Jonathan Canvasses Speedy Diversification of Economy

Following the recent decline in the price of crude oil, President Goodluck Jonathan on Tuesday said it had become imperative to rapidly diversify the nation’s economy away from dependency on crude oil, and focus more on agriculture.

He noted that agriculture sector remains vital for the economy of Nigeria.

The president made the remarks at the launch of Youth Empowerment in Agriculture Programme (YEAP) and Fund For Agricultural Finance in Nigeria (FAFIN) at the Banquet Hall, Presidential Villa in Abuja. 

FAFIN, according to Jonathan, would deploy $100million towards providing affordable long term financing to support the development of small and medium scale agri-businesses.

He said if the nation produces its own food, “we will save scarce foreign exchange, reduce dependence on food imports, while reviving our rural areas and creating wealth for our farmers.”

Jonathan noted that the decline in the price of crude oil did not take his administration  by surprise, adding that in the past three years, it had been engaged in a carefully designed and implemented agricultural transformation agenda.

“Our massive food production efforts, which led to the production of 21 million metric tons of food in the past three years, have created a buffer and mitigated the impact of the devaluation on food prices.

“Our food import bill declined from N1.1 trillion  in 2009 to N624 billion  by December of 2013, and continues to decline. Our electronic wallet system, which allows us to reach farmers with subsidised seeds and fertilizers via mobile phones, has become the backbone of a more modern agricultural sector. Over 14 million farmers have received their subsidised farm inputs through the e-wallet system.

“Over $5.6. billion  of new private sector investments have also come into the agricultural sector, which clearly shows that local and foreign businesses see Nigeria’s agricultural sector as very viable for investments. Agriculture has become the new wealth sector for Nigeria.

“To further boost the performance of the agriculture sector, Nigeria needs younger and more entrepreneurial commercial farmers. The rapidly ageing population of farmers poses a significant challenge and unless younger farmers are quickly developed, our future food security and competitiveness in agriculture will be compromised.

“That is why we are focusing on programmes that will engage our teeming youths in profitable and viable economic activities along the agricultural value chains, including commercial farming, processing, value addition, logistics, transport and marketing of value added agricultural products. They will not just take agriculture as a way of life, they will run agriculture as a business,” Jonathan said.

The president said he was confident that several young millionaires and even billionaires of Nigeria would come out of the agriculture sector.

He stressed that before a lot of youths could be  successfully attracted to the agriculture sector, “we must replace the hoes and cutlasses with modern farm machinery.”

Jonathan added that agriculture should not be synonymous with hard labour or rural life.

“To drive the modernisation of the agriculture sector, I launched the Agricultural Equipment Hiring Enterprises (AEHEs), a private sector driven programme that will provide mechanised services for farmers across the country.

“By the end of December 2014, a total of 80 Agricultural Equipment Hiring Centres would have become fully established across the country. Over the next two years, a total of 1,200 of the Agricultural Equipment Hiring Centres would be established across the nation. 

“I am pleased to see that some of the young commercial farmers are already benefiting from the federal government mechanisation support on their farms. We must take the hoes and cutlasses away from the farms and replace them with tractors and mechanised equipment.

“The Youth Employment in Agriculture Programme (YEAP), which I am launching off today, will further change the face of Nigeria’s agriculture. YEAP has been designed to create a new generation of 750,000 young commercial farmers and agribusiness leaders (Nagropreneurs) that will make Nigeria’s agriculture more efficient, profitable and competitive. They will become the CEOs of their own farms and agribusinesses, create jobs in the rural areas and reverse the trend of high rural to urban migration.

“They will help to change the mindset of the younger generation on agriculture.

“These ‘Nagropreneurs’ will become models and champions for our newly launched National Agriculture Schools Initiative, as they project to younger school children, the image of agriculture as an attractive and wealth creating sector. To consolidate and ensure that our future green economy endures, government introduced the National Schools Agriculture Programme.

“This is aimed at encouraging our children in post-primary schools to recognize, and leverage on the huge potentials that exist in Nigeria’s agricultural sector.

“To further enhance this initiative, I urge the Nigerian movie and entertainment industry to change the narrative and imagery around agriculture, and start showcasing younger commercial farmers and agribusinesses. We must make agriculture cool!  I am happy that among us here today are some of our bright filmmakers.

“As many more young people move into agriculture – as you all can see today – the number of small and medium scaled agribusiness enterprises is rising.

“I was very pleased to see the many products from these Nagropreneurs featured in the exhibition. There is no doubt that our young people are very hard working, talented and entrepreneurial. We must therefore encourage them, especially with access to affordable financing. Under the YEAP programme, they will be provided with access to grants and subsidised loans to help further grow their businesses.

“It is also for this reason that my government has worked closely with the German government to catalyse the development of the Fund for Agricultural Finance in Nigeria (FAFIN)” the president said.

He congratulated  Ministers  of Agriculture, Finance and Coordinating Minister for the Economy, their ministries and agencies, for their hard work in making the establishment of FAFIN a reality.

He also thanked the German Development Bank (KfW) and the Nigerian Sovereign Wealth Fund for their partnership and investments in FAFIN. 

Jonathan thanked the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations for its support towards the development of the Youth Employment in Agriculture Programme.

“Today, looking at all these young Nagropreneurs, I see a great future. A future of a greener economy that is powered by young people.

“A future of a more dynamic commercial agriculture sector. A future where agriculture becomes Nigeria’s new oil,” the president added.