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Food production policies in Nigeria
Food production in Nigeria
policies
Segun Famoriyo
This
review
of
production economic problems
and food
and
approach.
to the He
problems
the plans,
which
The
attempts
supply
the
implementing amongst
to and the production,
the
government’s discusses
the
marketing.
examines
improve
food
with
background in food
processing author
Nigerian
deals
is the
of
prominent land
tenure
system. Dr
is
Famoriyo
Institute
of
Research, Ibadan,
at
Social University
the and
Nigerian Economic
of
Ibadan,
Nigeria
Nigeria lies completely within the tropics, between latitudes 2”N-1 YN, with the Atlantic ocean forming her southern boundaries. The country covers an area of about 941 849 sq km and measures 1127 km in its longest east-west direction. The tropical climate varies from humid and hot conditions on the coast to hot dry conditions in the north. The southern-most parts of the country experience a higher rainfall over a more prolonged season than the northern parts. For instance, the rainy season could be as short as 3 months in the north with no more than 50 cm of rain. In the south, however, the rainy season can stretch to 11 months with over 400 cm of rain. Temperatures and humidity are high in the south with small variations but temperatures increase gradually towards the north, the far north being the hottest and dryest part of the country.’ There are four broad vegetation zones. First, there is the low-lying mangrove forest on the coastline of the south. In this zone, there is marked specialization in production of fruits, vegetables, swamp rice and maize, fishery and poultry. Next comes the tropical rain forest characterized by high levels of rainfall and dense forests. Dominant crops here include tree and root crops as well as cereals, vegetables, seeds and nuts. Thirdly, there is the Guinea Savanna of the middle belt. This zone, which also takes up much of the rain forest zone is characterized by both traditional and modern agricultural activities and lends itself to the cultivation of a variety of crops. Fourthly, there is the Sudan Savanna zone of the northern parts of the country. This is characterized by the growth of short, hardy grass and scattered shrubs well suited to dry conditions.
Economic
’ This condition is intensified by the dry north easterly winds from the Sahara called ‘the harmattan’.
50
background
to food production
In pre-colonial Nigeria, the economy was dominated by pure subsistence production. It was also a period of relative economic stagnation. Colonial control brought about some monetization of the economy ostensibly to the benefit of the ruler and the ruled. The ensuing economic expansion was interrupted by world economic depression during the 1930s. From 19 19- 1945 there was economic stagnation which was followed by resumed economic expansion for the next two decades. This expansion was again halted by the disruption of the 1967-1970 civil war.
FOOD
POLICY
February
1978
Food production policies in Nigeria
Table 1. Gross
’ A.W. Lewis, Reflections on Nigeria’s Economic Growth, OECD. Paris, 25 January 1970. ’ J.K. Olayemi. ‘Food marketing and distribution in Nigeria: problems and prospects’, Nigerian Institute of Social and Economic Research, 1974. 4 Central Bank of Nigeria Monthly report, Lagos, April 1976.
FOOD
POLICY
February
1978
Domestic
Product
at constant
1974-75
prices h#million)
Sector
197G71
1971-72
1972-73
1973-74
19765
Agriculture
36.0
32.0
27.9
24.7 (44.2)
23.4
Mining and quarrying
33.1
39.3
43.4
45.5
and crafts
5.0
4.1
4.8
Electricity and water Building and Construction Distribution Transport and communication General government Education Health Other services
0.3 3.5 9.1
0.3 4.1 8.1
0.4 4.7 7.4
45.1 (13.4) 4.8 (12.4) 0.4 5.4 6.9
1.8 6.3 2.7 0.8 1.4
1.9 5.5 2.6 0.6 1.4
2.1 4.6 2.5 0.8 1.4
2.1 5.8 2.3 0.8 1.5
Manufacturing
a Figures in parenthesis indicate projected percent value of GDP. Each column adds up to 100% of GDP. Source: Third National Development Plan, 1975-80.
Nigerian
4.7 0.4 5.7 6.7 2.3 6.3 2.6 0.9 1.5
The driving force behind the Nigerian economy for decades has been the primary sector - agriculture, livestock, fishery and forestry. The strength of the economy has depended upon revenue obtained from export crops - cocoa, rubber, palm products, groundnuts and cotton - particularly up to 1967. Petroleum production has more recently emerged as a major earner of foreign exchange (see Table 1). These, coupled with the modern manufacturing industry have constituted the ‘prime movers’ of Nigeria’s economic growth.* Earnings from export crops enabled the country to pay for industrial inputs for which there had been a rapid increase in demand since the 1940s. They also appeared to increase the incomes of a relatively large number of small farmers. This, in turn, led to greater demand for home produced goods and services. After the civil war, however, the role of the agricultural sector’s export earnings declined compared with that of both the petroleum and manufacturing sectors. Currently, petroleum constitutes 90% of the value of total exports and dominates the export trade and foreign exchange sector of the economy. Apart from the impact of petroleum on the Nigerian economy, there has also been a dramatic change in food supply in the country particularly since the civil war. Prior to this, there was a tacit assumption that food supply would adjust itself to any change brought about by, for example, increasing growth and diversification of the economy and rapid growth of population. This assumption of a self-adjusting mechanism in the food supply situation was seen in the relatively low food prices of the early 1960s. However, from the late 1960s to the early 1970s retail food prices have risen by between 85125% in many Nigerian cities.3 The consumer price index for food has risen above that for the cost of living in general and by January 1976 the CP 1 food was 449.1 and for all items 339-O based on a base of 1960= 1O0.4
Nature of Nigerian food problems Food production in Nigeria is only a sub-sector of the agricultural sector of the economy and problems arise in production, processing and marketing.
