States are striving to boost agriculture to promote green growth and poverty reduction.These were the highlights of The Nation Agriculture and Food Summit in Abuja, DANIEL ESSIET reports.

With more than 70 per cent of its population living in rural areas, Nigeria’s economy is dependent on agriculture. But less than 30 per cent of its GrossDomestic Product (GDP) comes from the sector.

Experts believe the sector has the potential to increase its contribution to GDP. However, the most pressing challenge facing the nation is harnessing its agricultural resources to improve lives.

Solution for using agriculure to reduce proverty in Nigeria
In response, states, including Lagos, Borno, Kebbi, Plateau, Sokoto, Benue, Lagos and Bayelsa,  are launching massive programmes to boost agriculture and smallholder farmers, to drive green growth and reduce poverty. They gave  the hints at The Nation Agric, Food Summit  and Awards held last week in Abuja.

The event was designed to highlight agribusiness potential. To them, agriculture should be at the centre of a transition to a resource-efficient green economy, galvanising support for smallholder farmers, who are an “untapped resource” in addressing food security and environmental challenges.

Borno State Governor Kashim Shettima said agriculture is the most important economic sector  and that the country produces various crops in different climatic zones, from dry savanna to wet forest, which run in east west bands across the country.

He stressed that investments in sustainable smallholder agriculture must go hand-in-hand with policy and institutional reforms, investments in infrastructure and improvements in market access.

He said there were compelling reasons to boost Nigeria’s agricultural sector. This, he said,  would  reduce reliance on imports and provide jobs to a country full of dedicated farmers.

The Borno State Government recently unveiled its remarkable progress in many sectors. The state has registered 18,000 farmers to cultivate rice on 18,000 hectares of land in preparation for this year’s planting season. It has acquired tractors, mills, threshers, planters and harvesters.

Under the programme, each farmer will cultivate one hectare of land.

Shettima procured more than 10,000 farming units of irrigation materials, brought into the state in 750 containers.

In addition, Borno is promoting drip irrigation, which allows water to be conserved at its premier centre in Maduguri.

The advanced farming technology allows for two farming seasons and production of about 3,000 tonnes of tomato. Existing beside this is a seedling protecting centre that can produce tomato, pepper and any seedling.

It has a capacity to produce eight million seedlings monthly, ready to plant.

Kebbi State Governor, Atiku Bagudu, said agriculture plays a key role in the state’s economic growth.

Since the advent of President Muhammadu Buhari administration in 2015, Bagudu  said  rice production has been on the increase in the state.

He said the government has focused on food security and reduction of expenses spent on importation of food stuff, which is as much as N1billion.

As Nigeria‘s population continues to grow, thus implying more mouths that need to be fed in the future, he said the governments recently initiated partnership programmes with smallholder rice farmers to increase production through the use of new technologies and innovative financing programmes.

He said the  country’s plan to become self-sufficient in rice has included additional investment in milling, along with the distribution of higher-yield seeds and fertiliser.

According to him, Kebbi State has become a model and a hub in rice and wheat production and sales that attract the attention of many individuals, companies and states across the country.

Bagudu said states have agreed to cooperate more closely to support sustainable rice production to improve food security and livelihoods.

The partnership primarily, according to him,  aims to enhance sustainable rice farming, including assisting governments draw up and implement policies and strategies - to the benefit of small-scale farmers.

To consolidate on the gains recorded in dry season rice farming and improve output in wet season, Bagudu said the state entered into partnership with Katsina, Kano, Jigawa, Sokoto, Zamfara and the Moroccan government to receive the supply over 300,000 tonnes of fertiliser.

He  noted that Kebbi farmers  farm rice, wheat, sorghum and millet throughout the year.

Apart from Central Bank of Nigeria(CBN)  Anchor Borrowers Programme, he said the government is engaged in strengthening capacities of  rice sector actors through its capacity development.

