The policies of the present administration in the agricultural sector under the Minister of Agriculture, Prof. Akinwunmi Adesina, convey a revolutionary statement that Nigeria is working towards restoring its pristine position in global agriculture rating. That is why when it was reported that Nigeria had begun discussions with the World Bank to support the country’s agricultural sector with $500 million (N75 billion), it impressed stakeholders. Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the nation’s Minister of Finance and the coordinating minister of the economy, had disclosed this to newsmen at the annual meeting of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, IMF in Washington DC sometime ago.
The minister informed the gathering that the present administration had an ambitious programme to create jobs and expectedly, she mentioned agriculture as one of the several priorities of the government. According to her, a detailed plan for investment in the agricultural sector, as developed by the ministers, is ready and every step is being taken to return agriculture to its past glorious era.
One of the things which the federal government did in Washington DC, as disclosed by the minister, was to start negotiating for extra financing from the World Bank. She informed that discussions are ongoing with the officials of the bank to see if they can advance about $500 million to support the agricultural sector of the Nigerian economy.
Apart from agriculture, other issues discussed included the environmental sector, for which the government is also seeking additional $450 million, as well as a plan on the micro economic challenges facing the country. The minister said various discussions on financial support for programmes from the World Bank, the African Development Bank, AfDB; International Fund for Agricultural Development, IFAD and other financial organisations, have been successful. According to her, the essence of the financial support was to assist government’s agenda on job and wealth creation, particularly for the youths.
There is no denying the fact that agriculture remains the main stay of the nation’s economy, despite the discovery of oil and gas, which successive administrations have focused on since the 60s. If the agricultural sector had been given the attention it deserved over the years, Nigeria would have been one of the largest exporters of food and raw materials thus improving the nation’ s gross domestic product, GDP and gross national income, GNI.
Therefore, the step being taken by President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration in supporting the growth and development of agriculture is a right one. If this policy is sincerely pursued and executed, the country will once again return to the days of the groundnut pyramids in Kano; cocoa, coffee and kola-nut in the South West; rubber and palm oil in the South East; yam and other foodstuff in the North Central.
However, the federal government needs to encourage the youths to embrace farming as a vocation without them the efforts of the government towards achieving this lofty cause, would be lost.
Also, the funds being sourced from the World Bank should be judiciously utilised so that it does not become a regrettable debt for future generations. It is high time our leaders learned from the past and desist from creating further economic problems for the country and its citizenry.