Nigeria exploits of old in agricultural commodities like groundnuts in the Northern part, oil palm, rubber, rice in the South-east and South-south and cocoa in the South-west, should be remembered with emphasis on how we lost ground in the trade of these commodities to countries far and near. The corresponding losses in revenue; not only from failure to maintain production but the graduation to net importing. The overall picture is that of a person who abandoned healthy limbs only to borrow crutches.
If Singapore, Brazil, Indonesia, Korea, Thailand, etc. -countries that started roughly at par with Nigeria at independence-are now producing aeroplanes and other finished goods while Nigeria is merely a net importer of finished goods, including tooth picks, and gross exporter of primary commodities, much, then, is left to be desired.
Our inability to favorably compete in the world of agriculture, loosing to nations that learnt from us, procured initial inputs from us and later turned round to supply our need in the same commodity, as well as other nations that had better plans, foresight and governance. The Malaysian experience serves as an eye opener showing the need to invest in agriculture. It is not for nothing that the World Bank sponsored agricultural extension through the ADP for over 22 years, expecting that this will be continued by the country and states, on withdrawal. Instead, the ADP of many states have either totally collapse or near that. The contributions of certain livestock and crops to the economy and development of some regions in the past are well known to our people. These animals and crops appear to be suitable for the regions and, therefore, of economic advantage. For instance, cotton, cattle, and groundnut in the North, oil palm, rice, rubber and timber in the South-east and South-south, cocoa in the South-west and so on. Will it be wrong to re-anchor the production of these agricultural produce in the regions especially given that these commodities still command economic respect globally?
The World Bank makes it clear that the foundation for development and for breaking the backbone of poverty is investment in agriculture. The greatest need of the poor is food. Mankind must first of all eat, drink, have shelter and clothing before it can pursue politics, science, art, religion and other endeavors. No government can create enough jobs for her citizens; government creates the enabling environment, while the people create the jobs themselves. It is agriculture that creates the highest number of employment in the society.
Over ten million jobs can be created in animal farming alone. The corporate bodies can engage the army of unemployed youths which is at present dominated by the people who are mostly school leavers, with senior secondary school certificates and graduates of tertiary institutions. Nigeria’s over dependence on oil is a risky option, if banks, oil and telecommunication companies can ventures into agriculture, then this country will bounce back. Nigeria is a fertile area for agriculture; but many of us abandon agriculture for the oil sector. We feel farming is only meant for our grandparents in the village.
Nigeria soil is five times more fertile and arable than Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, China and yet we import over N2 trillion in wheat, rice, sugar, flour, poultry and fish every year.
This dilemma is not confined to the urban areas, as rural unemployment is on the rise. These various dimension of employment reflect the undiversified structure of the economy, a factor which restricts and affects the scope for reasonable job creation.
One of the smartest things the Nigerian government can do is to encourage Nigerians to go back to agriculture especially help farmers take advantages of their greatest asset-micro and small livestock production. Most small farmers own a few cows, some pigs, grasscutters, goats, fish, rabbit and poultry. But many don’t understand the many roles these animals can play towards boosting a farm’s income, so the animals are underutilized. It was the realization of huge potentials that agriculture holds for development and poverty reduction in the country that motivated JOVANA FARMS to launch nationwide agro-awareness creation and sensitization seminars, to make agricultural sector a major area of government intervention in Nigeria. The company’s intervention strategies were based on its sound understanding of the problems associated with agricultural development in the country which include, lack of access to improve farm inputs; new adoptable agricultural technologies, marketing, packaging, exporting and financing.
Jovana farms organizes nationwide sensitization training seminars on the practical ways of making it through small scale animal farming. Attend our nationwide seminars nearest to you and know more opportunities in agriculture. Visit www.jovanafarms.com, E-mail: jovanafarms@gmail.com or Call TEL: 080 33262808 for more details.