The Saturday Newspaper, November 5, 29ll THlSDAY, Vol. 1<5, No. 6039, Page 5~ ----~--~------~----------------------------

cover sto ~We~ll Change the Face of

Agriculture in Nigeria.' How does aile explaill a situatioll wllereby a COUlltn) blessed witll 85 millioll IIectares of amble lalld alld cultivates less tllnll 40 percellt of it for agricultural purposes still imports food to sustaill itself? How does aile elplaill a sihla­tiOIl wllereln) Nigl!lia wlliell used to be a major food exportillg COlllltn) ill tile 60s alld 70s lias over ti,e years prog.-es­sively becollle a lIet food import depl!lldl!llt-COlllltn), importillg virhlally evl!lytllillg- rice, wlleat, flollr, sligar tOlllato paste, etc to feed its teeillillg pop"latioll aIId ill tile process, spmds nilliolls ofllaira nlmllally to keep otl,er cOllllhies' fanlll!l'S ill busilless wllile keepillg its OWII alit of Imsiuess? It is aile of tllOse illilerl!llt cOllh'adictiolls tlwt IUlVe de filled this clay-footed giallt's existl!llce alld wlliell Ilns baffled other lIatiolls of tile world. TI,e statistics of ollr dec/ille from pre-l!IlIillmt I'ositioll of1wve to-llnve-lIot' are staggerillg. Bllt Dr. Akillwllllli Adesilla, the Millistl!l' of Ag.iCIIlhlre, a globally-acclaimed Ag.iCIIltlll'al EcOIlOlllist, has stated tlwt tllis call1lot cOlltilllle Olll,is watch. He COllies witll all illlpressive pedigree: rich CValld illtematio1U,1 exposllre ill agriculhlre alld allied isSlles. He was appointed In) tile

Secretan)-Gelleral of tile UI/ited Natiolls, Ball Ki-MoOII, as aile of tlte 17 global leaders to spem1/ead tile Millellllilllll Development Goals, agrollp tllat illellldes Bill Gates alld sOllie Nobel Prize willllers. UI/tililis appOillhl1l!1lt as

Millister of AgriCIIltllm, lie was Vice-Presidmt at the Alliallce for a Grem Revoilltioll ill Africa (AGRA j wlll!l'e I .. led lIIajor illitiatives all trallsfonllillg agriculhlre for 5ev1!l'al COlli/hies. He worked for a decade at the Rockefelll!l'

Foulldatioll wl,ere lie lIeld SI!Ilior leadership positiolls illcllldiug Associate Dimctor (Food Secllritt)alld Regiollal Office Director alld RepI-eSl!lltative for SOlltllem Africa. He lias also worked variollsly ill senior researdl positiolls ill

Illtematiollal AgriCIIlhlral Researdl CI!lIn-es of tl .. COllsllltative Grollp all Illtematiollal Ag.iCIIlhlral Researcll as Prillcipal Ecollomist alld Social Scil!llce Researcll Coordillator for tile Illtematiollal Illstihlte for Tropical Ag.iclIlhlre

(I1'DI.) (1995-1998} Prillcipal Ecollomist alld Coordillator faT West Africa Rice Ecollomics Task For,,! at the West Afiica Rice Developml!lltAssociatioll (WARDA) (1990-1995} alld Assistallt Prillcipal Ecollolllist at the Illt/!l7wtiollal

Crops Researc11 /vstihlte for the Semi-A lid Tropics aCRISAT) alldia alld Mali; 1988-1990)mllollg others. Adesilla 1I0ids a B Sc (AgriCIIlhlral Ecollomics)witll First Class HOllours from the UI/iversitt) oflfe obtailled ill 1981, wl,ere lie was tile first shldent ever to bag sucll distillctiOIl ill the IlistOlY of the ulliversitt). He obtailled IIis PI,D ill Ag.icultural Ecollomics fivlII P,II'due U1Jiversitt), USA, ill 1988, wllere lie wall tile Best PI,D TIlesis Award. Agaill, lie 1!11ll!lged tile

fi,'St Africall to will tIl is award ill the IIiston) of the ulliversih). Adesilla lallll!llts tile state of agriaJlhJ/'e and promises robllst alld aggressive refonlls to //Jake Nigeria reclaim its lostglon) as a major global food producillg lIatioll. IIII,is first major exclusive interview, Adesilla artiCIIlates the probll!llJS of the agriaJlhll'al sect.or alld olltlilles sOll1e of tile

actiolls beillgtakm to deal witll tlmll IIIlder his watell. SHAKA MOMODU I!Ilgaged hilll illilis office ill Abllja .. .. ... .

Wllt isgoing tll be! YOlffllgric

policy tD tlldd~ food inseaui­tyillNigr:rilJl Let me first layout why we can't feed owselvcs,. arid then talk about the ~ to tadde

tho p"""""-N~ """ 10 be • ""'" pnxtucer of food globally. Growing up. we used to be ~ at the rising groundnut pyramjds.ln 1961, ""e accounted for 42% of the Jt10bal exports of groundnUIS. Today we nave gene 00Wn to virtually zero. Ni~ actOUnt­ed at the time ror 18% 01 g.II:mI prcdlX'­lion 01 axoa. Today we are bad again to zero. We were the largest produca- of cotton in West Africa; we were ahead of Nigel; Mall and Bukina Faso. Today. we have kist that man.:a I can say the sarrwe al!o for Palm Oil pnxilxtion.: we were at ll% ci ~ ~ Agail:I. we lost that JXl6Ition to ,,"lalaysia. which today now earns $18 billiori ~ year from

EF.3ting poIm biI. Bu. ""r got tho oil­~ from Ni~ N"Jgeria

the dotv-an those days. Now v.-e have replaced that ~ Ol~ an ~nation wlID the gkxy 01 being one of the ~ food importlllg nations in the world. "Nigeria is now I aum~

ground '''''''''l' """""'" food. And m lfT1nnrttn .. these ~ we are spelIling N13~ importing just wheat. rice. sugar and fish. We spend N 635 billion importing wheat. and we are the secnnd largest imponer of ria! in Ih.! worid. spending N 356 billion on rice imports

aJc::ne per ~ That means that I?Y the time you actually go to bed tortiJd\t we would have spent arother Nt biIlm importing "'"

