₦airaland Forum

The Nigerian agricultural sector and how a marketing board can help.

The way a marketing board can help is that it will make the government an equity partner with farmers which will make the government to be sponsoring research to help the sector increase production and get the best prices. There are farm produce that if production is doubled the local market will still absorb it like Sorghum production for instance. Rice and beans too will still be absorbed locally if production were increased marginally. The same is true for palm oil but palm oil can be doubled. Then there are many products that a mere addition to the value will increase revenue by one thousand percent. Even maize production can be substantially increased and the local market will absorb it. Cocoa can be tripled or quadrupled for the international market even if the price will drop at least it will induce activity and etc.

All what needs to be done is for there to be an understanding that a minimum percentage of sales must go to the farmers no matter the expenses incurred by the government's marketing board. This percentage may not be the same for all produce.

The federal government has proposed the establishment of the board and I guess some farmers are sceptical but it is the farmers' union that should form majority of the board and even any farmers' union with due paying members should also be a political party


Export produce from the North

Sesame seeds 500 thousand tonnes per annum at 1500 dollars per tonne

Soya beans at 1.35 million tonnes per annum at 500 dollars per tonne

Ginger 700 thousand tonnes per annum at 1000 dollars per tonne

Cotton 60 thousand tonnes per annum at 1600 dollars per tonne

Hibiscus 250 thousand tonnes per annum at 2500 dollars per tonne

Groundnuts 5 million tonnes per annum at 1500 dollars per tonne

Gum Arabic 20 thousand tonnes per annum at 2000 dollars per annum


Southern Nigerian produce

Cocoa 300 thousand tonnes at 5300 dollars per tonne

Palm oil 1.57 million tonnes at 1100 dollars per tonne

Rubber 200 thousand metric tonnes at 2000 dollars per tonne

Cashew 300 thousand metric tonnes at 2000 dollars per tonne




Others

Cassava 59 million tonnes per annum at 100 dollars per tonne

Yams 44 million tonnes at 500 dollars per tonne

Maize 12 million tonnes at 200 dollars per tonne

Millet 2.6 million tonnes per annum at 300 dollars per tonne

Rice 9 million tonnes per annum at 400 dollars per tonne

Beans 3.5 million tonnes per annum at 1000 dollars per tonne


There is no need to add cattle yet as people are being killed over it. Then poultry will be almost as large as cattle or larger and we still have fisheries, pork and other animal protein. Cattle alone can add as much as thirty trillion naira per annum to the GDP if approached properly

In conclusion, there is no doubt that if the government join hands with farmers,m via a marketing board, the board can make more money for the government than oil and gas