BY CHUKWUDI ABIANDU
Agricultural Reforms and Accelerated Industrialization
occupies the number three space on the strategic wealth and job creation plan
of the five-point S.M.A.R.T. Agenda of the administration of Governor Ifeanyi
Okowa of Delta state. The ultimate end of that agenda is to enthrone a legacy
of wealth and prosperity for all Deltans.
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| Governor Okowa |
Dr. Okowa made this quite clear in his inaugural address
shortly after taking the oath of office as governor at the Cenotaph on May 29,
2015. On that day he said: “We are committed to building and consolidation of a
state in which there shall be more employment opportunities, a flourishing
agriculture and agri-business sector, effective health and educational systems,
renewed urban infrastructure, and enhanced security and peace to bolster
economic growth and development.” He was quite emphatic in saying that “Our promise
of prosperity for all Deltans is not a catch phrase or campaign rhetoric,” but
one predicated on the fundamental premise that “we will succeed as a government
when our people succeed.”
In other words, he believes in the success of the people in
being better, safer, and happier by not feeling deprived or disadvantaged; and
when they are provided with the enabling environment to pursue their dreams of
success and achieve their full measure of happiness. “Our administration is
fully committed to what Government is expected to do for its citizenry; which
is to help them conquer their environment and enjoy decent living conditions, “
Okowa pointed out.
To achieve his lofty ideals of wealth and prosperity for
Deltans, he listed a five-point action plan called S.M.A.R.T. agenda, which he
described as a programme designed to create jobs, generate and sustain
businesses, and stabilize families and communities within a framework of
equity, fairness, and justice.
But for the purpose of this write-up, one is limiting the
focus only to the aspect of the S.M.A.R.T. plan on agricultural reforms and
accelerated industrialization. It is to examine how well the administration has
done towards realizing the object of the programme.
In an interview recently, the Special Assistant to the
Governor on Agriculture, Mr. Esiri Ikoyo-Eweto said that so far, the programme
on agricultural reforms has been successful. And talking about reform brings to
mind an intention to improve something. The Encarta English Dictionary likens
reform to a move to impose modernity and acceptable values. It says: “It is to
get rid of unacceptable habits, and adopt a more acceptable way of life, and
mode of behaviour; it is to reorganize and improve something”, especially a
system considered to be faulty, ineffective or unjust.
The question that arises is: Is something wrong with our
current system of agriculture that needs to be improved, adjusted and made more
acceptable, so the faulty, ineffective and unjust aspects can be done away
with? Of course, both farmers and observers of our farming culture in Nigeria
know and understand that there is quite a lot wrong with our agriculture. If
anything, it is still largely based on subsistence practice such that it is
still not regarded as a business despite its rich potential as a means of
wealth creation, job creation and prosperity. With the nation covered by a
large space of arable land, the valuable potential of agriculture has remained
untapped because the required priority attention has not been given to the
sector. This is why the sector has remained the past time of the dwindling
aging population, the down trodden and the unenlightened, who pass easily as
the dregs of society. It indicates that there is a disincentive that does not
attract people to take up farming as a business. It is the reason that the
reform of the sector has become an essential desideratum.
It is against this background that Governor Okowa said at
his inauguration that his administration desires to encourage and create the
enabling environment for commercial farming to thrive through the private
sector and Public/Private Partnership. As it is with some other parts of the
country, Okowa understood quite well that Delta State has vast potentials and
capacity in the production of rubber, oil palm, rice, yam, cassava, maize,
potato, plantain, tomato and fish. He re-echoed this on October 7, 2015 while
inaugurating the Production and Processing Support Programme (PPSP), under the
job and wealth creation scheme of the S.M.A.R.T. agenda, saying : “Delta state
is blessed with abundant natural resources, very favourable climatic
conditions, vast arable land and fertile soils. Unfortunately, either by
omission or commission, the State, like most other states in the federation is
yet to maximize her potential in agricultural production for economic growth,
employment creation, import substitution and sustainable development.” To ease
the situation and tap into the vast potential of the sector, there is need for
reforms. “We shall forge and sustain a structured relationship with the farming
population with a view to enhancing production, storage, and marketing of all
farm produce.” By this, he meant that his administration will carry out
reformation that will pursue a co-ordinated linkage from agricultural
production to marketing and agro-processing.
How well has he fared in the seven months he has been in power
as governor of Delta State? Mr. Ikoyo-Eweto, the special assistant to the
governor on agriculture who said earlier that the Governor has been successful
so far, based his summation on what he said the governor has done so far with
the agric programme. He says: “He has put in place some seven intention
programmes, under the Production and Processing support Programme (PPSP).” Please
understand that PPSP is a programme designed to provide or facilitate the flow
of inputs, equipment, technologies, micro-credit and technical assistance to
farmers, agro-processors and agricultural value chain operators.
Prof. Eric Eboh, the chief job creation officer pointed out
that the aim of PPSP is to increase productivity and incomes, thereby creating
jobs and wealth, towards prosperity for all Deltans. He explains that the PPSP
plan is to get a total of 1,000 producers and 1,600 agro-processors (individual
and groups) by the end of this year. And the governor puts it in perspective
when he stated the PPSP and other policy initiatives of his administration are
designed to turn the situation of things around. “They are not only envisioned
to engender improved processes, better output and profitability for the
existing farmers, but to also make farming attractive and appealing to our
young men and women once again,” Okowa said.
