Youngstars Foundation

“What makes a nation great is knowing what she wants, how to get it and become the best at it”. For long, Nigeria has been a jack of all trade, master of none. In history, Nigeria’s economy traditionally was based on agriculture and trade, which thrived profoundly under colonial rule, beginning in the late 19th century. The need to pay taxes to the colonial government forced Nigerian farmers to replace food producing crops with cash-producing crops, which the government bought at low prices and resold at a profit. When Nigeria found itself importing a lot of food, various agricultural plans and policies were put in place to try producing cheaper food in sufficient quantities. Examples of these were the Operation Feed the Nation (OFN), and Green Revolution (GR), and the Structural Adjustment Program (SAP). Some of the techniques involved in these different programs included large irrigation schemes, expansion of credit, using high-yielding seeds, dismantling the Commodity Boards, liberalizing trade, introducing incentives to boost farmer’s outputs, and assisting wheat-producing states. In addition, other aspects of agriculture (besides just farming crops) were started, including forestry and fisheries.

Although, agriculture is still part of the domestic economy today, but by the late 1960s, oil had replaced cocoa, peanuts, and palm products as the country’s largest foreign exchange earner. With oil money, Nigeria started importing raw materials from other countries, and as a result, manufacturing became established. Industry in Nigeria grew to include a full range of industries, including but not limited to food-processing, vehicles, textiles, pharmaceuticals, paper and cement. Before the discovery of oil in 1959 in a village called Oloibiri, there had been very few industries. Part of the effects of the oil boom was that there was a significant rural-to-urban migration caused in part by the lure of high wages and consumer oriented lifestyles of the city. This took a lot of the labor force away from the more rural farms, leaving the very young, the old, and the infirm to cultivate the land. Not surprising, agricultural production declined, and so did the export of cash crops. Eventually, the import of crops had to increase.

The relics of Nigeria involvement in agriculture are still seen till today. For instance, the famous cocoa house in Ibadan, in the southwestern part of Nigeria was built with the dividends of agricultural products in that region; many business ventures sprang up due to the boom in the agriculture in Nigeria. While oil wealth has financed major investments in the country’s infrastructure, Nigeria remains among the world’s poorest countries in terms of per capita income. Oil revenues led the government to ignore agriculture, and Nigeria must now import farm products to feed its people while it is possible to cultivate in order to feed her citizens and even export to the outside world. Due to Nigeria’s involvement in agriculture as at that time, different agricultural institutes were established. Nigerian Exporting Council has the record of different agricultural products that we use to export then. Considering this, different agricultural classes, courses were introduced even right from elementary schools to the tertiary institutions since we knew the importance of agriculture. Furthermore, Nigeria entered into bilateral agreements with other countries for economic purpose such as Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), Organization of African Union (OAU), Commonwealth of Nations, United Nations Organization (UNO) and many others. According to the Microsoft ® Encarta ® 2007, the rural economy that supports most Nigerians is based on the productivity of the land, 33 percent of which is cultivated. Poor management of soil fertility brings about varieties in soil fertility. The Federal Environmental Protection Agency (FEPA) that was created in 1988 by the Federal government to address problems of desertification, oil pollution, and land degradation has had only a minor impact. The ministry of agriculture has in no way visible help the sector except the cases of fertilizer they claim to give the farmers. Despite the government negligence on the issue of agriculture in the country, farmers still practice subsistent farming by planting and maintaining farmland trees and hedgerows to reduce erosion; applying manure to farmland to maintain soil fertility, ensure environmental protection and increase in food supply.

In the 1960s and 1970s the petroleum industry developed, prompting greatly increased export earnings and allowing massive investments in industry, agriculture, infrastructure, and social services. Many of these large investments, often joint ventures with private corporations, failed. Agricultural holdings are generally small and scattered. Agriculture provided 41 percent of Nigeria’s total gross domestic product (GDP) in 1999. This percentage represented a normal decrease of 24.7 percent from its contribution of 65.7 percent to the GDP in 1957. The decrease will continue unless something is done because as economic development occurs, the relative size of the agricultural sector usually decreases. The leading cash crops such as cocoa, citrus, beans, sweet potatoes, millet, plantains, bananas, rice amidst others formed the major exports in the 1960s and early 1970s. chiefs among the export destinations for Nigerian agricultural exports are Britain, the United States, Canada, France and Germany.

A significant portion of the agricultural sector in Nigeria involves cattle herding, fishing, poultry and lumbering which contributed more than 2 percent to the GDP in the 1980s. According to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization 1987 estimate, that there were “12.2 million cattle, 13.2 million sheep, 26.0 million goats, 1.3 million pigs, 700,000 donkeys, 250,000 horses, and 18,000 camels, mostly in the northern part of Nigeria, which were mostly owned by rural dwellers rather than by commercial companies. Fisheries output ranged from 600,000 to 700,000 tons annually in the 1970s”. Although these estimate may not be accurate but it is definite that the estimate indicate that the output had fallen to 120,000 tons of fish per year by 1990. This was partly due to environmental degradation and water pollution in Ogoniland and the Delta region in general by the oil companies. Decline in agricultural production in Nigeria began with the advent of the petroleum boom in the early 1970s. Thus, agriculture including farming and herding accrue to 17 percent in the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) though agriculture contributed more than 75 percent of export earning before 1970. Since government negligence, poor investment and other ecological problems such as erosion, infertility etc crippled into the system, the export earning of agriculture has reduced to 5 percent. Numerous farm products such as cocoa, kola nut, woods, cassava and the rest were pointers to the fact that we had multiple sources of income as a nation; surplus food supply thus avoiding unnecessary expenses on food supply. A hungry man is an angry man they say which is true of the larger population of Nigeria. Going round the streets in Nigeria, one will realize that people are hungry for daily bread (food) to feed their empty stomachs. Consequently, societal and health malaises like unequal distribution of allocation; agitations by the Niger Deltans, increase in arm robbery; looting of nation’s treasury, gross corruption, unemployment, decline economy, and social inequality, which are abetted by government negligence, health diseases such as malnutrition; obesity, kwashiorkor to mention a few, insufficient provision of basic amenities of which food is the first and corrupt police and customs forces, and others can be curbed if government can venture and focus into this area of agriculture.

Countries like Japan, Russia, China for instance have national products that they export and sell to the world same as other parts of the countries in the world. Before now, the records show how underdeveloped these countries were before they decided to concentrate on something rather than everything. Now, china can stand tall in the world and even shoulder high with the United State of America though we use to see records of bicycles roaming round their streets alone then. Many examples abound to make us understand that these countries focused and championed the course of just a single technology, skill, knowledge and even product before going into others. Sacrificial commitment was given to this single course and today we can see the results. Many of their children were sent to go study abroad in order to learn how to make these things work. After they got it, they came back to their countries to establish theirs.

