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| Farm Produce |
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Agric
value chains suffer neglect
The allegations of nonperformance in the
agricultural sector in the last three years by critics has been buttressed by
the statistical report of the National Agricultural Extension & Liaison
Services (NAERLS) as the sector was underscored for not impacting on farmers
for higher food productivity, just as incoherent operation in Federal Ministry
of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD) has been attributed to value chain
crops neglect.
Many
stakeholders especially farmers have complained of government’s neglect by the
FMARD, states and local governments saying the high cost of production and
non-availability of inputs and other factors like insecurity and climate change
have hindered performance of the sector in the last three years as budget delay
and procurement procedure are too cumbersome to encourage timely attendance to
food security matters in the country.
Majority of
the farmers who spoke with Food Farm News
complained of non-support from the government stressing that the FMARD in the
last two years had not really released much fund that could impact on
agricultural activities to achieve the expected commercialization that would
checkmate food import as the activities expected through the value chain desks
have not been very proactive due to lack of fund release to carry out the
needed programme of inputs and mechanization supports.
Farmers queried government for not living up
to her promises on commercialization of agriculture to checkmating foods import
and wealth creation to farmers and job for the youths and women saying the
value chains desk in the FMARD have been made redundant as there were
disconnect between the minister’s office and many of the departments as the
usual weekly interface for activities feedback have been scrapped. All these
according to critics are hindering performance.
However, the
recently released survey jointly produced by the NAERLS and other agencies
including the FMARD has substantiated all the complaints by farmers as
agricultural performance was underscored towards food security for the year
2017.
The NAERLS
recommendation stated that “the 2017 wet season agricultural survey in Nigeria
was conducted with the support and collaboration of all states of Agricultural
Development Programmes and Ministries of Agriculture. The study documented
several constraints, ranging from the challenges of climate change and absence
of government input support, through insecurity and kidnapping, to those of
poor agricultural extension activities. These constraints affected all the sub
sectors of agriculture (crops, livestock, fisheries, aquaculture, and
agroforestry) along the value chains. These challenges, notwithstanding, the
study noted increased land areas of production. The survey forecasts production
of at least 35% above that of 2016 in all areas of agriculture. However, this
is expected to be marginal for livestock and aquaculture. Nevertheless, overall
farm yields would remain below the African averages for all the subsectors.
Based on the various observations, findings and challenges from the field, the
following recommendations were made
i)
Promotion
of research and extension responses to the challenges of climate change: the
impact of climate change on agricultural production in the country is becoming
more apparent each year. In 2017, Nigeria witnessed excess rainfall with
irregular distribution and several incidences of flood, erosion, dry spell,
diseases and pests, which affected crop, livestock and fisheries productivity.
This situation raises the scope for increased funding for and focus on research
and extension activities towards mitigating the effects of climate change.
ii)
Strengthening the capacity of Agricultural
Development Programmes (ADPs) and all other agencies involved with agricultural
data captured: the level of accuracy of data in planning cannot be
overemphasized. The level of accuracy of data generated however a direct
bearing on the appropriateness and effectiveness of plans and policies
generated/ formulated based on data. Data captured at the grassroots level by
the ADPs is currently very weak and needs to be supported for improved results.
A collective action of relevant stakeholders is highly desirable.
iii)
Effective subsidy as strategy for enhancing
agricultural production- the study recorded appreciable government support and
intervention programme in several states. However, many of the supports were
ineffective, as majority of the farmers could not access such supports.
Therefore, a cost effective and efficient subsidy application system across the
value chain is highly desirable.
Iv) Conscientious promotion of agricultural
mechanization as a national priority: the survey observed that about five
states acquired new tractors to increase mechanization. Despite this and the
government’s effort at providing mechanization inputs nationwide, the survey
noted that most farmers are still using hand-tools for farm operation. There is
the need for government to intensify efforts using Public-Private Partnership
platform to promote the use of appropriate mechanization technologies
especially small scale tillage and processing machineries. Concerted efforts
should be made to repair and maintain the huge number of non- functional
tractors across the nation.
v. The need to open virgin lands for agribusiness: The cost
of opening new land for agriculture is high and in some cases such as Rivers,
Bayelsa, Ogun, Edo and Benue states is prohibitive. For example, it took as
much as N120, 000 to N150, 000 to manually clear one hectare, in Ijebu land
because of the huge tree felling and de-stumping. To achieve the desired field
crop expansion and promote profitable farming, therefore, government land
clearing units should be revived to open up more arable land.
Improve Funding and Recruitment of Extension personel:
Dwindling funding for capital projects, shortage of staff, inadequate training
and lack of mobility were observed as the major challenges of extension
delivery nationwide. There was also the problem of inadequate extension
delivery packages (in the form of broadcasts, prints, field demonstration,
visits, etc) therefore, there is an urgent need for the state Government to
provide needed funds, recruit more personnel and build their capacity to
strengthen extension service delivery in the states.
Recruitment of N-Power (Agro) Volunteers: The survey observed
that N-power (Agro) volunteers in many states are atively participating in the
extension advisory services. States are encouraged to actively engage them for
their volunteer period. This category of personnel is a potential pool for
recruitment by the states as agric extension staff.
Viii. Collaboration and policies to strengthen agricultural
broadcast: agricultural media packages and broadcasts in the country are
gradually fading out due to inability fo many producers to pay for the air
time. The cost of production and airtime are far beyond what the states ADPs
can bear.it takes, for example, about N6million to produce and air a 30-
mintutuesprogramme on state radio for one year. With almost zero capital budget
relelase for ADPs, 34 states could not produce or air a single radio programme
in 2017. This has been the trend for a while. Government should also make
apprioprate polities on broadcasting, through the National Broadcasting
Commission (NBC) that would mandate radio and television houses to dedicate a
certain percentage of their programme to agriculture towards transforming the
sector.
IX. Strengthening of e- Extension centres to boost
agricultural advisory delivery: the survey found that the zeal of farmers to
expand agricultural activities was not equally matched with the requisite
knowledge of for improved farm management practices. Besides, the average ratio
of extension agent to farm families has remained astronomically high-up to
1:17,000 for some states, instead of the FAO recommended 1: 500-800. Nigeria
should leverage on the use of ICT to reach out to teeming farming population
real-time online. In this regards, the national Farmers’ Helpline Centre and
the zonal hubs should be urgently and adequately supported to fully
operational.
X. Dealing with the scourge of insecurity: One of the
outstanding findings of this survey was the threat of insecurity to the busness
of agriculture across the country. This threat was mainly in the form of
farmers/ herdsmen conflicts, kidnapping, militancy/ insurgency, cattle rustling
and communal clashes/ land disputes. The menace was first strongly reported in
the 2011 survey and since then in subsequence survey. Proactive strategies
involving all stakeholders towards controlling and eventual elimination of
these security challenges should be developed and implemented.
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