Investing In Agriculture

By most accounts, Nigeria was self-sufficient in food production 50 years ago when she became an independent country.

Agriculturalists recall that the country was able to attain that feat largely because of enhanced agricultural activities and the priority accorded to the sector at that time by the various levels of governments.

They, however, bemoan the steady decline in food production during the oil boom era of the 1970s, with the attendant effects on widening food supply and demand gaps, as well as rising food import bills.

The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and the Organisation for Economic Corporation and Development (OECD) have predicted a sharp increase in global food prices in the coming decades with the cost of assorted grains estimated to rise by 15 to 40 per cent due to declining production.

The report indicates that global food prices are expected to rise again without reverting to the average levels witnessed during the past decade .

.. If history is any guide, further episodes of strong price fluctuations of food grains cannot be ruled out, nor can future short-lived crises,” says the report.

However, some agriculturalists have attributed the growth in food demand to the spiraling world population, which is estimated to peak at over nine billion by 2050.

The scenario is even more frightening, as a recent World Bank report also indicates that several people die on a daily basis from hunger and hunger-related diseases in the developing countries, including Nigeria.

This, perhaps, explains why Gov. Isa Yuguda of Bauchi State, on assumption of office in May 2007, pledged to revitalize the agriculture sector to guarantee food sufficiency and increased production, while reducing poverty among the people of the state, who are predominantly farmers.

Less than three months in office, Yuguda initiated some programmes aimed at modernising agriculture through mechanization.

As a first measure, the state government procured more than 23 tractors directly from the Federal Government, while acquiring over 1,200 medium-size tractors from Steyr Tractor Assembly Plant in Bauchi, as part of efforts to promote mechanised farming.

To provide easy access to the tractors for the farmers, the government distributed the tractors to the state’s 20 local government councils, with each council receiving 50 tractors.

In addition, the government refurbished more than 20 broken-down tractors, so as to increase the number of tractors avai lable to the farmers.

Besides, the moribund 4,000 metric-tonne-capacity grains silo project at Boto in Tafawa Balewa Local Government Area has been completed, while similar silo projects are at various stages of completion in Bauchi and Azare towns.

The government is also constructing a 10,000 metric-tonne-capacity grains silo at Kangare in Bauchi Local Government Area.

To add value to its huge investments in agriculture, the government had procured and distributed 72, 200 metric tonnes of fertiliser to farmers, as part of measures to boost food production in the state in the last three years.

Alhaji Sanusi Muhammad, the Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Media, says that the Yuguda-administration has invested a lot in revitahsing the agriculture sector. He recalls that more than 30,000 metric tonnes of fertihser were procured and sold to the farmers at 40-per-cent discount during the 2008 farming season alone

Muhammad says that additional 44,200 metric tonnes of fertilizer were procured and distributed to farmers during the 2009 farming season.

“In addition to the 25-per-cent subsidy on fertilisers given by the Federal Government, the state government further subsidised the commodity by 40 per cent.

, ‘This is all in the efforts to make agricultural inputs available and more affordable to the farmers,” he says.

Muhammad stresses that in line with the government’s strategy to ensure that farmers in the rural areas have unrestricted access to fertiliser; more than 70 per cent of the distributed fertiliser was allocated to wards and local government councils directly.

To enhance funding of agricultural projects, the state government also increased its budgetary allocation to the agricultural sector, while fulfilling its counterpart agreements with donor agricultural-support agencies.

Muhammad said that the state government has spent more than N2 billion on agricultural projects in the 2009 fiscal year alone.

The amount, he added, was spent on purchasing agricultural inputs, including fertilisers, organising capacity building activities and implementing agricultural development programmes.

He said that more than N 1 billion was also spent on the procurement of fertilisers, adding that N 126 million was spent on forestry development, while N55 million was spent on livestock programmes.

Besides, Muhammad said that the government has revived all the moribund farms and cattle ranches, while purchasing grains for strategic reserves and renovating some of the dilapidated veterinary clinics.

Alhaji Saleh Yahaya, the Project Officer of the Community-based Agricultural and Rural Development Programme (CBARDP), corroborates Muhammad’s claims on the gove.rnment’s feats in agriculture.

He noted that the state government, in conjunction with the African Development Bank (AfDB), are spending over N500 million to build the capacity of agricultural extension service workers and fund other community-based intervention projects in the state. Yahaya says that the bank had so far disbursed over N150 million to the state to fast-track the programme’s implementation.

According to him the programme is a joint venture between the AIDB, the Federal Government, the Bauchi State Government, nine selected local government areas, and the benefiting communities.

Yahaya said that the bank will contribute 81 per cent of the total cost of the programme and the state government will contribute nine per cent of the cost, while the nine local government areas will contribute six per cent.

‘The beneficiary communities will contribute one per cent in kind and not in cash,” he says.

Total project cost covers the training of agricultural extension workers in the nine participating local government areas he said, adding that the benefiting communities will also benefit from the capacity-building initiative.

The programme also includes the execution of community-based projects such as dispensaries, clinics and maternity centres in the rural communities .

. , The beauty of the programme is that the communities were allowed to select and execute projects of their choices.

“The project is also socially inclusive and gender-sensitive, as women are active participants.

“More than 30 per cent of the bank’s intervention activities have been reserved for women in the participating local government areas, particularly the income-generating activities,” he said,

Yahaya said that livestock fattening, poultry, fish farming, provision of kerosene­powered incubators as well as sewing and knitting machines are some of the income­generating activities.

The training programmes organised for the extension personnel have started to yield positive results, as more farmers are now exposed to modem farming techniques.

Yahaya says that more than 99 agricultural extension officers had been trained and re­trained since 2007 when the programme was launched.

Alhaji Ilyasu Gital, the Programme Manager of Bauchi State Agricultural Development Programme (BSADP), sheds more light on the programme.

He noted that the state government had so far spent over N66 million as its counterpart funding to the programme since its inception in 2007.

Gital adds that the nine participating local government had also contributed over N35.9 to the programme in the last four years.

He commended the programme’s implementation so far, saying: “This is one of the best agricultural intervention programmes of the AIDB in terms of direct involvement of the stakeholders.’ ,

From all indications, the state government has placed considerable emphasis on capacity building in its agricultural programmes.

The government’s focus, perhaps, explains why it recently organised a four-day workshop on modem cowpea farming techniques for more than 184 cowpea farmers and 90 agricultural extension service agents, in collaboration with the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA).

The govemment says that the project is pmt of a comprehensive strategy aimed at promoting large-scale cultivation of cowpea in the state.

Alhaji Tanko Dutse, a former Commissioner for Agriculture, said that the workshop was designed to train farmers and agricultural extension workers in modem cowpea farming and preservation techniques.

The government  earmarked N36 million for agricultural extension services, as part of measures to boost agricultural activities in the state he noted. 

“The training programme is aimed at improving the capacity of the extension workers to impart relevant knowledge and skills on the farmers.

“Govemment is adopting new technology for agricultural productivity in the state,” he says.

The ex-commissioner says that the government intends to set up monitoring units to ensure the effective implementation of the agricultural extension services programme in the 20 local government areas.

By Sani Adamu