Aftermath of National Economic Council Retreat - Silver lining for the Agriculture Sector in Nigeria

After years of advocating for the full development of Nigeria Agric Value Chain and also the implementation of an international food safety standard in the value chain, I was relieved yesterday when I read the highlights of the just concluded National Economic Council Retreat.

President M. Buhari

The 2-days NEC retreat which was concluded on Tuesday 22 March, 2016 ended with a number of agreements in 7 Thematic areas including Agriculture. These are meant to be the guidelines as to where government is looking to invest, develop and areas where private investors should also be focusing on.

Below are the highlights of what was agreed for the agriculture sector. In the coming days we will break them down and discuss what this means for Nigeria and how anyone interested in exploiting the Agriculture value chain can benefit.

Like I always say there is more to agriculture than farming and there seem to be government will to develop this industry now.

Highlights of Agriculture plans from the NEC Retreat

1. The Federal Government to re-position Bank of Agriculture to enhance its capacity to finance agriculture.
2. Funding for Agricultural sector is considered critical and sources of intervention funding from the Central Bank of Nigeria should be considered
3. A single digit interest rate for agricultural loans should be considered while duties and taxes for Agricultural products and equipment should be waived
4. Develop strategic partnerships between Federal and State government. Each State should make specific commitments to crops in which it has comparative advantage and request Federal Government intervention
5. National targets for self-sufficiency should be set for identified crops, which should be monitored. Tomato paste – 2016, Rice – 2018, Wheat – 2019
6. The Federal and State Governments should roll out agricultural extension services nationwide
7. The Commodity Exchanges should be established for price regulation and avoidance of losses due to lack of markets. The Abuja Commodity Exchange should be revitalised
8. The National Agricultural Land Development Authority (NALDA) should be re-established
9. Federal Government should develop an Agriculture Implementation plan whereby State Governments are encouraged to identify at least two crops in which they have comparative advantage
10. States should open up of rural/feeder roads to facilitate transportation of agricultural produce to be supported by the Federal Government
11. The Federal and State Governments should establish minimum price guarantee for farm produce
12. The Federal Government should provide immediate funding to upscale efforts of Agricultural Institutes of Research and Development across Nigeria
13. State Governments should also be encouraged to fund research and development in agriculture through technical colleges, universities and research institutions

Mr. Audu Ogbeh - Hon. Min. of Agric

The Minister of Agric, Mr. Audu Ogbeh also gave me something to cheer about yesterday. During an interview with Channels TV news on Tuesday March 22, 2016 he talked briefly about government plans in banning the importation of tomato paste and other products which he said had been certified unfit for consumption by the United Nations and National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control.

He also said that while Nigeria is aiming for food sufficiency amidst importation challenges, a major concern is the large scale self-poisoning by Nigerians. This has to do we what is used to preserve food and how food is packaged for sale amongst other poisonous practices. The Minister was with members of the Food and Agriculture Organisation who were in Nigeria to help implement a food safety policy that would strengthen food control system through an institutional reform when he gave this interview.

For me, this is the icing on the cake. There is no talk of food sufficiency without solving the health and safety problems we have in the value chain. This also feeds into the export plans for Nigeria, without fully implemented food safety initiatives we cannot export anything.

I will be following up on this personally.