Why White Zimbabwean Farmers Plan To Stay In Nigeria

I don’t know if I am the only one here with this on the mind. We have a government that NEVER does much for us. In fact, track record shows that the government has over the past 20 years completely removed the Nigerian people ( farmers and all) from the decision making process and suddenly, 13 farmers are brought in and all many can think of is the color of the skin of these farmers and how government is to help them instead???  There have been so many other farmers brought in before now to teach or should I say train our farmers during all that 20 year period and not much has come from those attempts by some in  government and kind-hearted officials we have had in the past. I happen to have watched how a whole agricultural university out in Abia state went from being one of the best in the country to practically a desert and we some continue to think government is supposed to rescue us?? This school had it all. Land and more but somehow due to lack of good management they continued to squander all they had access to instead of planting and using it to the advantage of the school.

These double standards have existed for about over 20 years now and instead of trying to learn to adapt and pick up as much good as we can from situations, we are still rambling about the same old nonsense?? What about researching these deals to understand where we could plug ourselves in to make something good come out of it for the Nigerian people?? What about trying to find ourselves ways of extracting knowledge and maybe building a farming community to help create competition  in the area so we do not end up depending on these farmers who may one day decide to go back to Zimbabwe??

We have had the land vacant for decades and not a single successful move by people to come together in a farming coop of some sort. We have investors in that land and abroad willing to invest in the agricultural sector, problem has been, we have not really been able to find good successful farms to invest in. Why, oh why, do we continue to blame government when we have ourselves contributed to the problem in so many ways than one.

If waiting for government to send you fertilizer each year has not worked out, how about you do all you can to find other ways to get access to fertilizer? How about going around to poultry farms to get the manure thrown away for use on your farm?? We should stop expecting government to be our messiah, please.

I do not know about others but I am sick of expecting so much from the government that I am willing even to wait to see what comes next and how I can take advantage of that to my benefit.

I can not for the life of me understand how anyone who is serious about farming or being a farmer, would in this day and age continue to wait for government to save him/her. I don’t. We need to switch from being an uneducated and uninformed lot to a people who do their research and at least understand the inner workings of government so as to know how and where to plug in or  inject ourselves into the system and start making the system work for us. Illiteracy is no more an excuse. Waiting around for government to bring people in to train our farmers is ridiculous. Why would anyone want to do that?? Who does that?? Are we slaves that we need to be wait around to get training?? When we can now go out there and educate ourselves??? Why do we still act like information is not available to us when it is only usually a click or two away and there are millions of books out there to educate us in any field we want??

waiting for goverThe law is on our side. We need to start using it instead of waiting for government to start playing santa.

@ Kobo

I admire  your attempt at independence from the government. Thats the spirit. But then there is only much You can do as an individual or a corporate body. At some point , You would always need that government support. It must not be neccessarily finance (altho  that wont hurt) but also policies. There are things that the government can do to make the Agric sector more attractive.


Anyway, like I said we have the 13 white ex-Zimbabwean farmers. Lets keep our fingers crossed.

You call the situation in Nigeria right now a success. I beg to differ.

Absolutely disappointing response.

The issue is whether the same government gave the same level of support to the local farmers 

I'm suprised that you consider it rubbish that I dare to complain about double standards and it is disappointing that it seems the only reason you don't like this is the fact that white people are involved.

The issue here is whether or not this is double standards - one standard for these 'new special farmers' and another for Nigerian farmers. You obviously think it's proper for the government to treat Nigerian farmers worse than it will treat these foreign farmers, or is it just the case that you believe these farmers deserve special treatment for the colour of their skin?

the subsidy is not for FOREIGN farmers in EU but their own people.

yet, Nigeria is doing exactly opposite.

are black farmers being discriminated against? 

The way how I see it No white man should come into a black man country and be treated better than the black man. No ifs or butts.  I have more to say but i am going to sleep on it first.

pointless. Kwara govt underwrite the loan. nothing to do organise local farmers or not.

nobody is saying they should not come, but they come with their own money. not use our money.


Zim has shown us this model does not work. You need your people to feed your own people. it is that simple.


Govt is 100% AT FAULL.

Awolowo has shown what  delibrate govt support can do. ex Cocoa production in old western region.

It is only in Africa we depend on outside to feed/farm for us.

even if the government underwrites a loan - it is simply a guarantee. The bank will still not lend money to someone without a sound business plan, regardless of who is underwriting the loan.

How did Zim show you the model does not work? Zim had people who wanted to farm with no land and unequal land distribution between white and black. The Lebanese and co have been producing fabrics and stuff in this country for decades and it works, so why will foreigners fail in agriculture?

Government support is being extended - Nestle and South West governments are partnering to train farmers to produce better soya bean crops for example. Small initiatives are taking off all over the country - Chinese extension workers have been brought in by some Northern States to provide skills and expertise. Are things perfect? NO

But some assistance is being made, and I frankly believe this Zimbabwean farmer thing is being blown out of proportion.

How did Zim fail anyways? When the whites were farming, there was food sufficiency, now that 'their own people' are in charge - starvation. A simplistic analysis at best, but it shows the flawed nature of your reasoning.

Landis, high Five to you!  Great response. 

In my high school years in Kano, the state Govt, through its dept of education had contracted some Pakistani and Indian science teachers to teach in all the secondary schools in the state. These expatriate teachers, each was given a home and a car (peugeot 504). Driver, housemaid and a babysitter all came as part of the convenience package and these household staffs were paid from a benefit pay inclusion in the expatriate paycheck. So that if the Asian's wage is N5000/month and his three house staffs is each paid N200/month, then his total paycheck for the month would state N5600. Oh, another thing, his N5000 is tax free. The household helps however must pay tax on their individual N200.

Our Indian teacher had been with us a year plus some months. One day he received a letter from his mother back in India. We were in class on this day and something happened that he was called to the Staff room and forgot to take his letter with him. Mischievious students took the already opened airmail and while one student stood at the door entrance as lookout, another read the letter out loud to the class. Long story short, his mother was writing to let him know that the bicycle loan he applied for six months before he left for Nigeria had just been approved. 

Here is a guy that could not afford to purchase a bicycle on his income at home and had to apply for a loan but in Nigeria he lived like a King while our own citizens were made subservient to be at his service.  More painful, there were NYSC graduates that were science and technology graduates and had served in Kano that year and would love to stay there and work but their application for employment were not accepted for stupid sentimental reasons. We were shoring up the GNP of India and Pakistan at the expense of our own National employment rates and tax revenue.

This story about Zimbabwe white farmers goes to confirm that our leaders whether at State level or Federal level while they may be schooled on economics are by large part uneducated on the what, how, when, where and why rudiments of GNP or GDP and it explains why our economy has not diversified for broader revenue growth in all markets.  They are deaf, blind and dumb.

Meshimo

You know,  I agree with you there. This may be the Catalyst to driving more and more Nigerians into the Agricultural sector and improving that area of our economy.