So. ~ this around requires that we w'KIerstand the fundarnei'ltal mot C3US1e v.>fly that was the case. Nigeria abandoned agriruIture when it found oil and now we are paying iii heavy prit2. F~y. we were not serio.1s at an on agrirultwe. Yk are not investing in agri­cUlture. Nigeria speods mly 3% or Ies!l ol her entire budget on agnwltwe. Other rountries, iTw:h srilaIIer tNn us. dDmlXh more. Rwanda, T~ Kmya.. Malawi and M~ spend between 10% to 15% and moreonagri­rulture. A~rwa1 productivity is Tow. Yields 01 our farms in Nigeria are extrEmiely low, with a~ yjeId at our seed oops in N"~ still about one ton P:!I: head mmpated to the ~obal average 015 IOnS r;; Iilctare As bIg as ~ ~Y 5 of DUf fanners use

Sear.dly. yotJ tab the case of fertiliz..

"" """" • ""'" Iodoy only I3kg.,... hf.ctare I'ertilizets. Row the glObal live--age is 10llqr,. 0'Iina is dose to 400kg per hectare. Mast 01 the food we pnxlure romes from expanding rullivatl.'d aJea.\. not from . . productivity unit area.Jf~~tin rermsol~sa­tim. kss that 1% of our araMe land IS irrigated. In terms of tractoriultion. OUT tractorisation intmsity is no more than ten tractors at um hectares. Our agri-

rulture is still dominated by hoes and (U~ Nomuntrycane\'et feed itself by using hoes and cutlasses. It is like try­ing to oompete in ~ OI}'I'!\pics sprint race barefoioted. A lot of What lYe pro­duCE is lost due to lack of proper sto~ and . fac:ilities. This -CIlUfttry IS

~bot_havebeen poor managers or our a~tmal fCSOUl'1.l5

due to poor p~ I...ook It YllI'Il:'I in Berrue. big yams,. but _ were loosing thi:m beciuse we don't have any way of pl'Oa5ing it In Kadawa Valley in ~ we were producing hfure about 63O,(XXl metric tons oi tomato.. Today. we have 24O,Ol) metric tons. why? Every day that tCJmilto rots because there's no mid stor­age. there is no pn:x:essing.. This disa:Jur­!l8e5 fanners. Yet. ~~ is now ~ ~ importer or tcmato pastes from Oiina and Italy. So. the is&ues with ~ to Nigerian agriculture are deeply structiu'aJ. theY are not ~ that you can fix by iI magic wand. ?ou have to really uni:ler.;tm(i what the real problems are. So. what we are doing in Ienns oi policy is to fix these structural problemS as follows: FUst and t'oMnost. We have set a !!old d:redion ror Nigerian Igricu.lture.. \-\k will grow the agricUlture secto[ Our goal is dear: make !'lip a _",.,.. .. the gIob;tI Jood mari<a we have Charted a ne\V course for the sedOI; taking it away from being beated as a de1.'eJoPment project. Agriculture is

· CDnt'd Dn Pg.56

--------------------------------------- ·"desina

·Page 56, 1HI5DAY, Vo l. 16, No. 6039 The Saturday Newspaper, November 5, 2011

cover8story

---NIGERIA MUST BE FOOD SELF-SUFFICIENT------. CoPl t 'tI {ron, Pg. 55 Central Bank.. ~ .... uked mydc6dy ~ har"est tNtG\S&lVII under the ground tnanit i1

That is 10 lI'tiIka!a\-ailabJe N450biI.lm to ~ From what 1JrJ/l $Did mrlin; thranmtry nuds Io~ ilSo. DlCl'll rl them leave It ~ now being treallld asa busine:sa. To imprD\-e aup and also 10 ttr~=\'alue chain. Yk 5 rml/{OII mdric tons ofria'. how much oftJlIli 'I'he former President. Ch:5anjo. djd a great jdI of yie:Ids. wi ~ .m~ the use of modem will reduce !he risk 01 - by banks to agri- do Wt' produa? enoowa~ farmers 10 grow QlS5ilViI.. 'Then! wac!

~,t;::a...!-..~~~~~~-~...;_ cultun>. bWld !;i!padty cl the to betB t.1r.l>residen1 is dear Q1 !hat and he prartiwIar- a ~ initiath-e on C3!ISiIVa, e\-ef)'body ~ .. ~ -7-_· .......... ...".· ............... "' ..... .. .. as5e5l5thtcrer:fitrisksfor~ture,and fix the Iysaid at theed cifour}-e&IS Nigeria must be stuted~C2!5ol\aBoI wtea ihtYgrew the gatim. you amnot IP.?"' agriculture So, .... -e have ~ value chains so thai banks (ilI"I1end Self~ in ria!. ThiS is important because CilSSiIva ihere W3!I no market for the C3S5a\'a. so

.11 bold ~ Iotapidly ~ the 1e\'eI ol used to more ef6denl and agricu1lural VllIucc:hains. CUI'l1!I1tl), we are at5 million metric toni c:J ria! thepdrec:J c:as&.1Vl1 roUatJSed. Sa, toda}: the price imprmw ~ and terti'.izes. Th:itd. we are Iak· NlRSAL will provide finandng at single digit mnsumption. prod . 3 million metric tons al ca'i&l\'I has mllapsed 1:rom N2O,CJl); N25,{IIJ ins a whoIragricutturnl ,"a!uechain approach inIl'n5t raa. and importing 2 ~ metrlctl;:n<i.. By 2035. we per metric Ia15Io Ns.cm Sa, it's like )'OJ are

ftnSbd c:JkriisingonJ)' 00 pnxtutt;an. we are will be . 10 iIlionmetrictonsardho., !lOW' ink.-andrm · intralsjustbecaU5e sn~production.~· Tril mtwlly it d imporllDlt/orNignia to[mI 2(lj(Jwe~ ~ 3Omillionmetric ~l ..... 'e~oot~lhe~ Thelonrerpnsi. value addition, moving hem ~~:eM!. 'fi~ itsdfl b:ni.. We must ~t is like ~ are ~ dent put in p\acean initiatn'e for high quality oiherthing that ..... 'e ~doing is with ~ to It is aU about nalional9l'CUlit)t Nigeria must be a SUp on sea and there'san iceberJ:'3he1d. but if ca<&lVllor the Ibu mills to buy.so .... e can ~ It willlUlWli!! yu u!hat not a ~ food gelf...tfidelt and GlnnOt be at fly met)' al \v.I tlon' t look arefuJly you ..... v.Ja not b1O'N replaa! 10% of the wheat that we areCUJmltly

