Agriculture has been described as mankind’s primordial occupation and has been a veritable anchor in the sustenance of many households, who have depended on their homestead farms for food security and to drive the grassroots economy.

Agriculture produces the raw materials for a large number of industrial processes, and has also provided a most effective solution to the problem of unemployment in developing countries, especially given the right policy and related incentives and support.

The sector has proven to be the strongest and most effective driver of wealth creation and serving as an engine of growth in the Small Medium Enterprise sector, which is the hub of employment, income-generation and wealth creation in any emerging capitalist system.

The strength and power of any nation depends on its ability to feed her population.

The economic growth of the most developed and developing economies is based on agricultural policies and programme.

At a time when the global economic crisis is taking its toll on nation’s economy, the world needs to be reminded that it is not everyone that works in offices and factories. The crisis is threatening the small scale farmers and rural areas of the world where 70 per cent of the world’s hungry live and work, according to global estimates.

With an estimated increase of 105 million hungry people in 2009, according to FAO report, there are now 1.02 billion malnourished people in the world, meaning that almost one sixth of all humanity is suffering from hunger.

In Nigeria, prior to the discovery of oil, the country was an agriculture driven-nation, exporting large quantities of palm oil, groundnuts, cocoa etc., but today the agricultural sector lies in ruins as attention has been shifted to oil and gas.

Though several policies have been initiated by successive governments in an attempt to encourage agriculture but to no avail due to lack of the political will to implement those policies, inconsistencies, corruption and total negligence. Some of the Agric policies include Operation Feed the Nation (OFN), the Green Revolution, Presidential Initiative on Rice Production, Presidential Initiative on Cassava Production, National Special Programme for Food Security (NSPFS), DEFRI and others.

In Rivers State, in an attempt to change the ugly trend of total neglect on agriculture and to diversify the economy of the state, the Rivers State Government, Rt. Hon. Chibuike Amaechi has in 2009, the year under review planned to reactivate the State-owend moribund Risonpalm Oil Nucleus and Delta Rubber under the Public Private Partnership (PPP) with the envisaged new acquisition of 10,000 hectares of land for oil palm and rubber plantings.

This he said would enhance production and generate massive employment opportunities for the youths.

According to the Rivers State Commissioner for Agriculture, Emmanuel Chinda, the major objective achieved in agriculture by the present administration is the payment of the arrears of 2008 and 2009 counterpart fund contributions to the Rivers State Agricultural Development Programme (ADP) agricultural projects which the National Special Programme for Food Security (NSPFS), Root and Tuber Expansion Programme (RTEP), Community Based Natural Resources Management Programme (CBNRMP) and FADAMA III targeted to touch the lives of the rural populace of the state.

He said the micro-credits scheme of the state government through the microfinance banks was designed to assist rural formers and fisher folks obtain hitherto, scarce credit facility for increased agricultural production, adding that support was also given to large farm establishments and cooperatives in the state to access the commercial agriculture credit facility put up by the federal government and facilitated by the Central Bank of Nigeria with a view to boosting food production in the state.

The Commissioner further maintained that the State Government has during the year 2009 installed palm oil processing mills across different sites in the state with plans to also install rice processing mills that have been received at difference centres, noting that the projects when successfully executed, will encourage the development of oil palm and rice estate farmers whose production capacity were limited due to lack of availability of processing facilities, also it will enhance household incomes and create employment opportunities in the benefiting communities.

To boost food production, government in 2009 provided substantial agricultural inputs at subsidised rates to farmers, revitalised the feed mills and hatcheries at Rumuodomaya and Atali farms, resuscitated the divisional agricultural farms, cassava multiplication project and has attracted increased funding to the agricultural sector, Chinda noted.

Effort was also made to ensure that the organise private sector invest their capital in agricultural production, processing and marketing with a view to enhancing agricultural production as well as achieving food security in the state.

Stakeholders in agriculture who spoke to The Tide commended the efforts of the Amaechi  led administration in agriculture compared to the neglect imposed on the sector by the past administrations, especially on the past administrations, especially on the projects that are counterpart fund dependent like the FADAMA, RTEP, (BNRMP) NSPFS.

According to the Rivers State Fadama III co-ordinator, Mr. Kingsley Amadi,  the payment of the counterpart fund for 2008/2009 has enabled the World Bank to release the initial deposit of $600,000 for onward disbursement to farmers in the state.

 He explained that in each of the states, 20 local government areas will benefit and 10 communities will benefit and in each of the 10 communities 10 Fadama Users Groups (FUGs) are expected to benefit, noting that in the state, 1,100 FCAs/FUGs have been registered as cooperative while another 1,100 are in the making all under the courtesy of counterpart fund paid by the government to boost agriculture

In spite of the progress made on agriculture in 2009, governments at all levels should strategise to tackle the challenges posed by climate change, long spells of draught, many years of neglect on agriculture, increasing use of arable land for production of crops that can be turned into biofuels, lack of knowledge of fertiliser and agro-chemical use, pollution in the coastal areas, militancy and sea piracy in the Niger Delta.

Government should prioritise agriculture and increase its budgetary allocation to the sector, rehabilitate the decayed rural infrastructure like the feeder roads and farm estates to enable farmers produce and transport their produce to the available market. There should be adequate re-orientation of youths towards earning a living through agriculture, processing mills and storage facilities should be constructed to enhance availability of produce all round the year and to curb wastages of produce.

Capacity building and training young school leavers on agriculture should be encouraged, provision of farm inputs, adequate funding of agricultural agencies like ADP and others, should be maintained.

Inconsistencies in the policy thrust of government on agriculture should be discouraged if progress must be made in agriculture in 2010. Farmers accessibility to micro-credit, markets, information on modern farming methods/technology and mechanised farming should be encouraged.