Governments had paid farmers low prices over the years on food for the domestic market in order to satisfy urban demands for cheap basic food products. This policy, in turn, progressively made agricultural work unattractive and enhanced the lure of the cities for farm workers. Collectively, these developments worsened the low productivity, both per unit of land and per worker, due to several factors which are: inadequate technology, acts of nature such as drought, poor transportation and infrastructure, and trade restrictions. As food production could not keep pace with oil, and groundnuts. According to U.S Department of State FY2001 Country Commercial Guide, Nigeria’s total food and agriculture imports are valued at approximately US$1.6 billion per year. Among the major imports from the United States are wheat, sugar, milk powder, and consumer-ready food products.

Efforts since the late 1970s to revitalize agriculture in order to make Nigeria food self-sufficient again and to increase the export of agricultural products have produced only modest results. The Obasanjo administration for instance made agriculture the highest priority for its economic policy. Yet, Nigeria still has a lpong way to go in this aspect. Therefore, with all these, if the Nigerian government can be dedicated and devoted to the course of agricultural, many problems like inadequate supply of food, high expenses on food supply will become outdated. The level of unemployment among Nigerian graduates will reduce because many graduates will be gainfully employed. In this vein, agricultural produce will increase because mechanized farming will be used and Nigerian exporting earnings will increase because many countries will start relying for supply of agricultural produce.

Furthermore, the quest for power, gross looting of the national treasury by the greedy politicians will reduce to a certain extent because many people will realize that it is only oil the that can give a nation money but that agriculture too is important in that aspect. Therefore, the wicked struggle, killing and wanton destruction of lives and property in order to get to the position of authority in Nigeria will reduce. In a very short time, Nigeria will become a citadel in which other countries will have to come and learn from. Knowledge on agriculture education will be supported with practical experiences rather than just teaching its theory. Bilateral agreements will exist between the country and other countries because those countries that have what we don’t have will to come into agreement with us since we have what they need which is provision of agricultural products. These products will bring achievement to Nigeria because many of them are raw materials for some things. For instance, rubber, coffee, tobacco, palm oil, cocoa and many others are raw materials to many products. An increase in land cultivation, giving of loan for farmers and government involvement in agriculture should be encouraged so that Nigeria can shift from subsistent farming to a mass/national production. Provision of aiding tools, fertilizers, machines that can enhance agriculture on a mass production such as tractors, plow and others will go a long way in helping our agriculture sector.

I strongly believe that if Nigeria focuses on agriculture which is part of both the Nigerian ten point agenda and the Millennium goals, Nigerian will become skillful, knowledgeable in this field and by the year 2020, we will be capable enough to teach the rest of the world as a leading nation in this field of specialty. Thus, the Nigerian government, international bodies, Non Governmental Organizations in Nigeria should put hands together and make this goal achievable and Nigeria will be able to teach, know and produce and reproduce what we are in agriculture.

INTRODUCTION

Fossil Fuels such as coal and gasoline provide most of the energy needs of the world today, but because of their diminishing reserves, high prices and most importantly, their damaging effect on the environment, alternative sources of energy and environmentally friendly fuels are now being developed. There are a number of alternative sources of energy and environmentally friendly fuels available to combat the damage to the environment caused by Fossil Fuels, of which biofuels happen to be the most promising.

Biofuels are any kind of fuels made from plants or animals. These include wood, wood chippings, methane from animal excrement or as a result of bacterial action and ethanol from plant materials. Lately it is ethanol that has become synonymous with the term ‘biofuel’ and is in wide use in combination with gasoline in the transportation industry.  Close to it is biodiesel which has been found to be more suitable for running existing automobile engines in the country.

Nigeria has all it takes to be the number one country in the production of ethanol and biodiesel in the next ten years. This essay pinpoints how the country’s biofuel industry can be properly developed with Cassava, Nypa palm and Jestropha plant as the major biomass.

CASSAVA –ETHANOL PRODUCTION

Cassava is a tree-like plant that is the staple food for Nigeria and much of the surrounding region. Nigeria is the world’s largest producer of Cassava, with 30 million tons produced annually. Recent research has shown that Cassava can be refined to create ethanol. This discovery has already been well received by China and Thailand where Cassava is already being used to make ethanol; coincidentally, the Cassava being used in these nations is being imported from Nigeria, which means that Nigeria has a better standing that these countries. As a major step towards the development of the industry, the Nigerian government has already made an agreement with Brazilian fuel company, Petrobras, in which Brazil will supply the Nigerian national oil company with the technology to build and sustain an ethanol industry in exchange for a Nigerian market for Brazilian ethanol. This is a tremendous step in the right direction because the Nigerian people will be creating their own industry instead of selling their resources and labour to foreign companies. With this deal, the average farmer will personally profit from the sales of his crops.

In order to ensure that the crop is produced in abundance, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has proposed agreements with the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) that will focus on the low yield problems with Cassava. Once the agreements are made, researchers will study various Cassava varieties that could create higher yields. These higher yields will nullify the negative effect that ethanol production would have on the food supply. Of course, this will not be enough. The Nigerian government will have to make sure that land is not sold in mass quantities to fuel companies. The best path for Nigeria is one in which the expansion of land dedicated to industrial Cassava farming is limited, while coupled with a set percentage of land dedicated to industrial and consumer use.

NYPA PALM – ANOTHER SOURCE OF ETHANOL

Fortunately for the Nigerian people, there is another great untapped resource in the Niger Delta that can be used to produce ethanol. The Nypa Palm or Mangrove tree was first brought to Nigeria in the early twentieth century by European settlers. Since that time, it has seen prolific growth now covering 504,000 hectares in the Niger Delta alone. It is considered an invasive species because it suppresses other plants. There have been efforts to stop its expansion, but all efforts have failed. For the most part, the people of Nigeria have come to accept that the plant is there to stay. Recent studies in Southeast Asia show that the tree can be tapped to obtain enough sap to make the production of ethanol feasible.  Researches have learned that ethanol can be cheaply produced from the sap using a fermentation process.

If the use of the Nypa Palm for ethanol production is adopted by Nigeria then it will bring many needed jobs to the area. Although the Niger Delta is the home to the Nigerian oil industry, it is considered the poorest part of the country. For the people of the area, growing the tree will be a very painless process, as it does not require special care. Harvesting the sap is easy to learn and when perfected, can procure even more sap. The growth of this industry will bring many jobs to the area, and in that way help in alleviating the sufferings of the people.

The key to the success of both the Cassava and Mangrove industries lies with the farmers and labourers. The oil industry failed to bring Nigeria into the industrial age because large foreign companies took over. The local people were not involved in what happened to their resources or in setting the price at which their labour and resources would be sold. The same injustice cannot occur with the emerging ethanol industry. Production of the biomass must remain in the hands of the local farmers. As long as they own the Cassava and the Mangrove trees, they will have a steady income. Furthermore, the ethanol refineries and distilleries must be locally owned. It is of the utmost importance that Nigeria remains in control of this last resource that will bring it into the modern era. The point must be made that the ethanol industry will not bring a new affordable fuel to the people of Nigeria. The technology used in the area is not suited for ethanol use. Ethanol burns at a much higher temperature than gasoline and can damage the low quality engines used in the country. The biofuel most suitable for integration into the Nigerian fuel market is biodiesel. Biodiesel can be used in all the engines currently in use in Nigeria without alteration. Conveniently for the Nigerian fuel economy, there is an excellent plant that can accommodate these needs: the Jatropha plant.

