NALDA set to engage young people in mechanized agriculture, modern technology

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Prologue

As usual, the problem will be that MOST will never see nor feel this. Again, always, an infinitesimal minority will. Good to know, keep an eye, and do the bit that may get a foot in the door, and see what happens. Merely writing it all off will be an unhelpful, self defeating, self fulfilling negative prophecy.

NALDA set to engage young people in mechanized agriculture, modern technology
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Home » Agric » NALDA set to engage young people in mechanized agriculture, modern technology
NALDA set to engage young people in mechanized agriculture, modern technology
ON JULY 28, 20208:09 AMIN AGRIC

As pilot scheme soon to commence in 14 states

By Gabriel Ewepu – Abuja

The National Agricultural Land Development Authority, NALDA, Monday, disclosed of engaging young people in mechanized agriculture and modern technology in farming.

This was made known by the Executive Secretary, NALDA, Paul Ikonne, during a working visit to Katsina State, ahead of the take-off of the programne.

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According to Ikonne in the pilot phase of the programme 14 states have been selected, which 100 youth in three Local Government Areas each will be trained in various agricultural value chains and production.

He also explained that the 14 pilot states are from the six geo-political zones of the country, and subsequently more states will come on board in other phases of the programme in order to tap the agricultural resources and potential across the country for positive economic impact.

READ ALSO: Senate President hails FG’s NALDA back-to-farm initiative

He said: “The essence of the programme is to engage as many Nigerian youths as possible by giving them employment and empowering them with skills and tools to handle the business aspect of farming.

“This will enable farmers to get value for their produce, and the global economic trend warrants that we call on everybody to go back to farm.

“The government of president Muhammadu Buhari has assured Nigerians that farming will be fully mechanized to make it more attractive and more profitable, and that is what NALDA is driving.”

He also stated that his agency will engage various institutions, corporate organizations, state governments, groups and individuals in order to have access to their lands through leasing.

“In this project, we will engage institutions, corporate bodies, governments, and individuals to lease their land that is not in use so that we could put it to use in a way that will contribute to economic productivity and youth employment”, he said.

Meanwhile, at the Governor of Katsina State, Rt Hon Aminu Bello Masari, promised that Katsina State Government will provide agricultural land for NALDA for the purpose of training and engaging youths under the programme.

Masari said, “80 per cent of our people are farmers and we have projected that our engagement with NALDA will create more jobs for our people while also boosting the rural economy.

READ ALSO: Back-to-Farm: NALDA set to train NYSC corps members in mechanized farming
“I believe this approach is a major departure from what NALDA used to do, this is a more practical approach and it will impact directly on the rural and national economy.”

Also, the NALDA delegation visited the Emir of Katsina, Alhaji AbdulMumini Kabir Usman, in his palace, where the Emir also pledged support for the programme and said his people will lease uncultivated lands to NALDA in order to engage young people and boost the local economy as well.

He also called on the Federal Government to do more in the fight against armed banditry which has obviously paralysed farming and commercial activities in some LGAs in central and southern parts of the state.

The paramount ruler also pointed out the challenge of desertification which has devastated farmlands and part of the Sahel region of the country and called on relevant government ministries, departments, and agencies at the state and federal levels to do the needful before it gets out of control.

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LAWAL SHERIFAT

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Sir, what I’m yet to understand here is that the main function of NALDA (as the name suggests) is the provision of support for agricultural land development
:https://www.landportal.org/library/resources/lex-faoc018385/national-agricultural-land-development-authority-act

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My thoughts on the above subject matter
That the National Agricultural Land Developmt Agency is set to engage young people in mechanized agriculture, modern technology is a wrong step in the wrong direction on the part of the government.
The share size of agricultural land that we have in Nigeria today, their location and conditions should be of more serious concern than to venture into agribusiness. Most of the farmlands are located in difficult terrains and carrying out farming activities in such areas has become a huge problem as most of such areas are inaccessible during some period in the year. Besides, evacuation of farm produce from such locations has become a nightmare as the roads are rugged and impassable, and transporters end up charging exorbitantly. The result is that the farmers profit are eroded away or such produce is left to waste away.
Some of the problems confronting the farmers and that need to be fixed are

  1. Insufficient and or inappropriate agricultural inputs; such as fertilizers, agrochemicals, etc
  2. Lack of storage facilities; that leads to massive post-harvest losses and food wastage
  3. Shortage of modern farming skills
  4. Unavailability of improved seeds and seedlings
  5. Lack of transportation due to bad roads
    Large-scale rain-fed system of farming
  6. Lack of agricultural marketing facilities
  7. Lack of access to credit facilities
  8. Lack of appropriate agricultural infrastructure
    Etc, etc
    and, of course, too little or no knowledge about climate change/global warming.
    These are the areas where NALDA can come in handy in the government’s efforts towards agricultural development.
    Rather than dabble into agribusiness NALDA should stick to her traditional roles in the following areas:
    i. Provision of strategic public support for land development
    ii. Promotion and support for optimum utilization of Nigeria’s rural land resources.
    iii. Facilitation of appropriate cost-effective mechanisation of agriculture
    iv. Provision of general extension support services and technical information on soil types, land capability or sustainability for various agricultural purposes, including livestock and arable farming.
    v. Giving assistance to farmers with on-farm and off-farm training.
    vi. Provision of of social infrastructural facilities for the growth centres at or around farm sites.
    vii. Advising the farmers on all aspects of land conservation and land degradation control at the farm sites.
    Etc, etc.
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Below is from the act establishing them. The same you quoted.
@Jare, Where have they gone outside these boundaries?

