The roles of Agricultural Machineries Fabricators in Food Security and Nigeria’s vision 20-2020
A paper presented by Engr. Anthony Egba, the National Secretary, Agricultural Machineries and Equipment Fabricators Association of Nigeria(AMEFAN) at the stimuli to sustainable Development in an Emerging Market and actualization of Nigeria’s Vision20-2020 on 15th of August 2011 Four point by Sheraton, Ikoyi, Lagos
Introduction
Nigeria is the trigger point of Africa and we are blessed in all kinds of mineral and human resources that you can think of.
Nigeria also is the largest producer of most of the agricultural produce in the world (maybe you may want to say that is before the advent of OIL). We have the potential as a country to feed the whole of African nations. And I believe that instead of giving other country military aids only, Nigeria should be giving Garri, cassava flour, fufu, flour millet, flour sorghum, ground nut oil and others to other African country.
This act of giving food aids will not only generate goodwill for our nation but it will also lead to wealth creation by generating millions of jobs.
However in order to achieve this laudable goal of African food basket which we are potentially capable of, we must step up our activities in massive food production.
We have the land, we have the climate and environment, we don’t need green houses to produce our crops and with Good Agricultural Practices (GAP), we can produce the right yields per hectare of land that will make agricultural enterprise profitable.
With this dispensation that Mr. President is interested in projecting agriculture, it is imperative to make the practice of agriculture lucrative in all the three levels that agriculture should be practiced in Nigeria
• Small scale farming- should and must be profitable
• Medium scale farming-should and must be profitable
• Large scale farming-should and must be profitable
The present rural to urban migration of both the youths and adults is detriment to the goal of agricultural development.
It is an urgent issue that incentives must be put in place to make rural life attractive in such a way that there will be backward flow of youth from urban to rural areas.
This could be simply done by making it possible that I can watch my darling Arsenal, Chelsea or Manchester play, make internet service available and every where you are, you are at the centre of the world.
The irony is that no matter the increase in our farming productivity. If there is no value addition to these produce, starting from farm gate, the whole farming activities will just be a shared drugery.
There could be no value addition if there is no processing (either partial or full processing). And there will be no processing without processing technologies in form of machines and equipment.
There will be no equipment if there are no Equipment Fabricators.
No country in the world will depend on importation of technology to develop her economy.
For Japan to develop, Japan closed her doors to imported technology and encouraged her engineers, technologists and technicians to come up with home grown technologies. The same for China, India and all other Asian countries.
For Nigeria to develop, we must develop our home grown technology. Technologies are not transferred. Technologies are appropriated and adapted to suit the conditions of the host country.
If we must become the real giant of Africa, we must be able to feed our populace very well and then be ready to feed the whole of Africa. We must be able to produce and process our agricultural produce within the country.
We cannot produce cocoa and sell cocoa beans to Europe for $3000per ton and then buy it back in chocolate at $1.00per 10g can you imagine the huge loss and difference.
There must be a LAW that every produce must be partially processed at least before we can export it for example cassava root to garri, ginger root to ginger powder, Shea butter nut to Shea butter oil etc.
We cannot depend on the equipment imported from China to achieve the above goals we cannot keep people overseas busy and employed at the expense of our people.
The equipment fabrication business alone can give job to 5million Nigerians directly and indirectly. However there are lots of constrains confronting this industry in Nigeria. Some of this constrains I will discuss below:
Constrains of Agricultural Equipment Fabrication in Nigeria.
1. Land holding and land yield per hectare in Nigeria. The average farmers in Nigeria have a very small land portion to farm and coupled with poor agric practice the yield per hectare is very small. Therefore the use of machines and equipment is not profitable.
2. Government policies are not encouraging application of technology in agriculture. The vision and mission of Federal Ministry of Agriculture in Nigeria has no proper focus on agricultural machinery production.
3. Steel industry, the producer, of primary raw material (iron and steel) is almost nonexistent in the nation thereby making the manufacturers of agric equipment to depend on imported iron and steel
4. Power sector in the nation is not stable and diesel is unbearably expensive thereby making the cost of fabricating equipment very high.
5. The primary machines necessary for equipment fabrication that are available to Nigerian fabricators are obsolete as they cannot afford the new and modern equipment.
6. Fund is not available to Nigerian fabricators. The paper fund that was announced in the press by the central bank of Nigeria is not accessible to fabricators.
7. The federal government through her agencies, apart from few of them like RMRDC, NCAM, NEPC and IITA, are not helping the fabricators to develop their capacity.
8. Capacity building of the fabricators is almost non existence.
9. Importation of agricultural equipment that can be produced in Nigeria is a great treat to Nigerian fabricators.
10. Results of research on agricultural equipment are not readily available to fabricators.
11. Nigerian fabricators can be described as a one man Local government, because he generates his own power, produces his own water(bore hole) and he build his own road and he funds his own research and yet he is expected to pay tax to another Government who is not interested in his welfare.
12. Lack of entrepreneurial skill among the fabricators that prevent them from developing their business to suitable level.
PRIVATE—PARASTATALS INITIATIVES, THE WAY FORWARD.
For the processing equipment fabrication to go the next level in the country in other to meet the demand of food security in Nigeria;
ALL THE EQUIPMENT THAT CAN BE PRODUCED IN NIGERIA MUST NOT BE IMPORTED INTO THE COUNTRY AND THE ONES THAT WE CANNOT PRODUCE NOW SHOULD BE IMPORTED AND NCAM & AMEFAN SHOULD PRODUCE NIGERIA VERSION OF IT.
We have to adopt what I will describe as Private—Parastatals initiative.
That Government through her related Agencies should do the following;
• Set aside prototype development fund.
• Design development centre FOR NEW AND OLD TECHNOLOGY
• Supervise grants to private enterprise to produce the designed equipment
• Equipment and facility upgrading for private Fabricators.
• Establishment of industrial parks.
• Exchange program for the engineers in private sector, within and outside the country.