JATROPHA AND BIODIESEL PRODUCTION

The Jatropha plant is a small tree that was brought to Africa by the Portuguese from the Caribbean. There is no part of the Jatropha plant that is edible. What makes the plant so unique is the fact that it can grow on marginal lands, does not require more than 400 to500mm of rainfall per year, and it can endure long periods of drought. Jatropha has been used in rural Africa for hedges, to prevent wind damage and water and soil erosion. Surprisingly, the local people have been using Jatropha oil for their various needs over the past several decades on Sustainable Development. The conditions are ideal to take Jatropha use to the next stage. The foundation has already been laid and all that needs to be done is implement an oil industry centered on Jatropha.  Jatropha seeds have an oil content ranging from 25 to 37 percent.  The oil can be directly used in small combustion engines, diesel engine vehicles, or diesel generators.

The uses of Jatrophado do not end there. Once the oil has been extracted, the remaining seed can be made into seedcake. This seedcake contains high levels of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, making it an excellent source of fertilizer. The potential that Jatropha has in developing Africa is being realized to its fullest extent.

Jatropha can and should be used to create a stable biofuel economy in Nigeria.  As it is not a food crop, there is no question of food scarcity resulting from its use in the biofuel industry.  Jatropha appears to be the miracle solution to Nigeria’s problems if all things are handled correctly. The success of this emerging industry is dependent on the cooperative effort of both the Cassava and Jatropha industries.

THE WAY FORWARD…

For Nigeria, the implementation of the three industries discussed above is crucial in developing a stable and productive biofuels economy. It has been decided by the world powers that ethanol is the alternative fuel of the future. In order to have a presence in the global market, Nigeria will need to develop a significant ethanol industry. Being the leading producer of Cassava, Nigeria has the necessary crop base to introduce an ethanol industry. However, Cassava is the main staple food of Nigeria and the adoption of a Cassava based industry can have negative repercussions on the food supply, so research must be done on ways to improve yields. This stress on the food supply makes it of the utmost importance for Nigeria to adopt a two part ethanol industry based on Cassava and the Nypa Palm which can be found throughout the impoverished Niger Delta region.  Ethanol is perfect for Nigeria’s involvement in the global economy, but its domestic use is limited. Most people in Nigeria do not possess the technology in which ethanol can be utilized. However, diesel engines are common place in Nigeria and they can run on biodiesel without modification. This would make the implementation of Jatropha for biodiesel production top priority.  Jatropha can be grown on marginal lands, does not require an abundance of water, and restores nutrients to the soil. As such, Jatropha is the answer to Nigeria’s desertification and water problems. Developing a Jatropha economy could be the most important action that the Nigerian government ever takes, because oil produced by Jatropha can be used in electrical generators that will supply the Nigerian people with clean electricity. The availability of electricity will lead to the industrialization of Nigeria and an increase the overall standard of living.

None of this would be possible without active government involvement. It must be the government’s responsibility to prevent the Cassava industry from falling into the hands of foreign companies, resulting in the expansion of industrial farming and a decrease in land availability for consumer use. Secondly, it must be noted that nothing can be done without aid from the western powers. No matter how much dedication the Nigerian people show, they do not have the money or the technology to begin a biofuels industry. Brazil has already taken the first step, with the pact between Petrobras and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation. The Nigerian people do not need another foreign run industry but, they do need aid in starting their own. It should be active policy of nations, such as the United States, to supply Nigeria with the technology necessary for biofuel production in exchange for fuel or a foreign market. With foreign aid, Nigeria could easily become a major force in the global biofuel economy.  This will be a major leap in attaining Nigeria’s Vision 2020 of becoming one of the 20 most developed economies in the world.

Malaysia wants to become world biggest producer of Biodiesel

……Asia Pulse News

(January 30, 2006)

Introduction

It was with outrage that I read the headline. My anger – not a misplaced one – was not provoked by the quest of an obviously ambitious country. On the contrary, I was pained because right before our very eyes, we were about to witness a repeat performance of an earlier thrashing in the race to become a world leader in a product that nature seems to have granted us a competitive edge. We lost out to Malaysia in the last century and we seem to be primed for a repeat. I pray not.

Exactly a week ago, I happened on similar news that a sister African country, Rwanda had beaten us to the race of powering a bus on bio-diesel[1]. This represents significant progress for a nation which 15 years ago was in the throes of a numbing ethnic cleansing that left close to 1million people dead.  .

To situate my reaction to Malaysia’s quest to become the by-word for bio-diesel production a little history would suffice. For the record, Malaysia is the world leading producer of oil palm. The story of Malaysia’s ascent to this global reckoning speaks of what sheer resolve and visionary leadership can achieve.  The story goes that the Malaysia got her first oil palm seedlings from Nigeria in the 1960s[2]. While Nigeria’s agricultural sector – hitherto the mainstay of our economy-went comatose in the light of the oil boom, Malaysia took this gift and nurtured it to prominence, making the country the global leader in oil palm production.

Harking back to the 60s

Nigeria discovered crude oil in 1956 in Oloibiri present day Bayelsa State. With petrol dollars gushing from the Niger Delta, Nigeria soon became a leading force on the global energy scene. Reputedly the seventh largest oil producing nation in the world, Nigeria’s status as a leading exporter of crude oil to United States of America makes it a strategic trading partner with Nigeria. This partnership makes the U.S. vulnerable to the fluctuation in oil prices that are often time caused by the volatility in the Niger Delta region and other socio-political disruptions. For a nation that seeks energy security, it stands to reason why the U.S. desires alternative means of powering its economy; it also explains the less than altruistic interest that the U.S. has in Nigerian matters.

It has been argued that the discovery of crude oil provided and still provides more than enough resources to foster the transformation of Nigeria from a third world economy to one of the twenty most developed economies. This long overdue dream of becoming a global giant has now been deferred to the year 2020. By global giant, I am not referring to the nirvana that our leaders are quick to invoke when pressed to whip up patriotic fervor but a model that other well endowed nations would aspire to become on many fronts. The abandonment of oil palm like other cash crops -for which we were known and possessed competitive advantage – after the discovery of crude oil captures the misplacement of priorities that has come to characterize the Nigerian state. What was Nigeria’s loss became the gain of another nation – One of the Asian tigers

Today, it does hurt to know that a nation that took her first oil palm seedlings from us has not only become the global by-word for oil palm production and its associated technology, it also rankles me that they have become the strategic consultant in our half-hearted quest to revive our oil palm sector[3].

