FoodFarmNews: SCALING AGRICULTURAL SOLUTIONS FOR SUSTAINABLE NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT BY GUEST LECTURER DR. SAMSON ADEOLA ODEDINA. Lecture Delivered at the 20th Annual Lecture Series of Federal University of Agriculture Abeokuta Alumni Association 19th January, 2019

DR. SAMSON ADEOLA ODEDINA.

SCALING AGRICULTURAL SOLUTIONS FOR SUSTAINABLE NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT BY GUEST LECTURER DR. SAMSON ADEOLA ODEDINA. Lecture Delivered at the 20th Annual Lecture Series of Federal University of Agriculture Abeokuta Alumni Association 19th January, 2019.

1. HISTORICAL ROLE OF AGRICULTURE IN NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT
(A) OVERVIEW
• Nigeria is predominantly an Agricultural society.
• Approximately 70% of the Nigerian population engages in Agricultural production at a subsistence level.

• The Agricultural sector is one of the most important in the country, it employs around 70% of Nigerian Labour force.

HISTORICAL ROLE OF AGRICULTURE IN NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT
(A) OVERVIEW
•There are four major sectors contributing to Nigeria’s Economy:
a. Petroleum/Oil.
b. Services.
c. Manufacturing.
d. Agriculture

1. HISTORICAL ROLE OF AGRICULTURE IN NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT
(A) OVERVIEW
• The Agricultural sector has always been the highest contributor to Nigeria GDP
 1957: 65.7%
1999: 41%
 2013: 22% ; Crude Oil 14% ; Telecommunication 9% and Manufacturing 7% (US Department of State, 2014).
 2016: 24.18%; more than oil and manufacturing combined (CBN, 2016).

(B) RELIANCE ON AGRICULTURE AND RESULTS
• 1940s-1960s (before and just after the declaration of the Nigeria independence)
 The Nigerian Economy heavily relied on the Agriculture sector; and foreign trades of agricultural product greatly improved the economy.
 Over 75% Nigeria’s yearly merchandise export commodities were from the Agriculture sector (Ekpo and Egwaikhide 1994; Oyejide 1998; Okoruwa et al 2003).

RELIANCE ON AGRICULTURE AND RESULTS
• 1940s-1960s (before and just after the declaration of the Nigeria independence)
 Agricultural products being exported included Rubber, Palm Oil, Cocoa, Coffee, Citrus, Cotton, Benniseed, Groundnut and Palm Kernel.
 Export destinations for Nigerian Agricultural exports were Britain, the United States, Canada, France, and Germany.
 Foreign exchange earnings through these exportations played a key role in Economic development of Nigeria through capital funding of numerous Projects.

NEGLECT OF AGRICULTURE AND RESULTS
• Early 1970s till date
Neglect of Agriculture in Nigeria began with the advent of the petroleum boom in the early 1970s.
 The boom in the oil sector brought about a distortion of the labor market. The distortion in turn produced adverse effects on the production levels of both food and cash crops.
 Successive Governments paid farmers low prices on food for the domestic market in order to satisfy urban demands for cheap basic food products.

(B) NEGLECT OF AGRICULTURE AND RESULTS

• Early 1970s till date

 Agricultural work gradually became unattractive and farm workers were lured to cities with white collar jobs

 Low productivity, both per unit of land and per worker, due to several factors: (i) Inadequate Technology

(ii)Natural acts such as drought,

(iii)Poor transportation and infrastructure

(iv)Trade restrictions, etc.

(B) NEGLECT OF AGRICULTURE AND RESULTS

• Early 1970s till date

 Food importation became the order of the day

 Nigeria has lost its status as a net exporter of cash crops such as Cocoa, Palm Oil, and Groundnuts.

 Nigeria's total food and agricultural imports are valued at approximately US$1.6 billion per year (U.S. Department of State FY2001 Country Commercial Guide).