In six months, through the PPSP effort, the administration
has achieved a major landmark as it now has a database of farmers in Delta
state. Prof. Eboh said the database has entries consolidated from a variety of
sources, including the open registration exercise initiated by the Office of
the Chief Job Creation Officer; Ministry of agriculture; Agricultural Development
Programme; Federal Ministry of Agriculture’s Growth Enhancement Scheme
(e-wallet platform); commodity associations; and All Farmers’ Association of
Nigeria, Delta state chapter. “Today, we have a fairly comprehensive database
for crops, livestock and fishery farmers. The database warehouses information
about the farmers including contact telephone numbers, residential address,
type of enterprise, size of enterprise and location of enterprise. The database
is in line with the know-your-farmer principle, which is an international best
practice in agriculture sector programming,” Eboh proclaimed. The positive implication
of this is that in Delta state today, government now knows who the farmers are,
where the farms are, and so they can now be targeted accurately during
planning. Besides, the database, according to Eboh, provides the state
government with handy facts and figures about agricultural production, with
which it can readily and confidently engage with private sector investors and
partners for job and wealth creation projects such as large-scale farming,
development of out growers and development of agro-processing clusters. For
Eboh, the icing on the effort of Governor Okowa within the six months he
mounted the saddle as he takes the initiative to transform the agricultural
sector in Delta State is that the database of farmers saga is a novelty in
Nigeria. It is an initiative that should be commended and applauded. “As a
living document, the database will be updated as information becomes
available,” Eboh said.
Meanwhile, aside from the great work that has now yielded
Delta State with having database of farmers, Ikoyo-Eweto listed some of the
seven intention programmes now being carried out by the administration to
underscore the governor’s determination to turn things around in the state’s
agric sector. First, is the tractorisation policy of the government, which
Prof. Eboh again describes as a major pillar of the production support and a
principal element of the on-going agricultural reforms for job and wealth
creation. The trust of this policy is to promote private sector ownership and
management of tractor services. And on Wednesday, October 7, 2015, under that
management an ownership of government-purchased tractors, government gave out
tractors by transferring them to credible and capable farmers’ co-operative
societies. Eboh explained: “The purpose of this policy is to make tractor
services accessible and affordable to farmers in a sustainable manner. So far,
a total of 17 farmers’ co-operative societies have signed the agreement and
paid for a total of 25 tractors with implements.” Mr. Ikoyo-Eweto stressed the
point that the tractors were not given out to individuals but to co-operatives.
The other intervention pprogrammes include the PPSP
production packages, which covers six commodities, namely: cassava, plantain,
vegetables, poultry, fishery and piggery. For instance, the support package for
cassava has seen the government distributing planting materials, such as
cassava stems of about 40 bundles and four bags of fertilizers and cash
components were given to farmers through their various groups, associations and
co-operative societies in each local government. The same applies also to
poultry farmers as each of those captured in the exercise received 200 birds
with 30 bags of feeds. The 30 bags of feeds included starter and finishing.
The support package for plantain includes plantain suckers,
fertilizer and cash component for land preparation, weed control and
harvesting. For vegetable farmers, the support package given to recipients
included seeds/seedlings, fertilizer, plant protection chemicals and cash
components for land preparation, weed control and harvesting. For fish farmers,
support package included fingerlings/juvenile, feeds and medication. Governor
Okowa’s prompt intervention in the wake of the flood situation that took away
the fish of farmers at Camp 74, Anwai, Asaba deserve graet commendation. Not
only did the governors’ commissioners visit the place for first hand
information, the governor also followed with his personal visit to see things
for himself. He also directed the Ministry of Environment to send in the swamp
bogeys to help clear the narrow water ways, expand them to help ease the
flooding effect on the fish ponds. Besides, the governor gave the farmers
N34million grant to help the farmers cushion the effect of what they lost to
the flood, and a Hilux van to help the association carry their harvested fish
to market sites.
There is also the PPSP processing support packages that
covers subsidized oil palm processing mill, cassava micro-processing, gari
fryers, melon shellers and fish smoking kilns. Prof. Eboh explains that the
effort is to eliminate wastes, promote value addition to agricultural produce,
reduce drudgery in agro-processing and enhance development of the commodity
value chain. “The intervention will lead to additional incomes and jobs in the
agro-processing segment of the agricultural value chain,” he declares.
In the past six months also, Governor Okowa’s administration
has equally made headway in the bid to make farming attractive to the youths. He
set up the Youth Agric Entrepreneurship Programme (YAGEP) and held the ground
breaking flag-off on August 26, 2015, at Songhai Delta, Amukpe, near Sapele.
The first part of training YAGEP at Songhai Delta involves 260 youths drawn
from across the state. The first part of the training which involves 45 days of
practical orientation and hands-on training has been concluded. It was to let
them have practical experience in their training. Officials said the trainees
have now been posted for the second phase training in standard farms across the
three senatorial Districts of the state, and they are expected to conclude the
training by December 18, 2015.
“This will make them Yagepreneurs; and by January 2016, they
will be given starter packs. These are farm infrastructures such as ponds for
fish farming, poultry and piggery. They will get inputs like fingerlings,
birds, pigs, etc.,” Ikoyo-Eweto said. It was also learnt that YAGEP trainees
were paid N10,000 stipends monthly for their upkeep while in training.
There is no gainsay that the Okowa S.M.A.R.T Agenda has
taken off as a strategic wealth and job creation plan for prosperity of those
who dare to take advantage of it. The reform agenda for the agricultural sector
of the state economy is going on. The youths are being persuaded to fall in
line and embrace agriculture as a way to ease idleness and joblessness. Systems
that are considered faulty and ineffective are being roorganised. Ikoyo-Eweto
believes strongly that when the YAGEP trainees finally graduate and begin
working on their own, they will not only become gainfully employed, they will
also employ others and create wealth and live well.
One hopes and expects that other Deltans, particularly the
youth and the unemployed will see reason and wisdom, fall in line and take
advantage of the on-going programme to better their lots.
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