~:!n~~la~~~~~ ~~~~~:~the ::::::::: ~=fn~~~I~.:re~ ~~~U:'lett~:;Uri.!t~ al:w1donment Of its agdrulture. So. whm )'tIU iW ptn 01 foiOd on that ~ market is IDltinuing 10 run into probiftns so hi! has p .. iI his poIitii::aI mills ~ buying the C2'l5a\'ilI fIrur. Now, that pnxIudng)'OUfOl"fiilva nereis no institution 10 rise as population IS ~and as g:raim.are will behind' ~ Ni~ seIJ-sufEident in rn. has creatftl a maprprubkom: ~ \\"1!11!' 83 sma.1I ihalroordinates the cassava I"'ue chain todeb:'r- ~ uSed for the productJOn ofbiO-fuel and Thai is ~ &dmrup. Thedriver and the scale and medium term ~~rise5 that were mini' hoIv you get <Kt'S to !he right I·arleties. nsing demand ior tied gains as a result or faa> of the change is Me.. PicsidenL I'm no more devt'1oped to proasscaso>aV3 flout now ~ve ' fertili7.ers, Credit. stora~:wd ~ That is demand for meal and ~ produds.. 'Thailaid, than an instrument for ~ rm just woddng ~ ~Tt to about ~L That is terrible 1'0£ ~ ,vhy today there are no marl.:ets for what fanners for I"XimIR\e which is the ~ exporter of rb, to make sure thai Iv: ~ Today, Ni~ and for farmeIs. Thr: flOur mills are busy ~ ~ prod~ 'Th! systa.l isdiso!ganized. farm- doubI«t the ~of paddy na! just two months Impom 500.(0) mctric tms of brown ~ (de- ~ Im~ cheap wheat flour al'Sr. tariff erscan't find marlu!ts and proces!5OI5, can't get ago. The price of milfed rice 'I'm l1O\ ... hit dose to huSJu.-d padt rice) for mil l!ng in u.... countrY; and kilIini: Nigenan cassava fanners. I am 11!!)' the cassava as there at'('f'rJ linkages. 1hese are SJ.(O) per metric: 1011 befono the end of the}'t'af: This is brou I in at a IUY 10\'1 ta.riffof just 5%. angry witll wmtl Silw in the 6eId.. ""lit' al the thin£S W~ ho:Je IOmmxt by foo.tsing Because Nigeria is the semnd 1argest im~of \IA:! im~ million rrdric tonIal parllOOed fin- I "'enl out last weekand toured 5e\wa1 farms on the whole I-at"ue<hairu m.n production to ria! in the"1:lrid. the impact is difect on us. So. ished na! 1!I'ef}')"eat IvtUc:h attractsillariff of and somecassava Dour processing ~15. Same utilization. My roul! is to bring order to thisdis- we cannot as a country pul our food 91!CU1i t~at 35%. Here is tne 'problem: people bring in par- or them had stacks of bags of Cil.S:5ilva flow that order. risk any more. U .... 'I! are not self-sufficient in food boiled finished I'lO! and diSguIse il as 6ro\...., rice they mukI not.seU becwSe of the flour mills not

In the past I\'e used to have ~ boards production then ow national security is at risk as to get !hi! lower tariff. So. our marlr.et is filled with bu}'ing m.n th:orn. This is!hameful reA!I~: lIS it is in Nigma. marb>ting bonds for ~ FOr axoa; we are depending on others. ~ must lIS a malll'f meap rice. A lot c:J this rio! is actually 1().15 )'NI' costing Nigeria jobs. dosing Ib...., smaD al'ld ~ boanis fat a Io~ nf our stable O¥ but of naliol'lal!foorriIy prodUCl'ow food So, that is old nceroming out of strale!l;ic:grain resetI'eS of medium biJsinesses, while ihe bi businesses .1fter struCtwaI adjttstmer' I ~ were aU diSband- what Me.. President said, make Nigeria !C1f-suf6- India and Thailand. This killi Nigerian rio! farm- sm.ilr: all the way to the bank ~ ITIOfleY !d. So. today)Ul really 6..'1d tli.at our fal111efS are dent in food. That is my jobl!lo'Cr)' day, and il es. ~ il unden:u1:5 theirpr06tabilitv of producing mxn im~cheap wtlNL ~~use tl1ere are no institutionsu~ kreps me busy. rice.. Thai must slop, as I will not allow Nigerian NoIv, .... 'e m \'I! tlui<e~ al d~ "ith ports around. So. a major Ihrust of ow policy is fanners to sufftor While Indi.1 and ll1ailand farm- that ~Iem; we can bail wheal impor1. II'ICI"f';lge

