Mallam El Rufai urges horticulturists to challenge climate change by land reclamations

       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 33^rd  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 33^rd 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 5^th-6^th 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.