Stakeholders at HORTSON 32th Annual Conference standing for National
Anthem
|
* identifies
disconnect between research and practitioners
*expresses
worry on losing N22 billion on imports
The Governor of Kaduna state, Mallam
El- Rufai has urged the horticultural practitioners of Nigeria to sufficiently deplore
their expertise knowledge towards land reclamation occasioned by the vagaries
of climate change in the country
saying there was gap between research and enterprises as he expressed
worry on why we should be losing thirty two billion naira annually on
vegetables and fruits despite all the brains in the sub sector.
In his key note address delivered by his commissioner of
agriculture and forestry, Dr. Manzo Daniel Maigari at the 33rd annual conference of the Horticultural
Association of Nigeria (HORTSON), Mallan El-Rufai said that land wasted in
Sokoto state to soil erosion would have been checkmated by members using
horticultural land scape, pointed there is need for more synergy between
researchers and the real practitioners as this was the bane of losing thirty two billion naira annually on
fresh fruits and vegetables.
Although, the outgoing President of HORTSON, Dr. Bala M.
Giginya had earlier in his message decried the importation of fruits,
vegetables and concentrate into the country which he said was occasioned by
lack of electricity to embark on processing that would ensure acceptable
standard thereby called for the need to establish a citrus belt towards boosting
production of oranges and vegetables for local consumption and export market.
Dr. Giginya however lamented over non inclusion of
horticultural calendar in the agricultural development despite its high potential
of being able to make large sum of money on a small plot of land saying that
“Nigeria witnessed a drastic and unprecedented climate change in this year
whereby a basket of tomato was sold at N25, 000. 00 -35,000.00 in Lagos and
Porharcourt respectively. Similarly, Irish potato was beyond the reach of common
man during the last fasting period, so also onion and other vegetables and
fruits. All these occurred due to none planning and lack of functional
horticultural calendar”.
Stakeholders at HORTSON 32th Annual |
He advocated for local production of horticultural produce
for the purpose of import substitution saying that “it is very challenging and
until local production of vegetables like tomatoes and fruits such as citrus
are properly addressed, importation of concentrates for tomatoes and citrus
will be on the increase cum high foreign exchange rate”
Read the excerpts delivered by Mallam El Rufai through his
commissioner of Agriculture and Forestry at the HORTSON 33rd
conference held at ARCN, Abuja.
“It is humbling to stand before Nigeria’s best brains while
in my nostalgia I was wondering why we are losing 32 billion naira in
horticultural produce annually despite the best of the best brains that are
here. I want to say this as an ignorant person who wants to sit and learn more.
I do not know whether the real practitioners in the sector are here or are only
academicians and researchers that are here. I am saying this because there is a
disconnect between research and enterprise, and that is the major reason why we
suffered what we are suffering now.
Stakeholders at HORTSON 32th Annual |
At independence the Northerners are considered as
Aristocrats due to Agriculture, but unfortunately we have lost it. But we do
not have choice than to go back because Nigeria has no future outside Agriculture.
I was privileged to participate in the Price Anchor Borrowers’ programme launched
by the President at Birin Kebbi. I had
to slept in Sokoto and continue the following day when something struck me the
moment I left sokoto that all you will see is wasted land until you enter Kebbi
when one will notice the clear difference. The reason is simply those who
supposed to have known have neglected the reclamation of the land in Sokoto.
The land I am not sure whether it can be useful for any productive purposes any
more. And we have horticulturists as I am not sure whether there is NORTON
chapter in Sokoto state. I am saying this because in Kaduna we have realized
that lands and habitats are been lost.
We are about to declare
a state of emergency on our forest. Our idea is to create shelter belts with economic
trees, while we will adopt a community approach in order to save our habitats.
The shelter belts will be targeting thirty million trees and mostly economic
trees that will be handed over to communities for them to nurture and make a
living from them as we believe this is the only way out.
The issue of food national security does not need much
emphasis, this is because if we are hungry, food security is the first line of
security, and our poverty is occasioned by the failure of agriculture. But as experts I know you know what I know
that horticultural vegetables and fruits can give million of profit on a small
piece of land at a shortest time period than any agricultural crops. I have
seen people making million on a plot of land growing vegetables without much
knowledge. We have many PHDs here that
will be a disservice to this country if their knowledge is not translated to
something empirical that we can see and benefit us. I do not know whether you
are part of Nigeria Agric Business School (NABS), as I have said earlier that I
do not know who is here whether the practitioners are here or it is just
researchers that are here. But the EU- Nigeria Business Forum that was held in
Lagos on the 5th-6th where the European Union (EU) signed
an Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Nigerian Agric business school headed by Alhaji Sani
Dangote, and of all that happens there everything centres on vegetables. The EU
wants us to be producing vegetables for them. We must rise to the occasion.
The President in council said that a basket of tomatoes sold
for N30, 000-N35, 000 in Lagos. For me, that is an indictment because there is
no serious country that depends on rain fed agriculture, countries have all moved
away from there. But we here are still battling with that, it is a big
challenge and we have to do the needful. We have issue of standardization of
our products. We have poor quality products, we know that as much as we see
tomatoes in Kano, Zaria and all around us with onions all over, they cannot
have access to market even in Nigeria because the quality is not up to the
required standard there and then we have problem of traceability.
What can we do about that? I have a reliable data that
indicates that the big super market in this country import vegetable to the
tune of 1.8 billion naira every day. Imagine if we can just break 50% of that
market on a daily basis. You can imagine what will happen breaking 50% of 1.8
billion naira on daily basis. But are we prepared? I am a professional myself;
all I have known is that if you are a professional and you have failed to
practice what you have known, it is a crime no matter how high you go. These are the things that are posing
challenges to us.
Stakeholders at HORTSON 32th Annual |
The state societies, what I am going to say is that we are
looking forward for states’ societies driving policies and change at the state
levels because I know with what I have seen is that people sit in Abuja and
decides what Sokoto state should do. They do not understand and know that it
cannot work. It is the person from sokoto that understands what can be done in
sokoto. Likewise is the man in Lagos state that understands what can be done in
Lagos. If I take somebody from sokoto and put him in the FMARD and ask him to
head an intervention in Lagos where he has never seen shrimps grown before, how
can you connect it.
And what the man has
not seen, he cannot envision. And what you cannot envision, you cannot as well
achieve it. So the horticultural society has a duty to drive productivity at
the states’ level. Nigeria cannot do everything, we have to put one thing as
every state must do one thing that they are good at as comparative advantage
and focus on it even among the vegetables. The Executive Secretary has just said
we have 18 sub branches under horticulture.
We cannot do everything, so we have areas of comparative
advantage that we can concentrate on. Let us focus on that. I am not going to
bore you too much as I have said I am a lay man that have come here to learn.
But I understand I may be wrong in one or two things because I do not know who
and who is here. I see young men here, and if they are practitioners, then I
think I am excited because all over the world, our crops of farmers are aging and need young
replacement. So if all the young men I am seeing here are farmers, it means
Nigeria has hope of replacement. The second thing that excites me is the man
that represents the climate change committee office. At the very heart of reclaiming
our habitat is horticulture.
We have to plant trees whether we like it or not. So for the
climate change office of the FG to be in the committee members of the people
that anchor this conference, I think I am excited and it gives me hope. Again I
say thank you, I bring greeting from the Excellency my principal. I wish you
all happy deliberations.
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