Farouk Gumel - Finally, agriculture is taking its rightful place as the sector that will take Nigerians out of poverty and into an era of inclusive and collective prosperity. Although the sector employs millions of Nigerians and accounts for an estimated 20% of the country’s GDP, many still view supporting agriculture as a charitable act as opposed to a business venture. This is the simple reason why many farmers in this sector are classified as “underemployed” due to their mere inability to grow beyond the subsistence level.
Nigeria is blessed as we have the potential to excel in all the key sub-sectors of agriculture. We have the land and forests for farming and grazing. We have the water (sea, lakes, and rivers) for fishing and aquaculture. We have the capacity and the climate for livestock and poultry production. And of course, we have the manpower to get all this done.
Therefore, it is extremely exciting for all of us to see significant investments going into this sector. We are witnessing a gradual but consistent increase in the production of cassava, yams, maize, paddy, millet, fish and poultry products. Our non-oil exports have also increased especially in cocoa, cashew and sesame seeds. This is all because Nigeria finally has alignment in its fiscal, monetary and trade framework when it comes to agriculture. Due to this, we are moving away from the days of handing out fertiliser and seeds to an era of providing loans to farmers and tax incentives to investors in food processing and logistics.
Many organizations have bought into this new policy direction. One of them is TGI Group who in the last five years has commissioned a rice mill, a multi-seed oil crushing facility and a seasoning cubes factory. They have also invested significantly in outgrower farming and farmer extension networks. Farouk Gumel, an Executive Director at TGI states “With an inclusive agricultural policy, Africa can feed itself and create millions of Jobs”. Farouk Gumel added “the fact that the majority of Nigerians earn their livelihoods through agriculture means the recent policy push will positively impact millions”.
Farouk Gumel concludes that “TGI’s projects will bring with it a lot of opportunities for the people of Nigeria, especially in the rural areas. We hope as these investments mature, they will bring peace and prosperity to millions of people”.
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