Roland Ogbonnaya
13 July 2008
Lagos — Members of the National Council on Agriculture came out of an emergency meeting in Abuja recently in agreement that Nigeria needs a revolution in the agriculture sector. They were however not sure whether the country could implement the current food security agenda, pursued by Agriculture and Water Resources Minister, Dr. Abba Sayyadi Ruma. However, the promoters of the Desert-to-Food programme believe that future food sustainability depends on the project.
It was a long and exhaustive deliberation on the nation's plan to combat the rampaging global food crisis. Members of the National Council for Agriculture had gathered in Abuja, the nation's capital territory last month to deliberate on what to do to fight the global food disaster that has witnessed protests in some third world countries, including African nations. At the meeting they looked at the short and long-term agenda on how to combat the food emergency as presented and pursued by the Minister of Agriculture and Water Resources, Dr. Abba Sayyadi Ruma.
While there were different views on the minister's agenda, members of the council however, agreed that the country needs a revolution in the agricultureal sector, not just buying fertiliser and farm implements for the farmers. One of the participants told THISDAY that "if you look at the plan period, along short term, medium term and long term, the short term ends in December 2008, and that is only six month away. Then the medium term ends in 2011 and that is the end of the first term of this administration. Then the long term dovetails into the country's 2020 vision. I say the plan is not ambitious enough because it should be geared not just towards food security and export, but making Nigeria a global player. In the long term, Nigeria should be aiming at the American status in the world in Africa.
One such way Nigeria could aim at the US status in the agricultural sector is through the ambitious 'Desert-to-Food Programme' that is aimed at making food available for local consumption and external market by exploring the desert. Through this project, the Federal Government and Framan-Agridev are also expected to combat desertification and drought while providing food for human sustainability.
Every June 17, has always been celebrated in Nigeria as in other parts of the world as World Day to combat desertification and drought. But this year's was more remarkable in terms of focus and commitment by those concerned, particularly government and other stakeholders. At a forum to mark the day, which was organised by the Ministry of Environment, Housing and Urban Development in collaboration with the Bauchi State Government, much of the time was devoted to acquainting the thousands of participants with the strategies initiated and inherited by President Umaru Yar'adua administration geared towards combating desertification and land degradation.
The Minister, Mrs. Halima Tayo-Alao, recalled that former president Olusegun Obasanjo took a giant step at the continental level by submitting to the African Union summit held in Libya in 2005, a proposal known as Green Wall for Sahara Programme, which was deliberated on and adopted as an integrated rural development strategy for combating desertification and mitigating the effect of drought in 25 countries of sub-Saharan Africa.
She added that the Nigerian model of the programme was subsequently conceptualised, the highpoint of which is the Desert-to-Food project adjudged as one of the best in Africa. The idea is to introduce measures that will counter desertification and degradation carry out activities capable of promoting the standard of living of the people in the prone areas and introduce sustainable techniques that will transform the desert into fertile lands that will boost agriculture. The project is powered by Framan-Agridev, a fusion of a Nigerian outfit, Framan and an Israeli firm of experts in specialised agriculture, Agricultural Development Company (International) Limited.
Experts predict that as a sub-set of the Green Wall for Sahara initiative, the Desert-to-Food project promises to impact on the economy the way only oil can surpass. Alao listed some of the benefits as creation of 1.2 to 1.6 million jobs in the first five years; reduction of desertification from about 40 per cent at present to two per cent in the next five to eight years; and take care of about 20 per cent of the country's food needs, as well as 10 per cent of meat and diary production.
"We are looking forward to a day, in no distant future when the northern fringes of Nigeria will be turned to a belt of economic boom, employment opportunities and international attention, by the grace of God", Tayo-Alao said, even as she assured that measures aimed at halting the southward advancement of Sahara Desert and restoring the integrity of the environment would be vigorously implemented as part of the comprehensive initiative.
A recent study showed that desertification has to date encroached on a total land mass of about 1, 650 square kilometres in the northern parts of the country, especially those located in the upper belt. At the speed of 0.6 kilometres every year, the menace, it is feared , will in some years to come, hit the eastern and western fringes, if measures are not introduced to check it .This alarming reality is believed to be one of the reasons this administration is steadfast in its commitment to reversing the trend.
