Agricultural research, production and food security

Wednesday 23-07-2008

Dr. Abba Ruma, Agric. Minister

THE concept of agricultural research evolved in the colonial era with the establishment of the Department of Botanical Research in Lagos in 1893. Its activities was essentially in the areas of extension services.

The emphasis later changed to the commodity-based research institutes to serve the interest of the colonial masters as the focus was on the tree crops commodities needed by the home industries.

It was very eventful research-wise because there was an increase support from the Federal government; more attention was paid to food crop research; emphasis was more on adoption of technologies developed elsewhere and there was increased training programme for skilled manpower at all levels.

The decade 1971 to 1980 witnessed a phenomenal increase in the number of research institutes, with 17 research institutes established with specific mandate. Doing this however was not without its detriments according to Professor Ajibola Daramola, a Crop storage expert at the Institute of Agricultural Research and Training(IAR&T) recently when speaking in Ibadan.

During this period, formal research activities carried out in the institutes included trials that were fashioned after the western agriculture. Trials were compartmentalized and thus lack multi or inter disciplinary approach. Scope and coverage were usually very limited and often location specific. Results obtained from such trials are thus of limited use and/or unadaptable.

Also, aside the trials usually last for short duration with a maximum of two growing seasons, many greenhouse and/or laboratory trials were not subjected to field tests and validation prior to publication, thus making it more of an academic exercise.

Though plot sizes were usually too small for a meaningful extrapolation of yield data, most times, the trials were designed on high external inputs. They were trials concevieved and designed on the imagined problems and/or needs of the farmers who are the end users of the research findings. There was no interaction with the farmers at any stage of the technology generation process.

However, Professor Daramola said the advert of the World Bank Assisted Agricultural development project and the in-built concept of farming system research was a turning point in the approach and direction of agricultural research in Nigerian Farming System Research views the farm in a holistic manner and emphasizes the inter and multi-disciplinary team approach to solving production problems and constraints on the farm, a bottom to top approach.

Its main features are base data collection through diagnostic surveys for a first hand information and understanding of the farmers’ environment. These include the constraints, areas of strength and comparative advantage and research opportunities and also to develop low cost but efficient and effective technologies that are feasible, socio-culturally compatible in solving the farmer’s production constraints.

With research and the Nigerian farmer co-existing and operating in an environment created by government polices on such factors, agricultural research and production, production inputs (such as fertilisers) and rural development and credit facilitie, the interplay of these government policies breed some features that characterise the environment. These include, inconsistency of policies, lack of continuity of projects/programmes from one administration to another, inadequate funding of research and extension services as well as poor coordination or research and extension activities.

According to him, it is quite obvious that the largely unfavourable, inconsistent and half-hearted government policies on agriculture have over the years constituted barrier to agricultural research and development and self-sufficiency in food production in Nigeria.
Meanwhile, Professor Daramola declared, “the status of the Nigerian agriculture 40 years ago using my experience as the baseline and the minister’s opinion in December, 2007 showed that no significant change or progress has been made to solve any of the constraints identified and highlighted faced by farmers.

“This scenario is indeed worrisome if we have a set of problems that are very vital to our socio-economic welfare, political stability, national and international image and integrity, etc and for over 40 years we cannot find solution to some of them to a reasonable extent in spite of the enormous human and material financial resources available.

“The problem of poor funding of agricultural research in Nigeria has been and it is still a topical issue at meeting.,.” he said. “Budgeting for research has undergone several changes. In the recent past, research projects are put under capital expediture,which many of us believe is absurd the proportion of the budget that is approved and the proportion of the approved budget that is eventually released which is the available fund us at the discretion of the Federal Ministry of Finance.”

The detriment effects of the past haphazard funding of extension services and research with particular reference to the ADPs and National Agricultural Research Project (NARP), he said has robbed the Nigerian Agricultural Research system and by extension the Nigerian Agricultural some of the gains from the World Bank Assisted Projects.

Meanwhile, Professor Daramola said the food starvation in Nigeria in the last two decades has been very worrisome because many Nigerians cannot feed well due to the high cost of food, stressing that the situation is unacceptable considering the enormous human and material resources and the number of projects and programmes that had been initiated by successive governments.

Council’s efforts at boosting food production

By Seye Adeniyi and Rotimi Omole

THE Chairman, Orire Local Government area of Oyo State, Honourable Ezekiel Oyedepo, has assured farmers that his Yems Davies administration would continue to encourage farmers in the area by assisting them in providing necessary tools and equipment that will boost agricultural production.

Honourable Oyedepo, who was delivering his address at the occasion of the distribution of agricultural loan and seedlings to farmers in the area to flag off of year 2008 planting season at the council’s headquarters in Ikoyi-Ile recently, told farmers that efforts have been put in place to export some cash crops in the area to other parts of the country.

He said, “as part of our efforts to boost agriculture in this local government area, we’ve just offered three tractors for hire at reduced prices to our farmers, while we are also supporting the National Fadama 11 project by paying our counterpart funds which has provided various inputs and infrastrutures to our farmers such as boreholes, spraying pumps and water pumps.”

“I’m also happy to say that the provision of these materials has translated to better productivity and higher income to farmers participating in the programme; our administration has also set up modest poultry, piggery and fishery units. These are adding to our internally generated revenues. The piggery and fishery units have also been of service to students from higher institutions on industrial attachment to the local government,” he declared.

While shedding light on the loans, Oyedepo stated that it was an interest free loan that is expected to meet the urgent need of the farmers while 400 farmers were carefully selected from the 10 wards of the local government as beneficiary of the loan.

Oyedepo said the repayment period was six months and plans are in top gear to ensure an increase in the number of beneficiaries in the next planting season. The council boss therefore appealed to beneficiary to ensure prompt repayment of the loan so that other farmers can also enjoy the opportunity.

He also reiterated the determination of the council to liase with both state and federal government indeveloping an appropriate irrigation method for farmers so as to cushion effects of irregular rainfall.

Some of the farmers who spoke with Tribune Agriculture expressed delights at interest free loan. The farmer said the local government area council would contribute to the production of food at abundance level so as to reduce the effect of the on going food crisis in the country.