Foluso Ogunmodede (PRO)
Amidst food insecurity, naira depreciation and other socio-economic challenges bedeviling Nigerians, a university teacher and Professor of Agricultural Economics at the Federal University Oye Ekiti (FUOYE), Ekiti State, Nigeria, Temidayo Gabriel Apata, has asked President Bola Ahmed Tinubu-led Federal Government to prioritise and embrace ‘pro-poor’ and ‘agric-support policies as panacea for the country’s economic development.
This, if embraced, according to him would not only promote local business activities, significantly improve income distribution and reduce rural poverty but evaluate improved prospects for agricultural growth.
Professor Apata said this at the university’s Faculty of Science Lecture Theatre where he delivered 16th Inaugural Lecture of the institution.
In the Lecture entitled “Doggedness of Nigerian Small Farmers in the Web of Policy Summersault: Is there a future for Small farms,” Professor Apata said there was the need for the federal government to always ensure that pro-poor and agric-support policies had human face by designing a comprehensive framework for economic development, insisting that there was a future for small farms in Nigeria.
Specifically, he said government if desired to confront socio-economic crisis which had made food insecurity in the country unbearable with socio-economic policies relevant to human development and “improved the standard of living of the citizenry, small farms have a prospect in Nigeria as there are vast land area of the country.”
While blaming government for policy somersaults which according to him had resulted in “economic poverty,” Prof. Apata urged President Tinubu-led federal government to elevate self-sustaining growth policy that would drive structural transformation germane for Nigeria’s overall socio-economic development which would improve quality of life for average Nigerians.
According to him, there was no alternative to quality of life for an average Nigerian without small farms, this had remained “dogged and strong” as “they are still the largest contributors to the food needs of Nigerians and the main contributors to our GDP.”
Professor Apata said: “Although much can be learned from Malaysia and China’s GDP growth in the agricultural sector, Nigeria must create the conditions to define its own growth path and this must be based on its own history, culture and institutions. Various models for structural transformation such as those offered by different groups of academics will need to be adapted to the unique local circumstances and conditions.
“We cannot project the future of small-scale agriculture. Its path will not be determined by its current status as only the government can shape its evolution.”
He, however, recommended the followings among others;
• Promoting local business activities also significantly associated with poverty alleviation, holds more potential for durable local growth. And while implementing a series of pro-poor and agriculture-supporting policies to improve the situation of income distribution and reduce rural poverty. It is important to evaluate the impacts of these kinds of agriculture development policies on various groups among rural residents.
• There is a need for the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security (FMAFS) to periodically publish metrics to track performance against the strategy, e.g., tonnage of rice paddy produced or yields/milking cow. The strategy will collect accurate data and integrate results from processed data into policy-making and investor planning. Moving forward, there is a dire need for significant investments in people, processes and systems. This is necessary to move Nigerian agriculture from “a business as usual’’ to a commercial ecosystem that can produce the capabilities necessary to create sustainable jobs and wealth.
