Being Text of a Welcome Address by His Excellency, Senator (Dr.) Abdullahi Adamu, Turakin Keffi, Chairman, National Agricultural Foundation on the Occasion of the Opening Ceremony of the 12th National Agricultural Show Holding at Auta Balefi, Nasarawa State, 16th October, 2019.
PROTOCOLS:
On behalf of the board of the National Agricultural Foundation, I am pleased to welcome our distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen to this year’s national agriculture show which has the theme – “Enhancing Youth Participation in Agricultural Value Chains”. I am particularly pleased that the honourable minister of agriculture and rural development, Alhaji Mohammed Sabo Nanono, is here with us. His presence is the very visible presence of the President, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR. Please permit me, therefore, to pay a special tribute to you, honourable minister, as a farmer and as a minister, on whose shoulders now rests the burden of formulating pragmatic agricultural policies towards our national ambition of giving back to agriculture its pride of place in our national development.
Alhaji Nanono has been a committed player in national efforts to lift our agriculture from the quagmire of years of neglect. As a banker, he championed agricultural financing to empower our farmers, peasant and large-scale, to make agriculture a paying concern. When he retired from the banking sector, he became a large-scale farmer and thus placed himself in a position to put into practice what he had preached over the years. His appointment as minister of agriculture opens a new vista of opportunity for him to put his rich experience as a banker and a farmer at the disposal of the nation. I have no doubt that his accumulated experience would help him formulate pragmatic agricultural policies towards fulfilling the commitment and promises of the President Mohammadu Buhari administration to re-position our national agricultural development and free our nation from its dependence on food imports.
You are welcome, honourable minister.
The National Agricultural Foundation had two primary objectives in initiating the annual agriculture show in 2007. The first objective is to encourage a healthy competition among our farmers. Competition tends to bring out the best among human beings. Those of us who are not so young any more would remember that for the same objective, the Northern Regional government staged annual agricultural shows at regional, provincial and native authority levels. We would also remember the impact they had on increased food and crop production in the defunct region. They helped to make the region the true food basket of the nation.
Our second objective was to create a forum at which farmers, vendors and manufacturers of modern agricultural equipment as well as farm inputs would meet annually. Through this, our farmers are exposed to new and modern developments in agriculture. In the same token, they can access improved seeds and seedlings to expand their holdings and improve crop yields.
This is why the National Agricultural Foundation enjoyed and continues to enjoy the support and co-operation of successive federal administrations. Ministers of agriculture and rural development fully participated in the annual agricultural show. The support of the government for a private initiative such as this enhances synergy between the public and the private sectors. You cannot quantify the benefits of this to the nation. It is important for farmers and policy makers to be on the same page in order to drive whatever policy or policies the federal government commits to in agricultural development. The government makes the policies; the farmers put them into practice in a fair division of labour.
I would be less than honest with you, honourable minister, distinguished ladies and gentlemen, if I fail to admit that this year’s edition of the annual agricultural show is being held against the unfortunate background of insecurity that has led to the desertion of farms by our peasant farmers in the North-Central and North-Western geo-political zones. The situation in the North-East is even more pathetic when we note that farming activities in this zone virtually ceased when insurgency over-ran vast swaths of their land. We cannot pretend to hide the negative impact of this sad development on the reduced number of our peasant farmers who are participating in this year’s event. I am encouraged that our peasant farmers still have the courage to soldier on.
We salute them.
We all must be relieved that the insecurity has been largely contained. Our farmers are finding their way back to their farms again. The Buhari administration deserves commendation for its sustained commitment to making the farms safe again for us. Despite their small holdings, we must remember that our peasant farmers are still the backbone of our agriculture. They continue to put up a gallant struggle against the encroachment of food imports that threaten to disempower and displace them and weaken the pillars of our independence.
We applaud them.