the creation of new instih. llions whkh ire ailied Quiu ili lerrstillg, but tJU! problem in Nigma is ersare happy at our ~ Our plan is to art the tariff on wt-eat or the flour mills start buyins ~ Coep:nations. These madc:eting IDfPO' pufling 11 11 you 11aW $Did througll-implmlmlli- down the bri:rI...., rice imports to 7.eIO by 201J. and using 10% high quality Cil!iNva flout to rations w1lI be Wfkrent &-lm !he old IIlilrl<ding ticm. Wr'PI! had so mmry insta1l«S u-hm! Rood and aa:elemte the production c:J the bmI\Tt tier ~ some of tile .... TeaL I MI'I! directed that boiurls;!hey will perform similar functions but polirief.good initiativa ~ p'd furu....,,J but here. \o'\Ie will(]J1 dOwn the import of parbOOed ~start imrIv.!dilltely to buy cassava ~ I they will not be nm by gt. ... 'efT\fT'Ull thr:v I,ill be SOln£ll."U!I"r aim'S tIU! lUI/! nr~grn-ru7lDr t $«f/U!fl finished rice to zero by 2015 as we acre/erate think Ihey all sa\V that \\'e really mean busirIt'ss run by the private rector toroordinate ttlemlire to lildc nre luill pt1WI!' to OIrry t~ IIIlX domcsticproduction. ""'" ha\'e already slatted on this and ~ aA:ref'd that they are ~ to agricUltural "aha> chains .. They willl'nSUre tha.t pofidG. " 'hat as5U'f'IVfCI! me WI! ~ that IIlis work on the ~ putting this plan into impJe. buy and use I~ fUg!t quality CilSS:!va I10Ur to f.iimers get iKD'SS 10 reoced farm inputs. argot- w"o~ thing will not go the SDW U'fry'! mentation. A fnodeni rice ffiilI by Ebonyi Agro in sufistitute for wheilt Ilo.u in bread. Now, I just rUn- extmsion.link IiumeI5 I0 m.arXets. stabilize F'ust and foremost we are rortunate in this Ebony[ State with C21p.lcity ofJO.(O) metric tons want to repeal this is not just going to be a matlel" market ~ arrange fuundng. .impl'O\'I! grades ~ that .... -e: ha\'e a PreskIent 1'11-0 wants to has just been axnpleted and ML President will of policy. .... 'I! are going to I'J\Ikio it a mailer of law and standard5. ard sup[Xn. potides to ensure do the right things and who is determined to tum (D[IUJlission it in NoI'1!II1ber. Two IT1Of1! large rice be(auge whal ..... en t wrong before was that there <Dmpeti.tn'l!J1e55c:J eadl of themnunodity I';!.!ue iiIairultwe arouid. Remember that the I'ortrer mills will be ready tow.ud! the end of the)"eat was no enabling ~tive Act for !hal Nigeria is chaiits. This ..... '!2'ek.. \Ye are m:eiving ~ from t1resident 0Iusegw'1 ~ did a lot for agri- whic:h lvill gh'e us an additiOllilllJO,OOJ metric the only country in the world that does not pro-nlailand and OIina willl support1rom the Wo rld culture and laKI a \"ery solid 1Oundatim. NoW"'I! tonsal rnffiiod riceCilpadty. lolA:! have brought in duoe ...meat ara eats 1(X11:. wheat bread. In Bank. to hel.e. ~ .~ith establi5hing the Ca.w!1·a are ho,lJ..lm .. on that fOundation and going further iIIl invt'Stol; wro I! curreritly the laigest rioe pro- ~ J go there.. I 6\'e in AmeriCi\ ~ pro-MaIka and Tr.Iding Corforati0n5. whim will be by p,..-:-'t piaa'! ailicaJ inslitut:i0n5 and poIi- ducerin Kenya. and Iv: is now going to be in\'eSt- duce potato.lhey eat potato Mad bul Nigerians the fit5I to takecl! toCXlodinale theamently dio;- aes to ~ agribusiroes:s; worit for Nigeria. to ing 40 tnillioiJ dollars to dl!l'eIop JO,(XXl hectares areeating what ~ (3Il' t really affmd anCI then ~ atSSilYa 9!dor in Nigeria. We will also WlIock Ihe potentials .... 'e ha~ ~ ~ cannot eat 01 rice lard in Taraba Stall>.. 10% of the land will ~ Eumersol Other countries happy while have marl<eting rorpor<Iti )[15 fOr mroa.. r:ottm. potentials.. And I've lvorited ~Iy_for dose to be for the im~ while ~ c:J the land will be their own fanner.J are SJd beause I\'I! an! not palm oiJ, ricE and livestoc.<and da~':1' a ihirtv)-ear.J inseo.-era1 counbies and fl'e found r.:.- thecommWlity and smaD a:mn'ftCial out- buying wMt ItIt'y p,roducr.. So. we are ~ to very organizJ;d agricultunl. sectot . £or- oul thai no agricultural transformation ever h.1p- growm that will be in blocks, linked to the rkr back this policy With Jemlation and \\'I! are In

efficienCy and axnpetiti\'Cf'II!S My focus is on pelOO that lvas not dri\-m by the Presid...'fIl Mi inill so they will hal'C;w;ured II1iIlket.. Thestate discussions ilieady ,vitll the Senate and Houc;e. -a~ dl!l~1 to get U5 there. We are !>resident GoodIuck E. Jonathan is the number ~'eI't1or.~ Danbaba SunW has been I am pleased to rx* that thing! are I'C\\' putting in ~ new fir&1Cing system for fann.- OI"II! pt:'fSOI1 to dm'l! this. Hesaid he wanted to be bntastic.ind is putting in supporti\'I! in&astruc- ~ on the ground in !I()IIleof thestates. e"!Ilo acce!i51iniu-ore. We rllUSt ~ serious abact TerH'llbered as a President that got aEricul iun' lure This will ~ the ~ rice ~n~ mill Our tearm are already In the states woriW'lg with financing a.ll:ricullure Talc ! a loOk at Brazil which right and thatl'e"built the brokeri waIl50f our · in this counlIy. I hope tNt in anOther year if you sta te governments on roIk:lut of the cassal'ill reqtrlres alIDanks to dedinlle 25% of aU their ~.ltural sector..l.L't me assure}'OJ th.11 thing-; (3Il go with me toCasoi in Taroba Stare, I can Il'II transfofmation plan. I'm deUshted 10 say that the leridill!J to~ture.. mo.l at singII: digil interest ~diiem,1 this lime round. ThiS is the first time you.)'OJ will not believe IvIlat}'OJ lvill see. So. Ibu mills h.1vestatted bu ' the high quality lrates. I ney are the numtx-r 0I1e in the world &x- in the his:torY of agriculiun' ill thi:s country when. "'e are being ~ ~ a mmbination of cassava flour in lagoe\o Ogw:l.~ and K"WlU<1 many agricultural omducts. They are focused you l\iIJ hal'e a MinIster andMInisteralState large fanns imd aIsosma.1l fati'm that are linked stites.. This iselCXlUl3ging. For example in Qgun and lea\'e noching 10 durce. Banks have to lend who are experts in agricullure. We~ working to thoge 1arge fanns. So. thars for rice but I do State.. a potential market all.J billion Naira has to the entire agriculturnl \ alue chain. from pro- differmtly and willlix this!ledot be1iI!I'I! me. IT also wanl to say something about Cas5a1'a. opened up for farmers. The Thai farms ...... hich ductim.·~· _. maCli.-.vand.stnrMlf'tonon. L_ nrd-,,-.... . ~to d u~",,_,,), L_"'uv\ ---': __ oI··_'"""

