FG launches New Agricultural Policy, ‘The Green Alternative’.

In actualisation of President Muhammadu Buhari’s vision to diversify the Nigerian economy away from oil, the Federal government today launched a new agricultural policy, ‘The Green Alternative’ a roadmap towards diversifying Nigeria’s economy. The event which had in attendance Deputy Governor of Anambra State, Members of the National Assembly, Ministers of Water Resources, Labour, Environment, Women Affairs, Science and Technology, Defence and Solid Minerals was chaired by the Vice-President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo.

The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbeh at the occasion acknowledged the successes of President Goodluck Jonathan’s Agricultural Transformation Agenda (ATA) but stated that Nigeria still imports a significant amount of food and is also not earning significant foreign exchange from agriculture necessitating the need to “refresh our strategy” ” to tackle the two issues through a disciplined approach by building an agribusiness ecosystem.

According to the Minister, the Agriculture Promotion Policy with an implementation period between 2016–2020 is to make agriculture the biggest alternative. The Minister noted that Nigeria spends 22 billion dollars annually on food importation and the Agricultural Promotion Policy (APP) will be building on the achievements of ATA by strengthening, deepening and closing key gaps of the previous policy. He also added that a soil map of the country which will state the fertilizer requirements for soils across the 36 states of the Federation has been developed and that his Ministry will be working with the Ministry of Water resources to rehabilitate the dams and make irrigation available for agriculture.

Speaking at the event, the Special Guest of Honour, Professor Yemi Osinbajo said ‘the problem has never been with lack of policy but has been with implementation. If we get agriculture right, we will get our economy right’. He added that the Bank of Agriculture will be strengthened to give a single interest lending to agriculture and that out of the 500,000 graduates to be employed under N-power programme, 100,000 will be extension workers.

The chairman House Committee on Agriculture in his remarks said the legislature will give legal framework to avoid policy somersault and that they have passed the bill regulating the sale of fertilizer and the bill to strengthen Nigerian Agricultural Quarantine Service and Nigeria Agricultural Seed Council.

The Chairman of Nigeria Agribusiness Group (NAGB), Alh. Sani Dangote emphasized the need for proper execution of the policy as it was the shortcoming of previous agricultural policies.

The Agricultural promotion Policy which will address three major constraints bedevilling the development of agriculture in Nigeria which are Productivity, Financing and Regulatory constraints will domestically focus on rice, wheat, maize, fish, dairy milk, soya beans, poultry, horticulture and sugar while prioritizing crops like cowpea, cocoa, cashew, cassava, ginger, gum Arabic, beef, cotton etc. for exports.