Particularly prone to desert encroachment, according to experts are the eleven frontline states of Bauchi, Adamawa, Borno, Jigawa, Kano, Gombe, Kebbi, Sokoto, Katsina, Zamfara and Yobe. They are constantly buffeted by what Mrs. Nkem Ononiwu, director in charge of the Environment in the Ministry of Environment, Housing and Urban Development, described as "north-east trade wind that brings desert-like features, into the hinterland," sometimes resulting in the formation of sand dunes.
"How do we convert desert to food? I think in terms of Millennium Development Goals (MDGs); it tackles so much of full security, employment, creation of wealth, and management of the environment and promoting the biodiversity status of the area. On the issue of climate change, it reduces climate change drastically. You can imagine 8.75 million well chosen trees that absorb carbon dioxide. You can imagine the impact it will have on the world climatic system. To start with, it will create a micro climate in that area. So, whether you are talking about MDGS or the President's seven-point agenda, the Desert-for-food project fits in perfectly.
"Another useful thing is that the project is designed in such a way as to keep young people very busy, either in the industry or in the farms. The young people are the major target and it is hoped that it will reduce youth restiveness. There will be many multiplier effects: The people that will work in the farmlands, the people that will work in the industry, many people will be hanging on these people, schools, churches, mosques will be built in that area.
"If Libya could do something like that by producing a lot of water, we can emulate them, and get more water. But we are going to do what is called baseline studies. We have already conceived a project that this is what we want. Where are we going to get the water for this project? Will it be sufficient? Are we going to abandon the project because of water? What is the alternative? Is the soil as good as what we expected? What about the attitude of the people? How do we sensitise the communities and mobilise them?
"How do we get them to identify with the project, so that there will be no friction towards the end? And that was why the project was designed in such a way as to have a national management structure at the apex. There is the National Steering Committee made up of eight ministers and eleven deputy governors and chaired by the Minister for Environment. Then you have the technical people who are the professionals in various areas - soil management, agriculture and engineering amongst others. We are gathering a pool of professionals. In fact, we continue to get people everyday," Ononiwu emphasised on the project.
Preparatory to kick-start the project Framan-Agridev and other stakeholders would next week visit Israel. Ononiwu said the visit which is the second in the series is to sensitise the Ministry and others on what Desert-to-Food can achieve in Nigeria. "When the current national committee was inaugurated, the members said they want to be part of the knowledge. They will now tell President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua, 'this is what is happening and the project is worth it'."
This is so because she believes that "when they go for the Federal Executive Council meeting, it is not the Minister for Environment alone that will be doing the talking. They will say; 'This is what we saw and the project is worth it'. The visit was also used to see whether we can now drive ourselves for some discussions and some agreements that we are going to have, like an international donor conference. We will plan it and internalise everything there, and find out who does what.
"Of course, a bi-lateral relationship will emanate which will help us identify who are the counter-part persons. So that, when we come back, it will no longer be my headache alone to coordinate things. I can only ask: 'What are you doing with your counterpart person?' They will correspond, they will exchange ideas. The governors, the commissioners, the directors, will go back to their states and start to sensitise their people because there will be state implementation committees, there is also going to be community implementation committees.
"We are now going from the grassroots, the ward levels, the traditional rulers, then to the states, before we get to the Federal Executive Council. So, everybody will be carried along. It won't be 'their project'; we want the states to look at it as 'our project,' not Federal Government project. We are making the local communities to contribute 10 per cent in form of land. We have made them stakeholders because we don't want a repeat of what is happening in the Niger Delta. When the profit starts coming from the investment, then they will also benefit. They will also benefit from all the facilities that are going to be available there. The social infrastructures are going to be many," Ononiwu further explained.