-~ _ . ...,':' ,...- YOUI1il\-ear_~"","a yOU\'e"""" , one oc- .'w ,~'u , ............. .. "'u.... wQUtU

~ and manufa.:turin& The problem in 101' and}'OU Vt' bee'\ to ar10thcr dodD!;. you know I TIIR$ Just cmning to tlU! Cwnvn iBlu. sava flour hal'e been able to seU this 10 !lour mills Nigena I! tha.t wehave noll developed appropri- people ilIwaY' tell you if ~ go totnr;., next doc- Nigma 15 nilm as ilit bi~t:St CIWaL'R produtzr within one ...... eek of my directh'l! to the aour ate ~ system ~ foi- agricilture.. lor.. Your situation will be the san-c untiI )'OJ get in the world but int:Ulclia7ly the /msf txportn-o/ mil1s. ()I.'C!' UXX) ranner.; will now benefit from You GlnnOt 1inanr:e agrinltwe at 23 ~I int8-. 10 a doctor wl-o actually under5tards your prob- ti" SDmt product. C4.S5<mI as!fO" know 11M th/! this. More still needs to be done. but .... 'I! will be est 1iI\e. \'Vhich famletCllllafford thiS? \Vhidl Iem and ~ that your problem does not potftll inl ofbril'S a IIwjorfortign achallge ram- very aggressive with the Ilour mills. I will mont-i1gnbusineis can afford this? Fanners and need PanadoI, il doesn'l needNovaquine, II tr for this country- limo tVOllldyou ftlSUl'I! tlU! tor strict compliaJ1l::2. Soon .... 'I! will put in moni-~gribusiroe!Rs rtel'd sin~! digil inll!rest 1Cltes. needs swgery. Whal rm Il"l1ing}'OO 1$ tNt agri- (DIU/try Inllrimius th/! gmlt potmtials of lira IoI's on the 6cld. Those thai do not amply "ill be Theyt-eed more ihanOl't'rdraits.lheyt-eed mg ruliun'inNtgeria redsdeep~and Wf'iUt' aop? tTavilv penalised. The da),sofplaying games Jmn finan:ing for in\'estr 1I!Jl1 in irrigation, doing that II'I! alt' ~ ow iRstituUon5, lve 6ss..va is a 1'CrY interesting OI"II! beause I\'e with Nigerian fanners and ca.ssava processors are mac:hinery, processi~ pl<nls and SO on. My view are ~ at technoIog); .... 'I! are reforming how alt' the largest prodUCEr of cass;!llil in tile world. 0Vl!£. I mean business. U iIIl}'One tasks my is !hill I\'I! netd iI speaal rw::ility in Nigeria. dedi- II'I! llnano? "'e are rekJOning how weduster 10 producing rough! 3S million metric tonsoE cas- patience on this, they lvill be ~. So, tile fr.m5. tate<! 1\-hoIlv to agria..ltwal arid ~ make in\'CSlne1ts wode.. So. tJve best I 0lI1 tclI salil per annum. aut in lermsof ~ value foITNtion action ptan that we have forcas&l\'a. is financing. if I~'e iIIt' 10 mo.ietnize al?JicuJtwe. \ \e )v.I is thai ..... e are hicllJv ccmmilted to making added,. export value is zero percrnL OIina pro- basically to create new markets for cassava. not rowe dl!l~ a new r...:ilito,: whKil is caJJed sure that this wor1<s. 'YoU've alwaY' heard me say dUCE!lIO'1ii of the cassava in the world but they just cassal'l for gari. But assava for high quality Nip b1centil'e 8d5e RikSharinE. for that words are ~ people don' t ea t words and 4KIlJUII1 ror IIJ% al the value. And so, ba5ica.llY: cassava. flour that we can use to replace~ of AgricultunJ ~ (NIF SAL~ , ... ffidl l was for- "''e are ..... orking day 'and niv.ht to ~ sure thai our fanners growing cassava. iW suffering in this the I\ml thai I''e are cu.nently importing. assa-tun.l~ before ~ inade minister to ha\'~ led Ihe .... 'I! tum agricultwil iUOUIld'in this country. country. it aits that1anner a lot more money to • COllt'd Oil P"~ 57 ~lofjomtly ·~ththeGo\'emorof ...: ___ .::.. _ _______ ..:.. __ .:.._....:. __________ ...... ___ _________ __ ....::..._

The Saturday Newspaper, November 5 .. 2011 THISDAY, Vol. 16, No. 6039, Page 5,

coverftstory -------FERTILISER DISTRIBUTION, A LEAKY AFFAffi---·----

·Co"t'd from P,. S&

Nigeria's msh crop aporls such as C"DCOO amI so all dOIl't SHIll to attnu:t premium prier in tI~ illtmwtiorral marklt la~Iy btcdl/M oltJlnr poor fjua /ity. TIlis tlaany obsnwrs blame on lnck of A stanliami::.t:ltion policy by tJ~ got/crlmmt 1o $ lIidt tilt fjlltd ity 01 Ollrt:qJOrt.s. How arr you gomg to nddrrss tliis probltm?

