Uncertainty over the FG Growth Enhancement Programme -Nasc DG assures continuity

The Federal Government Growth Enhancement Support scheme  (GES) programme through which farming inputs are being given to farmer at a subsidized rate for the purpose of commercial production towards marketing is likely to be stopped due to obvious reasons in which funding is very pronounced among them.

 

Food Farm News gathered that lack of fund and other abnormalities are already taking t0ll on the continuity of this programme whereby fifty percent subsidy being given to farmers on fertilizers and about 90% for seeds at every delivery points through the electronic wallet of telephone alert may be scrapped.

The Ges introduced by the past administration through the former Minister of Agriculture and presently the President of African Development Bank, Dr. Akinwunmi Adesina had received commendations by majority of Nigerians especially the National Assembly members for being able to curb activities of the middlemen and also ensuring farm inputs getting directly to farmers with proper accounting process of the GES through electronic wallets.

 According to finding this programme has began to face challenges of fund as the distribution of the inputs for the last dry season farming could not get any head way just as the currently going raining season planting has not given any farmer input supports due to lack of fund as it was gathered talk of proper repositioning the programme for more efficiency is ongoing. 

Already many of the seed and fertilizer companies that participated in the last year programme are yet to paid as many of them are out of stock to meet the year 2015 planting season.  

Our finding revealed that the activities of some of the players in the process are now becoming questionable as transparency which initially beclouded the process for its commendation has now began to dwindle down especially as many agro dealers are being accused of double dealing in the programme especially in the fertilizer inputs as the value chain managers being introduced into the process are alleged of non performance.

It could be recalled to the credit of government officials that about three private seed companies have been delisted from the programme due to supply of adulterated seeds which our sources pointed as commendation on the part of Nigeria Agricultural Seeds Council while they queried why the same sanction could not be taken against agro dealers who are flouting the rules of the process for selfish interest in fertilizer distribution.

Finding revealed that stakeholders are already exercising anxiety over the probability that the programme might be scrapped if the new administration of Buhari is not too disposed to it as Nigeria is noted to policy inconsistency as the appointed minister to Agricultural ministry might a different programme entirely in mind which may not tow the path of GES depending on his mind set. 

A source who spoke on anonymity said that “all effort to make legislative back up for this programme through the National Assembly did not yield fruitful result until another government take over. There is nothing we can do if the new Minister is not disposed to it. But our prayer is that the GES be sustained because of its effectiveness to getting inputs to many farmers directly. Although all the areas that need to be addressed must be done before its continuity’’.

How at a function on seed sub sector articulation to meeting market frontiers of the West Africa countries, the Director General of the National Agricultural Seed Council, Dr. Olusegun Ojo said that the GES programme would continue as effort is geared towards it adding that his organization has been positioned to ensure proper regulation with enhanced efficiency of quality seeds utilization in the country.

Also in statement read by the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Arch. Sonny Echono at the consultative meeting on agricultural policy draft stated ATA with under listed policy direction of the following component:

·                     Growth Enhancement Support to provide private sector managed incentives on agro-inputs, mechanization and processing;

·                     Nigeria Incentive- based Risk Sharing on Agricultural Lending to guarantee credit facility on agro inputs to farmer;

·                     Commodity Trade and Market Development Corporation to entrench market access for commodity value chain operator; and

·                     Staple Crop Processing Zone as dedicated infrastructural facility for adding value to agriculture commodities; and

·                     National Agricultural Resilience Framework for climate change

Adaptation.

Arch. Echono added that since its introduction in 2011, the ATA process has impacted on the country’s socio-economic growth by:

o  Capturing 14.5 million farmer in the National Farmers Data Base to accomplish at least 20 million registered farmers by 2015;

o Eliminating rent seeking and ending the monopoly of government by engaging the private sector in the administration of agricultural inputs;

o Raising the usage of fertilizer from 13 kg/ha to 80 kg/ha and enabling the growth of seed companies from 11 to 34 between 2011 and 2014;

o Creating over 3.5 million jobs and increasing food production by 21 million tones of agricultural commodities that overshot the targets of ATA plan by 2015;

o Establishing the youth employment in Agricultural Programmer and the “youth and Woman in Agribusiness Investment Programmer” to enable the group undertake viable agribusiness;

·                     Leveraging over $8.0 billion of private Commodity Trade and Market Development Corporation to entrench market access for commodity value chain operator; and

·                     Staple Crop Processing Zone as dedicated infrastructural facility for adding value to agriculture commodities; and

·                     National Agricultural Resilience Framework for climate change

He also stated further that since its introduction in 2011, the ATA process has impacted on the country’s socio-economic growth by:

o  Capturing 14.5 million farmer in the National Farmers Data Base to accomplish at least 20 million registered farmers by 2015;

o Eliminating rent seeking and ending the monopoly of government by engaging the private sector in the administration of agricultural inputs;

o Raising the usage of fertilizer from 13 kg/ha to 80 kg/ha and enabling the growth of seed companies from 11 to 34 between 2011 and 2014;

o Creating over 3.5 million jobs and increasing food production by 21 million tones of agricultural commodities that overshot the targets of ATA plan by 2015;

o Establishing the youth employment in Agricultural Programmer and the “youth and Woman in Agribusiness Investment Programmer” to enable the group undertake viable agribusiness;

o Leveraging over $8.0 billion of private investment commitments of which over $5.6 billion worth of letter of intent was signed with domestic and manipulation agribusiness institution; and

o Facilitating a dedicated development finance window via the N200b Fund for Agricultural Finance inn Nigeria {FAFIN} to provide credit to agricultural value chain actors.   

