sunboy:
The government must involve the youth in agriculture.

And they must incentivize agriculture for youths to be attracted to it!

Give free land, provide tractors for rent or support financing option for them to acquire one, guarantee sales of their produce and watch how youths will flock the farming sector and crash the price of food.

This worked everywhere in the world! You must support agriculture and incentivize it! This is not rocket science. We will become a major exporter of produce in no time.

Cost of living in high in many western countries, but they incentivize agriculture, food is always dirty cheap. Also, no tax on any food stuff.

My take is we need to learn from others so our agriculture is competitive.
Nigeria e.g is the highest producer of cassava in the world but our average yield per hectare of land is 11 tonnes compare to Thailand which is 20-25 tonnes.
There are similar figures across board and this can be attributed to several reasons but I will like to focus on CAPITAL/SCALE.
We need to understand that you need capital to achieve economies of scale.There are too many small players and we need consolidation so that we have cooperatives or companies

Take cassava specifically yield can be increased simply by ploughing the soil to make it less compact so that when the cassava grows it is not hindered by compact soil.
Mechanized ploughs are imported and costly and not cost effective for small farmers
Other issues are irrigation,fertiliser,were and pest control not to mention herdsmen.

To make serious money from cassava there is need for serious players with deep pockets that can put down tens of millions of dollars. Under the current herdsmen crisis that is a challenge
But we need to think.about yield which means capital and requires security

aribisala0:


My take is we need to learn from others so our agriculture is competitive.
Nigeria e.g is the highest producer of cassava in the world but our average yield per hectare of land is 11 tonnes compare to Thailand which is 20-25 tonnes.
There are similar figures across board and this can be attributed to several reasons but I will like to focus on CAPITAL/SCALE.
We need to understand that you need capital to achieve economies of scale.There are too many small players and we need consolidation so that we have cooperatives or companies

Take cassava specifically yield can be increased simply by ploughing the soil to make it less compact so that when the cassava grows it is not hindered by compact soil.
Mechanized ploughs are imported and costly and not cost effective for small farmers
Other issues are irrigation,fertiliser,were and pest control not to mention herdsmen.

To make serious money from cassava there is need for serious players with deep pockets that can put down tens of millions of dollars. Under the current herdsmen crisis that is a challenge
But we need to think.about yield which means capital and requires security

Did you know that countries with high yield per hectare are mostly the enablement of the government ? The deep pockets, the venture capitals heavily investing in farms are only cos the government guarantees steady sales.

For example, Cheese, corn, meats are example of foods on guarantee sales list in the US. Many countries practice this exact thing. It’s just a guarantee that, if you’re unable to sell the produce, we guarantee to buy the excess at xx amount per kilo or whatever.

We managed to push cassava and yam production high even when there’s extremely low yield. Have you imagined what happens if we get out yield level higher?

It’s more painful that we have everything we need in this country. Everything!

mrvitalis:

We import petrol because it's cheaper to import, we haven't developed the comparative advantage

But I guess that flies over your head

We don't have comparative advantage in petrol? You are talking nonsense.
Aren't you the same guy who said Nigeria doesn't need electricity to develop technologically?

ivolt:

Yes, he does that in another universe billions of light years away.
But here, je os patently anti=public.
He believes all administrations are the same and can't be blamed for national
economic outcomes.

When politicians borrows or spend lavishly, he is mute but he is quick to defend cuts to citizens directed public spending
because "we can't afford it" or "the government has no choice but to..." .
He believes all economic crisis stems from subsidies. And government policies and plans
has no effect on economic outcomes outside of implementing or cutting subsidies.


Yes, there have always been people like that.
For example the pseudo-intellectuals who quoted malthusian theory to rail against intervention(i.e subsidies)
during the Irish famine.

LOL.

You guys will never understand.

Seriously, you will never understand.

Good luck.

ElSudani:


We don't have comparative advantage in petrol? You are talking nonsense.
Aren't you the same guy who said Nigeria doesn't need electricity to develop technologically?

Name a business that can only start when we have 24 hours electricity

Nigeria already have free access to electricity there is no one that wants 24 hours electricity have the money to pay that can't access it

nairalanda1:




LOL.

You guys will never understand.

Seriously, you will never understand.

Good luck.

