Written by Lanre Oyetade
Tuesday, 24 May 2011
The Federal Government has made its intention known to stop the importation of some products, including rice, fertilisers and sugar into the country by 2015.

President Goodluck Jonathan made this declaration at an interactive session he had with the Nigerian business community and captains of industry in Lagos on Monday.

According to the president, the country needs to stimulate the local production of these items, adding, “my belief is that by 2015, Nigeria has no business importing rice or fertiliser and we also need to encourage the local production of sugar such that its importation will be a thing of the past.

“To create jobs,” he continued, “the government will strongly discourage the importation of goods being locally produced or capable of being locally produced in the country.”

He added that subsidies and waivers, which he believed had had much detrimental effect on the economy, would be discouraged, and henceforth, “special consideration and concessions will be granted only to businesses delivering value chains and creating jobs.”

President Jonathan assured that the Federal Government would come up with an appropriate tarrif structure that would not be tinkered with till 2015 in order to allow for long-term planning by the organised private sector, and see that the decision on importation is brought to effect.

He said that as from May 29 onwards, he would personally chair the national economic team, a think tank consisting of eggheads from both public and private sectors.

According to the president, he had decided to usher in and inaugurate his new administration with a meeting and brainstorming session with the private sector, instead of with dancing and merry-making because “this is what the times call for.”

He equally promised that he would take the brainstorming further by going into multiple days of retreats on each sector of the economy towards finding solutions to the many problems facing the economy.

Speaking earlier at the forum, the Special Economic Adviser to the United Nation’s Secretary General, Professor Jeffrey Sachs, had stated that Nigeria should be hopeful of great future development.

“To double gross output like in Japan and Korea, Nigeria needs to attain about a seven per cent growth rate, which it has attained, and to double per capita income (income per head), it needs to grow at about nine per cent, which I believe it will attain soon,” Sachs stated.

According to Sachs, there were five things working for the country in terms of development, including the facts that reforms were being consolidated; the fact that democracy is being consolidated and the fact that the beginning of the president’s term offers immesurable opportunities.

The other two factors, according to the UN economist, were that world markets were on Nigeria’s side and the fact that technology was also on the side of the country’s further development.

http://tribune.com.ng/index.php/news/22424-fg-to-stop-rice-fertiliser-sugar-importation-by-2015

Does he mean that he wants Nigerian agric to be competitive internationally within 4 years time (so no reason to import)?

Or he plans on jacking up import duties over the next four years until local agric products are always more competitive?

Or perhaps a combination of these two approaches.

The focus needs to be on the former, imo

An extremely idiotic decision, but one that most governments even in the developed world can't resist.

There is nothing idiotic about the decision, if he focuses on raising Nigeria's competitiveness.

For example, supposedly it is cheaper for a farmer in Thailand to grow a unit of rice and export it to Nigeria than for that that same unit of rice to be produced locally.

Can you imagine that it is cheaper for a man in say Lagos to buy rice imported several thousand miles away, all the way from Thailand (which means that Thai rice has shipping costs, import duties, etc tacked on top of it), than from a farmer under 100 miles away somewhere in Ogun State?

This should be enough to tell you that something is very wrong with rice farming in Nigeria.

Now, suppose that GEJ fixes this particular problem. Farm loans, co-operative programs, make it easier to access tractors, fertilizer, etc. If he does that, the end result will be that is cheaper to grow that unit of rice in Nigeria than to import from Thailand. Which means nobody will bother importing anymore.

Otoh, GEJ could take the easy way out, by just banning imports. Or raising import duties a lot. Neither of these two things fixes the lack of competitiveness of the Nigerian farmer, though.

+1000

Seun:

An extremely idiotic decision, but one that most governments even in the developed world can't resist.

Until i see the plans, i am taking a no comment stand

ekt_bear:

There is nothing idiotic about the decision, if he focuses on raising Nigeria's competitiveness.

For example, supposedly it is cheaper for a farmer in Thailand to grow a unit of rice and export it to Nigeria than for that that same unit of rice to be produced locally.

