Nigeria should utilise foreign governments’ commitments for agric development

The President Muhammadu Buhari administration has in the last three years continued to reiterate its commitment to agricultural development. This, perhaps, is why many foreign governments have identified the sector as their primary area of bilateral engagement.

Audu Ogbeh, minister of agriculture and rural development, has been interfacing with many foreign governments on collaborations to develop agriculture and has visited a number of countries, including Brazil, where the idea of importing grass to Nigeria came up.

It, however, becomes imperative that the numerous foreign interests in Nigeria yield desired (positive) results for the country to develop. The Netherlands government, for instance, has expressed its commitment to providing support for Nigeria’s agricultural development, aiming to facilitate the creation of new jobs to support the economy and stimulate economic growth. The Dutch mission in Nigeria has said it wants to deepen bilateral relations with the country and identified agriculture as the best way to provide support. The Netherlands has a track record in high productivity. It is the world’s second-largest exporter of food despite being one of the smallest countries by size, at 41,543 km2.

This commitment to finding ways of helping Nigeria develop its agricultural potentials was demonstrated in February when a Dutch delegation led by Robert Petri, the Netherlands ambassador to Nigeria, visited the Wageningen University and Research (WUR) for series of strategic meetings on ways Nigeria’s agricultural development can be supported.

In an exclusive interview with BusinessDay after the meetings in Wageningen, Petri said his country “would like to intensify collaboration with Nigeria, particularly in the field of agriculture, and this is because agriculture (appears to be) a priority for the Nigerian government”.

With high population growth, Petri said, Nigeria would keep importing more food so local production has to go up.

“I think as a country, the Netherlands has something to offer Nigeria. We are capable of producing high yields in a small piece of land and we have a lot of expertise in practising agriculture in a sustainable way. We are also the second-largest exporter of food in the world,” Petri said.

Like the Netherlands, there are several countries desirous of providing support to Nigeria in its quest for agricultural development. These commitments, however, require the Nigerian government matching them with equal (or more) determination.

CALEB OJEWALE

The writer can be reached via caleb.ojewale@businessdayonline.com or 08026689139