You're cornfusing me 🌽

mrvitalis:

Name a business that can only start when we have 24 hours electricity

Nigeria already have free access to electricity there is no one that wants 24 hours electricity have the money to pay that can't access it

You probably don't know that there are many industries where you don't just shut down the machineries unless for scheduled maintenance.
Oil refineries
Aluminum extrusions, mining and even pharmaceuticals are some of them.
Your ideas are some of the wackiest on Nairaland.

Kukutenla:


You're cornfusing me 🌽

Yes I know, Agboriotejoye. I know, and you shall remain confused....like all your alternates

Good luck. I don't have your time, cornfused member, calling a supporter of free markets an APC supporter shows how cornfused you really are.

Have fun anyway, and enjoy your corn.

Subsidy must go.

ElSudani:


You probably don't know that there are many factories where you don't just shut down the machineries unless for scheduled maintenance.
Oil refineries
Aluminum extrusions, mining and even pharmaceuticals are some of them.
Your ideas are some of the wackiest on Nairaland.

Sure, aluminium extrusion company depending on grid power is not serious

All thes factory can provide their own power cheaply with CNG... It would be as cheap as if not cheaper than connecting to the grid

Bros we have companies like that running in Nigeria, power has never been an issue

I run a factory that has never been connected to the grid and would never

My new factory coming up this year would have some machines running 24 hours 365 days a year and won't connect to the grid and power would never cost me 5% of cost of production

Rostikol:
The first mistake you people make is believing that crap about so much “arable land” in Nigeria, based on that dodgy list of countries posted.

The type of soil we have in Nigeria, and virtually all Africa, simply does not produce abundant yields as much as other continents.

African soil is terrible for agriculture compared to other continents.

It’s the reason we’ve had problems feeding, especially as the African population has risen to 1.3 billion, up from merely 100 million in 1905.

According to wiki,

“ Red soils are typically difficult for crop cultivation because high leaching leads to low water holding capacity, low nutrients, low organic matter (humus), and acidification. Fluctuations in the concentration of iron within red soil are found to have significant implications on its fertility and growth properties.”

One more thing: the real reason mechanised farming rarely works here is that the limited fertility of the soil makes the use of expensive equipment uneconomical.

This is the weirdest crap I've ever heard
How much of mechanised farming do we have here
Most of our agric extension, agric and biology graduates work in banks!!
You're totally off point

mrvitalis:

Why do you think indomie, Honeywell, dongote import wheat if they can produce it locally cheaper

Actually, wheat can grow well in Nigeria. The funny thing is Jonathan govt instituted a wheat fund in 2013 to expand wheat farming and production. Nothing was heard of it again after Buhari took office.
The next time I heard about it was when it was used to fund Tinubu's trip to UNGA
Can you imagine??

mrvitalis:

Lol your cost of crude oil production is among the highest in the world.. That's alone is at disadvantaged

There are already established players who have better advantage than you, have bigger capital you can't compete

Focus on something u can compete

Read theory of comparative advantage

I don't agree. Nigeria has comparative advantage in oil and gas and most certainly refining?
Refining for 200m people for various needs can't be called low demand

Kukutenla:

Actually, wheat can grow well in Nigeria. The funny thing is Jonathan govt instituted a wheat fund in 2013 to expand wheat farming and production. Nothing was heard of it again after Buhari took office.
The next time I heard about it was when it was used to fund Tinubu's trip to UNGA
Can you imagine??

Nigeria never grew rice and cassava well na wheat

Yes wheat can grow in Nigeria but with a very very poor yeild

Kukutenla:

I don't agree. Nigeria has comparative advantage in oil and gas and most certainly refining?
Refining for 200m people for various needs can't be called low demand

Which 200m ? Lol Nigeria has less than 5 million people that spend $10 per day

For most businesses Nigeria population is less than 2 million

mrvitalis:

Nigeria never grew rice and cassava well na wheat

Yes wheat can grow in Nigeria but with a very very poor yeild

No.
Wheat can grow with high yield. We just need the right variety and conditioning
Nigeria grows cassava, sorghum and rice well. Why not wheat?

nairalanda1:


Yes I know, Agboriotejoye. I know, and you shall remain confused....like all your alternates

Good luck. I don't have your time, cornfused member, calling a supporter of free markets an APC supporter shows how cornfused you really are.

Have fun anyway, and enjoy your corn.

Subsidy must go.