But I digress. The increased attention paid to climate change and its attendant global warming by developed economies poses an emerging risk to Nigeria’s continued relevant in the world energy scene. For a moment, let our creative imagination travel forward in time to 2020 when the world will have found creative solutions that will mitigate the effects of climate change. With a world going green crazy, we may one day wake up and realize that no one needs our crude any longer. While this may seem a wild dream, the energy policies of industrial economies are motivated as much by the urgent need to wrest their now fragile economies from the whims of oil cartels like OPEC as the quest to preserve mother earth for posterity. That explains their interests in cleaner, greener means of powering their economies

Biodiesel: My Prescription

Enter Bio-diesel. With the potential to reduce carbon emission-the culprit responsible for global warming – by 40%, bio-diesel has been getting more than a fair share of attention by policy makers and green energy experts. It is essentially a biofuel, a renewable source of energy produced from plant sources. Unlike Petrodiesel, biodiesel can be gotten from plant oils. While it is pitched as a cleaner source of energy, it has also raised the specter of a global food crisis. Opponents of bio-diesel and other biofuel envisage a competition for food crops like corn, cassava that would result in acute food shortage. Interestingly, the Rwandan experience of powering a 60-kilometre trip on Biodiesel lends itself to this fear. Nigeria however has a peculiar advantage on this score.

Why Biodiesel?

Biodiesel has the unique advantage of being able to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 78.5%.[4] In terms of overall fuel efficiency, biodiesel outperforms gasoline, ethanol and petrodiesel. It offers the prospect for the reduction of rural poverty as the cultivation of Jatropha can drastically reduce rural poverty. Biodiesel has physiochemical properties that make its performance comparative to diesel[5].

The Nigerian advantage

The fear of food shortages that biodiesel fans, is dispelled when alternative means of developing this biofuel outside of the use of food crops are considered. Jatropha curcas which grows naturally as a weed offers a refreshing alternative to the use of oil palm and other edibles. It can provide feedstock for biodiesel production. The plant can produce non-edible seeds for up to fifty years. The oil in the seed can be processed into biodiesel. Jatropha can be grown in degraded soils otherwise unsuitable for the production of food crops. It is estimated that Nigeria can make an estimated $3 billion dollars annually by cultivating Jatropha for biodiesel production. This would only required the use of 600,000 hectares of land estimated as 10.5% of the total land mass in northern Nigeria[6]. The semi-arid climate of northern Nigeria, the availability of large fallow land and availability of affordable labour make Nigeria suitable for the cultivation of Jatropha

Nigerian can develop a mastery of biodiesel production and become the go-to nation for biodiesel and its associated technology by the year 2020. This will not come by sheer wishful thinking like other tall dreams that currently litter the abyss of failure. The proximity of that target year impels me to recommend some creative avenues which are critical to the realization of this objective of becoming the world leader in biodiesel and other green energy products.

2020: By and By

Creating the right Buzz

A lot of Nigerians especially those living in the northern part of the country need to be kept abreast of this dream. The benefits that would accrue to them by cultivating the feedstock Jatropha curcas need to be emphasized. Seeking the support of traditional rulers of these communities and using them to disseminate timely information on the benefits of planting Jatropha especially on arid land would help keep the issue on the front burner. This should be given serious priority in the first three years of the launch of this campaign

Research

The creation of a well funded research institute with the mandate to develop innovative means of optimizing the production of biodiesel is long overdue. The institute shall have the dual mandate of devising attendant technologies for refineries that would utilize the feedstock. At the moment, there is no research institute with a sole oversight on biofuel development in Nigeria. We can also amass a great deal of Nigeria by producing thought leadership materials and leading reseach papers on biofuels and clean energy technologies. The world can soon see us as a research hub for alternative fuels.

Pioneer status:

A lot of tax concessions should be accorded entrepreneurs venturing into biodiesel production. Import waivers should be granted to upstarts importing technologies into the country for biodiesel refineries.

Knowledge transfer.

At the moment, there is an obvious technical knowledge gap in the area of biofuel development. No faculty in Nigeria currently offers biofuel development. I therefore propose as a means to speed up skills and competencies in this emerging discipline that a trust fund a lá the Petroleum Technology Development Fund be instituted to sponsor Nigerians on relevant offshore trainings and courses where they can be brought to speed on leading practices in this field. It is expected that these young men and women would return at the expiration of their academic programmes to transfer the knowledge acquired to their compatriots. It is hoped that in the space of three years,   say 2010-2013we would have developed a sizeable manpower to drive our quest to become a global force on biodiesel production.

Funding

The private sector should also be encouraged to venture into this project by putting at their disposal a large pool of funds that can be administered in trust by a collective of subject matter experts, development finance mavens and policy makers. Venture capital funds can be created specfically for biodiesel projects. Perhaps the presence of such venture capital funds in particular locations can birth Nigeria’s version of clean tech’s Silicon Valley. Private equity and venture capital firms with a bias for green projects should be encouraged to invest in these projects. Of course, a measure of stability would be needed to attract the necessary capital in-flight. Thus, we owe it to ourselves to ensure that the requisite socio-political environment that fosters foreign direct investment is in place in the country.

Conclusion

The emerging threat that climate change poses to the planet; the urgent need for energy stability and the implication of the impending global shift toward cleaner, non-fossil energy sources spur me to prescribe the production of bio-diesel as a national pet project. By 2020, it is expected that less demand for crude oil would detract from our present relevance in the global scheme of things. We can achieve a mastery of bio-diesel and become the global by-word for biodiesel and its associated technology. The seeming hurdles can be surmounted if the political will and far-sighted leadership are in place to see the dream through to fruition. We can consign Malaysia’s dream to the valley of wishful thinking. Since, green is the new cool, the abiding poser then is: “what better place to champion the course of green fuel than Nigeria whose national colors speak to greenness and the safety and security that it exudes?” Malaysia, not again! It is all green here.

[1] http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8589712.stm

[2] http://www.otal.com/commodities/palmoil2.htm

[3] http://allafrica.com/stories/201002250457.html

[4] http://www.biodiesel.org/pdf_files/fuelfactsheets/Benefits%20of%20Biodiesel.Pdf. The report was issued by  US

[5] http://www.propelfuels.com/content/about_biodiesel/

[6] http://www.greenshieldofnations.org/Biodiesel_Project.html

The idea I will propose to make Nigeria a leading Nation by 2020 is for her to invest in her Fashion Industry. Fashion tells the story of a people and embodies the creativity of an individual. With fashion you are able to sell not just a skillfully woven piece of material, but you invade territories with the story of your culture.

Let Nigeria invest in Fashion and it will be the country to reckon with. This is because fashion has always been a part of human evolution. From the days of animal hides, furs and feathers to the now refined cotton, silk, flax and wool, fashion is dynamic and will only be more indispensable by the years. Nigeria having been endowed with beautiful fabrics such as the kampala, adire, ankara, etc is well poised to take over the world in the fashion industry. The elegance shown when these fabrics are woven is simply breathtaking. Just like Japan is known for its technology and the US for its commercial vibrancy, let Nigeria be known for its Fashion!

It has truly become imperative that Nigeria be a major player in an area of endeavor in our world. We have been in the news for too many wrong things; from accusations of terrorism to corruption and now political instability. Thankfully, there is the brighter side, because Nigeria is also known for vibrant industries such as entertainment and movie, so much so that Nollywood is among the top three in the world when it comes to the movie industry. Going by a 2009 UNESCO report[1], Nigeria ranks second in the world and next only to Bollywood in terms of its movie base. This is impressive and is something the nation can be proud of, albeit there’s still a lot of room for improvement. Nollywood is not the only great thing to be attributed to the country. The problem however is that the potentials that we see are not properly developed.

