News in brief: Nigeria’s Minister of Agriculture, Senator Abubakar Kyari, has unveiled government plans to boost the agricultural sector. They include immediate initiatives for the upcoming dry season farming and long-term ones for climate-resiliant agriculture.
Nigeriaâs Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Abubakar Kyari, has unveiled a federal government strategy to boost the agricultural sector. The minister disclosed this during a press conference in Abuja.
The conference was themed ‘On the Way Forward for Nigerian Agriculture Towards Delivering on the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’. He took the time to reveal the initiatves that the government had undertaken to improve overall agricultural output in the country.
Immediate plans for 2023 dry season farming
Kyari reiterated the administration’s commitment to the cause as a means to key in to its 8-point agenda. Also, he mentioned that the governmentâs immediate priority was the preparation for the next dry season farming starting in November 2023.
The same month, Kyari said that there will be several national summits to develop action plans for food security and implement them. For example, there will be the National Agriculture and Food Security Summit to develop a National Action Plan for Food Security; a National Council for Agriculture and Food Security (NCAFS) meeting to develop a strategic operational plan for Federal-State-Local Government joint implementation plans.
The minister listed specific goals in this regard to include the implementation of the dry season wheat production, which was in line with the National Agricultural Growth Scheme and Agro-Pocket (NAGS-AP).
Kyari further noted that the scheme had the capacity to produce over 70,000 hectares of wheat across wheat production zones of the country. He added that the expected yield from this target would be in excess of 870,000 tons, which he said will bolster national food reserves.
Also, pasture and fodder farmers will receive seeds and cuttings for livestock production at the beginning of November 2023. Extensions agents specialising in dry season farming and other partners like wheat producers will receive trainings to be able to assist farmers properly.
It will also review how subsidised inputs (like fertilisers and agrochemicals) are delivered to farmers and ensure the mechanisms are transparent.
Nigeria agriculture ministry’s short-term plans for 2023/2024
Furthermore, the minster revealed that the government will establish two new national gene bank facilities, each for crop and animal, respectively, as part of its short-term plans (between 2023 and 2024). He said this aims at conserving the nation’s fast-eroding genetic resources for food security.
Also, his minsitry is collaborating with the Federal Ministry of Water Resources to deploy the irrigation solutions that guarantee year-round food production. They will explore ways to unlock the potentials of the River Basins Development Authorities and other flood plains in the country to this effect.
Gene banks are storage facilities that preserve and maintain collections of genetic material from plants, animals, or microorganisms. They play a key role in biodiversity and providing genetic resources for research and crop improvement. Some existing ones include the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) in the United States, China National GeneBank (CNGB), Wellcome Sanger Institute in the United Kingdom, and more.
Besides adopting biodiversity improvement techniques, the agriculture ministry will also be taking soil health very seriously. The minister said that there will be a National Farmers Soil Health Card Scheme along with comprehensive soil fertility mapping and soil information system. for increased productivity.
Meanwhile, his ministry is conducting a comprehensive review of all agriculture-related laws and would amend them to support farmers’ welfare and encourage more participation in the sector.
Additionally, the government hopes to promote peaceful coexistence by deepening enagegments between farmers, herders, and communities.
Nigeria agriculture ministry’s medium-term plans for 2024-2026
Kyari also assure the public that the government will deploy ICT stands for Information and Communications Technology (ICT) tools to support platforms for facilitating e-extension services at scale. He added that vacant farmlands in various federal government institutions would be repossessed to boost national food production.
To increase productivity of meat, dairy, eggs, fish and other animal-based protei by 10% annually, the minister said that the govenment is committing to ‘special interventions’.
The agriculture minister added that financing in agriculture could take a modernised path as the misnistry is looking towards decentralised finance (DeFi) to reform Bank of Agriculture, Nigerian Agricultural Insurance Corporation, and others. Also, fintech solutions like wallets will be created to imrpove financial aid disbursements to beneficiaries of annual appropriation and special interventions in the several agricultural value chain projects.
As for the issue of farmers/herders clashes, Kyari mentioned that the Tinubu-led administration would strengthen Agro-Rangers, a department under the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) of about 10,000 persons, to include paramilitary personnels.
Private sector participation in community cold chain enterprises will also be encouraged as it holds the potential to create jobs and improve the agricultural supply chain.
To attract youths, practitioners and investors as well as strengthen existing investments, Kyari said that the government will setup new agrotourism [also agritourism] hubs to showcase Nigeria’s farms and agricultural heritages while creating wealth and jobs. The office of the First Ladies (both federal and state levels) will be used to promote more participation in home economics and food and nutrition education.
Future policies, planning and information disemination will be run through the Nigerian Food System Dashboard, which provides accurate data and information, Senator Kyari told the press.
He aded that commodity boards’ operations will undergo feasibility and viability studies to kep them up to date.
Long-term plans for 2024-2027
The minister expressed commitment to working with federal, state and local governments ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs), as well as private sector and international development partners to co-create a functional digital transformation platform. He believes this will facilitate data driven precision farming, climate resilience and smart agriculture practices.
He added that in line with the country’s one Health target, veterinary and human helth practitioners will collaborate as the administration support advanced laboratory equipement acquisitions.
Institutions like the Universities of Agriculture, Veterinary Medicines and Faculties of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicines are to be repositioned to play a more active role in Nigeria’s agricultural transformation in the long run. One way this could be done is by developing approaches to education that is practical especially in crop and livestock production.
In summary, Nigeria’s agriculture minister laid out immediate, short-, mid-, and long-term action plans to improve the sector. As usual, these plans sound juicy and even practical, however, the most important thing is how it affects the daily lives of Nigerians. With food inflation and cost of living rising steadily, something must quickly happen to provide relief.
The immediate plans for example, which targets the dry season farming activities for the coming month. Implementation should see more farmlands irrigated, prices for food items that are usually high because they are off season should remain the same, and clashes between farmers and herders should have decreased. Will this be the case?