Can you imagine that it is cheaper for a man in say Lagos to buy rice imported several thousand miles away, all the way from Thailand (which means that Thai rice has shipping costs, import duties, etc tacked on top of it), than from a farmer under 100 miles away somewhere in Ogun State?

This should be enough to tell you that something is very wrong with rice farming in Nigeria.

Now, suppose that GEJ fixes this particular problem. Farm loans, co-operative programs, make it easier to access tractors, fertilizer, etc. If he does that, the end result will be that is cheaper to grow that unit of rice in Nigeria than to import from Thailand. Which means nobody will bother importing anymore.

Otoh, GEJ could take the easy way out, by just banning imports. Or raising import duties a lot. Neither of these two things fixes the lack of competitiveness of the Nigerian farmer, though.

Sometimes, debating issues every time these visionless people open their mouth gets tiring and redundant simply because their utterances are mostly crude, random and never serious.

Let him get together local and international agric experts to map every inch of our arable land  with emphases on what land is good for what, what we need to throw at it in terms of manpower, equipments, fertilizers, storage and distribution system. A real agric policy with teeth, dedicated and patriotic folks in charge.


What's next?  This clown is gonna make some thoughtless random statement tomorrow about electricity, water, roads and we're gonna start debating as if these fools are serious?  

Didn't the same clueless man ran his mouth about turning Aba or some place in the east into a Plane manufacturing den like Boeing?

@ekt_bear
The problem is they don't need to anounce any such targets. This is something every Nigerian government has declared in the past. All it shows is that they have no clue what it takes to reach these targets. It is difficult enough in countries with all the wherewithals - talkless of Nigeria.

The last similar ridiculous statement was the respected oilman Rilwanu declaring that Nigeria will stop exporting crude oil soon - because we will be refining and selling products. Couldn't even keep a 450K BPD refinery running for 3 months

I am sorry to say, but Nigerian transformation is not in GEJ if this same rhetoric is what he is going to keep feeding us.

GEJ just need to deliver on the 10000MW they have being promising since 2007

ekt_bear:

There is nothing idiotic about the decision, if he focuses on raising Nigeria's competitiveness.

For example, supposedly it is cheaper for a farmer in Thailand to grow a unit of rice and export it to Nigeria than for that that same unit of rice to be produced locally.

Can you imagine that it is cheaper for a man in say Lagos to buy rice imported several thousand miles away, all the way from Thailand (which means that Thai rice has shipping costs, import duties, etc tacked on top of it), than from a farmer under 100 miles away somewhere in Ogun State?

This should be enough to tell you that something is very wrong with rice farming in Nigeria.

Now, suppose that GEJ fixes this particular problem. Farm loans, co-operative programs, make it easier to access tractors, fertilizer, etc. If he does that, the end result will be that is cheaper to grow that unit of rice in Nigeria than to import from Thailand. Which means nobody will bother importing anymore.

Otoh, GEJ could take the easy way out, by just banning imports. Or raising import duties a lot. Neither of these two things fixes the lack of competitiveness of the Nigerian farmer, though.

Eko Ile:

Let him get together local and international agric experts to map every inch of our arable land  with emphases on what land is good for what, what we need to throw at it in terms of manpower, equipments, fertilizers, storage and distribution system. A real agric policy with teeth, dedicated and patriotic folks in charge.

+1

Didn't the same clueless man ran his mouth about turning Aba or some place in the east into a  Plane manufacturing den like Boeing?   

Lmao

koruji:

@ekt_bear
The problem is they don't need to anounce any such targets. This is something every Nigerian government has declared in the past. All it shows is that they have no clue what it takes to reach these targets. It is difficult enough in countries with all the wherewithals - talkless of Nigeria.

The last similar ridiculous statement was the respected oilman Rilwanu declaring that Nigeria will stop exporting crude oil soon - because we will be refining and selling products. Couldn't even keep a 450K BPD refinery running for 3 months

I am sorry to say, but Nigerian transformation is not in GEJ if this same rhetoric is what he is going to keep feeding us.

GEJ just need to deliver on the 10000MW they have being promising since 2007

I see your point.

on the match to 2015