Before I derail off my focus, Nollywood is not meant to be the hub of this write-up. Rather, I am proposing a strengthening of the Fashion industry of Nigeria. Achieving this by 2020 will just require extra determination and commitment because already, there is a structure in place whereby people learn about fashion one way or the other. Way back from the time when I was in Junior Secondary school, we had been taught in Home Economics class how to tack clothes. I remember how I had my fingers sewn a few times instead of the piece of clothe I had been given. Lessons like this will form the foundation for a budding Designer.

Furthermore, in order to be the leader in Fashion by 2020, the Nigerian fashion industry needs to be properly defined and regulated. International Fashion weeks need to be started on a grand scale and not on individual platforms. We do not have to go out all the time before we showcase our fabrics, let the world begin to come to us. Let the likes of Calvin Klein, Channel, and Ralph Lauren seek out slots to feature in the Nigerian Fashion week.

Currently in Nigeria, you can go to the University and bag a degree in Arts, Law, Engineering, Education and so on. In developing the Fashion industry to a point of prominence by 2020, Nigerian Universities need to acknowledge the potentials of this industry by offering Fashion courses for aspiring fashion designers just like you have it in the University of Derby, for example, where you can actually obtain a BA (Hons) in Fashion Studies.

There is no denying the fact that there are pre-existing major players in the field of fashion, such as Italy, London, France etc. This however does not preclude Nigeria from leading the pack. After all, that is what happened with Nollywood because according to history, Hollywood is the oldest movie industry in the world[2], yet its now trailing Nigeria in third place with regards to the number of movies released every year. This tells me that overtaking is allowed. Let Nigeria not be fazed by the richness of the Paris designers or the ingenuity of American designers. In getting to that point where we can teach the rest of the world what quality fashion is, we also need to from within, develop young talents. We need to be proud of our products because there is no doubt that clothes made from African fabric are very artistic and elegant

There is nothing new under the sun. In other words, there is no industry or endeavor that Nigeria might want to venture into or develop which a country is probably not already known for. The focus should be how to get on the scene and become the most relevant in that field. There is a slogan that goes with the advert of an American company (Lucent Technologies) and it says: We not only manufacture, we make better. This slogan captures the essence of what should be the driving force for Nigeria if she wants to, by 2020, be known as the Nation that clothes the world

Frank Oshodi, Dakova, Momo Couture, Deola Sagoe etcetera – you need to see their designs, and you will be proud that you are a Nigerian. These are Nigerian designers already on world stage, attending major fashion events at New York, Paris and the likes. As a matter of fact, Momo’s clothes have been worn by renowned models such as Alek Wek, Oluchi, and Liya Kebede. Imagine if we had many more of their breed, all coming up with excellent designs using our rich and beautiful African fabrics.

We need to through our fashion, reveal the artistry in the Nigerian culture, the diversity of the Nigerian people and unveil the mysteries of our being. Paris is such a beautiful city that there’s a cliché saying that goes: See Paris and die! I have never been to Paris but the news of its beautiful buildings and lovely architectural designs have me captivated. Nigeria can be made a major player in the fashion industry that when our designs are seen, it speaks volumes and observers will yearn to visit the country from which such creativity emanated.

It has been said in some quarters that ideas rule the world. But I’ll say the idea is just the beginning. It is the achievers that rule our world! So let this idea be taken up by those who believe, let them run with it. Let them torch every corner of the world with the fire of their passion so that just as it is said of the U.S that when it sneezes, the world catches cold, it will be said of Nigeria that if she stops inventing/creating fabrics and fashion styles, the whole world goes naked!

How many believe?

I do!

[1] http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art20090506813675

[2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Film_industry

ABSTRACT:

Whereas the need for Nigeria to harness and develop the potentials inherent in the country and become a leading nation in a field of endeavour in the near future, which is in line with the vision of the present administration to project the country by 2020 tagged “Vision 20:2020”. This consists in the development of the productive sectors of the economy.

Fashion design has been identified as a veritable means of achieving that, given the diverse ethnic nature of Nigeria .

This essay therefore, exposes the opportunities in Fashion Design and outline ways of developing it. The issues and points raised herein can (if properly utilized) totally transform the economy of Nigeria while creating jobs for its teeming unemployed youths as well as reposition the country as the giant of Africa.

INTRODUCTION: THE ART OF FASHION AND DESIGNING
Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia defines Fashion Design as “the applied art dedicated to clothing and lifestyleaccessories created within the cultural and social influences of a specific time.” It is the fabrication of cloths by persons known as fashion designers to suit different people, different occasions, different seasons, etc.
Fashion designing is an art of creating apparels and related accessories to set a lifestyle statement
Fashion designers are people who specialize in the making of different cloths and dresses with different form of textiles eg silk, cotton, rayon, lace, our local Ankara, etc. it could also be a company that specializes in fashion design and employs designers.

Modern fashion design comprises of 2 basic categories viz. Haute-Couture, and Pret-a-porter or Ready-to-Wear. The former is a custom-made form of fashion designing catering to exclusive customers and haute couture is showcased through fashion shows for all Creativity knows no bounds in fashion designing. If one has the correct knowledge of textile, patterns, color coding, texture etc. there is no limit to the permutations one can think of in terms of designs.
It is also important that one plans the entire attire, draws the blueprint and visualizes the final outcome of the design. The success of the design will of course depend on the finish, thus its crucial to have a superb and glamorous.
History had it that Fashion design generally started in the 19th century with Charles Frederick Worth who was the first designer to have his label sewn into the garments that he created. Before the former draper set up his maison couture(fashion house) in Paris, clothing design and creation was handled by largely anonymous seamstresses, and high fashion descended from that worn at royal courts. Worth’s success was such that he was able to dictate to his customers what they should wear, instead of following their lead as earlier dressmakers had done. The term couturier was in fact first created in order to describe him. While all articles of clothing from any time period are studied by academics as costume design, only clothing created after 1858 could be considered as fashion design.

WHAT INFORMED THE CHOICE OF TOPIC?
Clothing in Africa (and indeed Nigeria ) as elsewhere, has long served more than one purpose. In addition to satisfying human needs for covering and adornment, textiles and clothing provide media for artistic expression for weavers, dyers, tailors, and clothing designers.
For centuries, textiles and garments have been produced domestically — for household and village community members— and commercially, for bartering or sale. Although the earliest cloth was made primarily of local natural fibers, today’s textiles and clothing are made with a wide variety of materials and styles.
Nigeria, a country of over 140 million inhabitants has diverse ethnic and religious groups. In addition to this, they speak different languages and have diverse but unique cultures. This therefore, gives Nigeria an advantage over many other countries of the world in utilizing this diversity to create designs and modify them to suit contemporary tastes.
Nigeria concentrates mainly on Freelance designs (ie work for themselves, and sell their designs to fashion houses, directly to shops, or to clothing manufacturers). She ( Nigeria ) should rather mechanize the trade and expand the industry.

