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afrol News, 8 November - While commercial farming is under increased attack in Southern African countries such as Namibia and Zimbabwe, the Nigerian government repeats its wholehearted support for the foreign currency earner. New ideas to develop the sector even more are to be surveyed. Nigeria's federal President Olusegun Obasanjo this week said that he is "not going back on to his earlier decision to support commercial farming in the country," which is in line with the federal government's commitment to make agriculture one of the driving forces of the nation's economy. The President stated this in the capital, Abuja, at a symposium organised by the National Interest Group (NIG) in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. President Obasanjo there especially commended the activities of the National Interest Group, which he described as "important to the development of agriculture to enhance the Nation's economic growth and stability." The President, who was represented by the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Abba Gana, conveyed the federal government's willingness to assist the Group with logistics and manpower to enable it to generate ideas and policies for a viable agricultural practice to be utilised at federal, state and local levels. He observed that such ideas and policies if adopted would encourage farmers to embark on large scale as well as commercial farming activities in the country. Agriculture is predominantly small-scale in Nigeria, although the commercial sector is growing. Also speaking was the Chairman of the People's Democratic Party, Chief Audu Ogbeh, who was also the Chairman of the occasion. Chief Ogbeh expressed regret over the apparent lack of interest by politicians to invest in agriculture, a phenomenon he said, had "resulted in rural urban drift of the nation's active labour force." Also Chief Ogbeh expressed his appreciation over the aspirations of the National Interest Group (NIG) in its effort to revitalise agriculture in the country. Chief Ogbeh further called on the federal government and NIG to borrow a leaf from the Indian and Chinese Agricultural Development Plan, which should be taken as a reference point to encourage appropriate technology in agriculture in the country. The state in Nigeria is historically known to play a
limited role in commercial and export agriculture, something that is
slowly changing with the Obasanjo administration. There are no large
commercial and export crop plantations owned or managed by the federal
government or any state, in sharp contrast to many states in the region.
Sources: Based on Nigerian government and afrol archives
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