The House of
Representatives yesterday decried the country’s over-dependence on importation
of food items, which has been estimated to cost over $10 billion annually.
Its House
Committee on Agricultural Colleges and Institutions raised the concern at a
public hearing on three bills.They are: a bill are for an Act to amend the
Agricultural Research Council of Nigeria Act, a bill for an Act to establish
the Universities of Veterinary Teaching Hospital and a bill for an Act to
establish Nigerian Agricultural Associations.
The
committee canvassed the need for a deliberate policy aimed at repositioning the
agricultural sector to ensure food sufficiency in the country. Chairman of the
Committee, Linus Okorie blamed underfunding for the many challenges of the
agricultural sector.
His words:
“Agriculture remains an important sector of the Nigerian economy with the
highest employment generation potential, food security, self-sufficiency and
poverty reduction.
“With about
84 million hectares of arable land available for cultivation, 263 billion cubic
meters of water bodies, including two of the largest rivers in Africa, a large
supply of cheap labour and a huge market population of approximately 183
million people, Nigeria is endowed with everything required for
self-sufficiency and food security.
“Regrettably,
however, despite the huge potential, we remain unable to feed ourselves and
translate the sector into prosperity for the people due to decades of misplaced
priority and primitive farming practices that have failed to positive results.”
He lamented
that Malaysia, which obtained oil palm seedlings from Nigeria in the 1960s now
exports palm oil to the United States of America (U.S.A.) and generates over
$20 billion annually from palm oil.
He also
pointed out that the U.S., China and Argentina have all displaced Nigeria as
the world largest producer of groundnuts, while Cote d’Ivoire and Ghana now
lead us in Cocoa production, adding: “Effectively, we are a net food importing
nation, spending over $10 billion annually on food imports.”
He noted
that the ARCN amendment bill seeks to establish Agricultural Development and
Extension Fund to be funded through one per cent of the duties collected on
agricultural imports and exports and a levy of one per cent of the profit
before tax of companies that have a turnover of N100 million and above, among
other provisions.
Guardian*
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