By Bolaji Ogundele, Abuja

 

President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday said Nigeria has all it needs to achieve the plan to lift 100 million citizens out of poverty in 10 years, citing the nation’s vast agricultural endorsement and abundant human capacity.

Buhari, who spoke during the inauguration of the first National Agricultural Land Development Authority (NALDA) Integrated Farm Estate in Suduje-Daura, Katsina State, said the plan would be achieved through synergy between government and the people, and diligence in diversifying the economy, with agriculture as the backbone.

In a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu, Buhari said that reliance on oil had turned a draw back on the economy over the years, with unpredictable and fluctuating global prices that made it more difficult to effectively plan, implement and measure budgetary outcomes.

He said the mainstay of the economy remains agriculture, where the country already commands a comparative advantage, with good weather conditions for crop and livestock farming, available manpower and willingness to learn  new skills, and good soil types for all season farming.

“I wish to restate my commitment that getting 100 million Nigerians out of poverty is realisable. The country is robustly blessed with good weather conditions, good soil, human and material capacity, and a resilience to make a difference by all the hardworking youths.

“We can do it, and we will do it. No excuse will be good enough to remain a mono-economy with all the challenges in oil production and fluctuating global prices when we have vast opportunities in crop and livestock production,’’ he said.

Buhari noted that a globalised world places more emphasis on competitive edge of the economy for relevance, and Nigeria would always play a leading role in the agricultural sector, with the vastness in experience, crop cultivation, animal husbandry, and more recently, a rising youth interest.

“As the world becomes more globalised, countries will continue to draw from their competitive advantage to remain relevant. My belief, and it is also shared by many Nigerians, is that our country has a special advantage in food and livestock productions that we must harness and promote to feed ourselves, and build a firm structure for exportation.

“Our vision of a robust agricultural economy continues to provide amazing results. Across the country today, we are seeing rising public and private interests in agriculture, especially among the youth, and a steady migration from subsistence to commercial farming.

Also, Buhari yesterday attributed the high cost of foods to excessive flooding, insecurity and the unscrupulous practices of middlemen.

The President gave the explanation in his Sallah message to Nigerians, especially Muslims, mark the Eid El-Kabir celebration.

He restated the determination of his administration to create a just, harmonious and prosperous country in which the safety of life and property is assured.

Buhari, in a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu, said his administration, more than any other, had put huge investment into the agricultural sector.

He, however, appealed to Nigerians to be patient with the administration over the situation, assuring that government was already working on how to tackle the crisis.

Reflecting on challenges facing the country, the President said: “COVID-19 pandemic has taken a heavy toll on the economies of all countries, including Nigeria, in addition to the fact that floods have caused large scale destruction to agricultural farmlands, thereby impacting negatively on our efforts to boost local production in line with our policy to drastically reduce food importation.”

He added: “No government in our recent history has invested as heavily as we are doing to promote local production of about 20 other commodities, through the provision of loans and several other forms of support to our farmers”

“Apart from the destruction caused to rice farms by floods, middlemen have also taken advantage of the local rice production to exploit fellow Nigerians, thereby undermining our goal of supporting local food production at affordable prices.”

“As an elected president who enjoys the goodwill of the ordinary people that gave us their mandate, let me assure you that we are continuing with measures to bring relief to Nigerians, including making fertilizer available at affordable prices to our farmers,” he tells Nigerians.

The President lamented that the current insecurity “has produced severe and adverse effects on agriculture because farmers are prevented from accessing their farms by bandits and terrorists.”

He added: “Let me also use this opportunity to reassure Nigerians that we are taking measures to address our security challenges. We have started taking delivery of fighter aircraft and other necessary military equipment and hardware to improve the capacity of our security forces to confront terrorism and banditry,” he added.

 

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“With the support of public institutions, like the Central Bank of Nigeria and Bank of Agriculture, old tools are giving way to more mechanized styles of farming, credit lines are becoming more accessible, and farming is becoming more acceptable and fashionable.

“Indeed, we are witnessing a revolution in the agricultural sector,’’ the President added.

He said the National Agricultural Land Development Authority (NALDA) was resuscitated to meet growing needs in the agricultural sector for exploring available potentials of job opportunities, entrepreneurship and marketing, home and abroad.

According to the President, “The National Agricultural Land Development Authority (NALDA) was already moribund when we assumed office. We had to resuscitate it to meet the growing needs of the country. I am happy to see that the directive to the Executive Secretary/Chief Executive Officer of NALDA, Paul Ikonne, and his management team when I launched the National Young Farmers Scheme (NYFS) in November 2020, is gradually taking shape.

 

“At the launch of the National Young Farmers Scheme, I recall that I told the management that I have directed that all NALDA’s abandoned farm estates be retrieved to enable thousands of our young men and women to be engaged in farming.

“This Administration will be achieving agricultural mechanization through this scheme and I am confident that Nigeria under my watch, we will achieve food security in producing most of what we eat. In good harvest years we may even export our surpluses and earn foreign exchange.”

The President commended the zeal and patriotism of the NALDA team in achieving quick and sustainable results like the Integrated Farming Estate, which had pooled the strength of men, women and youths in 13 communities and channelled them into different kinds of farming in one location.

“The Integrated Farming scheme, again, opens up more opportunities for employment, and most importantly creates communal-based system that promotes food security, skills acquisition and entrepreneurship.

“I am impressed to see that this NALDA Integrated Farm Estate is purely organic and it further expresses my desire for Nigeria and Nigerians to have food sufficiency and begin to earn more foreign income through agriculture. As a government, what I am seeing here today shows my administration’s desire is genuine and realisable that our peoples’ orientation to farming can be changed for good,’’ he noted.

Buhari directed Federal Government institutions to work in synergy in lifting and diversifying the economy, and NALDA should be given all the support it needs to expand the Integrated Farm Estate across the 109 senatorial zones in the country.

While appreciating the governors, who were at the event to witness the historic commissioning, particularly Governor Aminu Bello Masari of katsina State for providing a 100 hectare land for the project, the President urged them to provide more support to Federal Government institutions that have been mandated to work assiduously in engaging more minds and hands to turn the economy around for good.

Katsina State Governor thanked the President for the initiative of resuscitating NALDA, noting that agriculture had always being the strength of the economy until the 70s.

He said with proper management of the project and a strong irrigation system the integrated farm would serve its full purpose, with benefits to the people and economy of the state.

Kebbi State Governor, Atiku Abubakar Bagudu, said the 36 states of the federation and FCT had benefited from the administration’s policy of always targeting grassroots with development projects.

He said the closure of the border to neighboring countries further demonstrated Buhari’s seriousness in lifting the economy, adding that Nigeria remains sensitive to the plight of neighboring countries.

CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, said the financial regulatory body will start giving special attention to NALDA, while listing some of the laudable achievements of the administration through the Anchor Borrowers scheme for farmers.

“Your Excellency, President, as you told me during the inspection and I agree with you that this is the best way to spend money,” he said, “You are doing everything that is possible to bring the dividends of democracy to all Nigerians.”

The NALDA Executive Secretary noted that the Integrated Farm Estate had a capacity for 400 birds in the poultry, 200,000 fishes, 500, 000 cows and goats, 540 litres of honey per harvest, 120 units of one bedroom apartment, clinic and a school.

Ikonne said the recycling process on the farm and domestication of tools and skills of workers will guarantee sustainability and 1, 500 farmers will be empowered every year to start their business after learning.

The Emir of Daura, Alhaji Faruk Umar Faruk, thanked the President for always projecting the best of the community in his office.

”We are proud of you. We are proud of the legacy you continously project,” he said.