1.     Distinguished ladies and gentlemen, the review of the national agricultural policy and strategies is meant to put in place, the contemporary measures that would restructure, re-orientate and strengthen the relevant national institutions as well as utilize the opportunities offered by international co-operations to integrate the country’s development goals into the liberalization principle of the world economy. The effort is to incorporate all existing sub-sectoral objectives and strategies in agriculture into a formal policy document to formulate and execute programmes and projects in the sector in line with best practices.

2.     In this regard, the Economic Policy Working Group took into cognizance the dynamics of the Agricultural Transformation Agenda and produced a draft Food and Agricultural Policy of Nigeria document. The thrust is to treat agriculture as a business through increased private sector participation, which is cosseted with infrastructural facilities, value chain initiatives, market development, foreign investment and inter-sectoral linkages, to attain food and nutrition security in the country. It is to ultimately make the sector more potent, productive and sustainable in increasing commodity output, generating employment, and aiding industrialization, creating wealth and making the country a food hub overtime.

3.       Over the years, the Agriculture Policy of Nigeria has been focusing on the conventional paradigm of harnessing the sector’s potentials to constitute the major source of employment and foreign exchange earnings, provide sufficient food for an increasing population, supply adequate raw materials to a growing industrial sector, provide a market for agro-industrial products and promote rural socio-economic development in the country.

4.       In the 1960s and 1970s, the policy laid emphasis on the production of agricultural commodities to meet domestics demand and explore export opportunities, with less emphasis on value-addition. This situation persisted as the government’s development priority shifted to the industrial sector to utilize the gains of the petroleum oil boom period.

5.       To align the sector with the government’s structural adjustment programmers, the first edition of a comprehensive Agricultural Policy of Nigeria was published in 1988. It steered the strategies of 1980s and 1990s along a private-sector-led and export-orientated initiatives that repositioned the agricultural sector to undertake agro-processing and marketing activities in the country through a community-based, research-driven and enterprise-focused mechanism.

6.       As a continuation, the Agricultural Policy Thrust printed in 2001 enriched the previous edition that enable the 2000 decade policy strategy to modern agricultural techniques, ensure efficient land and water management practices, achieve food security in Nigeria and transform the country into a net-exporter of food. The policy encourage of food. The policy encouraged market-driven agricultural value chain mechanism to promote commercial commodity production and processing in the country.

7.    From the 2010 decade, the policy direction is to use technology-driven and industry-focused agribusiness, undertake comparative advantage and competitive edge initiative in commodity value chains effectively diversify the economy, generate employment, create wealth and attain food sufficiency in the country.

8.       At present, the Agricultural Transformation Agenda of administration has a policy direction with the following component:

·                     Growth Enhancement Support to provide private sector managed incentives on agro-inputs, mechanization and processing;

·                     Nigeria Incentive- based Risk Sharing on Agricultural Lending to guarantee credit facility on agro inputs to farmer;

·                     Commodity Trade and Market Development Corporation to entrench market access for commodity value chain operator; and

·                     Staple Crop Processing Zone as dedicated infrastructural facility for adding value to agriculture commodities; and

·                     National Agricultural Resilience Framework for climate change

Adaptation.

9.        Since its introduction in 2011, the ATA process has impacted on the country’s socio-economic growth by:

o  Capturing 14.5 million farmer in the National Farmers Data Base to accomplish at least 20 million registered farmers by 2015;

o Eliminating rent seeking and ending the monopoly of government by engaging the private sector in the administration of agricultural inputs;

o Raising the usage of fertilizer from 13 kg/ha to 80 kg/ha and enabling the growth of seed companies from 11 to 34 between 2011 and 2014;

o Creating over 3.5 million jobs and increasing food production by 21 million tones of agricultural commodities that overshot the targets of ATA plan by 2015;

o Establishing the youth employment in Agricultural Programmer and the “youth and Woman in Agribusiness Investment Programmer” to enable the group undertake viable agribusiness;

o Leveraging over $8.0 billion of private investment commitments of which over $5.6 billion worth of letter of intent was signed with domestic and manipulation agribusiness institution; and

o Facilitating a dedicated development finance window via the N200b Fund for Agricultural Finance inn Nigeria {FAFIN} to provide credit to agricultural value chain actors.   

10.     Distinguished ladies and gentlemen, the review of the national agricultural policy and strategies is meant to put in place, the contemporary measures that would restructure, re-orientate and strengthen the relevant national institutions as well as utilize the opportunities offered by international co-operations to integrate the country’s development goals into the liberalization principle of the world economy. The effort is to incorporate all existing sub-sectoral objectives and strategies in agriculture into a formal policy document to formulate and execute programmes and projects in the sector in line with best practices.

11.     In this regard, the Economic Policy Working Group took into cognizance the dynamics of the Agricultural Transformation Agenda and produced a draft Food and Agricultural Policy of Nigeria document. The thrust is to treat agriculture as a business through increased private sector participation, that is cosseted with infrastructural facilities, value chain initiatives, market development, foreign investment and inter-sectoral linkages, to attain food and nutrition security in the country. It is to ultimately make the sector more potent, productive and sustainable in increasing commodity output, generating employment, and aiding industrialization, creating wealth and making the country a food hub overtime.

12.     Ladies and Gentlemen, I wish to appreciate the Honorable Minister, members of the Economic Policy Working Group, the Ministry’s Top Management and other stakeholders for their continuous support to the implementation of the Agricultural Transformation Agenda in this past four years. I therefore, solicit the commitments and cooperation of all stakeholders towards the articulation of an enduring policy for the agricultural sector. Once more, I welcome you to this validation workshop on the Draft Food and Agricultural Policy of Nigeria Document and wish you all a successful exercise.