At the lecture of the Agricultural and Rural Management Institute(ARMTI) in Ilorin, Kwara State,discussants examined ways to revamp the agric sector. Former President, Olusegun Obasanjo was guest speaker. DANIEL ESSIET reports.
IT is a yearly event.Every year,the Agricultural and Rural Management Training Institute (ARMTI),Ilorin,Kwara State,picks a topic on agriculture and invites experts to dissect the subject. The 16th yearly lecture has been held with former President, Olusegun Obasanjo as the guest speaker. He was there in 1983 to deliver the inaugural lecture entitled:” Management in Agriculture and Rural Development: A practioner’s view.”
Thirty years after,he was there again as an agribusiness man to speak on “Managing Agriculture as a business: A practitioner’s perspective.” It was a lively session. His presence added a lot of spark to the proceedings.
In a citation to introduce him, the chairman,2013 lecture planning committee,Mr Gbenga Okeowo described Chief Obasanjo as “an embodiment and a personalification of atapatadide, a person who from a state of hopelessness, but through thick and thin,rose to become not just a success story, but a phenomenon and the pride of his race and generation.”
Obasanjo urged the audience to work together in developing agriculture as a possible solution to grippling unemployment.
H e said African governments and agro busineses have failed to take full advantage of the opportunities agriculture has presented the continent.
This ,he explained, is the reason why the continent has witnessed stagnating or declining per capital incomes and agricultural output.
1960 ,he said, saw more African countries achieve independence than any other year. Half a century later, millions of people on the continent still go hungry, despite agriculture’s huge potential there.
He said after 1979 almost all gains in agriculture progress in Nigeria seem to have been destroyed through indiscriminate importation and dumping in Nigeria.
His words:”I was skeptical if we could ever make it in the area of agriculture.But the progress we made between 2003 and 2007 when Nigeria grew its agricultural production by an average of seven percent per annum enhanced my optimism and enthusiasm. For instance,cocoa production increased from 150,000 metric tonnes to 400,000 metric tonnes; cassava production from 30 million metric tonnes to 50 million metric tonnes.”
H said it was heartening that the present administration has put the gear back to forward in a number of essential commodities.
According to him, for agribusiness to be embraced and upheld,a consistent and predictable policy is needed from the government.
He also said there should be clear support in all areas of the value chain.
He described how his training at Moor Plantation ,Ibadan , guided him to success in his poultry business.
For him, agriculture may not make one an instant millionaire but can offer not only survival and a decent living but also a chance to rise above one’s circumstances.
Obasanjo said investments in agriculture are difficult given the risks with it. He said climate change and natural disasters were also mitigating factors in the development of the sector.
He said agriculture must be looked at in its entirety in order to make agricultural systems more resilient, thus improving crop diversity, which effectively “translates into a food security plan”.
He said it is important to build agro industries based on comparative advantage and to develop them into knowledge industries supported by research and development.
Obasanjo stressed the need to invest in agriculture while simultaneously strengthening the private sector.
He also pointed to the crucial role of farmers’ market access in raising agricultural productivity.
Congratulating Obasanjo,the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development,Dr Akinwumi Adesina said the former President had an impressive contribution to agricultural development as head of state and elder statesmen.
According to him, the ex-president’s Operation -Feed -the Nation(OFN) laid the foundation for agricultural growth.
He said Nigeria would have had no reason to import major food products if all the past lofty agricultural programmes by successive governments had been implemented to the letter. He said Obasanjo’s OFN had the capacity to focus growth and expansion in the industry.
He said agriculture in Nigeria has remained rudimentary and mostly in the hands of the resourcepoor in society.
Besides,the returns in farming are marginal, while the social perception of a farmeris quite derogatory and unattractive for the younger generation.
He said the present regime is ready to take corrective measures to repostion agriculture as a business .
The minister said this can only be achieved if farmingbecomes attractive to investors, scalable and profitable and with less drudgery.
H said the government will focus on furthering the productivity of farmers and their agricultural practices.
To meet it, Adesina said a major increase in agricultural productivity will be required and thisincrease will have to be made in a context where the climate is changing, temperatures rising, soilquality degrading and water becoming scarcer.
He said the government is working on a series of practical actions which will be implemented to have a positive impact on the problems.
Adesina said agricultural growth is crucial to economic development and social progress. It is this growth h e said that would help to lift Nigerians out of hunger and poverty.
The Acting Executive Director,Mr Samuel Afolayon ,said the institute was delighted to have Obasanjo as guest speaker.
He said ARMTI is one of the leading institutions producing manpower for the agricultural sector.
At the end of the programme, there was clear consensus Nigeria has the potential to achieve food security. Participants believe it is now Nigerians’ responsibility to realise this potential. Some 300 participants from around the country attended the lecture. They included politicians, agricultural development experts, scientists, business leaders and journalists.
Each year, the institute presents an annual lecture that take place in its auditorium. The event encourages discussion and response on topics vital to sustainability in agriculture.
The lecture is delivered every year by a leading figure in the industry who is invited to speak about issues regarded as most important in shaping the way food is produced, distributed, marketed, sold and consumed. On his arrival,Obasanjo was led on a guided tour of facilities by the management team of the institute.
