Agrocare Govt's Inmfferenee Stalls Agrie Research, Fooa seCurity, Says-Don By Olukayode Oyeleye

LACK of readiness to utilise the results of agricultural research by various govern­ments in Nigeria has contributed greatly

to the failure of agro-based small and medium scale enterprises in the country. Professor Benjamin Adefemi Ogunboded e mad e this known on Tu esday while giving his inaugural lecture at the Obafemi Awolowo University,lIe Ife.

Professor Ogunbodede's lecture, the 238'" in the series of inaugural lectures in the uni­versity was on "gene interplay for food secu­rity and national developmenr." It was a lecture given to highlight the modest ac­complishment that the university, in collab­ora tio n with its sa tellite, the Ibadan-based Institute of Agricultural Research and Train­ing (IIAR&T), has made in crop breeding and the positive changes these have brought about in ensuring food security.

Kwara's Ex-commissioner Canvasses Support For Agric From Abiodun Fagbeml, lIorin

E immediate past commissioner for Agri­culture and Natural Resources in Kwara State, Professor Mohammed Issa Gana, has

said that a veritable commercial agriculture in Nigeria could only be feasible if the nation's commercial banks would reduce their collat­erals for the potential large scale farmers. Gana, while delivering a keynote address on

Commercial Agriculture in Nigeria bankrolled by the Agricultural and Rural Management Training Institute (ARMTI) 1I0rin recently, said no nation could thrive in commercial agri cul~ ture with the present lending rates of the na­tion's commercial banks. He therefore called for an understanding of

the concerned banks that agriculture is pecu­liar, requiring a longer duration, especially when cash crops are involved, before any mean­ingful harvest could be carried out. Tne event held at the ARMTI campus, was the

opening ceremony of a two-day training of di­rectors of Human Resources Development. It was attended byover60 participants across the counny The ex-commissioner sa id, "while credit faci l­

iri es are essential in commercial farming all over the world, rhese, unfortunately, have al­ways been a major problem for us in Nigeria. This is so because our banks do not understand how farmers could assess credit facilities. "This is a sad development bur it is the· real sit­uation of events. An average large scale com­mercial farmer will ordinarily req uire low interest rates and opportunity for him to enjoy a long term repayment of the loan," Gana stressed. He identified ot.hers as large arable land, tech­

nologicallmow-how, irrigation system, power, and creation of avenue forstorage facilities. Re­gretrably, he disclosed that the nation has 99 million hectares of fertile land, 30 per cent of which are presently under cultivation. Besides, he sharply criticised the high level of unem­ployment among Nigerian agricultural grad­uates who could have been trained as commercial agricultural experts. For him, Nigerian government has no justifi­

cation for importation of rice valued at billions of An1erican dollars. He said if the rice planta­tion belts in both Niger and Kwara states were harnessed and well funded, they have the ca­pacities to produce enough rice for the entire West African countries. Iii his remarks the Kwara State Head of Serv­

ice,A1haji Dabarako Mohammed, said the agri­cultural sector still remains the fulcrum of the nation's economy, justifying the huge re­sources expended on commercial agriculture in the state by the government of the out­going Governor, Bukola,Saraki. The acting director of ARMTJ, Dr. Oladele Win­dapo, said the most critical factor that could not be undermined in the concept of com­mercial agriculture remained the human re­source to drive the concept. He added tI,at'we must be determined to evolve relevant and regular capacity building programmes that wiTI produce capable hands to facilitate Out de­sire for food production in commercial quan­tity both for local consumption and export

. purposes."

Ogunbodede, a plant breeder, lamented that, "because of the lack of political will , coupled with non-provision of conducive environment for small and medium enter­prises to thrive, most of such results are still gathering dust on the shelf."

kenaf produced paper with acceptable char­acteristics such as high brightl1ess, lower ink density and rub-off than standard newsprint."

netic improvement of important crop vari­eties." Subsequently, "organised approach ra­wa rds a systematic study of mai ze was established" and "two varieties have been of­fiCially released to the Nigerian farmers by the National Variety Release Committee in 1985." The professor illustrated his point by using

maize and kenaf breeding as examples. He said maize "remains the pivot of the live­stock industry" and "as such, establishment of feed mills will be profitable" while "en­trepreneurs can even process the maize crop and residue into cattle and other ruminants feed during the dry season."

He described "the most critical raw mate­rial related problem in the pu lp, paper and publishing sector" as revolving "around the so urcing of the local fibre pulp." The quality of paper produced from kenaf, he said, "is in all respects superi or" and newsprint from

He lamented that "since the jure bag facrary in Badagry, Lagos State, closed down decades ago, nothing much has been done to resus­ci ta te it, despite his conviction that "kenaf is indeed a crop that can revolutionise the agri­cultural, newsprint packaging as well as the build ing sub-sector of the Nigerian econ­omy."