Extract of their objects

promote and support optimum utilization of Nigeria’s rural land resources for accelerated production of food and fibre; encourage and support economic-size farm holdings and promote consolidation of scattered fragment holdings; encourage the evolution of economic-size rural settlements; provide gainful employment opportunities for rural people, raise rural incomes and improve on the general living standards in rural areas; expand productive capacity in agriculture and regain export capability in traditional and non-traditional crops; etc.

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What I mean Sir, is that as a government agency, there is no way NALDA can pull through with that program. NALDA hasn’t lived up to her main traditional calling, let alone dabble into agribusiess. A little retrospect into Nigerian agricultural history will suffice here:

Post-colonial era agricultural schemes

During the colonial era, there were Farm Settlement Schemes in different locations of the country with the objective of creating employment opportunities for youths to make career out of farming. They were also meant to be models of good farming practices for farmers around their areas of operations. However, the scheme collapsed due to the fact that some of the settlers who were drafted into the scheme were too inexperienced in farming, most of them did not have any passion for farming, some of them assumed that they would get paid jobs through their participation in the scheme, and many of them also withdrew as soon as allowances stopped being paid to them, hence the scheme could not be sustained. Aside from this, there was also the National Accelerated Food Production Programme, (NAFPP) which was meant to make Nigeria self-sufficient in food production. This was overtaken by the Go-back-to-land Programme, then Operation Feed the Nation got replaced by the Green Revolution Programme. The goal of the GRP was to food importation via boosting crop production and promoting mechanised farming. In fact, one can go on and on with various agricultural programmes that have come into play during different governments in the country.

Agricultural Development Programmes

Of all the agricultural programmes that have ever been embarked on in this country, the only one that has lasted till today and still relevant is the nationwide Agricultural Development Programme, (ADP). This programme came into being due to the need for the application of knowledge and skills in different areas of agriculture. It is interesting to note that the ADP is the implementation organ of the Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources. Her main area of focus is the small farmer. This project, found in different areas of the federation, is based on the collaborative efforts of the federal government, the state governments and the World Bank. The main objective of this programme is to find solution to the problem of decrease in agricultural productivity by sustaining domestic food supply, providing extension services, technical input support, and rural infrastructure to the farmers and rural dwellers. Today, the programme have grown and become the major agricultural and rural development programme existing in all the states of Nigeria. The most important feature of the programme is; the reliance on the small-scale farmers as the people that will bring about increase in food production to achieve food security.

Paucity of funds

As usual with most government programmes, paucity of funds crippled to some extent the operations of the programme and this led to slower implementation pace, untimeliness in the supply of subsidized inputs for the programme.
I have at some time in the past been a witness to the activities of the ADPs both at Ogun and Oyo states. I have purchased agricultural inputs (seeds and agro-chemicals) and have hired tractors from them at highly reduced rates. Extension services officers were allocated to me from tome to time at their own expense. He came visiting twice a week all the way from Abeokuta to Opeji, (a distance of about 30 km), offering technical advice on hoe best to handle our farming activities to get the best results.

ADPs impact

In spite of these challenges, it is noteworthy that the closest assistance that farmers have ever gotten from the government is the ADPs. These are through extension services officers working through what they called Training and Visit system, conducting worthwhile training on improved agricultural technologies and supply of farm inputs to enhance the technical and economic efficiency of small-scale farmers in general.

NALDA

If NALDA have to go ahead with her plan, it will amount to the duplication of efforts of the ADPs and the neglect of the small-scale farmers. The point I’m making here is that Nigeria already have almost more than enough farmers, what they lack is the assistance to be their best. If anything, NALDA should be supporting the efforts of the ADPs. NALDA’s primary objective is the provision of support for the development of agricultural land. All other objectives are secondary. The overall goal of NALDA is to encourage farmers to plant above what they can consume, so that the surplus can be sold at the local markets or exported to other countries for foreign exchange earnings.

Potential cogs/clogs

The problem that always befall any government agency going into business has always been; lack of continuity, and eagerness to be identified with a named policy intervention or projects. Besides, some of the projects grow out of proportion and sometimes suffer intensive political interference, etc, and sometimes these results in disposal of their assets

These are the reasons why NALDA might not be able to pull through