The co-ordinator of the project, Mr. Emeka Mba foresees an economic boom being triggered by "this double barrelled initiative which will start yielding income only five months after take off. In three years, the country is likely to be earning at least N1.8 trillion annually in local and US$50 billion foreign currency from Desert-to-Food programme," he said. He hinted that if everything goes well, the long search for an alternative to oil would come to an end. Moreover, he said the multiplier effects will be felt in many ways, including the establishment of small and medium scale industries, generation of employment and infrastructural development.
"To start with, we need about 250,000 manpower to take off", Mba said with a prediction that the project is capable of reversing the tendency of labour to gravitate from the north towards the south which is currently driven by the fact that a lot of economic activities take place in the latter, especially in Lagos area. In the first few months, about 1.3 to 1.8 million people are expected to be employed.
Mba also agreed that apart from having the potentials to ensure food security, the Desert-to-Food project as a component of Green Wall Sahara, dovetails into the present administration's Seven-point Agenda which places emphasis on food production. The project co-ordinator explained that beyond the funding arrangement that expects the Federal Government to contribute 50 per cent, concerned states 20 per cent, Framan-Agridev and her International associates 20 per cent and Local Governments 10 per cent mainly through provision of land, Framan-Agridev is working with international donor agencies and multi-lateral organisations. He said they are convinced that the project is a worthy one and that the funds would be properly appropriated, hence their strong commitment.
According to Mba, the impetus to successfully carry on with the project is being drawn from Yar'adua who was enthusiastic about the project even as the governor of Katsina State, and has helped it to gather more momentum since taking over from Obasanjo. "He is not new in the project. In fact, he wants an immediate take-off and has been trying to carry everybody along, including international friends and supporters who have shown interest in assisting Nigeria. That is why he approved the visit of Nigeria Government delegation to Israel next week," the coordinator stressed.
Some members of the team that will make the visit to Israel include the Ministers of Environment, Science and Technology, Youth Development, Finance, Agriculture and National Planning. Also going are the deputy governors, and in some cases, governors of the affected northern states.
The Desert-for-food initiative is based primarily on collaborative efforts of both the public and private sector and the international communities under the PPP - Public, Private Partnership arrangement. At the core of the project is the establishment of farm settlements where mechanised farming, irrigation and the use of high-yield crops, will be salient features. Demonstration farms are to be located across the target areas to aid the transfer of agricultural technology.
The farm settlements and cluster villages will be supported with basic amenities, like water, electricity and education institutions, while agro-industrial centres where storage (silos) and other processing facilities will be provided for food preservation and packaging for export and local consumption, feature prominently in the plan. Also integrated into the aforestation programme is commercial tree planting and grassing. Ononiwu identified one of the special plants to be used as Jathropha which will cover about 3,200 hectares and the other as Cactus; while the former-also known as wonder plant-produces diesel fuel, the latter is useful in the production of ethanol, pharmaceutical products and livestock feeds.
THISDAY investigation revealed that a wide range of agricultural products are being targeted, including vegetables, fruits and livestock. The Green Wall is expected to feature double shelter belt-the first covering about 500 metres in width is going to be thicker-while the second is designed to cover only 50 metres. According to Mba, the idea is "what the first one could not absorb, then the second one will absorb it, and in between them is about five kilometres, which will produce all sorts of things".
The Green Wall Sahara initiative is also designed to promote eco-tourism. "We have designed what we call International Car Racing Track or Oasis Car Rally because we are using the oasis. Nigeria has about 267 oases which we found on the ground, and put coordinates on them. Apart from rehabilitating them, we are now producing a register of oases in Nigeria. So, we want this car rally to go through them. There will be bicycle rally too. We thought that we could have something like Paris-Dakar Rally or Tour de France in Nigeria. Our own is about 3,000 kilometres".
Ononiwu disclosed that this novel approach to aforestation and transforming dry land into food baskets, which Desert-to-Food is all about, is not Nigeria's original idea, but grafted from Israel, a country reputed to be the global leader in this technological 'magic'.
Quote:
At the core of the project is the establishment of farm settlements where mechanised farming, irrigation and the use of high-yield crops, will be salient features. Demonstration farms are to be located across the target areas to aid the transfer of agricultural technology
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