I grew up in South-west N~ I grew up in Ibidan and when I was ~VIng up J"used to visit Cocoa HOI.I5It as a kid. My fatficf always took me there and it was the tallest building in Ibi!dan. in I'act. the whole of Africa at a time. And I used to look at this ~ aD the time. So, one day I asked my dact who bUllt this? He toki me COcoa built it that's why they named it Cocw. 1i0ll.5e. Those were the glory da~ ~ that time the farmers were 9.lpported. t'anN!7s"'had iICI."'eSS to axoa seeds;: cocoa plantatiCl1s were revh'ed.. the farmen had aaJSlI to chemicals. the farrnetS had access to fertilizers; thev had acr:ess 10 bUying facilities. TIll!' Coroil boom WItS there. it gwr.on"'" .-"" "'""'" tho g"",,,,,,,,,, &uil t roads to where Ihose rotOiI pIiintatOls were. TIll!' extension servk:es worked for the

.axoa fanners.. So. a t thai time they used 10 say ai!be Iooba. which means !he axoa farmers are IN! biggest fanners in 100\It\. In fact. if you are trying 10 get married and. ~ say you are getting rriarrIcd to a rocoa farmer s daughter il me.ms you. are ridt. ~ were the very rich people ihen. And a l thai time. we were acrounting for 18% of the ItIobaI exooJt ITWkei for rocoa but we ha~ ~ aown to to,.., lighl now. "''hat hap­penecH Whal happened was that when we abandoned agriCulture ct:mpletely and when WI"

abandoned IXIC'OiIIn particuliu; ott.!r counties !OOko\1!(.. I\"Ofy CoaSt. Cameroun. Q\ana beal us to it completely: We are going to be aggregsive in getting some 01 that man.et back. Wi llave finalised our rocoa tranWrmation adion plan. The outlook is ~ prom.ising. Just lasI rOOnth. I we1t to 1auncl1 the ~ 01 eight new hish: ~ rocoa h~ that were de\'e1opid by N igenans at the Coroil Researdllnstib.J1e of N igeria.. As Minister of ARriruiture. I·m \"er>j prOud 0{ what has been dOne beause the new IXIC'OiI \'metM5 would gh'e yield 0{ 12 tms per hectare thai is four times awhat our Wmef:s currmt.ly get. This is the Iirst release of any cocoa varieties in over 20 years In this COWlUy. Now, whal we are workiJ\s on righl now is to rapidly multiply the cocoa seedlings and get them to our fam'lelSaII across the J4 roma ~Slalesof N~ We will provk:le farmefs ,vith aca5S 10 ferti1iurs. spraying chemlcaIs, and affordable aediL We Will replant f?XIsting old cocoa planta­tions and pay fariner5 for any lost inmrtlfS in doin~ so. I really like wha t tile CoVemcJl" of Ondo Sute 15 doing on this. \-\~ will \vorl; with him and all the 14 cocoa .. growing stales to revamp the entire cocoa sedor and estI.bli.sh a cocoa fund. II is aU iIbout IXImpetition.. Ghana hM a cocoa board. Ghana raised $2..5 billion en the Glpital market 10 finance its cocoa ~ ~ knOw who pilId for that. N igerians banks paicl Why? Booll.1SI! the IXIC'OiI sector In aw.a is very 0rgan­ised. banks can lend to it and make money. That is exilClly what we aredoing. So, I can'lm market to Ghana, so rm putting in place a rocoa market and tmd~ OOI"pOf3-tiorI to 'be run by the privabo: IiO-"CtUI" to fully crion:iinate the wOOle 01. the rocoa value chain fOr N igeria. It will make 5Utt'

that farmers have acxeiIi to R.'I!ds. fertilizas. c:hemicaJs. dl}'ing facili~ finance and so on.. TIll!' IXIC'OiI plan \~ are impJernenting will raise the production of OXOI &Om the ourentle\d 01 250.tm metric tons 10 5OO,{XXl metric tons by 2015. With the newly-released rocoa high bi-ecd!o. I am sure we CUl dO better than thal once the new cocoa high breeds Kef 10 fanners, you will see a signi6ca!l1 chan~."1~ will dO the same also for mUon in the North. wtll!re we have also com­pleted our cotlon tran5lonnation action plan by acating a Colton Mali:et and Trade DeveloPment Corpornlion to revamp the rotton sector. ~ the point I'm making is that the days are gone ..... hen we _ Nig\.'rian aJtriculture as just so~g you do Intenw..lly. "'01 \Ok are competing. We are rompeting with Ivory Coast. WI" are competine with Qw1a. we are compet­ing \\ith lndOllCSla,; \ve are mrnpetif!~ with cameroun. so we caMOI just le.ive tfiings unor-

""""".

littn- tilt WUlIhysidt. wllllt co"tn'buHons (unifi.: make Nigeria agriculture just what Brazil did. So.

izers mntracts with tt. Ministry of AgriruIture. If you want to seU faUjzas,. <bdop your sup­ply chain 10 reach the fanners. Om'1 bring fl"rtiI... !Uri to ~t w!rehowe. Your paper publ;isI~ an advertorial &em some grwp say­~ tNt they IhWr. the ministry has been hi}ackN by some l'ertil:Z.er companies for c0n­tracts. It is all a lie and :liversionary tadk from the same people that ha\1! (Cnupl(od the fmiIiz­er suppIy'S},SIem. 1 ha"e met with all the ferti!iz~ er and seed comparue in Ihi'I muntry.1 have met ,,.rith seed compar ~i in this rountry and I have told them the p«'ple they, hou1d care about are the farmefs l lOf the gm·tmmenl, you cannot bring fertilizers and du:np It in a grn<er • ment waretimse. Take it 10 the fMTTll'I'S. fI you want contracts, get it bam l'anneis,. f · 'I the Mlnisti!f 01 Agricullun:. So. you don' ....ro me OISMlrusterorAgrirult.l1:! ioranyCOI . let. You woo' t find anybOdy IX oont:r"ilCtors lac: ...g for fertilizer contracts an}'11lOre in the M!ru y of Agrkulture. Those da)"s are gone. What "e are now doing is to provice the finaroalsup,'Oi1 10 take the rertillz.ers dire .. :t1y 10 farrnefS. You ..at see,. effecth-e m.n Jam a.y, \\"e are going to pro-­vide that support via r.lCbiIe ~ so it will reach onI)' thOse fanners that shwld get them FarrnetS Will get thtir .~tiUerrcnt thrOucll whal is caUed an electronic \ IJIllet whim has ineir trio­rnetnc infonnation. So you CUl' t daeat the sys­tem. \\~ are mrnPilma: a detailed database of Wmers. we wou'ld tW-e database of aU these farmers. \\'e \viII beprtMding 5O%su~ for fanntrs for seeds arid fertilizers. ~ WiIJ add their own 1l'IOIle)', ~ ",ill go to the agro deaJer and they will bUy the leeds and the fertiliu:rs.. The a~ dealer Will send tha i information 10 the bank. the bank will im:Tlediately d~t the money in the agrodca..v's ao:ount or the CDm­

