wirinet:

Nigerians would want to farm if it is made attractive. If government invests in agriculture and support agriculture, you will find many people ready to give up white collar jobs and go into farming. Even the Zimbabwean farmers brought in by saraki is heavy supported by the Kwara state government.

In Europe and the US, the government supports farmers with all sorts of instruments like zero interest rates, and even subsidy on farm produce. Here in Nigeria, the government does not support farmers at all and even over tax them both legal and illegal.

The major problem with agriculture in Nigeria is our land use act. If our land laws are clear and direct and people are allowed to have all ownership right to their land, and land documentation is made clear and precise, then it would be easy to use land as an asset to borrow money for agriculture.

We are always saying "if the government does this, if the government does that", do you seriously want the government to completely take over food production in Nigeria?

papas:

Nigerians that want to farm are already farming. Will you happily agree to grow and tend to crops if you were given land for it? Most Nigerians I know will not want to even think of doing this, so don't say "when we want it, it won't be there".
Please present your facts of what is happening in Pakistan with regard to the leasing of land for farming. I have not heard yet.

Dude, how many Nigerians have money to farm on large scale? people are only farming on feeding the family scale. You related Farm land lease to the state of anarchy in pakistan as if since they leased off their land, they have been peaceful. Pakistan is still at war and about 3 days ago a US drone was reported to have hit civilians and also killilng a key member of a terrorist group. You think say na land lease go solve our problem? The government needs to encourage farming on large scale. We can't afford to lease off our land with our ever growing population. You can lease your We still have our forests to preserve remember? or you want us to be flooded cause some irrational government think foreign investors are our solution out of poverty? We have our own population to feed and we also have to protect our forests and we are 170mill what land do you want to lease off? Niger delta is being polluted, North isn't really arable, East is 30% arable considering flooding, and city plans etc, What land are you trying to lease? Instead of us to strengthen our farm productions and make food available to our population then we export instead of leasing our land to them that is still a better investment than your so loving land leasing. Na your papa de the contract to secure the deal for them? Abi why is your minded clouded on this issue?

papas:


We are always saying "if the government does this, if the government does that", do you seriously want the government to completely take over food production in Nigeria?

Government support for farmers is important. Are you ok? you want Nigerians to keep importing food and our feeding ourselves will depend on foreign policy? I hope you don't become a president or senator or even governor or in charge of the people someday!!

We are so short sighted and only care for immediate gratification. If you lease your house out for a generation, do you realize that your children will never live there. The same is true about African countries leasing out land to Chinese developers only to cry later on that Africans are not allowed near there.

By the time you lease out arable land, your children will cry that they can not eat or even afford food grown there. In the same Kwara, most of the products are for export. All these because we are ready to sell our birth right for quick cash that will be kept overseas.

Lease out the desert up North that everyone is running from. Between foreigners and Nigerians moving South, some of us may have to live and farm in space!

Well then, let us remain in the current limbo we are in with over 900 million sq. km. of land area. I must retire now to sleep friends.

Re: my figures on land areas, I meant thousand sq. km. not million. Nigeria is blessed!!!

@@@@@@@

as long as no land no reach my papa house

una go hear nwieeeeeee

at the era the EEC are subsiding their farmers output this is what these monkey brains could come up with!!

these people dnt want our progress for real

Fashionable investment and economic theories usually mean short term gain for long term pain.
Only a sellout can support such an idea.

I really wish I was in charge of Nigeria. I would be like Jerry Rawlings of Ghana and kill off all these dumb, stupid politicians. If you get caught stealing from the cookie jar, then you would be shot on the spot.

And why would you give our land to the Arabs? This is foolishness beyond belief. Nigeria is ran by buffoons.

, hmm, this will depend on the amount of land they are talking about here and the terms. Nigeria has about 30 million hectares of arable land, we currently use around 20 million of that (albeit not efficiently and effectively), that leaves us with 10 million hectares,  If we had strategic thinkers in govt. in charge of our agricultural policy, the best way to go about this would be to do an in-dept analysis of our future needs for arable land (both commercial, small scale and subsistence).

