Nasarawa: Agriculture as the way out

What makes the difference between a successful leader and an unsuccessful one is the ability or the lack of it to maximize the resources within his environment and to exploit and deploy same to the greatest benefit of a greater number of the population.  Nasarawa State is blessed with a strong agricultural potential notably abundant […]

What makes the difference between a successful leader and an unsuccessful one is the ability or the lack of it to maximize the resources within his environment and to exploit and deploy same to the greatest benefit of a greater number of the population.  Nasarawa State is blessed with a strong agricultural potential notably abundant arable land, good weather, and water resources. Besides, the state prides itself as the home of solid minerals and other forms of natural resources. About eighty percent of the population is engaged in agriculture and agriculture-related businesses, in effect therefore agriculture is the mainstay of the state’s economy.

Nevertheless, prior to 2007, the agricultural sector in the state was steeped in the drudgery of subsistence which provided attraction to only tired, old hands. The state’s agricultural potentials were frozen as a result. Given his acute appreciation of the opportunities that the sector presents especially in the face of meager revenue accruals from the centre, the  state governor moved swiftly to position agriculture as the engine of wealth creation, employment generation and ultimately poverty alleviation.

It was against this backdrop that Governor Doma established the Bada Koshi Agricultural Scheme!  The vision of the programme is to repackage the agricultural sector and make it attractive as a major economic activity of the people of the state, to be able to attract investors to partner with government in developing the state.

Nasarawa state is today one of the fastest growing agricultural economy in Nigeria and a major contributor to the food security needs of the country.  It is interesting to note that the farmers in the state have started getting economic value from agriculture through appropriate pricing mechanisms.  The implication is that the government has through this programme succeeded in uplifting the standard of living of an overwhelming majority of rural dwellers in the state.  Another fall-out of this programme is that the government has embarked upon the reconstruction and rehabilitation of many rural roads to ensure the evacuation of food items from areas of production to places where they are needed.

It is incontestable that Nasarawa State under the leadership of Governor Doma, has achieved sustainable food security in the face of rising food prices, and incipient food crisis.  Similarly, the administration has added value to agricultural production through enhanced storage, processing and marketing.  For instance, in 2010, the state through its Produce Development and Marketing Company Limited commenced the export of branded yams (PEPA YAMS) from the state to the United Kingdom and other European countries.

Abdullahi Suleiman, a lawyer, wrote from Lafia