~ iJCroUnlN ot i! ~Je naira has d.anged

able)1Ut' th~ rtIllly rmddllg to IIgrlt:llltuntl ~;.......... thOse days are gone w~ people \,.rill just be si l-dnJtloprnent 11M how do tot slmigthm tllf·m{or ting in fficiroffices, we are going 10 drive the sys- Is tJlis 1101 goil'g to I'C annplic.llted fur pml-II more fT.SUIt-orinlted _rr:h? . !em 10 gtn'rall! value fur Nigenan apiculture. ,"7

No agriculture can grow unless 1\Ie are Invest- ''* Ilf!.'CIIo also stJ'eIlgtt.!n the training of first If ~ IniIk2 a syslen too complicated then ing in niSearch and deVdopment. The fact of the rate scientists and enIllUl3gt" thasr we ""have to something is fishy .. Wlul is SOphiStiCiltro IIbooI matter is NiF has abandoned its agricultural become mort' practicaJ. to help drive agrlruIturaI it?The fa.iTners are usU18 oill pi"lOlleSr, people are reseanh institutes.Asa researdlermfself l can growth. moving~ remitt;J1C15.rebeingsent to teD ~ this.. U)'OJ Iookal the~OIourbud- them troiii-the1i family in the dliesand. they are get thai \ve are ~ on resean:h and deveJ.. LIt'$ SO to WIlt of frrtiliur, which is A very cashing It We are gain;; to do a massiw cam-

~.:tl . ~thehas~~:in~ ':rw"7fs~!z:,t::::::=::::~:~an t:rlnlor\~=~~;;,th~ ~and~-dopmenLNOW, ihatmeansthal How rr ....m t ~ I ·tI tJ r...+;1' y; .. ;· ....... ofCoovnurUt.ationo;;T~......L.... · If _ __ ....L. ... _ ,,,n,,don' c _ ~_I'· lI"". 0--'8 0 II un I I~J~' " ~ ::i: ....... , .. L _ ...... .......u~ pt'O"