Our agricultural development has won coats of many colours over the years due to the many policies intended by successive administrations to drive it. Taken together, they have had some mixed results. Some of them had a short shelf life due to policy summersaults; others suffered from poor conception and articulation. The net result was that we were unable to get to where we wanted to be. Our annual food import bills continued to skyrocket to a point where they became a burden on our development efforts. I cannot say it too often: a nation that depends on other nations to feed its own citizens makes but tenuous claims on its true independence and sovereignty.
But we cannot fail to sniff genuine changes in the air under the Buhari administration. I believe that we may get it right this time. The federal and state governments are dirtying their hands, as it were, so that our land would turn green again with local food and cash crop production. I see a synergy between and among the three tiers of government, given their collective commitment to agriculture. Taken together they would help to chart a new course for this very vital sector in every nation’s true social, economic and industrial development efforts.
The Buhari administration has initiated several new policy directives to encourage the three tiers of government, to put their hands to the plough. It is the most sensible way to go. I know that many of us are farmers either at heart or in practice. This is the time to show our hands. In my view, five of the most important initiatives in this direction are the following:
a) The Green Alternative;
b) The Anchor Borrowers programme co-ordinated by the Central Bank of Nigeria;
c) The National Livestock Transformation Plan;
d) The Palm Tree Plantation plan which aims to enhance palm oil production in the country; and,
e) The Cotton production plan in an effort to revive the textile industry.
We, the farmers of Nigeria, whole heartedly welcome these initiatives. We believe they have set the country in the right direction. Honourable minister, I wish to assure you that these policy initiatives enjoy our support and commitment. Policies in and of themselves are plans and intentions. What gives them life is the commitment to their full and sustained implementation by the initiators and the stake holders. These policy initiatives must be made to drive the nation towards zero hunger and food security.
Honourable minister, let me to make an objective intervention on the administration of the Anchor Borrowers programme. Our National Agricultural Foundation accepts as laudable the principle behind the scheme, but we honestly do not believe that the Central Bank of Nigeria is properly placed to administer it. Part of the reasons that the scheme cannot be said to be completely successful is because it is not being operated by the appropriate government agency. I believe, very strongly, that the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, which has the primary mandate for the implementation of all national agricultural policies, should take over the anchor borrowers scheme for it to properly cascade to the intended beneficiaries.
Distinguished ladies and gentlemen, food security cannot be attained in one day. It is not magic. It is a process driven by all the stake holders. Let no one think that food imports would end tomorrow. But if we are determined to end them, they eventually would be replaced by our local food production. We need patience and commitment to ride on these initiatives to what I call the Eldorado in our agricultural development. It is a long journey full of twists and turns and even disappointments. But none of that should discourage us as a nation committed to this singular and laudable objective of feeding ourselves and our neighbours. No matter how long a journey may be, it begins with the first step. I believe that with the above and other initiatives of the Buhari administration, we have taken the first step. Like Johnny Walker, let us keep walking, sustained by our collective ambition to get to where we want to be so that the next generation of Nigerians would not be a hungry generation foraging for food in refuse dumps.
Honourable minister, distinguished ladies and gentlemen, giving agriculture its rightful place in our national development rests on several strands. Without necessarily presenting the government with a shopping list, let me point out some of the grey areas that must be attended to as sustainable pillars of the current initiatives.
One, government needs to protect our local farmers by banning over a given period of time the importation of food items that our farmers are capable of sufficiently producing locally. The protection of our farmers against foreign invaders must rank high in our list of priorities because it would amount to self-sabotage if we cannot curb our appetite for imported food items.
Arising from the above, our second point is a call on government to review the mandate of the Nigeria Agriculture Quarantine Service to cater for both the import and export of agricultural produce. A situation where emphasis is placed only on the import of produce is not encouraging to our local farmers who might be interested in exporting their produce. Similarly, government is urged to streamline the activities of other port inspection agencies particularly the Customs service and NAFDAC to enable easy and quick export of agricultural produce from Nigeria.
Three, our agricultural research institutes need to be urgently revived. Agriculture, now more than ever before, relies on and benefits from modern research into crop production. The recent appointment of a seasoned agriculturist as director-general of the Agricultural Research Council of Nigeria raises my hope that the sun would shine once more on our agricultural research institutes. In the past they played a vital role in applied research. They can still do so if they are revived and empowered to play that statutory role again.
