Editorial- Caution against long-term land lease to international farmers

Prof Yemi Osinbajo

This editorial became necessary against the background of recent invitations extended, first to German businessmen by the Vice President, Prof Yemi Osinbajo and, second to Chinese businessmen by the minister of state, agriculture, Heineken Lokpobiri to the effect that investors should invest in agricultural production in Nigeria, for export to other parts of the globe.

 It is gradually becoming fashionable for African countries to lease out their fertile lands to foreign billionaire businessmen/corporations for food and cash crop production at ridiculously low rates of hectares for $10,000 for 50 or more years.

The argument of people in government, who endorse such deals, is that after all, the land has been lying fallow without being cultivated for a long time and that if it is not leased out, it will continue to lie fallow while our youths remain unemployed. 

We, however do not subscribe to that argument because it is the same government people who make policies and engage in acts that make farming unattractive to Nigerians.

To claim that the scheme would solve the problem of unemployment is being economical with the truth. The truth is that the problem would be pushed forward to the future.

What happens to the land at the end of the lease period? The land is desolate, deprived of all nutrients, poisoned and useless to both the leassee and the owners.

Meanwhile, the food or fibres so produced do not contribute anything to the local economy as all are exported and former land owners become employees and salaried workers on N15,000, a month! This makes previously independent individuals to become dependent on handouts.

The way forward is to find out why farming is not attractive to Nigerians and why the land had remained unutilized and then, for the government to tackle those issues frontally.