The Federal Government claims to have released N54 billion to cotton farmers in 2012 to boost cotton production in the country. Assistant Editor SINA FADARE reports that the reality on ground shows that majority of the rural cotton farmers are excluded from the largesse and the expected target of 400,000 metric tons before the end of this year is a mere illusion.
In the early 80s, Nigeria was one of the highest producers of cotton in Africa. Cotton earned her about $8.9 billion annually. This amount, represented more than 25 per cent of the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Today, the lofty dream has gone to the wind; the contribution of cotton to the GDP has dropped significantly to five per cent, bringing in a mere $300 million annually.
Regrettably, of the 51 ginneries, which were in operation across the country in the 1980s, only 10 are operating now and at low capacity. This worrisome situation has not only killed the moral of cotton farmers, most of them have diverted their energies and little resources to more productive crops in other to earn their living. The few left in the business are daily groaning about the poor government rescue mission on cotton farming.
In its Transformation Agenda, the Federal Government, in 2011, took a giant step to revive cotton farming when it procured 1.5m metric tonnes of pure and certified cotton seed for distribution to cotton farmers at a subsidised rate. The Minister of State for Agriculture, Alhaji Bukar Tijani, said the move was to launch Nigeria back to its glorious days of being the larger cotton producer in not only Africa but the world.
He added that the ministry, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and commercial banks would aid farmers, ginners and textile companies secure basic incentives through a certified agro-dealer from the banks via private venture capital.
The Minister then advised all the stakeholders to judiciously utilize the fund for the purpose intended as such loans can only be accessed upon collateral agreement entered in to with the individual farmers and the Banks.
The minister, who was a special guest at a seminar on cotton production in Gusau, Zamfara State, said the Federal Government had resolved to religiously pursue the new value chain programmes on both food and cash crops production, adding that the contamination level had been identified to be more of human error than organic. He said the government had devised technologies for arresting situations that led to the contamination of cotton.
In September 2012, the Federal Government released N54 billion to boost mass production of cotton in the country. Similarly, a stakeholder’s workshop was also held in Kaduna, where experts brainstormed on how to revive the moribund textile industries.
The Minister for Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr. Adewunmi Adesina, said 200,000 hectares would be acquired for the cultivation of cotton, directing that improved cotton seeds should be distributed to farmers.
To demonstrate its commitment to improve cotton production, the Federal Government signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the West African Cotton Company (WACOT) to revive cotton production in the country.
Adesina said the agreement with WACOT was to enhance the productivity of the ginneries from 150kg to 450kg of lint, while increasing the production of cotton seeds from 120,000 tonnes to 760,000 tonnes by next year.
He said: “A major component of the plan is to multiply and distribute quality seeds, while raising the quality of local lint through the use of appropriate packaging and cotton grading.”
The MoU signed between WACOT and the Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources provides for, “increase seed cotton production to at least 400,000 metric tons over a period of four years with the use of Good Agricultural Practices, Certified Seeds, recommended dosage of Fertilisers, Bio-Fertilisers and Crop Protection Chemicals etc.
“The Client and Investor will produce adequate quantity of Breeder, Foundation Stage 1, Foundation Stage 11 and Certified Cotton Seed to achieve the seed cotton production of at least 400,000 metric tons over a period of four years.
“Increase the Export of Cotton lint by 100,000 metric tons over four years; provide best practices and processing techniques and market access for Nigerian cotton.”
As part of its obligation under the MoU, WACOT unveiled a new set of guidelines to cotton farmers, which would significantly advance the achievement of set targets. The guidelines covers land preparation, planting, fertiliser application, weed management, pest management and harvesting.
Regrettably, almost three years after the MoU has been signed and the release of the purported N54 billion by the Federal Government, the hope of achieving a 400,000 metric tonnes of cotton this year remain a mirage.
