Much was expected to have happened in agriculture by now, on account of the disclosure in June by Agriculture Minister,AuduOgbeh, that the government had put measures in place to enhance the sector.
He said after a meeting of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) that the cabinet had endorsed a document containing all policies needed to make agriculture the alternative to oil.
The document, called “The Green Alternative”, reportedly contains objectives, policies and interventions needed for Nigeria to achieve self-sufficiency and become a major exporter of agricultural produce as it did in the 60s and 70s.
The information could not have come at a better time, given the harsh economic climate in the land, occasioned by a ravaging recession.
Unceasing militancy in the Niger Delta,which seriously hampers oil production,as well as the drop in the price of crude on the international market, also made the disclosure by Ogbehhandy.
The statement also gelled with the declaration of the government on diversification from oil as its chief source of revenue.
However, not much seems to have taken place since to boost the sector. Growing agriculture remains more of a rhetoric one year after the inauguration of President MuhammaduBuhari’s cabinet.
Aside suffocating propaganda in the media by officials of various ministries on what has been done, not much has actually been achieved in most sectors.
The case of agriculture is more pathetic.
This is a sector with a history of providing greater employment and earning revenue for the government before the discovery of oil in commercial quantity and subsequent dependence on it.
At a time when the advanced countries are shifting from natural energy in powering their economies,a focused gravitation towards agriculture is all Nigeria needs to wean itself offoil.
But the reality on the ground does not suggest that leaders are thinking along this line or putting things in place. What still drives agriculture is poor policy articulation and implementation.
Marginal successes, undoubtedly, may have been recorded in repositioning agricultural practices. But these feats are rudimentary.
Despite claims by successive administrations, farming and other aspects of agriculture, except in some cases, still thrive on subsistence basis.This is even with flowery programmesto revolutioniseit.
During the military regime of OlusegunObasanjo (1976-1979), who later became civilian president (1999-2007), there was Operation Feed the Nation (OFN).
The civilian administration of ShehuShagari (1979-1983) rebranded OFN as Green Revolution (GR).
As in Buhari’s current Green Alternative, the previous campaigns were aimed at ensuring self-sufficiency in food production and exportation of agricultural produce.
Both OFN and GR failed because of corruption, administrative bottlenecks and non-commitment by the organisers.
It may be too hasty to write off Green Alternative. But indications of inertia in the exercise are already manifesting.
Allocation to agriculture in the current budget is below what is needed for self-sufficiency in food production, employment and revenue generation.
Farmers still face challenges in accessing loans. They also contend with official bottlenecks and corrupt middlemen in accessing incentives.
Fundsthe Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) sets aside for agriculture hardly get to real farmers. And there are murderous herdsmen the government keepsa blind eye on.
The result manifests in scarcity of food items, rising prices of available stock, and ravaging hunger in the land.
The price of imported rice hovers between N23,000 and N25,000 per bag.Locally produced brands, regardless of claims by ministers and governors, are not in sufficient quantity.
Even those produced cannot be preserved adequately because there are no modern storage facilities. Other farm produce suffer the same fate. Therefore, large quantities of farm harvests turn to waste.
If the government is truly interested in taking agriculture to the next level it has to encourage mechanised farming.
In other countries, it does not call for the entire population to engage in farming to attain surplus. The few who engage in mechanised farming feed the rest because they run farming as a business.
It is a shame that Nigeria is unable to feed its citizens who are yet to feel the impact of initiatives to eradicate hunger.
Agriculture cannot become an alternative to oilon the culture of business as usual. Propaganda to score a cheap goal should not even be contemplated. More needs to be done.
This is the time to reposition all agriculture institutions with a definite mandate to produce.
Banks should be encouraged to provide low, or even zero interest, loans to farmers; and farmers’cooperative societies encouraged for proper monitoring and management of loans.Storage facilities should be provided to preserve produce.
Nigerians are yet to feel the impact of the improvement in agriculture touted by government officials.