PROJECT DEVELOPMENT

This works is aimed at developing the fashion and design industry in Nigeria so that Nigerians can master the art, employ its teeming youths in the art and export the knowledge and the designs to the rest of t he world in the near future (probably year 2020). It is suggested that a select group of individuals or an arm of the ministry of Commerceand Industry as well as Culture and Tourism be created to understudy the Fashion and Design industry in Nigeria and work out modalities of developing the industry such as the solutions proffered in this essay. The development of this project is considered in phases. This is similar to the Committee set up by Acting President Good luck Jonathan to conduct a survey of all Federal Government Projects within the country and among other things, ascertaining their level of work and stages of completion.

Factors militating against the development of the Fashion and Design industry in Nigeria

1. Importation of Foreign Cloths – massive importation of foreign ready-made cloths discourages locally made cloths as the foreign ones comes in cheap and handy.
2. Lack of Raw material and infrastructure – Lack of raw materials like cotton and basic infrastructure like power militates against the full development of the industry as this frustrates manufactures who most time relocates to neighboring countries where there are availability of these infrastructures
3. Concentration of Oil – the concentration on oil as a major source of income for Nigeria has been the bane of the development of non oil exports like fashion and design in Nigeria .

Others include lack of skilled workers, corruption (especially among political office holders), etc

Stages of the project

- Phase One (Preliminary Stage): The Textile Industry must be revamped as it is the primary source of materials for fashion design in Nigeria . The injection of N70 billion intervention fund into the textile industry has not produced the desired result as many of the textile industries are still in coma. More so, it is not only desirable but necessary that the production of cotton be encouraged as it supplies the basic raw material for cloth production

Further more, the basic infrastructures such as stable power supply and functional equipments must be provided as these are primary to the development of the Fashion Design industry.

- Phase Two (Implementation Stage): The government and other stake holders should create avenues for the learning and promotion of fashion design skills like creating fashion design schools/institutes where fashion design skills will be acquired. They (government) can grant scholarships for students of these institutions as well as grant subsidies to students of these institutes. The national assembly and the ministry of education or its agencies could be lobbied to include Fashion and Design Education as one of the optional/selective courses in our schools and universities. These Fashion and Design Institutes would have arms or departments specializing in researches and development of the product to suit contemporary tastes.

Private agencies may be persuaded to sponsor Fashion and Design programmes aimed at creating the awareness of the opportunities in the Fashion and Design industry and empowering people to go into the industry. Similar programmes as Cowbell Mathematics Competition, Maltina Street Dance, etc have been seen to promote the cause for which the programme was designed for.

- Phase Three (Advanced Stage): At this stage of the project, Nigeria would have started counting their gains of investment in the Fashion and Design Industry. It is now time for creating the market for the sale of the products, knowledge and skills in the industry as a result of long term research and development of the product.
Nigeria can penetrate the market of neighboring African countries and with time, to the whole of Africa and this will make it easy for them to project it to the whole of the world. She would use its good trade and bilateral relationship with other ECOWAS, United Nations countries to promote the trade. as well as establish similar institutes in these countries

- Phase Four (Immediate Future Prospects): This project has the capacity to attract international recognition and put Nigeria on the world map, as Nigeria through its agencies especially the Media and the Culture and Tourism ministry could organize Fashion Shows and exhibitions (in the magnitude of the Argungu Fishing Festival) and invite international agencies and sponsors. Seeing how this festival has developed over the years, one can rightly conclude that the future is bright for the Fashion and Design industry in Nigeria if properly harnessed.
A good Fashion and Design Industry in Nigeria has the capacity of projecting Nigeria ’s culture and tradition as it (culture and tradition) is also showcased in fashion and design

Finally, this project (Development of the Fashion and Design Industry) may be made part of the Amnesty programme of the Federal Government ie in the rehabilitation of the repentant militants, fashion and designing could be made one of the trades they will be taught.

Also, the “Re-branding Nigeria” campaign of the Information and Communications Ministry could project the industry as they encourage the citizens to believe in Nigeria and use made-in-Nigeria products (their fashion inclusive).

Benefits

This project will be beneficial to the following:

- The Country as a nation will be known for a particular trade or skill which they can export to other countries. It would also be a major source of income earner for the country while creating good trade relationships with other countries.
- The Youths and students who would acquire the skills that could find them jobs or set them up in their businesses as well as help them in their homes and chosen careers. This would to a large extent reduce unemployment among youths in Nigeria
- It would also help develop others sectors of the economy especially agriculture

CONCLUSION

Indeed, the sky will be the beginning of the limit for Nigeria if they tap into the opportunities in the Fashion and Design industry in Nigeria , if properly developed and harnessed, it could be another major source of export like Crude Oil.

Nigeria! Yes, Nigeria! A country rich in human and natural resources, blessed with abundant talents, skills, abilities that transcend all spheres of human study and understanding. Nigeria, a country with geographical area of about 923.8 thousand square kilometer with a terrain which ranges from the southern coastal  swamps to tropical forests, open woodlands, grasslands and semi deserts in the far north, the highest region which remains Jos the Plateau state capital with an altitude of about 1200-2400 meter above sea level; a country with climate of annual rainfall ranging from 381cm along the coast to 640cm or less in the far north with a population of 148million as at 2008 which translates to a  population growth rate of 2.2% as at 2007. Nigeria, a multi ethnic country with over 250 ethnic groups with each ethnic group sprouting with fountain of diverse tourism potential which if properly harnessed will not only put such an ethnic group amongst the would best hospitable community but would most certainly place Nigeria at the top of the world tourist food chain by the year 2020.

The rhetorical question is: what can we do, develop, master and by the year 2020 teach the rest of the world as a leader in such field? And in consonance with the catch statement: “ you use what you have to get what you want“ it’s now eminent that what we have at our finger tips (`Rural tourism`) is our leverage to getting better and in the nearest future teach the world how this works.

First and foremost what does the phrase “ Rural tourism“ mean? This is comprised of all that interests us and makes up for our day to day living in that minute, probably unknown rural community or village we all hail from as Nigerians. These sources of interest can probably be our: dance, music, fabrics, art and craft, food, herbal medicine, language, etcetera, etcetera. What amazes me most is, how underutilized these valuables are and our gross inability of turning nothing to something. There are no doubt whatsoever that the 21^st century is the century when all the world microscopic lens is directed towards Africa, coming from the fact that Africa as a continent is the only place blessed with little or no natural disaster, a continent where all natural resources, from oil and gas to arable land for Agriculture, human resources and most especially tourism, (Rural tourism) is at its highest peak. Nigeria, the most populous country in Africa and rightfully placed at the center; making it the heart of Africa, enjoys all that Africa as a continent offers and the more reasons why “Rural tourisms“ should be developed, mastered so we can go ahead to teach the world by 2020.