Investigation by The Nation revealed that far from the expected target, most of the incentives, particularly loans to the farmers, are not forth coming, therefore making the target of 400,000 metric tonnes by the end of this year and that of 760,000 metric tonnes in 2015 a mere dream.
A visit by The Nation to Orile
Ibara, Ilewo farm settle
ment, Owowo community in Ewekoro local government, Iwoye ketu and Olorunda in Ayetoro South local government of the state to interact with most of the cotton farmers in Ogun State revealed that most of the incentives claimed to have been released to the farmers are mere political statements. Majority of the farmers who spoke to The Nation claimed ignorant of such incentives
Lamenting the plight of the farmers, the Baale Ekerin of Orile Chief Raufu Oyetayo who has been an active farmer in the last 50years, said that pen farmers have robbed the rural authentic cotton farmers what belong to them in terms of incentive from government.
Oyetayo regretted that he, like other farmers, heard of the huge money voted for cotton farmers from the media, particularly the one allegedly released in 2012, “but as l am talking to you now, none of the cotton farmers in this farm settlement got a penny from the money.”
“When we got to the Bank of Industry and Agricultural Development Bank, they asked us to deposit 20 per cent of the intending loans we want to collect and follow up with chains of documentations, later the issue of collateral came in, before this was completed, the time of planting cotton has gone and after all the rigorous exercise, nothing came out of it because we did not hear anything from them again.”
Recounting his experience during the good old days of the western region, the octogenarian farmers pointed out that whatever the then government under Chief Obafemi Awolowo promised, the farmers got them as at when due even before the public are aware of such incentives.
“I could remember vividly how some of us got a soft loans to plant cassava and before the planting season, improved cassava stick were distributed to us a month before the planting season commenced and the proceed of what majority of the farmer made that year was so enormous that a lot bought vehicles and majority of the bachelors got married. That was how to assist farmers, not today that pen farmers took all the money away at the expense of the rural farmers.”
Another cotton farmer, Alhaji Musibau Adewale at Iwoye ketu village where the Ogun State government said it has acquired about 1000 hectares of land for cotton farming, said he has to abandon cotton farming for other crops, such as like cassava in order to make ends meet, He lamented that it is high time the government stop all the deceit in the media and approach the farmers directly through the language they could understand.
Adewale said if the government is sincere about reviving cotton farming, they know what to do to encourage the real farmers to plant cotton. “When the issue of cassava came up, majority of the cassava farmers were able to benefit through their co-operative societies, why did the government failed to use similar method to achieve the reviving of cotton in order to bail out the textile industries who are importing cotton for their operational need?”
Irked by what could be termed a recurrent decimal by all the stakeholders in term of organising various workshops and conferences that nothing concrete came out for farmers, the former minister of Agriculture, Dr Shettima Mustapha, at a recent workshops in Kaduna cautioned stakeholders to stop talking and go back to the basics, if something tangible would be done as regards cotton farming in the country.
Mustapha, a renowned farmer of long standing, said: “All this talk-shops and slides are enough. We have to go back to the farm,” insisting that farming is only done on the farm and not at the conference halls of cozy buildings.”
When The Nation visited the Double Roller Cotton Ginner Plant at Orile-Ibara in Abeokuta North Local Government Area of Ogun State, it was deserted. The gin that served the cotton farmers in the entire South-West and Edo states looked like a deserted field with only two operating officers.
Explaining while the place was deserted, Kayode Agbaje, who is one of the supervisors, said the workers were on vacation till March when the farmers might have harvested their produce which they would bring to the gin for processing.
According to him, the gin serves Ogun, Oyo, Ondo, Ekiti, Osun and Edo state where all the National Cotton Association of Nigeria, NACOTAN from these states registered with the gin.
“At the level of NACOTAN, we supplied them cotton seed for planting and the needed fertilisers. When production starts, all the farmers from the aforementioned states will bring their proceeds here for processing and they will be paid according to the volume of their cotton.”