Finally, farm subsidy remains a burning issue in our agricultural development. Both the IMF and the World Bank make no secret of their stiff opposition to agricultural subsidy in our country. Successive federal administrations bought into their argument. But that does not make their position right. If agricultural subsidy is so wrong, why do the developed countries subsidise their farmers? The relevant questions to ask are – do farmers in the United States of America enjoy subsidies from their government or not? If your answer is yes, why not in Nigeria? Is the United Kingdom government subsidising its farmers or not? If our answer is yes, why is the Nigerian government urged not to do same? Are the big countries of the European Union (Germany, France and the Nederland) providing subsidies for their farmers to insulate them against losses and bankruptcy? If yes, why not Nigeria that has the largest farmer population in Africa? Does the Canadian government heavily subsidise the country’s farmers? If the answer is yes, what stops the Nigerian government from doing same? To the international financial and multi-lateral bodies that are stridently opposed to the provision of subsidies for the Nigerian farmer, I say to you – “what is good for the goose, is good for the gander”. Honourable Minister, Ladies and gentlemen, it is high time we determined for ourselves what is best for our agricultural development. Agricultural subsidy is inevitable if we must sustain the current initiatives.
Honourable Minister, I find this forum most appropriate to commend the federal government of President Mohammadu Buhari for taking the bold step of the temporary closure of our borders in order to protect Nigeria from being made a dumping ground for agricultural produce like rice, wheat, chicken, eggs and even vegetables. This measure will impact on the demand for such locally produced commodities and give the necessary incentives for the Nigerian farmers. The sooner we realise that for every drop of any of these agricultural produce brought into Nigeria from any foreign country, the Nigerian farmer and our economy are denied a proportionate benefit. The National Agricultural Foundation and Nigerian farmers under the auspices of All Farmers Associations of Nigeria (AFAN) fully and wholeheartedly support the government for this closure of the borders and call on our farmers to stand up to the challenge. All the hues and cries about the border closure are fake and being promoted by big time smugglers and economic saboteurs. They are deliberately refusing to see the benefits to the Nigerian farmer and to our national economy.
Ladies and gentlemen, the challenges in our agricultural development are huge. But we cannot run away from them. We must take them on. Let me reiterate that we have taken the first step in meeting those challenges. We need the courage to remain steadfast.
At this juncture, our Foundation acknowledges the tremendous support of the Nasarawa State Government in whose territory this agriculture show is hosted. Aside from given us title to the land, they have continued to participate in and provide financial support for this event. I commend their partnership.
We cannot fail to mention other states of the federation whose support have been crucial to the sustenance of this annual agriculture show. They include – Kano, Katsina, Niger, Bauchi, Borno, Adamawa, Benue, Kogi, Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Bayelsa, Rivers, Lagos, Edo, Oyo, Ogun, Osun and Ekiti States. From organising special state days to sponsoring their farmers to this show, they have identified with and kept this endeavour flying.
It is pertinent to also inform that as part of the activities of our annual agricultural show, we commemorate the world food day. This we do in collaboration with the Nigeria office of the Food and Agriculture Organization. I commend the country office of the FAO for this back-to-back partnership that has gone on for 12-years now and which has continued to give our show the deserved international recognition. At the Foundation level, we pledge to do more in order to attract international participation in the Nigeria agriculture show in the not too distant future.
In conclusion, Honourable Minister, distinguished ladies and gentlemen, as a farmer and chairman of the senate committee on agriculture, I promise here and now that our committee would do everything within our power to ensure that the national assembly stands shoulder to shoulder with president Buhari and discharge our function in sustainable agricultural development. We have all put our shoulders to the plough. There is no looking back. I ask all of our guests to do the same, no matter how weak or strong your shoulder might be.
Once more, I sincerely welcome all of you to this year’s agricultural show and hope that you would find something inspiring in the efforts of our peasant farmers as the feeders of the nation.
Thank you and God bless.