Prior to the oil boom of the 1970s, agriculture was the mainstay of Nigeria’s economy. The country was not only food secure, it also thrived in international markets as a leading producer of groundnut, palm oil, cocoa and cotton. Between 1960 and 1969, the agricultural sector contributed an average of 57 percent to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and generated 64 percent of the export earnings.
As oil exploration and production burgeoned in the 1970s, successive governments focused on oil, leading to the neglect of the agricultural sector- a quintessential case of the ‘Dutch Disease.’ Although a series of policies, programmes and projects attempting to revive the agricultural sector were introduced from the 1970s to 2010 -such as ‘Operation Feed the Nation:1976’, ‘Green Revolution:1980’, and the ‘National Economic, Empowerment and Development Strategy: 1999′- none of these interventions were as revolutionary as those introduced after 2010.
The Agricultural Transformation Agenda (ATA), introduced in 2011 by Dr Akinwumi Adesina, the former Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development (now President of the African Development Bank) ushered in ground-breaking changes to Nigeria’s declining agricultural sector. The ATA sought to increase agricultural output, promote private sector partnerships and create new jobs. In particular, ATA emphasised the importance of treating agriculture as a business, not a development activity. While the ATA reignited discourse on agriculture in Nigeria, it failed to meet all of its targets. Nonetheless, one of the major policy accomplishments of the ATA was the Growth Enhancement Support Scheme (GESS) which facilitated the direct delivery of subsidised seeds and fertilisers from companies to farmers through mobile phone credits. Before 2011, farmers had limited access to subsidised seeds and fertilisers because of the corruption embedded in the government controlled supply of these inputs.
Building on the ATA, the Agricultural Promotion Policy (APP) introduced in 2016 by the incumbent Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbeh seeks to solve two key pending issues in the agricultural sector: the inability to efficiently meet domestic food requirements and the inability to successfully serve export markets. For domestic market, the APP prioritises improved productivity of fish (aquaculture), horticulture (fruits and vegetables), maize, milk, poultry, rice, soya beans, sugar, and wheat. And for the export, the APP prioritises improved productivity of beef, cashew, cassava (starch, chips and ethanol), cocoa, cotton, cowpeas, ginger, horticulture (fruits and vegetables), oil palm, sesame and yam.
While Chief Audu Ogbeh is still promoting improved agricultural productivity both for domestic and foreign markets, his efforts are curtailed by the Boko Haram insurgency in North Eastern Nigeria and the Fulani herdsmen crisis which are displacing farmers as well as stifling production. Other notable challenges in the agricultural sector include: climatic factors (such as rising temperatures, desertification and erratic rainfall), poor irrigation systems, pests/diseases, limited access to finance, limited storage and processing facilities, poor transportation networks, inadequate market information (to connect sellers and buyers), limited understanding of international trade/export markets, inadequate research funding, and lack of new technologies.
Despite these challenges, the agricultural sector remains significant to the Nigerian economy. It continues to contribute to consumer and industrial demands of the over 186 million Nigerians. In 2016, it accounted for 24.45 percent of GDP and 28 percent of the total employment. Accordingly, the Nigerian government’s renewed focus on agriculture is well-placed, as the country has high agricultural potential. It has 82 million hectares of arable land of which only 34 hectares is cultivated, 230 billion cubic meters of water, large growing population and rich natural resources for agricultural production.
Entrepreneurs running innovative startups are increasingly exploring different facets of the agricultural value chain. For example, digital agriculture platforms: FarmCrowdy and Thrive Agric enable investors fund existing farms for a harvest cycle to earn a share of profits. Fresh fruit and vegetable brands: Nuli and So Fresh provide an array of nutritious meals to satisfy appetites of the growing health and wellness conscious Nigerians.
These startups employ technology to advertise their products and connect with customers, however, technology also has a significant impact in farming operations. Mobile phones connect small-scale farmers to relevant agronomic information including weather conditions, soil conditions and crop growth/development. For example, Kukua, a weather data and forecasting company sends text messages to small-scale farmers informing them about weather forecasts along with corresponding agronomic advice on when to plant, insure crops, apply pesticides, apply fertilisers, harvest or plant different crops. Similarly, Zenvus, a Nigerian precision farming startup uses analytics to promote data-driven farming practices by measuring and analysing soil data to help farmers apply the right fertilisers and optimally irrigate their farms.
With the fourth industrial revolution heralding exponential technological change, new cutting-edge technologies are indispensable to the development of any agricultural sector. Challenges such as limited access to finance, poor infrastructure, and farmer displacements which Nigeria is still tackling, should be in the past. Instead, the country should be focused on investing in research and development as well as promoting use of new technologies.
Although challenges in Nigeria’s agricultural sector abound, there is much room for optimism. The APP is a step in the right direction: it proffers solutions to the key challenges in the agricultural sector. With a projected population of 440 million by 2050, Nigeria needs a vibrant, resilient and sustainable agricultural sector. If Nigeria – Africa’s most populous nation and largest economy, has such agricultural sector, it would contribute not only its food security, but that of the rest of the continent and beyond. A flourishing agricultural sector would also contribute to employment, foreign exchange earnings and overall economic development.
