D-8 agric ministers and the future of agriculture

The Developing Eight Countries Organisation for Economic Cooperation (D-8) 4th Agricultural Ministerial Meeting focused on food security with working group meetings in the areas of seed bank, fertilizer, animal feed, marine and fisheries, and standard and trade.The D-8 is made up the following countries: Nigeria, Turkey, Iran, Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Malaysia and Pakistan. These countries […]

The Developing Eight Countries Organisation for Economic Cooperation (D-8) 4th Agricultural Ministerial Meeting focused on food security with working group meetings in the areas of seed bank, fertilizer, animal feed, marine and fisheries, and standard and trade.
The D-8 is made up the following countries: Nigeria, Turkey, Iran, Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Malaysia and Pakistan. These countries are working together to develop every sector of their economy and to challenge the dominance of developed nations at the global economic arena.
The D-8 countries with over 1 billion of the world’s population, have recorded $68 billion in trade between these countries in 2010, which grew to $150 billion in 2012. It is expected to rise to $500 billion by 2020.
In his speech, D-8 Secretary General, Dr Seyed Ali Moham-med Mousavi, noted that “from 2007 to 2012, a food price crisis followed by the financial crisis, global economic recession and drought in several prominent agricultural countries pushed the number of hungry and unde-rnourished people in the world to unprecedented 1 billion.”
Mousavi stated that the objective of the meeting was to reiterate D-8 commitment towards food security, particu-larly in increasing food sup-plies, advancing sustainable agriculture-led growth, keeping food price affordable, sharing common food reserves and the enhancement of the income of the small farmers, fishermen and rural populations.
He stressed that  the ‘Matara Initiatives – a document, which was adopted by the 3rd ministerial meeting in Indonesia last year  – provide a rational approach to determining the scope of cooperation between D-8 countries and the private sector through mutual public-private partnership to ensure availability of quality seeds, animal feeds, fisheries and fertilizers.
Nigeria’s Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina stressed that with the growing population of the D-8 countries, ‘nothing is more important to our security than food’. He asserts that no nation can claim sovereignty if it cannot feed itself.
“Our focus would be on creating eco-systems in which small, medium and large-scale farmers would not only co-exist, but also flourish together,” Ade-sina said.
Dr Adesina told the delegates that Nigeria’s private sector firms such as Dangote, Notore and Indorama have committed $7 billion to building fertilizer manufacturing plants in the country.  He also said that the agriculture sector in Nigeria has witnessed significant change in the last few years as inputs distribution spurred rapid development in the sector, noting that with the distribution of 114 million high-yielding cocoa seedlings, cocoa farmers made $900 million in foreign exchange making it second only to oil.
Some of the statistics presented by the minister include the commercial banks lending which has gone up to $125 million this year from $22 million in 2012. The country has also received $3 billion from the World Bank, African Development Bank, International Fund for Agricultural Development and other agencies. He said foreign investors have also indicated interest to invest $4 billion in the sector.
“The narrative has changed in Nigeria: agriculture is now a business, as we are rapidly fixing our agricultural value chains and reducing the risks facing businesses.”
Adesina presented four areas to the D-8 delegates, which according to him, will help spur a virile agric sector in the D-8 countries: one, in the area of research and development, he proposed the establishment of a D-8 Agric Research and Development Capacity Building Initiative to strengthen research and development and technology transfer among countries.
Two, the need to significantly raise the level of investments in the seed industry; third, growing the fertilizer industry, in which he applauded the proposed establishment of D-8 Fertilizer Association; forth, developing the Halal-meat industries.
He lamented that none of the D-8 countries, which constitute 60 percent of the population of Muslims could make the 10 exporter of Halal-beef, adding that the D-8 countries use their high population to fuel beef industries in Brazil, Spain and Argentina.
Delivering the keynote address, Minister of State, Foreign Affairs, Professor Viola Adaku Onwuliri, represented by the Permanent Secretary of the ministry, Ambassador Martin Ihoeghian Uhomoibhi,  said Nigeria’s diplomatic missions abroad are ready to assist foreign investors that are willing to invest in the country.
“We hope our visitors will take advantage of the meeting to explore the great potentials that the agricultural sector offers for the mutual benefit of the D-8 member countries,” Onwuliri said.