All Farmers Association of Nigeria, Arc. Kabir Ibrahim, described the kind gesture as a game changer in the agricultural sector. “It is a welcomed development because it will guarantee good seeds to farmers. This means good seed and good seed means good yield, and good yield means good money for the farmer, and of course food security for Nigeria.
“Our food system will improve appreciably because once there is regulation from the Seed Council, the Seed Act 2019, the assent to the bill of PVP 2021, we are guaranteed good seeds, and with this now seed will be available, and people will plant seeds, the yield will change greatly.
“All Farmers Association of Nigeria, AFAN, will propagate this to our farmers, we disseminate this information to the 774 local government areas, and 40 million farmers that are doing agronomy,”Mr Ibrahim explained.
President, Nigerian Plant Breeders’ Association, NPBA, Prof. Chiedozie Egesi, expressed hope that with the PVP Act in place to boost the agricultural sector.
“This singular act of signing the PVP bill into law by Mr. President has put Nigeria on the global league of countries that apply Science and Technology as solution to their challenges, especially in the Agricultural Sector. The country is losing millions of Naira to the importation of agricultural produce. Farmers in the country are faced with many challenges, ranging from low productivity due to increasing cases of insect and pest infestation, soil infertility and a devastating climate change. As a country, the PVP Act will facilitate the development of new plant varieties that are resilient in the face of climate change and population growth so that farmers can provide nutritious and healthy food for everyone”, Prof. Ejesi pointed out.
The Country Manager of Syngenta Foundation For Sustainable Agriculture, (SFSA), Isaiah Gabriel, describes the Act as a plus to the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari.
Soaring Cost of Food
The cost of food under the administration has been at the highest levels ever, leaving millions struggling to buy food.
Prof. Olusoji Olufajo, Chairman, Technical Committee On Varietal Release, who spoke to A-Z Magazine said: ”No doubt, the biggest failure of the Buhari administration in the sector is its inability to deal with insecurity that has kept farmers off their farms and has destroyed investments in the sector.”
Also speaking, National President, All Farmers Association of Nigeria, Arc. Kabir Ibrahim, lamented that the administration has failed to tackle insecurity.
“There are some of my farms I can’t visit without security. It’s expensive to sustain,” Ibrahim said, adding that the government should help fix the issue of insecurity, build farmers capacity and ensure private sector integration into policy implementation.
A data A-Z Magazine obtained at the National Bureau of Statistics in March 2022 disclosed that the average prices of bread and rice in Nigeria have been recording significant increases in the past five years.
A year-on-year analyses of the average prices from January 2017 to January 2022 based on data from the NBS show that bread (unsliced, 500g) and rice (agric-sold loose rice) recorded 42 per cent and 48 per cent price hikes, respectively.
As of January 2017, the average price of a loaf of bread (unsliced, 500g) was N270. It however increased to N384 by January 2022.
There was also an increase in the price of sliced bread (500g) from N303 in January 2017 to N419 as of January 2022.
The average cost of 1kg of rice (agric-sold loose rice) was N324 in January 2017; it increased to N481 by January 2022.
There was also an increase in the price of locally sold loose rice, medium-grained rice, and imported high quality sold loose rice (1kg each) from N286, N312, and N402 as of January 2017 to N430, N477, and N579 as of January 2022, respectively.
This, despite the drop in recorded overall inflation from 18.72 percent as of January 2017 to 15.60 percent as of January 2022.
However, the 15.60 percent was still higher than the 13 percent inflation target of the Federal Government for 2022.
According to the World Bank in its Nigeria Development Update report, Nigeria may have the seventh-highest inflation rate among sub-Saharan African countries in 2022.
Federal Government Response to Soaring Food Prices
President Buhari has revealed that food prices have been going up due to artificial shortages created by middlemen who have been buying and hoarding essential commodities for profiteering.
This was made known by the President during his nationwide broadcast to mark Nigeria’s 61st Independence Anniversary in Abuja.
Buhari pointed out that the Federal Government had made plans to end the disruptive and unpatriotic hoarding activities, as well as ensure that food prices are affordable for Nigerians.
President Buhari expressed regret that despite significant private sector investments in almost all areas of the agriculture value-chain, food prices had continued to rise.
He said the ministry should also work with the Nigerian Commodity Exchange and the National Assembly to rehabilitate the National Food Reserve Agency to boost food production and address artificial food shortages created by middlemen.
“The agricultural sector remains key to our economic diversification efforts as the sector has been a consistent driver of the non-oil sector, contributing 22.35 per cent and 23.78 per cent to overall GDP in the first and second quarter of 2021.We have seen significant private sector investments in almost all areas of the agricultural value-chain and these have continued even during the COVID-19 pandemic. Unfortunately, as our food production capacity has increased, food prices have been going up, due to artificial shortages created by middlemen who have been buying and hoarding these essential commodities for profiteering”, the president.
The president directed the ministry of agriculture and rural development to rehabilitate the National Food Reserve Agency and also work with security agencies, the Nigerian Commodity Exchange and the National Assembly to find a lasting solution to these disruptive and unpatriotic hoarding activities.
Buhari also noted that to further boost food production, the Federal Government has completed new dams and are in the process of rehabilitating some river basin development authorities to boost groundwater supply for rain-fed agriculture as well as surface water for irrigation agriculture.
Challenges in Nigeria’s Agricultural Sector
Experts have revealed that the agricultural sector has not been adequately funded despite Nigeria’s commitment to the 2003 Maputo and 2014 Malabo Declarations to allocate at least 10 percent of the national annual budget to the agricultural sector.
In the last seven years or more, the budget for the agricultural sector has not exceeded two percent of the total budget.
”Currently, the agricultural sector contributes 26 percent to the national GDP and employs over 70 percent of the population,” said Prof. Mary Yeye.
She, however, maintained that the sector is still facing historical challenges such as poor access to inputs, poor infrastructure and over-dependence on rainfall, operations on fragmented small farm-holdings and spending for agriculture in terms of budgetary allocation not commensurate with the expected social benefits.
Aside Prof. Mary Yeye’s view, the first concern for stakeholder is that the budget process starts and ends late, which affects the process of planning for the farming season.
A-Z Magazine recalls that President Buhari had signed the 2022 appropriation (budget) of N17.13 trillion tagged “Budget of economic growth and sustainability” on December 31, 2021.
Out of the total budget of N17.13 trillion, only 291.4 billion was allocated to the agricultural sector, which is a marginal increase of about four percent from the N280.3 billion of 2021 approved budget. In terms of proportion, the allocation to agriculture is 1.78 percent and this falls short of the CAADP benchmark.
Nigerians could recall that in 2014 at Malabo, African Heads of State signed to commit at least 10 percent of their national budget to the agricultural sector. Unfortunately, Nigeria has been trailing with regard to fulfilling this commitment.
The sustained level of banditry-terrorism in Northern Nigeria has become a challenge for the agricultural sector. The large tracts of arable land have now become a safe haven for banditry-terror activities. Institute of Economics and Peace recently reported that Nigerians spent about eight per cent of the country’s GDP to tackle insecurity – close to the agricultural sector’s contribution to the GDP.
