By Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, President of The Federal Republic of Nigeria.
5th of June, Rome.
With growing scientific evidence showing the devastating effects of climate change and global warming, the current status of food insecurity especially in the developing world will become worse if adequate measures are not put in place immediately.
Nigeria has a highly diversified agroecological condition with a total agricultural Land of 79 million ha, Surface water of 267 billion cubic meters, Underground water of 57.9 billion cubic meters, and a potential Irrigable area of 3.14million ha. Despite Nigeria’s rich agricultural resource endowment, less than 50% of the country’s cultivable agricultural land is under cultivation. Even then, about 14 million smallholder and traditional farmers who use rudimentary production techniques cultivate most of this land with only 220,000 ha. of actual irrigated area.
In response to these overwhelming issues and in order to halt the threats of rising food prices and to ensure increased production of staple food commodities in Nigeria in the short term, we released assorted grains for sale at subsidized prices from the National Strategic Reserve. Nigeria has temporarily removed tariff on rice importation, initiated the accelerated completion of storage facilities, distributed increased quantity of fertilizers and seeds at subsidized rate, and syndicated special funds at very low interest rate, long term moratorium and repayment period for rice processing and marketing.
Nigeria is currently repositioning agriculture in the global best practices and increasing budgetary allocation for Agriculture has been enhanced from 3% to 7% of total budget in 2008, and in the shortest possible time to increase to 10% in consonance with Maputo declaration on Agriculture. In addition to the budgetary allocation, Nigeria is dedicating 1.68% of its federation account as a special intervention fund for agricultural development in the next four year with a takeoff fund of about $700m. The special intervention programme has taken an agricultural value chain approach, covering production, processing, and storage and market development in an integrated fashion with the strengthening of Research & Development capabilities.
In the area of production there is major emphasis on ensuring that production inputs (such as fertilizers, seeds and seedlings, agricultural credit, extension support, land preparation support through tractor hiring service provision etc) reach farmers, at subsidized affordable prices. Efficient Water Resource Management and provision of irrigation facilities are key objectives of this programme. In the area of processing the plan is to encourage private sector driven agro-industrial parks and cottage industries.
Hopefully, Nigeria’s new initiative in agricultural development will enable Nigeria not only meet its domestic food requirement but also to increase its export to Africa and other parts of the World. Indeed Nigeria has the potential to become the food basket of Africa. Therefore developing agriculture in Nigeria to its full potential is assuring food security for Africa.
Our most pressing problem in Nigeria and indeed Africa is improved yield, value addition, modern and structured market, access and affordability of credit. The global food crisis is a wakeup call for Africa to launch itself into green revolution which has long been over delayed. Our clarion call is for our friends to join hands with Africa and support Africa to achieve its food security programme as enunciated in NEPAD Comprehensive Africa’s Agricultural Development Programme and the AU Maputo declaration of funding agriculture. The time to act is now. Enough of the rhetorics, and more of the action now. Tolerating hunger and poverty is unacceptable. It is unfair, unjust, and a potential danger to the one planet that we must collectively partner to protect. There must be investment in Agriculture in Africa by the advanced developed economies.
Nigeria seeks strong partnership for its agricultural development programme in the areas of biotechnology for improved yield in crops, livestock and fisheries, and market development. At this juncture I want to pay particular attention to market information development for Africa which hitherto is either nonexistence or very weak. Developing this system will not only open or link Africa market to the rest of the World; it has the potential of stimulating agricultural production in Africa and engendering best practice in Africa and thereby making Africa Agriculture competitive.