Speaking on why the place was like a ghost town with no activities going on apart from few fertiliser bags and some cotton seed inside the big factory, Olanile Adegbenro, another supervisor in the gin, said the workers who are most casuals would resume back to work around march when the gin might have gotten a sizable delivery of cotton which they can work with.
Adegbenro explained that
the gin is yet to operate at
full capacity, adding that the amount of cotton available we determine how the operational capacity of the gin would be.
He said: “We are expecting cotton from all the farmers who are members of the NACOTAN in the entire Southwest and Edo states.”
However, speaking to The Nation on the plight of cotton farmers in Ogun State, the commissioner for Agriculture, Mrs. Ronke Sokefun, who claimed that the state have about 1,200 registered cotton farmers with the Federal Government Growth Enhancement Support programmes, GES, insisted that some of the cotton farmers in the state benefited from the soft loan.
According to her: “We are aware that cotton farmers in the State benefited from the N100 billion fund released by the Federal Government to revive the cotton and textile industry in the country.”
Although the commissioner could not confirmed how many cotton farmers that benefited and the amount given to them, but she insisted that the said fund was released to the Southwest Cotton Producing States, through the National Cotton Association of Nigeria, NACOTAN Nig. Ltd and not through any agency of Ogun State Government”
She said: “The Double Roller Cotton Ginnery has been able to gin into bailed lint and seeds, all cotton produced from the Southwest and employed over 40 staff. Currently, plans have been completed to overhaul the Ginnery in preparation for next processing season.
“Cotton farming has at no time, stopped in Ogun State. It has been the largest producer of long staple Samcott 11 cotton up till 2012 season and cotton production for 2013 is still being harvested. The Iwoye-Ketu community in the state is renowned for its suitability for cotton production and recently donated 1,000 hectares of land to the state government to support cotton production in the area. In addition. the State is in the process of acquiring 20,000 hectares of land to scale up cotton production in the State.
But a member of the NACOTAN in Abeokuta, who spoke to The Nation on condition of anonymity, said the commissioner was economical with the truth, adding that the issue of accessing loan from the BoI, was a bad dream he did not want to remember.
He regretted that if the commissioner did not know the number of farmers that benefited from the loans and how much each got in the state. He said: “That will tell you that a lot of things were covered up. Go to the farmers and they will tell you all the impediments put up in terms of collateral which denied them of being a partaker from the said fund.”
The Nation’s investigation revealed that most of those that benefited from the funds are big time farmers who are not into cotton farming but were highly connected and could provide the needed collateral to back up the loan. In fact, some of them are politicians who used their influences to attract the loan and diverted it to other businesses.
This assertion was equally confirmed by one of the senior managers in BoI, who spoke to The Nation on condition of anonymity. He said: “The whole exercise was political because with all the conditions put forward by the bank, it was glaring that the rural farmer who actually needed the fund were not able to access it.”
The Agricultural Economist
said over the years there have
been a lot of lofty policies on agriculture, which failed at the level of implementation due to corruption ‘which is feasible in all area of our endeavours’.
He added: “As at present the country is producing about 125,000 metric tonnes with the hope that with the available fund, the production capacity will rise to 400,000 metric tonnes by the end of 2014, but the way things are going and with what is happening to the available fund, such a progress may remain an illusion.”
On the way out, Amos Adio Oga, a notable cotton farmers in Ilewo Orile farm settlement in Abeokuta North Local Government area of Ogun State, said: “It is high time the government stopped paying lip service to the farmers. If they want to have revolution of cotton and want to revamp it like what it used to be in the past, they know what to do. It is the same government that encouraged us to operate like co-operative society and made sure that we register with our state ministry of agriculture, after doing this, nothing come out of it, it is so sad.
“We should all go back to the drawing board and make sure that the farmers are the centre focus of any agricultural policy otherwise we are all deceiving ourselves. Either the government likes it or not, the bitter truth is that huge investment in agriculture is the only way out of the imminent food crisis.”