Ogunbodede listed th e achievements he has recorded alone or in conjunction with other researchers over the years and at­tempted to establish their releva nce to food security. "The advent of a very des tructive ru st disease of maize incited by Puccinia polysora in 1950," he said, "called a ttention to the im portance of plant breeding and ge-

On kenaf, the professor said a variety(lfe Ken' 400), one of those "isolated arrer many cycles of selection," has been "offiCially released ra the Nigerian farmers by the National Variety Release Committee in the year 2005. He added that "two new high fibre yield stability have recently been develqped in the insti-rute." . He therefore obselved that "there is still the

need for more in-depth research to enhance food security as well as information dissemi­nation to resource-poor fa rmers who still pro­duce70 per cehrof the nation's food staples."

Vice chancellor, Obafemi Awolowo University, lie Ife, Professor Michael Faborode (right), Director of the Institute Agricultural Research and Training (IAR&T),lbadan, and Mr. Dotun Awoyemi, director of academic affairs of the university afler Ihe presentation of the inaugural lecture by Professor Ogu"nbodede in lie Ite las 1 Tuesday. PHOTO: OlUKAYODE OYElEYE

ECOWAS Trade Scheme, A Failure, Say Stakeholders By Gbenga Sala"

TIE ECOWAS Trade tiberali­sation Sc heme (ETLS), a mechanism to facilitate

trade within the region towards fast-tracking economic integra­tion among member states, has been scored low. This assess­ment was made known recently in Lagos during a workshop or­ganised by Nigerian Export Pro­motion Council (NEPC) as stakeholders in the regional trade sector explored ways to maximising the benefits of the ECOWAS TIS in Nigeria.

Countries around the world have continued to form them­selves into regional blocks for politica l and economic devel-' opment. One of such unions is the Economic Community of West Africa States '(ECOWAS), a regional body of countries in West Africa, set up to protect the interest of members against other bodies.

When ECOWAS was estab­lished, the vision of the found­ing fathers was for the region to attain socia-economic integra­tion by creating a custom union or free trade area and atraining free movement and establish­ment of the people of the sub­region.

To further deepen the eco­nomic integration of the re-

gion, ECOWAS leaders came up with a policy on ETLS as a mech­anism to facilitate trade within the region towards fast-tracking the achievement of economic integration among member states.

ETIS, which was set up in 1988 was the focus of the Lagos work­shop. Although all the speakers at the workshop ag reed tha t the regional body needs to co llabo­rate through the encourage­ment of inter-border trade on goods produced by member countri es, their common ve r­dict was that the policy has not worked because member states have fail ed to fully implement it even after their leaders have ac­ceded to, and signed up to, the ETIS procedure.

They expressed doubt in gov­ernment's sin cerity about the implementation of the policy, which is not on ly negatively af­fect businessmen but also the government which loses huge revenue to informal business, beSides not encouraging export. ETL~ is a policy meant for total

remov.al and elimination of cus­toms duties and taxes, removal of non-tariff barriers to intra­commllnity trade and establish­ment of a common external tariff on goods produced in countries of memoer states .

The Minister of Sta te for Com­merce and Industry, losephine Tapgun, who opened the work­shop, commend ed the organis­ers of the workshop as she noted tha t the topic was very relevant to the country's deter­mination to promote regional trade.

The minister, however, identi­fied that the various challenges presently experienced in the im­plementation of the ETLS should be seen as common to all and that a ll stakeholders must work together towards en­hanCing intra-regional trade by effectively participating in the ETLS, adhering to the rul es and regulations.

Tapgun disclosed that the fed­eral government was a lready taking measures that will en­able the private sector effec­tively benefit from the ETLS as well as othe,r preferential trade arrangements that are being ne­gotiated , including the Eco­nomic Partnership Agreement (EPA) also being negotiated be­tween the Europea n Union and West Africa. -.

"The present administration remains resolute and commit­ted to ensuring that its ongOing reforms aimed at creating a vi­brant private sector and stimu­lating growth in the national

eco nomy, a re vigorously pur­sued," Tapgun noted.

In his welcome address, the ex­ecutive director of Nigerian Ex­port Promotion Council, (NEPC), Mr. David Adulugba, comment­ing on the ETLS procedu re, re­vealed that afte r the policy became o perational over 1411 products from Nigeria had so far been admitted while Niger­ian companies represent 50 per cent of companies and 40 per cent products in the scheme re­spectively.

And just like th e minister and other stake holders, Adulugba a lso stated that "i n spite of the numerous benefits accruing from ETLS, the scheme has, re­grertably, been marred by barri­ers to movement o f goads due to road blocks at border posts, rejection of some products by member states from total tariff exemption even after admission of companies into the scheme while some member states have introduced some difficult barri­ers to trade against the spirit of the ECOWAS protocols."

To accelerate the integration process in order ra promote the goals and objectiyes of the ECOWAS Treaty, he suggested that realisation of a common currency within t he' sub-regiori CONTlNUEO ON PAGE 74