Ebenezer Obey’s song on the government’s Operation Feed the Nation (OFN) policy in the late 70s had the following lyrics: “Operation Feed the Nation n’ijobatungbede, won so fun wa nipa iseagbek’ebi ma pa wa, won so fun wanipa iseosinke bi ma pa waleyinwaola.” The lyrics, which were rendered in Yoruba language, translate thus: “Operation Feed the Nation is the government’s new policy; the policy encourages us to farm and engage in livestock farming so we don’t go hungry tomorrow.”
The OFN was introduced by the then General Olusegun Obasanjo military administration to increase local food production and ultimately reduce imports. Citizens were encouraged to engage in both crop production and livestock farming. Unfortunately, as a country we do not lack good policies – implementation, continuity and sustenance have been our bane.
The Shehu Shagari-led civilian administration came in after that and initiated its own agricultural policy which it christened “Green Revolution”, while recently we saw the inauguration of another agriculture policy by the Jonathan administration tagged the “National School’s Agricultural Programme” (NASP). No economy thrives on this variety of policy summersaults.
The song from Ebenezer Obey is somewhat prophetic. He warned us decades ago to engage in agribusiness so we don’t go hungry tomorrow. Sadly, as a country, our tomorrow is here and we are hungry. We are hungry from the scarcity of food and its high cost. The unemployed who should be engaged in agribusiness are busy looking for white-collar jobs and so remain unemployed and hungry; we are hungry because our banks have not been innovative enough to initiate products and services that suit agribusiness.
The importance of agriculture and food security to the growth and development of Nigeiria cannot be overemphasized. The oil sector (and its petrodollars) has made both the country and its citizenry neglect and relegate the agricultural sector. Unfortunately, we cannot eat oil.
We need to start investing massively in the agricultural sector; this is the most assured way to unlock Nigeria’s potential. While the agricultural sector remains the greatest contributor to our GDP, its capacity and output are still very low as evident in the amount we spend importing food.
The future belongs to those who will from now engage and invest in Nigeria and Africa’s agricultural sector. According to the United Nations and the World Bank, there’s a massive food crisis. The two world bodies declared that the crisis is so big that there won’t be enough food to feed the global population by 2050. Forget fuel scarcity, food scarcity will be worse and more brutal.
For those who are not looking for ‘get-rich-quick’ businesses but want to build a lasting legacy of wealth for their generation, agribusiness is the way to go. Our youths who are either under-employed or unemployed should start looking at agribusiness. The younger they start the better.
DAYOpportunities abound in every sector of the agribusiness both for local consumption and for exportation. I am aware that our level of patience has been shortened by the fast-paced society that we now live in, but those who will be patient will reap the fruit therein. As a country we are blessed with large expanse of arable land, favourable climate and rainfall which favour all-year-round farming. Recent data from the World Development Indicators show that, of the country’s 923,768 km2 of land, 717,767 km2 representing 77.7 percent is arable.
Piggery farming, for instance, presents itself as a very viable source of foreign exchange to those who can engage in it on a large scale. China produces the highest number of pigs in the world but it’s not enough for local consumption. In 2014 China slaughtered 735 million pigs for food while the US slaughtered 107 million pigs. China doesn’t produce all that it eats, it has to source for the balance from other countries.
At the current population of 170 million, say we spend an average of N100 for food daily, that gives you a total of N17 billion daily. I am not sure we spend that amount on fuel daily. This figure will continue to grow even bigger as the population grows. That’s opportunity begging to be explored.
In 2013 Nigeria spent about $151 million importing tomato paste; Citibank Africa’s MD describes this as a shame. CBN has recently barred importers of tomato paste from accessing foreign exchange at the forex market. This also presents another opportunity for local producers. In 2014 the country spent about $2.75 billion on frozen chicken despite the ban on it. The president of Nigeria’s poultry association believes that given all the necessary support, the poultry industry can make a significant contribution to the national GDP and create thousands of jobs.
Castor oil, cashew nuts, plantain, palm oil and cassava production all present themselves as huge income earners for both the farmer and the government. Castor oil derived from castor seeds is a powerful oil used by hairdressers, the military and paint manufacturers.
Olutuyi writes from Calgary, Alberta.