NEGLECT OF AGRICULTURE AND RESULTS

• Early 1970s till date

 Decrease of 41.7 percent contribution to GDP from 1957 and 2016 (42years) Contribution to GDP in 1957: 65.7%Contribution to GDP in 2016: 24.0%

 Foreign Exchange earnings from Agricultural sector: Declined from 11% on average per person in the 1970s to 2% an average person in the 1990s.

2. AGRICULTURAL PROBLEMS VERSUS SOLUTIONS

PROBLEMS

POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS

·INABILITY OF AGRICULTURE TO LIVE UP TO EXPECTATION (JOB, WEALTH, RAW MATERIALS, FOREIGN EXCHANGE, EMPLOYMENT, ETC)

·Poor Infrastructure

·Moribund/dilapidated Agricultural Research and Training Facilities

·Lack of mechanized equipment

·Poor Level of Agricultural Education

·Unstable/Unfavourable Government Policies

·Food Processing Issues

·Limited or Zero Access to credit facilities, inputs supply and linkage

·High Volume of Agricultural Imports

·SCARCE SUCCESSFUL FARMERS

·Modern Agricultural Education programs for farmers

·Farm Mechanization and Hands-On Training

·Rehabilitation/Upgrade of Agricultural Research and Training Facilities in Colleges, Polytechnics, Universities, Research Institutes and Vocational Centres

·Farming friendly Government Policies

·Incentives for Nigerian Youths for more engagement in Agriculture through Entrepreneurship Education and Credit facilities for start-ups

·Farming friendly Government Projects such as Solar/Wind Projects, Irrigation Projects to address

·Highly developed and less-rigorous system for credit facilities and input supply to farmers

·Import Substitution

3. PROVEN AGRICULTURAL SOLUTIONS

AGRICULTURAL VALUE CHAIN OPPORTUNITIES AND POTENTIALS

COMMODITY	VALUE CHAIN JOB OPPORTUNITY
CASSAVA	• Stem Production • Weed Control • Root Production • Bulking Agency • Transport Services • Primary Processing • Value Addition and Product Development (e.g. Starch, Flour, Confectioneries, Bread, Glue, Beer, etc) • Marketing
AQUACULTURE	• Fingerlings Production • Feed Production • Table Size Feed Production • Processing • Value Addition and Product Development • Marketing
COCOA	• Seedling Production • Weed Control • Pest and Diseases Control Services • Bulking Agency • Processing • Value Addition and Product Development • Marketing

Others include:

Rice, Cotton, Livestock, Tomatoes, etc.

3. PROVEN AGRICULTURAL SOLUTIONS

AGRICULTURAL VALUE CHAIN OPPORTUNITIES AND POTENTIALS

1. Wealth Creation/Poverty Reduction

2. Employment Generation

3. Increased Farm/Farmers Productivity

4. Food Security

5. Increased Youth Involvement/Engagement in Profitable Agribusiness

COCOA VALUE CHAIN OPPORTUNITIES

1. Cocoa Liquor

2. Cocoa Butter

3. Cocoa Cake

4. Cocoa Powder

3. PROVEN AGRICULTURAL SOLUTIONS

B. SUCCESS STORIES (From Akure, Ondo State)

Student actors along the Value Chain (Producers, Processors and Marketers) have successfully keyed into wealth creation and job opportunities created by the huge demands for agro-products and services by large scale industries:

Cassava Stems (20,000 bundles/season);

Cassava Tubers (30tons/month);

Garri (10tons/month);

Fufu (5tons/week);

Vitamin A Maize (0.5ton/week);

sold by Value Chain student actors in Akure.

CASE STUDY

AGRICULTURAL VALUE CHAIN OPPORTUNITIES

CASSAVA VALUE CHAIN OPPORTUNITIES

4. TARGETS FOR AGRICULTURAL SOLUTIONS

5. SCALING UP AGRICULTURAL SOLUTIONS

(A) EXAMPLES IN SCALING UP

a. Government

(i) Multilateral Finance Assistance from Global Institutions (World Bank, Africa Development Bank, IMF, etc) for Agricultural Development Projects:

 1979: Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP)

 1992 to 2015: FADAMA I, II, III, IIIAF

(A) EXAMPLES IN SCALING UP

(ii) Federal Government funded Agricultural Programmes

 1980s: Green Revolution Programme

 2011: Agricultural Transformation Agenda (ATA)

 2015: Green Alternative Programme (GAP)

(b) NGOs

 Catholic Relief Services (CRS)

International Fertilizer Development Centre (IFDC) , Etc.