our "'""""u, institutes _.~, t .... ve OJ'" IDI~[. r- know II1ereS mClnfy lO a rod;. they "ill find resowt:eS for in&astructwe devdopmenI.. they I'm ~ you ca1led il fertilizer ~ I It; they will knaI .... how 10 get iL You dOO't need don't ha.ve I'I!SOUItES for laboratory fadlitil5.lhey won't Cill it ~c:haIImge..l will a1fi1 fertil.. to empcnver the MlnisIer 01 Agriculb.ile JLISl don'tha\"e resouras todo~ basic izerd.isastet..lhere:ason il is a disaster is as ro&- empowrrthe farmers. ~t is my ROOl ~ to travel armmd they dOll' l ha\'e. So, ~ lows: Nigeria spends biIlias of naira subsidlsinlt We are currendv wc~ 10 lleIp sa:ure just hilve ~ enough to P!ly their salruies. I fertilli:er Tor farint'ls but it ne'oW gets to farmersf fi.-n:andng for fertilizer m d seed companies to be we1t to the ~ Re5eMdi Institute of N".geria; I The way il \vorks,. the ~ orders fertiliz.. able to pUrd!ase fertilli"ers 0'1 their own and sup-did my National Youth Service ~ there in en. private 5l"dof ~ ~.gr.~ mntract5, ply duectly to fanners. Of course, the agro deaJ... J981. Whl.'n I wmt there in 1961. COcoa Researdl ~ ~ in ~ b..rt tti!distribution of ers. the smaU!hops th;t are sclIing SNdsand I'e!--lnstib.Jtr was beauti!ul,; il was Ilke the fertilW!Js 15 dIXIe by ~ II is a~' ti1iurs need money anJ alrudy we ha\'e fadli.. intemalionallnstib.JteofTropicaIAgriculture.pi~ For way too long in this country. the ties ~ 1IlfaJl~ wt.'ve already talked 10 beautiful. J wml there today. it's sNmefuI. till! JUICY thing ato...t being a Minister of Agriculture banks fat them to ha\'( rnonI-y 10 buy the seeds in&astructute has roIJaf15Ed. If you go Ie rubber has been to sit OY\"!" f~ mntrads. and to stock up I'milib..'rs The ~ from sectoc in Benin it is the same, you JO:tothe A~lbJreisnotequaI to fertilizer.. Weshwld the banks havebeen \'(.1)'~. When fanners InstibJre of Agricultural Rese.-in:h 10 Zaria it is the be fixing agriruIh.rn!, not siltingoVl'l'" fertilizer ~ their inputs. they '" ill ch...tble food pmdlX.'" same; you go to National Crop Research Institute COI1b"ac1s. lion in this muntry .. "'rht! key is 10 make~ ttoeY in Umudike, it is the~. what I wanl . ~ the seeds and lertili zers,.. 50. any genuine fei-N igerians 10 know is this. unless you are Moses El/nl hlfrm 1m prirmf~ stdorbrill8' it in? tilizer supplier who w. nlS 10 sell ~ krtili7.ers you cannot get water out of till! rod;. if we are The private sector brings it in. t!lIiY dwnp the and. not sand can supply, get into the system but not hmding fesearch institutes, \ <Ie cannot be fertilizers al the governmenl warehOuses.. the xou ha~ to bui1d yow own netwo rk 10 ~ illO itSkin,8 thoSe rIi.'!iCi1Ith instih.lles for resean:h oul- gO\'emment takes il from the warehouses, dis- the fanners. And as J'!L1 of the ina!ntl\-es that \\If" puL So. I ha~ made the dedsior\ we ha\'e tril:I\lt15 it to Slates.. From the state level it goes 10 are giving. if you reach 100% of the target: farm.. already inaeased in ihe coming budget the share local BOvernrnmt. from kx::a1 gO\-emmen1 and ers thai you are sup~ed to!\'lKh \Y\" would of our budget thai go into research frOm D.8% to then II ~ to the wards.. n w pipeline 01 distri- give you additional tnCenti\"e for performing. So. ~ and. \ve are going get in the following yeMUp bUtien IS where the fertilizers get ffiiss:in&: So. ~ is ll'lMkd-driVE.'l\ we would move to UJ';\. That's a 101. or shift. Bul the rc:scirCh only. II" 01 fanners are ~ the subsidised frorri 11% Of fanners gtottins fertilizm today toat instib.Jtes need to start d~ business differently.. furtillZl!lS. Some people U1 this country have least 90% 01 farmer.; w:tting it under the new ~ need to mrnrnerciali:9t what they are pro- made billions from taking fertilizers meant for system. Thai is a c:na;or shill We will ",1!ed oul duang and maIce sure they creale rnalb!t fanners. II is oimina1. TI-M!- fertili.zerdeli~ sys- like 9.l1 liersof tmlIizm jW by d ' this.. If demand and. add value.. Thai is the prat'Iire tern leaks.. The fertilizer finds its way to M~ you donPP. hive a fertilizEr supply ~ that armmd the world. And so, already ] have put In Mali. Benin and oiher neighbouring COWltnes. iexhes fanneI's. then ) ou snoolit not be in furtiI.. a $yster"I 01 ~ research ~ \..nere That is why in M~ today. yeo find that the izer busines5. You are s imply a Dv-bv-night brief-theinslitutesthataredoinJt~thatis nne Yo'e aresubsidising fertilizers,. the more casemnuadoroifertWZL'I'S. \'kdon'l~ Itu;e adding value whether i(s Tor rice. cas51V3,. cot- rwaI poverty is rising because the farmer.; are ~ shooId goe!sewhee, not the Ministry 01 ton. coma orfor-livesux:k" whatever the com- not getting the fertiliiers. The ~ distri- Agriculture. Busines:s as INUI is 0\1!(.. nv.xiity of interest. those institutes will get more bution ~ is a m nupt cha1n.. I have been mcney to drive ttr value cNine\1!n more. So. workinli on this problem sira 1984.. so I know it i\lt 1I~.lfWarr tlIA' !Iou Arf hAvi"g d~ion "''eareaeating a kJI: more 01 irantives for our very wetL When I was doing my PhD in until tI~ CBN on croIit finonrnfor thefllrtnnS resca.n:h institutes. I am IU1'IaUd with what they ~ I W'OrkecI en fertilii:e!- pol!cy in N igeria Ilru1l1l1 oftllat_ Could lfOllghJe me tile progress have on shelws in aD our rescardl institutes. I and. its unpact on food producbon in Niget our tqJOrt 01'1 tllllt disous fJII7 AJUI {ollolllrng upon have directed them to take n!SIe:aI'dl produas to reghboriiig muntry. In 19S1. I live:l in a rwaI Illat quidly. how lIIi1l:ng an' t/~ banb 10 mJlly the fanners.. U an instibJlt' does not show me vil..Lige. Maradi,. in Nis.e!' Fertilizers subsidised g{tppor / (A"rIM? valUl'., \vewill dose it down.. \\e are also work.. fnxri Nigeria \\'ere~ treirway IDM~ [r ~ a toagricultlJ.relWi been a prOOlcm in ins now ona plan to transform the cunmt So Niger was getting higte- food production thisrountry and tllIIt's becau:;e the b;inksdid ro: Agriru1b.ir.1.1 Ifeseatth CoundI of N igeria intoa while Nigeria WOlS importing grains and mw- understand the agriculbJresect()£ itself.~, did-more dfident resean::h and development system peas fn:ri,. Niger. So you see \~'C ended up subsi- n'l have capacity to evm as5U> tI~ risk of bld-that will help us grow agribusinesses and unlodc dising farmer.; in N igel; not those in Ni~a. ing 10 IIgriCuiture. So, if you ask a farmer to ~ \'aluc forOW" farmers.. LOOk at Brazil, the reason 1l1c.wllOlp sy.;rem of go\-emrnent ferutiZerdis- a r\OUlle l n Lekki o r in l \buja ascollateral. which the agriculture grew was beause they created an tribuOOn ~em is conupL I have insti tuted genuil'\e fa~ have thal~ s~ they \ YO>! using institution called EMBRAPA. that pbi::e has 3.200 transformation refonru; of our f~ polity.. Standard ccJJatcrnl. But 10 be quitr dear beCiluse PhDs; they were working on production issues, First. govcmmen1will no longer distnbule feml- the agrirultural sedor iI19,) W,15 not orwUsed. it post~ ~ proa:~i5ing Issues, everydung izers,. M.r.. President al ready announced this to becoine!i difficult for tile 1.l.W.s to Jend 10 fa~ ~vin!i, the value d1ain. 111.1(S why lada}: i\mzil the country. Second. all f~supply and sale whoarc not mnnec1ed 10 the market beause 15 a mapr food powerllDUSe So, we are going to ~~J now I:ie den: by. the private sector. Fertilizes- \heir money is ~U)' al risk. And sometimes transfonn the Agriculb.ir.l.l Research CoUncil1or IS just a cornmcxIity. JUSlIikeCokr or soap. If pri- ~ made a lot 01 bad Ionns lending to people Nigeria &om bi;e network oll'l!SlPaJdI institu- va le sector can self you Coke or soap in th? whO aN very lich thinI:inf; th:s:'~"'""'" b,,,

Now lC me tab 'I"'! to Il~_,m insti.. lUIS into a ftx:med resean:handtb~1 . rernotestvillageofNigeria. there is no reason in fact. ~(Ion'tknow \\'hat are doir}g. Bu h114 Nllliorud AgrioJIuTt~,m Instihlks system thai driV('S value; that is acrountabIe for why !heY cannot sell fertil.izets d.itl'ct.Iy to farm.. the poor farmer actually don't wi mud\ the _______________ ...;"".::~:.: ..... ::; ... :::'~;,~~:::"""'::::.:"":.!"...,..,.....::::::=:.:Io:.....:.:=::.:'~":.:~:;""'== .... :. ~ .... :::~ .... :::::~~:::M::::~=:!renu-=· :...:.:""":' :::cI~""""=::.':"~ ..... ::~I ... the big.1arge farmers.