Once this first part has been done we now do a follow on analysis to determine how much of the remaining land we can/should give out after security and strategic considerations. Finally a financial analysis to project how much we will make as a nation if we farmed the land ourselves and exported the output - and then charge whoever is interested a percentage of their output in financial terms as our 'partnership' share or 'royalties'- similar to what obtains in the oil sector. So yes it could still have an element of leasing but, most definitely a revenue share agreement (forget profit share in this instance, they can 'validly' claim they are not making a profit for the next 20 years!).

I am not boasting but it seems i understand how to govern and what governance is all about that all our so called politicians. In Nigeria we always have our priorities wrong, then our plans are either utopic in Nature or outright silly. Yesterday we attempted to join the space race, today we want to join the nuclear race, now we want to lease out lands to foreigners. Please what is the problems with developing the lands ourselves?

Is is that we do not have the population or labour force required?
Is it that we lack enough capital? what about all the trillions of bad debts incurred by our banks, which we will have have to pay for one way or the other. If the bad debts were incurred in the agric sector, wont we at least benefit in the form of cheap food?

Or is it that we do not have visionary leaders who can put together a workable agricultural policy?

If i was in charge, i would make it mandatory, that all tiers of government are involved with agriculture, including state and local governments, one can adopt the kibbutz system, where you will build agricultural communities.

The most important thing in a persons life (and even animals) is food, not petrol, not electricity, not roads and not even houses. After food comes water. Once you have food and water, you are certain of survival. If ask a man to choose between food and water and petrol or  gold, there is no doubt what he will choose.

All societies were built on agriculture, human became urbanized because of agriculture, prior to the agricultural revolution, man did not need to live in villages and towns, but roamed around hunting and gathering. So why should we relegate agriculture now.

If you move around the west, you will see lots of agricultural settlements planned by Awolowo that has been abandoned and the land sold off. I saw one on the outskirt of Ikorodu towards Mowo. It has been sold off and one of my friends bought two acres there.

That is even one area i have issues with Governor fashola, how does he intend to build a mega city capable of accommodating 40 million people without a plan on how to feed the 40million people. There are lots of arable land between Ikorodu and Epe and even Badagry, why not plan agriculture within those axis?

papas:

Why I strongly believe this is a good thing for Nigeria, taking Pakistan as a case study, the original article says that Pakistan has offered "6 million acres" of land to foreign investors for farming purposes.

Some facts from the CIA factbook, Pakistan vs Nigeria

Pakistan:
1) Land area: around 778 million sq. km.
2) Population: over 170 million
3) Arable land: 24.4%

Nigeria

1) Land area: around 910 million sq. km.
2) Population: who knows!!! but lets say around 160 million
3) Arable land: 33%,   (World factbook, or wikipedia)

Pakistan has not descended into a state of anarchy after offering 6 million acres as far as I am aware. I see no reason why Nigeria cannot comfortably offer at least 10 million acres for farming to foreign investors. What else can we Immediately offer to foreign investors? Manufacturing services? where is the electricity for that? Financial services? With all that is happening in the banking sector a.t.m.?

Again, if this takes off, I can't emphasise enough how Nigeria will be better for it.

This is the kind of argument (at least the threshold) I am really interested in in this debate.

All other emotional pride-driven outbursts are rubbish to me.

I am still on the fence until I see stronger pro and anti arguments.

^^^^^

u see your likes are many in nl; they talk like they know when they dnt

this is the same way Uk had their borders opened wide, now look at what situation at present makes of it!!

heyyyyyyyy the slogan now is we dnt want more immigrant abi!! and the Uk Government reading  correspondents hells knows sent to them sayin Yall are all racists!! hmm suprise!!! well  maybe people are just too damn angry at things

UK government caught up i crossfire now?? right haha because they couldnt come up with the emmm maximum number allowed in a year hmmm tough one; maximum cap ehhuh!! how is that possible

ok fine; hey but looking at the other side of the border any member EEC can come over here to settle; then more wAHALA for UK ; u see people like should just shut up; just shut up plz

bottomline the baffoons in aso rock should be all executed in the interest of black race

that is that!!!

and next time plz open your mind and stop trying to look good cuz its doesnt work as i have find out

we have 5 acres for
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Good for most crop. There are other location up to 3000 acres from 50k per acre
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