 CAVA II: Technical backstopping (stem multiplication and demonstration farms) for 200,000 smallholder farmers to sell 2million tons of cassava roots to make processed products such as high quality cassava flour, chips for animal feed and cassava starch in Nigeria, Ghana, Tanzania, Uganda and Malawi)

 CIAT/HarvestPlus: Multiplication, Value Addition, Marketing, Advocacy, Monitoring and Evaluation of Vitamin A Cassava and Maize in Nigeria.

 OLAM COCOA- Grow Nigerian Cocoa (GNC) Programme: Establishment and Management of Cocoa seedlings nursery and the supply of cocoa seedlings to designated farmers nationwide.

5. SCALING UP AGRICULTURAL SOLUTIONS

(B) SCALING UP INNOVATIONS

ADVOCACY

(B) SCALING UP INNOVATIONS

YOUTH ENGAGEMENT

(B) SCALING UP INNOVATIONS

STUDENTS INDUSTRIAL WORK EXPERIENCE

SCALING UP AGRICULTURAL SOLUTIONS

(1.) Farm Drive: https://www.farmdrive.co.ke/: Simplifies bookkeeping by allowing farmers keep track of their farm activities using their mobile phones. The resultant effect is that, with a comprehensive credit profile, financial institutions will be more encouraged to lend to these farmers.

(2) WeFarm: https://wefarm.org/: Give vital information to farmers, even without an internet connection. Nigerian startups seeking opportunities in the agricultural space can learn from this.

(3) Sokonect: http://sokonect.com: Allows farmers sell their farm produce right from their mobile, thus eliminating the need for middlemen.

(4) Farmcrowdy: http://Farmcrowdy.com: Is Nigeria’s first digital agriculture platform that allows Nigerians to participate in Agriculture using their online technology.

(5) Releaf: https://www.releaf.ng/: Is an agro startup that connects buyers and sellers of agricultural products to trustworthy customers.

(6) FarmDeals: http://www.farmdeals.com.ng/: Is a Business to Business and Business to Customer agro-startup dedicated to connecting African farmers to both local and international buyers of farm produce.

(7) Farmnga: https://www.farmnga.com/: Is a classified ad online platform that allows buyers to easily locate farmers and their food products, compare prices before buying from nearby sellers.

(8) ProbityFarms: https://probityfarms.com/: Is software that allows farmers to manage all their farm activities including crop and livestock; schedule tasks, track fertilizer usage and get SMS/email reminders of farm task.

EMERGING AGRICULTURAL RELATED SOLUTIONS

 Youth Entrepreneurship/Empowerment Programmes

1) Npower

2) Youth Empowerment and Development Initiative (YEDI)

3) African Youth Empowerment Nigeria (AYEN)

4) Young Entrepreneurs of Nigeria (YEN)

5) Youth Empowering People (YEP)

6) Youth Enterprise with Innovation in Nigeria (YouWin)

7) Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment Program (SURE-P)

 Specialized Borrowers Programme e.g. CBN Anchor Borrowers Programme

 Cooperate Entrepreneurship Programmes e.g. TEEP, MEST, Inspire Africa, etc

 Reality TV Programmes

7. FUTURE OF SCALING UP AGRICULTURAL SOLUTIONS

 80years (1940s) of attempts at scaling up, with numerous interventions over the years.

 Since the end of Recession in 2017, Scaling up has become a compulsion; It has become a major mandate of the Government.

 Since 2006 (13years ago), Private sector participation and industrialization have benefited greatly from donor funding activities and specialized Federal Government funding programmes.

Self-Advertised Innovative products from these interventions have gained market acceptance.

7. FUTURE OF SCALING UP AGRICULTURAL SOLUTIONS

(a) BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES IN STEMS PRODUCTION