Afolabi Gambari
It is trite that over 70 per cent of Nigerians engage in the agriculture sector mainly at a subsistence level, which ensures substantial contribution to the economy.
Despite this, however, the country’s agricultural sector faces many challenges which impact on its productivity. Low level of irrigation farming, poor land tenure system, climate change and land degradation are some of the challenges. There are also low technology, high production cost and poor distribution of inputs, limited financing and high post-harvest losses. Perhaps, poor access to markets poses a greater challenge as well, ambushing agricultural productivity and affecting the sector’s contribution to the country’s GDP as well as increased food imports due population rise hence declining levels of food sufficiency.
Statistics show that between 2016 and 2019, Nigeria’s cumulative agricultural imports stood at N3.35 trillion, four times higher than the agricultural export of N803 billion within the same period.
The implementation of several initiatives and programmes by government to address the situation, including the Agriculture Promotion Policy (APP), Nigeria–Africa Trade and Investment Promotion Programme, Presidential Economic Diversification Initiative, Economic and Export Promotion Incentives and the Zero Reject Initiative, Reducing Emission from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+); Nigeria Erosion and Watershed Management Project (NEWMAP); Action Against Desertification (AAD) Programme, among others, has helped to offer hope which aims to increase productivity in order to provide sufficient quantities of food to meet domestic demand as well as an abundance of commodity crops for export in the international market. Also, they aim at reversing forest loss and degradation; promoting sustainable management of natural resources; rehabilitation of degraded lands and reducing erosion and climate vulnerability.
Nigeria has 70.8 million hectares of agriculture land area 70.8 million hectares of agriculture land area with maize, cassava, guinea corn, yam beans, millet and rice being the major crops. Nigeria’s rice production rose from 3.7 million metric tons in 2017 to 4.0 million metric tons in 2018. However, only 57 per cent of the 6.7 million metric tons of rice consumed in Nigeria annually is locally produced, leading to a deficit of about 3 million metric tons, which is either imported or smuggled into the country illegally. It was in an effort to stimulate local production that the government banned importation of rice in 2019, although it turned out a poorly executed policy as the local producers failed to meet domestic need, leading to the price of the smuggled in rice shooting through the roof.
Nigeria produced 59 million tons of cassava in 2017, making it the world’s largest producer (approximately 20 per cent of global production). The economic potential is enormous, with high revenue yields from both domestic value addition and derived income as well as revenues for the government. With improved varieties and production techniques, production is anticipated to increase.
Interestingly, animal production has remained underexploited. Livestock mostly reared by farm families in Nigeria are the small ruminants like goats (76 million), sheep (43.4million), and cattle (18.4million). The ecology in the northern part of the country makes it famous for livestock keeping. In addition to small and large ruminants, poultry population stands at 180 million poultry. Yet, domestic demand outweighs production despite several interventions by development partners to improve production and safeguard against diseases including transboundary animal diseases.
Nigeria is the largest fish consumer in Africa and among the largest fish consumers in the world with about 3.2 million metric tons of fish consumed annually. Its fisheries and aquaculture are among the fastest growing subsectors in the country. With a coastline of 853km and over 14 million hectares of inland waters, total fish production per year is close to 1 million metric tons (313,231 metric tons from aquaculture and 759,828 metric tons from fisheries). Fishing is a vital livelihood for the poor as well as an important protein source at the household level in Nigeria. The aquaculture sub-sector is considered a very viable alternative to meeting the nation’s need for self-sufficiency in fish production and nutritional needs.
The contribution of forestry to agriculture and development in general cannot be overstressed. Nigeria’s forest ecosystems are threatened by rapid population growth and economic activities with annual deforestation rate ranging between 0.72 and 2.38 per cent, according to FAO 2018 report. Agricultural expansion, heavy reliance on firewood and charcoal for energy, unsustainable timber extraction, urbanisation, grazing, bush fires, infrastructure development are among the factors behind this trend.
All the foregoing therefore suggests solid partnership among key stakeholders, especially federal and state governments as well as the private sector to achieve the targeted goals. This is especially in view of Nigeria’s population that is expected to hit 400 million by 2050. Accordingly, there is need for enhanced agriculture productivity through adaptation of new technologies and innovations towards achieving food security and nutrition.
Should international partnership be sought, Morocco provides a sumptuous option. The North African country had in 2009 launched a new programme that aimed to modernise irrigation techniques, leading to the land areas being equipped with drip irrigation reaching 450,000 hectares by 2014 while targeting 550,000 by 2020 under the Plan Maroc Vert. It is estimated that nearly 20 per cent of Morocco’s arable land is currently equipped for irrigation. IIndeed, irrigated agriculture comprises half of Morocco’s agricultural GDP, indicating its higher productivity compared to rain-fed agriculture.