For turning Kebbi to the largest rice producing state in Nigeria, the governor was aptly appointed Chairman of the Presidential Task Force on Rise and Wheat Production. If the Kebbi success is replicated in other places, he  noted  that  it  was possible for Nigeria to satisfy her rice demand in three or four years; and through that process, conserve foreign exchange and create thousands of jobs.

Importantly, replicating the Kebbi success will also help take millions of poor Nigerians out of poverty, and make thousands of farmers millionaires.

He affirmed the government’s commitment to investing in agro-industrialisation, saying the move would create a first-line employment and investment opportunity for women as well as the youth.

He reassured that his administration will continue to do its part to promote the competitiveness of commercially-oriented agriculture.

At the inception of the Simon Lalong administration in 2015, the governor and his team saw the need to promote agriculture for the development of the state and its people. This it did by making agriculture one of its policy thrusts to ensure food secuirty, provide employment to the citizens of the state and leverage on the policy thrust of the All Peoples Congress (APC)-led administration.

Lalong said the state government’s decision to engage in massive agricultural ventures through public and private sector partnership was deliberate to ensure that agriculture became the driver of a mixed sector economy for job creation and economic prosperity.

According to him, the state is developing agricultural projects, helping farmers there adopt sustainable practices for greater food security.

A lot of green houses have been springing up all over the state due to these efforts while improvements are being recorded in rice farming.

With the commitment by the administration in agriculture, potato farming  received a boost which has resulted in Plateau being selected as the only state to run the national potato value chain and furtherance of its desire to encourage a robust agricultural sector, the governor created the enabling environment and sponsored the first ever farmers’ summit in the state which resulted in in far reaching resolutions.

The investment in the agricultural sector in Plateau state has gone beyond subsistence levels to a flourishing value chain enterprise with opportunities waiting to be tapped.

Bayelsa State Commissioner of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Doodei Week  said rural youth represent a large proportion of the vulnerable households.

He  reiterated  the state’s  determination to employ agriculture in tackling youth unemployment in rural areas, therefore providing peace, stability and food security.

Lalong was appointed as a member of the National Food Security Council (NFSC), giving Plateau a deserved recognition as an agricultural centre of excellence.

Key speaker and former Vice-Chancellor, Federal University of Technology, Akure, Ondo State,  Prof  Adebiyi Daramola, said a genuine agricultural revolution is needed to enable Nigerians  feed themselves , urging more youths to take up farming.

Daramola said the country has  witnessed mixed results in terms of agricultural growth and food security due to poor sector leadership, erratic rainfall patterns, poor inputs distribution system and little investments.

These mixed results ,according to him, awakened the government to the imperative to do something about agriculture.

He  said agriculture must be transformed so that it offers young people an appealing alternative to urban life.

According to him, channelling the energy, strength and dynamism of Nigeria’s youth into productive, competitive and profitable agribusinesses will boost agricultural production systems, create jobs and generate income.

He said  the sector   needs to apply advanced technology and promote mechanisation in agricultural production and aquaculture.

To develop agriculture specifically, Daramola envisions developing cold storage and food-processing facilities, and helping farmers expand markets.

He urged farmers to change their mindsets to benefit from modern farming by using modern equipment to cultivate and irrigate crops during dry season.

He said mechanisation improves labour and land productivity, saves time and eases work, while maintaining postharvest quality of agricultural produce to reduce losses.

As part of measures to boost the  economy, the Bank of Agriculture (BoA) said the bank would ensure that efforts to grow the country’s agriculture sector to meet the standard set by government is not compromised.

The BoA demonstrated leadership in agribusiness financing as being exemplified in its pivotal role in the Anchor Borrowers Programme, financing of Micro,Small and Medium agricultural enterprises in Nigeria.

Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Vege fresh, Prince Joseph Samuel, said efforts to boost domestic agribusiness capacity would allow Nigeria to capture more of the agricultural value chain incountry, thereby creating jobs and increasing wealth.

Samuel said agricultural research and development programmes were not up to the mark

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