Border Closure: What Gain For Agric Sector?

It’s been three months since the Federal Government shut the major land borders in a bid to check smuggling of goods, especially rice, light arms and other contraband items from neighbouring countries into Nigeria. Government had explained that the action was taken to strengthen the nation’s security, protect its economic interests and grow the agricultural sector, especially in the area of rice production.
Last Monday, the Federal Government, through the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Geoffrey Onyeama, insisted that the borders will remain closed until the neighbouring countries are ready to play by the ECOWAS rules.
He gave conditions for the reopening of the borders which include: “There should be no modification whatsoever to the packaging on those goods imported into an ECOWAS member-state destined for Nigeria; so, with the original packaging they must be escorted from the port directly and transferred to the Nigerian Customs Service; for goods predominantly produced in ECOWAS member-states, the rules of origin must be certified, so we have to avoid any possibilities of dumping; so, if goods are produced in ECOWAS member-states, those goods must be in majority produced in those countries or if they are coming from outside ECOWAS the value addition made by an ECOWAS country must be over 30 per cent.”
Going by the diplomatic tussles these conditions might generate between Nigeria and other West African countries that may not accept them or may come up with their own conditions of doing business with the country, some have opined that the reopening of the borders might not be in sight. Expectedly, some have condemned the extended border closure, saying it will continue to hurt businesses, especially the small and medium enterprises, leading to more hardship in the nation.
Many other groups and individuals have, however, thrown their weight behind the federal government’s action, maintaining that it is in the interest of the nation. Prominent among the last group are Nigerian farmers and those in agro industries. Rice farmers across the country have reportedly been commending the federal government, saying the border closure is the best decision President Mohammadu Buhari’s administration has taken.
Alhaji Faruk Rabi’u, chairman of All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN), Kano State chapter, told newsmen that, “The border closure is a clear indication that the Federal Government is ready to boost agricultural production by insisting on the patronage of the home products.
“With this development, farmers will have more confidence that their products will be patronized. Therefore, they can invest more on their farms because they know that, after harvesting, their farm products will be sold”.
“If we continue to import rice, despite the fact that the locally produced one is the best for our health, people will continue to buy it,” he insisted.
In the views of a former Director, National Cereals Research Institute (NCRI), Badeggi, Niger State, Dr Mark Ukwungwu, despite the fact that Nigeria is not yet self sufficient in rice production, there are many gains associated with the border closure. He itemized them: – the rice value chain (production, processing, and marketing) will become more vibrant; it will generate employment opportunities; more land areas will be opened up for rice production;  the citizens will be consuming fresh home-grown rice rather than expired rice from Asia.
He suggested that to sustain these gains, government and stakeholders have to boost the agricultural industry in the following ways: offering of grants; granting loans at cheap interest rates; encourage funding from foreign agencies; revamping irrigation systems so that two cycles of rice could be grown in  a year; invest in research and extension services; stakeholders should also invest and innovate in the rice sector; example, the innovative partnership between the Governments of Lagos and Kebbi States which gave birth to LAKE Rice in 2016.
While he encouraged Nigerians to patiently bear the attendant shock, pains and hardships of the border closure, which he said will fizzle out gradually, Ukwungwu advised that “the closure should not be for long. Rather the agencies involved in manning the borders should be more alive to their responsibilities to ensure that smuggling is at the barest minimum.”
In the opinion of the Research fellow/ Scientist, Cocoa Research Institute of Nigeria, Ibadan, Dr Uche Asogwa, the agricultural sector and the nation in general stands to gain immensely from the border closure if effectively and efficiently managed. He said though the action was taken in a rush by the federal government, without any prior notice to stakeholders, it was long overdue, given the enormity of what goes on at the borders.
According to the research fellow, “the neighbouring countries have shown flagrant disobedience to all the protocols of the ECOWAS treaty and trade agreements. The continuous influx of these agricultural produces and processed products, if not properly checked, will stifle our local produces/products. The local farms and industries were at the receiving end before now. But thanks to the border closure, we have no other choice now than to think Nigeria and patronize the locally grown and processed foods. With this high level of patriotism, the farmers will be encouraged to produce more, knowing full well that there will be market for their produce as the competing alternative will now have to come into the country through proper channels”
He stated that beyond the border closure government and stakeholders should take all necessary steps towards improving the agricultural sector and achieving food sufficiency for the nation. Some of the measures include: granting tax holiday to local farms and related agricultural businesses operating in the country; giving incentives in terms of loans and inputs to real farmers, not political farmers; provision of basic infrastructural (roads, power, healthcare and water) to the rural communities to minimize rural-urban migration; capacity building of farmers, especially unemployed graduates, to take up farming as a profession; resuscitation of all existing farm settlements and establishment of new ones; reorientation of Nigerian citizens to drop our newly acquired tastes for foreign foods and embrace consumption of our local foods.
Asogwa said there should be no going back on the borders closure until they are sanitized and the rate of smuggling activities and illicit business going on at the various land borders are curbed. He added that “we should take cue from China and other notable countries that shut down their borders for years so as to grow their local economies to enviable heights.”
Another respondent, Mrs Blessing Lerabari, a Port Harcourt-based farmer, expressed her pleasure over the border closure, saying that the action will help farmers to reap from their sweat. She agreed with the previous respondents that there is no way a country of about 200 million people, and a projected population of 400m by 2050, blessed with large, fertile land, will continue to depend on other countries for its day-to-day needs.
She noted that a lot has been said about the need to diversify Nigeria’s economy, making it less dependent on oil by promoting agriculture and the best way to succeed is proper manning of our numerous porous borders.
Lerabari, however, regretted that some Customs officials and other bodies saddled with the responsibility of enforcing the law on contraband goods are so corrupt and selfish that they collect bribe from the smugglers and allow these goods into the country, not minding the harm that it will cause the nation and the people.
She suggested that for the border closure objectives to be realized, the problem of corruption which has eaten deep into the fabric of the nation must be sincerely tackled headlong.
“It is this same corruption that has made some greedy, selfish people to mop up the local rice in our various communities, causing artificial scarcity of the food item and hike in its price. So the authorities have to look into it and ensure adequate price control of goods so that some greedy merchants will not be milking the poor people to their own advantage”.

Calista Ezeaku