Going back to history the then rural northern communities but now cities of kano and katsina states, recorded history dates back to about 1000 AD. “ In the centuries that followed these Hausa kingdom and the Borno empire near Lake Chad prospered as important terminals of north-south trade due to its various sources of indigenous tourist interest and encouraged visitors such as they `North African Barbers` and Arabian traders who exchanged ivory and kola nuts for salt, glass beads, coral, cloth, weapons, brass rods and cowry shells used then as currency. Coming down towards the southern part of Nigeria and the south west Yoruba kingdom of “oyo“ , founded about 1400 AD from the 17^th to 19^th centuries, it attained a high level of “Rural tourism“ of which impact extended as far as current modern day Togo.“

Taking a critical look into the south central part of the present day Nigeria, “as early as the 15^th and 16^th centuries, the kingdom of Benin had developed an efficient army an elaborate ceremonial court, which was the envy of all visitors that came close to such rural communities, as the kept wondering and imagining the high leveled organization of such a people“. Ask me: and I would authoritatively tell you that “Rural tourism“ but unknown to the people did the magic. Today in any museum in Europe, either in “Wallace collection London“ or “museum of Britishness“ and those in America, what you would see are art pieces  of ivory, wood, bronze and brass all from Nigeria, which were fraudulently carted away by the British empire at the turn of the 17^th and 18^th century, in what was termed “punitive measure“ in February 1897 where they made away with over 3000 artifacts belonging to the Benin kingdom, the most famous being the “Festac 77“ mask also known as “Queen Idia“ mask, which sits conspicuously in the museum and only to have innocent people pay through their nose to watch our own works. (“The figure generated by the British museum for the Benin artifacts alone is conservatively estimated at around 100 million pounds (N25 trillion) not a single penny has been given to the oba“)

Refusing to cry over spilt milk in regrets; there is no doubt obviously that in every rural community in Nigeria today, lies artifact more valuable than those stolen and the more reason why “Rural tourism“ if developed properly and managed well, should be used as a tool to attract direct foreign investment in the tourism sector whilst in the nearest future we would teach the world how it worked for us.

The uniqueness in African dance, especially those coming from Nigeria to be precise is currently undergoing study in many universities in Europe and America with many foreign students coming down to Nigeria to learn more about how these great skill can be better learned. Unconsciously it might seem, but as you can see our attitude to teaching the world our unique dance is already ongoing but the one thing needed now is a constructive branding of these unique creativity under the envelope of “Rural tourism“ to attracts international tourist to our remote villages.

Ironically, the international community and especially the first world countries of Europe and America are gradually getting used to their own kind of tourism, which is mostly manmade, artificial and containing little or no iota of nature and now focusing its tourism interest on Africa and the more reason why “Rural tourism“ a laudable idea should be embraced in its entirety in Nigeria.

Taking our local cuisine for instance, it’s a well known fact that they over 250 ethnic groups we have in Nigeria, prepares hundreds of indigenous local cuisines, (ingredients, many of which are readily found in our home backyards at no cost). From research I discovered, that what is now popularly known as “Chinese restaurant“ spread all over major cities in the world, started actually from just one village kitchen in china, and simply because of branding, and continuous rebranding its now an international brand loved by all and sundry. Same goes for our local cuisine if well branded from the local front, (using Rural tourism as the conduit pipe) especially now that there are numerous offshoot of Nigerian restaurants in Europe and America. According to records due to colonization and the invasion of Africa, its cuisine have been badly influenced by other cultures, for instance: “ eastern and southern African cuisine have Indian/European influence so are cuisines from northern Africa with lots of influence from the middle east and Asia“ however west African cuisines and particularly Nigerian cuisines remains the least touched or mutilated by any external culture but which promises to give an authentic undiluted African taste and flavor“. African history points out that West African cooking has created or influenced culinary in other parts of the world especially cuisines from the west Indian islands of north and south America which shows similarities to Nigerian cooking particularly those referred to today as: “Creole, soul and Cajun“ In spite of all these facts, Nigerian cuisines remain untapped and undiscovered, which calls for “ Rural tourism“ as our only savior to salvage these rich heritage.

The international fashion scene of Paris, London and New York which are today worlds fashion capitals are the richest cities when ever fashion is mentioned anywhere. With this in mind, stakeholders in the industry are constantly looking out for newer fabrics so they could replace obsolete and not so fashionable once. Virtually every ethnic group in Nigeria does all types of weaving and equally produces fabrics of different texture. “Aso oke“, for instance one of Nigerian most famous fabrics woven by the Yoruba ethnic group of western Nigeria had been sustained for decades due to product modification and socio cultural factors but in spite of its standing popularity “Aso oke“ has a number of negative attributes specifically; foreign consumers would be more satisfied if weavers would employ only color fast yarns in weaving and produce lighter weight “Aso oke“ fabrics that suit all purpose and also shrinkage resistant; and this is exactly were “Rural tourism“ comes to play.

REFERENCES

www.africanresource.com

www.articlesbase.com/antiques-articles/britain-return

www.contemporaryingnigeriancuisine.com

INTRODUCTION

Okonkwo’s prosperity was visible in his household….The barn was built against one end of the red walls, and long stacks of yam stood out prosperously in it. At the opposite end of the compound was a shed for the goats…. As a child who grew up in the city, stories about wealth and prosperity that I recall reading were centred on Agriculture. There were the rich cocoa farmers from the west, rubber magnates from the east and the groundnut merchants from the north. Today, those stories are no more and the country is no better for it. Even in post-colonial Nigeria; Okonkwo, a product of Achebe’s thinking, had his financial strength hinged on the cultivation of the land.

My proposition is that Nigeria can become a brand in Agriculture and keep a smart and consistent pace ahead of other nations in the year 2020 and beyond because it’s a natural. Agriculture, I patriotically submit, can make the fame of the country grow like a bush-fire in the harmattan provided the right policy, environment, incentives, investments are put in place and this would happen when agriculture is pushed to the centre of policy discussions with ingenious approaches adopted as elucidated in this essay. The need of the population alone is massive, presently, the minimum consumption pattern of cows in Lagos is 7, 000/day.

Nigeria currently spends over $3 billion annually on the importation of staple food such as wheat, rice, sugar and fish. The Global Hunger Index published by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) shows Nigeria at 20 in the range of 10-20 labelled as having a “serious” state of hunger among compared Sub-Saharan African countries. Furthermore, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in its State of Food Insecurity in the World, (2006) had indicated that Nigeria had about 12 million people reported as undernourished as at 2003. A vexing paradox when the country has a total land area of 923,768 sq km comprising 910,768 sq km of land and 13,000 sq km of water. Nigeria’s agricultural sector comprises four sub-sectors: Crops, Livestock, Fisheries and Forestry. Crops contribute about 85% to agricultural GDP, livestock production about 10%, fisheries about 4%, and forestry about 1%. Other economically important tree crops include oil palm, rubber, coffee, tea, and cashew. In the early part of the 20th century, Nigeria distinguished itself as one of the world’s leading cocoa producers, a status that was maintained following independence even after many of the large cocoa estates established under colonial rule were broken up and distributed to smallholders.

