Date: 2012-07-01

The recent launch of the Kwara State's agricultural master plan promises to significantly turn around the state's economy. However, economic analysts say it's also a wake-up call to other states to fashion out additional income streams in the wake of the current threats to the national economy, reports Festus Akanbi

One of the economic issues that dominated discussions in some enlightened circles last week was the danger posed to the Nigerian economy by the dwindling oil revenues. Economic affairs commentators said the problem is even compounded by the fact that the volatility in the global oil market, which has continued to send oil prices tumbling in recent times, is beyond the control of the federal government.

Given the fact that Nigeria depends heavily on proceeds from oil resources, analysts said the tumbling price of crude oil may compel the federal government to tinker with the Budget 2012 as the emerging reality may not sustain the budget provisions. To this group of analysts, it is high time the various state governments concentrated on the sectors of economy where they have comparative advantage for additional streams of revenue not only to increase their internally-revenue but also to tackle the twin problem of youth unemployment and insufficiency in food production.

In Kwara State, the pledge of the incumbent administration to make agriculture the centerpiece of the state's economy became a reality recently with the launch of the Kwara State Agriculture Master plan (KAMP) in collaboration with the Cornell University, an internationally-renowned college of agriculture and life sciences in the United States.

According to the state government, the KAMP, which presents a clear road map for the expansion, funding and impact of commercial agriculture in the state for the next five years, was a product of a three-month collaborative research by Cornell Professors and their Nigerian counterparts led by the Vice-Chancellor of Kwara State University, Professor Abdulrasheed Na'Allah.

Higher Productivity The state government disclosed that the agric master plan is, among others, intended to enable producers to achieve higher level of productivity and income through adoption of new technology and management practices while managing the state's land and water resources sustainably. It also aims at improving market efficiency at the state, national and international levels, within targeted value chains, through improved input supply systems and market linkages that offer producer incentives, expand employment and incomes and deliver safe, nutritious and other agricultural products to consumers. Other objective of the master plan include the quest to establish human and institutional capacity to sustain improvement in economic and food security through support for sector policy and planning institutions and targeted investments in research, extension, education and training programmes.

In a country with a culture of project abandonment, the question on the mind of watchers of the development in Kwara is -will the master plan see the light of the day? Is the government ready to put in place measures to ensure the objectives of the master plan is realised? The state governor, Abdulfatah Ahmed, said the master plan would not be dumped after sometime. He said the policy would be implemented to the letter, stressing that his administration would go beyond the conventional system of measuring input and output to measuring the impact of the measures being taken to "make Kwara the agriculture hub of West Africa."

The Figures Analysts who churned out statistics on Kwara said the North-central state is naturally endowed with what it takes to reap bountifully from agriculture. According to them, 1.36 million of the 3 million people that make up Kwara State are involved in agriculture, 56 per cent of the population is between the ages of 15 and 64, with another 40 per cent under the age of 14. And justifying the huge investment being made in agriculture, the governor said: "We have the 9th largest land mass in the country at approximately 36,000 square kilometers, of which approximately 2 million hectares is arable land. The River Niger, which is the third largest river in the whole of Africa at 2,600 miles length and drainage basin of over 800,000 square miles, forms our entire Northern boundary."

He said his government aims to increase the amount of land under cultivation and improve farming input accessibility and mechanisation. The blueprint, according to a statement issued by the state government in Ilorin, contains a roadmap for enhancing Kwara State capacity for agriculture-led development. The governor said that plans had been concluded to improve farming input accessibility and mechanisation and ensure farming process re-engineering and re-orientation in the agriculture value chain.

"Our investments in infrastructure, plans for clustering our cooperatives along the value chain, educational reform and upgrades have definitely set us on that path to progress,'' the governor said. He said the new master plan would provide the framework for the state to enhance agriculture productivity through availability and accessibility to quality farming inputs and upgrade of the value chain by attracting investments.

"We want to make our development relevant for the 21st century. I hope you now have a clear understanding of our thought process in initiating this master plan. As we go on, the business case for investment in agriculture in Kwara State, Nigeria, will become more glaring,'' Ahmed said. He pressed further that by developing the master plan, the state had demonstrated and conveyed its seriousness for various communities of investors, manufacturers and donors to join its efforts. In his remark, Ronnie Coffman, International Professor of Plant Breeding and Director of International Programmes of Cornell University, said with the signing of the agreement, Kwara became the first in Africa to enter into such agreement with the university.

Investment in Cassava Plantation Yields Dividends In a similar development, Kwara State's emphasis on value chain management in agriculture has paid off as Ireti Farms, under the auspices of Shonga Farms Holdings, in partnership with Austravia of Australia, is set to commence the exportation of cassava chips to China, with the first batch of 6000 tonnes. Shonga Farms, in which Kwara has a 25 per cent stake, is also to coordinate the sourcing of additional cassava from out growers in the state. This was disclosed at a recent interactive session between the state governor and a delegation of Australia, Exporters of Dried Cassava Chips, led by its Chief Financial Officer Mr. Sam Popilko, representative of Hon. Minister of Agriculture, Chief James Awoniyi, and the Chairman of Shonga Farms Holdings, Mr. Tope Daramola, at the Government House in Ilorin.

Speaking on the initiative, Popilko said as at today there is more than a million tonnes per day requirement of cassava in China ready to be explored. According to him, "the glut of the produce in the Shonga Farms necessitated the new deal. The first batch of 6, 000 tonnes will be exported in the next two weeks".

Governor Ahmed said the exportation of cassava chips to China was possible because the state government had kept faith with best practices in agriculture through the sharing of best values with experts across the world. "An attempt to create a synergy between research institutions, practising farmers and policy formulators led us into partnering with Cornell University in the United States known globally for agricultural best practices in the formulation of a 5-year Agricultural Master plan that will change the face of agriculture in the state," he said.

According to the governor, the exportation of cassava to China by Ireti Farms, one of the 11 Zimbabwean farmers, as a result of glut of the produce in Shonga Farms, is an indication of the success of his government's agriculture value chain management following the adoption of commercial farming through a partnership with a group of Zimbabwe farmers, now known as New Nigerian farmers. He said his administration would support the exportation of cassava chips which tallied with its policy thrust in agriculture as it will encourage the emergence of a huge population of out-growers among the peasant farmers to service the major growers.

The governor commended the Minister of Agriculture, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, for his initiatives on the transformation of agriculture which he said was in tandem with the core values of his administrations Shared Prosperity programme. The Chairman of Shonga Farms Holdings, Daramola, noted that cassava chips exportation would have multiplier effects on the development agricultural practice in the state as China has demand for one million tonnes of cassava chips.