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.
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