Apologies
You sound angry
Free markets have nothing to do with APC
It's about the excuses you make of keep making 🌽

mrvitalis:

Which 200m ? Lol Nigeria has less than 5 million people that spend $10 per day

For most businesses Nigeria population is less than 2 million

Oga almost everyone in Nigeria use petrol for one reason or the other.
It seems you just want to argue.
How do you get light when you don't have nepa?
How do you get to the next street? Okada is more than cars in Nigeria by a factor of five at least

Kukutenla:

Apologies
You sound angry
Free markets have nothing to do with APC
It's about the excuses you make of keep making 🌽

Well, enjoy your corn

(FIN)

mrvitalis:

So and you think the way not to be a net food importer is to reduce import of food?.

What about increasing export of food?

We should be doing both.

As a member of international trade organisations like the WTO, the government can't even ban most goods without facing punitive measures.

Nonetheless I am fully in support of government raising import duties to the highest levels permitted under international trade treaties for non essential food imports like wines and other drinks, olive oil, soya and other vegetables oils etc

The average Supermarket has several varieties of imported breakfast cereals. You want to eat cereals, no problem. Government should impose the highest import duty legally possible on things like that.

A commenter above even said that we can't grow oaths locally. So we didn't survive when we didn't eat oats? Oats was not even widely available in Nigeria until about 10 years ago.

Didn't we use to have yam and egg, beans etc for breakfast as kids in those days.

Like I said, you want non essential imported foods, no problem, just be prepared to pay eye watering price for them.

This is the approach the government should take to reduce imports.

Kukutenla:

Oga almost everyone in Nigeria use petrol for one reason or the other.
It seems you just want to argue.
How do you get light when you don't have nepa?
How do you get to the next street? Okada is more than cars in Nigeria by a factor of five at least

That's a big lie

Most people use kero and diesel

Only car owners and generator owners use petrol

mrvitalis:

That's a big lie

Most people use kero and diesel

Only car owners and generator owners use petrol

What kind of thing is this
Are you playing or serious that more diesel and kerosene is in use in Nigeria than petrol?

Kukutenla:

What kind of thing is this
Are you playing or serious that more diesel and kerosene is in use in Nigeria than petrol?

Yes sir

Most goods, farm equipment, production is done with diesel

mrvitalis:

Yes sir

Most goods, farm equipment, production is done with diesel

Well, that's a lie. Petrol is the most used fuel in Nigeria

Kukutenla:

Well, that's a lie. Petrol is the most used fuel in Nigeria

Yes but benefits less people than diesel and kerosene

Poor people use kerosene as primary energy source, industry use diesel, trucks use diesel

Petrol is used primarily by middle class

A poor man has no business with petrol

aribisala0:

People like you amuse me a lot.
You do not approach any issue with the intention of having a conversation and hopefully learn something new
Rather your intent is to assert and pronounce arrogantly exultant but oblivious of your comprehensive ignorance

Nigeria has 34 millions hectares of Arable land . That is MORE THAN Ukraine

That is NUMBER SEVEN in the world.
So from.That perspective we should be a leading producer of food

There is nothing wrong in importing. This is not an ideological issue

The issue on ground is simple in 2019 we had a $16 billion Bill for food
The question is HOW DO WE PAY FOR THAT?

WHAT DO WE EXCHANGE FOR THAT
Not engaging in food production at scale is a luxury for countries that produce IPhones trains automobiles etc

What DO WE PRODUCE.??
Rather than ranting foolishly
Name one thing we should focus on if not food

Just one thing please

Like I said we are number 7 in the world in terms of Arable land 34 million hectares
We should compare ourselves with the Netherlands 1 million hectares

The Netherlands s is the Fourth largest food exporting country

Deep insights.
But the insecurity from rogue Fulah bandits on some of the Nigerian arable lands has to be death with at Federal, state, and LGA levels.

There are hundreds of commercial farmers and workers who were kidnapped and had to pay huge ransoms or they were brutally killed in the key Northern states with arable lands.

Second, more lands have to be cleared in the South at a higher cost. These have to be done to increase food output in the Southern states.

Third, there's a huge irrigation and hydroelectric dam that has been under construction since 1983 by the Federal Government! This has been abandoned and has to be completed ASAP to boost agric output during the dry seasons.

Fourth, create dairy farms for the Fulahs and others so as generate more income from milk sales to milk companies and reduce Fulani banditry.

DeLaRue:


We should be doing both.

As a member of international trade organisations like the WTO, the government can't even ban most goods without facing punitive measures.