NIGERIA’S AGRICULTURAL ABUNDANCE

With abundant land and water resources, Nigeria’s agricultural sector has a high potential for increased growth and phenomenal envy in the comity of serious nations. The country has diverse and rich vegetation capable of supporting a heavy population of livestock, 79 million ha of arable land, 267.7 billion m³ of water for irrigation, 14 million ha of surface water, 57.9 billion cubic meters of underground water and 3.14 million ha of irrigable land. From the colonial period up to the 1970s, It was among the world’s leading producers of Cocoa, Palm oil, Groundnuts, Cotton, Rubber and Hides and Skin. The agricultural sector contributed over 60% to the GDP (supplying 70% of export and 95% of food needs). However, with the advent of commercial oil exploration in the early 1970s the fortunes of agriculture started to dwindle. The climate of Nigeria is largely tropical, characterized by high temperatures, high humidity and intense heat. In some areas in the north, the mild winter permits the growing of winter crops such as wheat, during the cool harmattan period between December to February. The share of Agriculture in Federal Government’s annual budget ranges between 1.3% and 7.4% from 2000 and 2007.

In 2003, African leaders including that of Nigeria met in Maputo, Mozambique where they all jointly agreed that at least 10% of the total government spending should be targeted at the agricultural sector towards attaining food security. While some African countries such as Ghana, Uganda and Malawi have stabilized their budget expenditures on agriculture around 10%, Nigeria, has consistently spent less than 5% of its annual budget on agriculture. Malaysia, on the other hand, has achieved accelerated agricultural development through sustained annual expenditure of between 20-25% of its budget on agriculture in the last three decades. Policies and programs of previous governments in support of agricultural development in the past to this moment range from Establishment of Commodity Marketing Boards (1947-1986) to the Presidential Initiatives on selected commodities: Cassava, Rice, Cocoa, Vegetable oil, Livestock and Fisheries (1999 to 2007). It’s disturbing that these policies are yet to stamp Nigeria as an Agricultural brand. What’s the way out?

LET THE EXPERIMENT BEGIN

The UK Food and Agriculture Association estimate that the world population will increase 47%, to 8.9 billion, by 2050. That’s a potentially huge food marketplace. That fact, more than anything, spells the reality that the agricultural industry is full of potential opportunity. It’s a niche that a nation like Nigeria can fill. Nigeria’s wide range of climate variations allows it to produce a variety of food and cash crops. The staple food crops include cassava, yams, corn, coco-yams, cow-peas, beans, sweet potatoes, millet, plantains, bananas, rice, sorghum, and a variety of fruits and vegetables. The leading cash crops are cocoa, citrus, cotton, groundnuts (peanuts), palm oil, palm kernel and rubber. Nigeria has its contours, hills and swamps blessed with high yield agricultural potential. The North-West has a climatic model synonymous to that of China, the North-East with that of Mexico, North-Central to that of Brazil/Argentina, the middle belt to that of California, South-West to that of Ghana/Cote d’ivoire, the South-East to that of Jamaica/Malaysia, while the South-South to that of Thailand. Ours as a nation is an effusive outpouring of abundant capacity. Our potential income from Agriculture is $74.89b per annum. In December, 2009, Haiti was thrown into turmoil. As I watched the clips on cable news and tears stood in my eyes, I tried in vain to recall any other thing about Haiti except Jean Wyclef, I couldn’t. He was to the country what Bob Nester Marley was to Jamaica. I’m hoping that by 2020, if the ideas highlighted below are embraced, Agriculture would become a synonym for Nigeria. I’ll meet an European and he would say –‘Thanks to your country, we have enough to eat in mine’. An ambitious hope but not outrightly impossible!

• Agriculture needs to become professionalised with educational training incentives to nudge young people embrace agricultural production, processing, extension and marketing. The farming population has aged, reflecting the migration of youth to the perceived job opportunities in the urban areas. Agriculture is less attractive for graduates; glitz and some semblance of razzmatazz in the industry can help here. Meanwhile there’s the need to expand and strengthen food and nutrition technology departments in tertiary institutions to train the manpower required in the food processing industry which is the only way value can be added to the products; agro-industrial exports thus becomes possible through enhancement of quality. In addendum, the bond between agriculture and industry in Nigeria is frail. A good attachment between agriculture and industry will involve the existence of processing firms for perishable and marginal products for the very crucial intention of value addition in order to reduce the monumental massive loss.

• There’s a need to radically depart from reliance on rain-fed crop production by heavy utilization of irrigation. Studies should be conducted to identify and develop areas suitable for irrigation agriculture across the country. Presently, less than 1% of Nigeria’s arable land is irrigated. This is almost insignificant when compared with countries like Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Brazil that have irrigated arable land of 12.36%, 4.81%, 28.19% and 4.38% respectively.

• Moving away from the labour intensive system is a must as Nigeria needs to modernise its agricultural practice through heavy mechanization to enhance massive productivity and optimize the use of resources towards becoming and agricultural brand by 2020.

• Seed and breeding stock quality improvement is key to improved and better production. Our seeds and breeds are not the world’s best. In this approach, we would need to borrow technology and adopt indigenous technical knowledge with it. Countries like Ireland are known to have applied conventional breeding and applied genetic engineering to boost their agricultural productivity. Genetically modified crops and varieties that are disease resistant, drought tolerant, high yielding and achieve early maturing.

• Forestry is another great income earner and product generator that given Nigeria’s landmass can be utilised to plant trees for sustainable development. The nation presently has a massive land lying fallow contributing nothing to the GDP. This should change.
• Hinged on short political cycles, agricultural policies in Nigeria have been inconsistent and poorly coordinated as well. Such a sustained commitment is needed to achieve good results in a sector that not only requires longer time spans to yield desired outcomes, but also relies on other sectors for its development.  There should be involvement of all stakeholders in the formulation of policies and it should be made impervious to political changes while roles of the various stakeholders in the agricultural sector should be clearly demarcated;
• If agriculture would become Nigeria’s brand, entrepreneurship has to be at the core. Entrepreneurs are known to be intelligent risk takers. They should be encouraged with unlimited access to medium and long-term credit. With this, the industry will grow like a yam tendril in the rainy season, full of the sap of life.

REFERENCES

·         10 Big Trends for Agriculture, www.jimcarroll.com (Accessed 10th April, 2010)

• AEC 509, Agricultural Finance Lecture Notes, Dr. (Mrs) Yesufu, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Osun State, Nigeria, 2007.
• Getting Agriculture Going in Nigeria: Framework for a National Growth Strategy (A World Bank Report)
  • Grim White Green, Leke Alder, 2008.
• Indigenous Knowledge in Agriculture: A case study of the challenges in sharing knowledge of past generations in a globalized context in Uganda. Diana Akullo et al August 2007, Durban, South Africa
  • National Agric Research Strategy Plan 1996 – 2010 by Bukar Shaib, et al
• Report of the Vision 2020 National Technical Working Group On Agriculture & Food Security, National Planning Commission, July, 2009.
• World Agriculture- Towards 2015/2030, FAO (2002).
• World Fact Book, CIA, last updated on 14 May, 2009

·         Food Dealers Lose N5.5 Billion to Multiple Taxation, Gbenga Olorunpomi, Next Newspaper, April 12, 2010