Events that have shaped agricultural sector in recent times within Nigeria, indicate that the country is far from achieving goal 2 of ending hunger by 2030 in line with global agenda of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
This year alone, over 25 million Nigerians are projected to suffer from food and nutrition insecurity between June and September and other challenges such as perennial floods, inaccessible mechanised agriculture, lack of quality and improved seeds for farmers, poor policy implementation, farmer-herders crisis, low investment in irrigation and inability to transform the livestock sector, have all continued to undermine the country’s viable agricultural sector.
Sadly, Nigerian farmers continue to bear the brunt of many losses due to devastating impacts of climate change, with no resilient build for their livelihoods.
It’s against this background that the farmers are hopeful that the incoming administration of the president-elect, Bola Ahmed Tinubu will change the narration of the story.
Tinubu’s agricultural transformation blueprint as promised in his campaign is premised on utilising the energy of the youths, the farmers, and the workers and to consolidate on the achievements of Muhammadu Buhari’s administration in agriculture. He had, in a town hall meeting with farmers in Niger State last November, said that their voices would be heard when he was elected.
Some farmers who spoke with me on their expectations from the incoming administration, have asked the president-elect to appoint farmers as minister of agriculture, water resources, industry and science and technology.
Already, the All Farmers Association (AFAN), through its national president, Arc Kabir Ibrahim, has pledged to work with the president-elect to bring about food security in Nigeria.
In addition, the national president of Potato Farmers Association of Nigeria (POFAN), Daniel Okafor urged the incoming administration to tackle insecurity, provide grants for farmers and formulate policies that will facilitate climate smart agriculture.
Okafor said, “We want the new administration to appoint a farmer as minister of agriculture,minister of water resources and minister of industries, science and technology.
He also urged the president – elect to tackle insecurity, herder-farmers conflict and terrorism. “…the provisions of input, grants to farmers, market access to our famers, provisions of rural roads, training and retraining of our farmers, provisions for agro allied industries, data of farmers in the rural villages, urban and semi urban, we need a climate smart agriculture,” he disclosed.
A farmer and chairman of Odeke Youth Farmers Forum in Ibaji local government area of Kogi State, Williams Egwuda, told me that they want the incoming president to prioritise investment in agriculture and address insecurity to enable favourable environment for farming.
Speaking further Egwuda said, “If the government of the president-elect can look into it and provide maximum security for farmers, i believe farming will be of great help and advantage to this country. We have it in history that those days, Nigeria was regarded as the giant of Africa. We are appealing to the incoming administration of Senator Ahmed Tinubu to look into it and provide enough security for farmers. if this can be done, I believe that Nigerians can stand tall and beat our chest to say that Nigeria is again the giant of Africa.”
Another area we are appealing to the incoming government is to subsidise farm implements and chemicals. We need this because you discover that most farmers do not have enough resources to do their farm or to cultivate the mush they want.
“Another area we are looking at is if the incoming administration can as well look into how farmers can have soft loans or grants that will enable them to meet up with some of the requirements, such as chemicals, herbicides and other farm implements. Incoming government should also look at how they can be able to provide tractors and mechanised systems of agriculture to the rural areas. If this can be done, I believe there is no doubt, it is not an exaggeration, agriculture will put Nigeria on the map of the development of this world.
In the area that has no road network, if the government can decide to look into it and provide road network for them, either through the sea or through the road, it will also enable those farmers in those areas to bring their crops to the urban city, creating markets for farmers because some of our produce, some of our farm crops are perishable,” he added.
He said, “The government can also invest massively in industries that will be able to preserve some of those crops. For instance, in the eastern part of Kogi state, we have cashew farming and cashew is another cash crop that can also change the fortune of this country.
“But the problem is how do they preserve it? We need industries that can be able to preserve some of our perishable products. If this incoming administration of Senator Bola Ahmed Asiwaju can look into it, I believe Nigeria will be a better place and history will repeat itself that yes, Nigeria that was once the giant of Africa is still the giant of Africa indeed.”
