Nigeria loses N1.6tr annually from non-export of agric commodities - Adesina

The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Mr Akinwunmi Adesina, said on Tuesday in Abuja that Nigeria loses N1.6 trillion annually from the non-export of oil palm, cocoa, groundnut and cotton.

Adesina, who gave this indication while presenting the Agriculture Blue print to the House of Representatives Committee on Agriculture, said that the reverse would have been the case if Nigeria had maintained its 1961 export volume.

The House, at plenary session, had requested for a blueprint from the executive to address the challenges in the sector.

According to him, countries competing with Nigeria in the production of these commodities maintained their dominance due to the strong marketing organisations that linked the farmers to markets and provided inputs.

He noted that Nigeria had the lowest usage rates in terms of usage of agricultural inputs as it ranked at the bottom of agriculture indices.

The minister also expressed regret that Nigeria imported more than N1 trillion worth of wheat, rice sugar and fish annually, adding that food imports grew at an unsustainable rate of 11 per cent annually.

``Nigeria is importing what it can produce,'' he stressed, adding that the dependence on imported foods was detrimental to local farmers just as it created unemployment.

``Import dependency is hurting Nigerian farmers, displacing local production and creating rising unemployment.

``Import dependency is not acceptable or sustainable fiscally, economically or politically,'' he stressed.

He stressed that any shock in global markets would put Nigeria's national security at risk.

Ealier, Rep Tahir Monguno (ANPP-Borno), the Chairman, the House Committee on Agriculture, said that the sector remained the largest contributor to the Nigerian economy, generating about 70 per cent employment for the nation's active workforce.

``Although agriculture has witnessed so much neglect in recent times, its importance in providing the much needed food and employment cannot be overemphasised.

Monguno maintained that in spite of the growing dependence on oil, the country remained largely an agrarian economy with agriculture accounting for a significant share of the GDP.

He noted that in spite of the improved budgetary allocation in recent times, the sector had yet to witness any commensurate changes.