Availability of farm inputs will ensure high yield, good quality seeds -- Dangote

The Chairman of Nigeria Agribusiness Group, Alhaji Sani Dangote, says access to farm inputs will enable farmers to produce more food and high quality seeds.

Dangote gave the advice on Tuesday in Abuja while addressing State House correspondents after the group’s meeting with Vice President Yemi Osinbajo.

He attributed the current scarcity of food and high cost of foodstuff in the market to the failure to make agric inputs available to farmers in the country.

``Now the fundamental problem is the neglect of the capacity of production.

``As you have heard, some of our members are saying that they have been working on the same farm and the issue is that the agric services have been neglected in the past.

``Since agric services have been neglected in the past this is the (cause of the) dwindling problems that we are having.

``When we have a situation where a farm usually can produce 10, 15 or more hectares, comparative to other countries, you find that the same farmland can produce 10 times the size.

``It is because where other countries are paying attention to the agric inputs, Nigeria has been talking about fertiliser subsidy.

 From left. Managing director and chief executive officer,wilbahi investments ltd, Mrs. Wilma Aguele; managing director and chief executive officer, NIRSAL/CBN, Mr. Aliyu Hameed; coordinator , Nigeria Agricultural business group, Mr. Emmanuel Ijewere; chairman , Nigeria Agric business group(NABG), Alhaji Sani Dangote and vice president Yemi Osinbajo during a meeting of NABG with the vice president at the presidential villa in abuja on Tuesday(14/06/16).

``Fertiliser subsidy is not the solution always. Fertiliser subsidy is one of the inputs in agric.

``We need to have better seed, improved seedlings, research and development and then the best practice in agriculture.

``Now without all these other inputs, if you like you can give a farmer all the fertiliser he needs, productivity will be low, the yield will be so poor and the quality of seed will be bad.’’

Dangote said that the group was making efforts to engage the government through a Private Public Partnership.

He said that by engaging the Nigeria agribusiness group on a continuous and progressive level, the government’s policy on agriculture would be achieved.

``We are not asking for money or subsidy.

``We are asking government to engage in its policies whereby research institutions and the universities of agriculture can be engaged in providing the best practices to the farmers.’’

The chairman noted that while demand for food was on the increase ``the yield from farm is less and less’’.

He noted that if catastrophe as ``Tuta Absoluta’’ which affected tomatoes reoccurred in other produce, it could lead to complete wash away of produce and the prices would sky rocket.

``Now we need engagement whereby input is readily available, improved seedling is available and a farmer can get 10 to 15 times what he normally gets at the very low end of the game as it is obtainable in some neighbouring countries.

``Once government has agreed to engage the reality on ground, it will be a thing of the past because we have the population, we have the land, we have the weather and everything is available.

``We just need to have better seedlings research institutions to come together and work together as a team.

``We will then see the productivity of our farmers to be a fold over of what is currently available.’’

Dangote praised President Muhammadu Buhari’s vision on agriculture and job creation as well as economic development through diversification.

He, however, said that until the country embraced agriculture fully, economic development would continue to elude the country.