Nonetheless I am fully in support of government raising import duties to the highest levels permitted under international trade treaties for non essential food imports like wines and other drinks, olive oil, soya and other vegetables oils etc

The average Supermarket has several varieties of imported breakfast cereals. You want to eat cereals, no problem. Government should impose the highest import duty legally possible on things like that.

A commenter above even said that we can't grow oaths locally. So we didn't survive when we didn't eat oats? Oats was not even widely available in Nigeria until about 10 years ago.

Didn't we use to have yam and egg, beans etc for breakfast as kids in those days.

Like I said, you want non essential imported foods, no problem, just be prepared to pay eye watering price for them.

This is the approach the government should take to reduce imports.

You made several valid points here... Especially the bolded.

However, oats have been widespread since the 1970s oil boom era in Nigeria. Back in those days in the 1970s, the department stores in Lagos and other states such as Kingsway and Leventis used to be a favorite of my folks and I and imported brands of oats such as Quaker Oats (and even custards and corn flakes) were widely available as breakfast cereals.

The Kellogg's factory in Lagos and the NASCO Corn flakes factory in Jos are a testament to how these cereals and other food items can be processed through value addition within Nigeria instead of importing things that can be made in Nigeria when the will is there.

Kukutenla:

What kind of thing is this
Are you playing or serious that more diesel and kerosene is in use in Nigeria than petrol?

mrvitalis:

Yes sir

Most goods, farm equipment, production is done with diesel

Kukutenla:

Well, that's a lie. Petrol is the most used fuel in Nigeria

mrvitalis:

Yes but benefits less people than diesel and kerosene

Poor people use kerosene as primary energy source, industry use diesel, trucks use diesel

Petrol is used primarily by middle class

A poor man has no business with petrol

You just go around anywhere and everywhere talking rubbish all day long
You tell lies with no shame or just make up spurious and stupid assertions
When you are called out You are totally remorseless and unabashed.
You show no cognitive dissonance whatever but just move on glibly spouting even more bullshit.
Petrol benefits everyone and that is why the subsidy removal has been so impactful. Okada riders across the country,barbers hair dressers and countless small.businesses and taxi drivers across the country benefit from petrol
Poor men do not buy asphalt but they ride asphalt roads

My simple advice to you
You are not an intellectual. You are a blockhead and nearly or borderline stupid.
Stop talking . Be silent you almost never have anything sensible to say not even by mistake. To make matters worse you are very dishonest

mrvitalis:

Yes but benefits less people than diesel and kerosene

Poor people use kerosene as primary energy source, industry use diesel, trucks use diesel

Petrol is used primarily by middle class

A poor man has no business with petrol

Poor people use kerosene? Lol
You're just mouthing your alternate reality
Are you aware kerosene is more expensive than petrol?
So all the okada men that make a living off two litres of petrol are middle class abi
And all those farmers that use okada to carry goats and cows from one place to another are middle class
What about dry season farming were irrigation pumps are used?
Oga you're totally clueless about what you're saying

Kukutenla:

Poor people use kerosene? Lol
You're just mouthing your alternate reality
Are you aware kerosene is more expensive than petrol?
So all the okada men that make a living off two litres of petrol are middle class abi
And all those farmers that use okada to carry goats and cows from one place to another are middle class
What about dry season farming were irrigation pumps are used?
Oga you're totally clueless about what you're saying

A poor man can't buy okada sir

aribisala0:







You just go around anywhere and everywhere talking rubbish all day long
You tell lies with no shame or just make up spurious and stupid assertions
When you are called out You are totally remorseless and unabashed.
You show no cognitive dissonance whatever but just move on glibly spouting even more bullshit.
Petrol benefits everyone and that is why the subsidy removal has been so impactful. Okada riders across the country,barbers hair dressers and countless small.businesses and taxi drivers across the country benefit from petrol
Poor men do not buy asphalt but they ride asphalt roads

My simple advice to you
You are not an intellectual. You are a blockhead and nearly or borderline stupid.
Stop talking . Be silent you almost never have anything sensible to say not even by mistake. To make matters worse you are very dishonest

Do you even know the definition of poor people according to world Bank?

mrvitalis:

A poor man can't buy okada sir

Are you serious?
How do you classify okada riders
Middle class?

Kukutenla:

Are you serious?
How do you classify okada riders
Middle class?

By Nigerian standard lower middle class that's how bad Nigerians are

If Okada riders are poor then 90% or civil servants are poor too

Poverty is defined by spending less than 2400 per day ( housing, food, transportation, clothing everything) Okada riders are past that way higher