51
Food production
policies
in Nigeria
Production
Several factors contribute 0
0 0
0
0
0
0
to the adverse food situation.
The change or shift in the pattern of demand for food. This shift results from the emergence of large scale contract purchases of food for public institutions such as the Nigerian armed forces, the hospitals, universities, colleges and polytechnics. The extensive disruption in the sources of food supply in some food producting areas in southern Nigeria during the civil war. The alarming rate at which able bodied youth have been leaving the rural for urban areas. This has meant that older, less active people are left to carry out the onerous tasks on the farms. The planning of agricultural development programmes seems to have been bedevilled by lack of coordination, which has reduced their effectiveness in increasing food production. In common with other aspects of the national plan, agricultural programmes have suffered from a dearth of adequately skilled manpower. Food production has been hampered by climatic fluctuations. Of particular importance is lack of moisture at critical periods of crop emergence and development. The low technology of traditional agriculture weighs against it in its attempt to increase food production through fishery production and animal husbandry.5
Food processing
Agro-industrial activity has recently been increasing in Nigeria mainly in the processing of food and agricultural raw materials. But enterprises in this important sub-sector have been confined to nonstaple food commodities such as sugar, wheat, meat, beverages, fruits and vegetables. In the few instances where staple food processing takes place only inefficient traditional techniques are used. These techniques entail considerable losses. There is a specific problem of poor quality and inadequate quantity of raw materia!s available to the processing industry. This results in excess capacity within the industry as well as high costs coupled with low quality products. This situation is exacerbated by the absence of bulk storage and marketing facilities for the raw materials; by the lack of integration and coordination in the planning and execution of agro-based industries; and by the low capitalization levels of some of the industries. Food marketing
5 Central Planning Office, Federal Ministry of Economic Development, Third National Development Plan 1975-80, Lagos, Niqeria: and Q.B.O. Anthonio & D.E. Osifo. ‘Nigerian food problems in the seventies: food processing & marketing’, Proceedings of the Agricultural Society of Nigeria, Vol 9. July 1972.
52
Food marketing has long been one of the most important features of agricultural development in Nigeria. It is difficult to overstress the importance of food marketing in such a vast country as Nigeria with its little-developed system of interconnected road links in the rural sector. Yet it is only recently that various State Governments have embarked upon relatively massive programmes of road development in the rural areas. Traditionally, farmers in the rural areas of Nigeria have practised a system of marketing based upon carrying products, often through head porterage by women, from the source of production to nearby markets which meet periodically. There is, of course, a limit to the effectiveness of head porterage to
FOOD
POLICY
February
1978
markets especially where long distances have to be travelled. Consequently, an improvement in the efficiency of present marketing procedures for food crops is crucial to relieving pressure on food supply in the country. An improved marketing system would avoid the wastage which is due to spoilage of food awaiting transport in an agricultural environment that lacks effective storage systems. One writer has asserted that while marketing problems are legion in Nigeria, the crucial deficiencies in the food sub-sector are in inadequate physical facilities and defective market illformation systems6 A number of interrelated problems arise which contribute to and include: 0
0 0 0 @
0
High food losses of 20-50% and wastage during the marketing process due to inadequate and inefficient transportation as well as poor processing and storage systems as stated above. Constant seasonal price fluctuations associated with or caused by difficulties in storage and processing. High price differentials caused by an inadequate system of market information, The unsatisfactory performance of local processing techniques contributes to the perishability of many staple products. Areas of isolated ‘food surplus economies’ abound all over the country. The relative inaccessibility of these areas makes marketing difficult. Whatever is produced is consumed and there is a disincentive to further (increased) production. The lack of an efficient transport network hinders the intra-rural and inter-state movement of foodstuffs.
This combination of production, processing and marketing problems has placed severe constraints on the food subsector of the Nigerian economy particularly within the last decade. Concerted attempts to tackle these problems are likely to have a salutary effect on the economy in general. A more efficient system of food distribution could improve supply so that food becomes available at competitive prices. This may, in turn, reduce the rate of in~ation in the economy.
Improving the food supply
’
Olayemi, 0,~ tit, Ref 3, Chapter 4. 7 S.O. Olayide, et al, A Quantitative Analysis of Food Requirements: Supplies and Demands in Nigeria, 1968-1985. Federal Dept of Agriculture. Lagos, 1972, p 19.
FOOD
POLICY
February
1978
Only in recent years have Federal and State Governments in Nigeria shown a growing concern about the need to increase food supply. In trying to establish a framework for a Government policy programme, a study of the food balance sheet for Nigeria showed that in 1968 the food supply expressed on a per capita basis corresponded to an intake of approximately 2200 kca_ls and 60 gm protein, without making any allowances for distribution. These figures are lower than the FAO estimates of daily requirements.’ But even so, Nigeria is still a relatively poor country and it is most probable that a large proportion of the population takes lesser amounts of protein and carbohydrates than is desirable. The thrust of government actions, then, is to enable a larger proportion of the population to take increasing quantities of carbohydrates and proteins in their daily diets. This suggests that the pattern of consumer demand for food is not static. Estimates of the future demand and supply of food in Nigeria become important not only in the light of low per capita intakes of
53
Food production policies in Nigeria
BThe methodology forecasting is based i/bid. p 64)
adopted on the
in this equation:
Qp’Qo +E./=Qo Where 0, = projected quantity, Qo = quantity available in base year 1968-69 Q., = income elasticity of demand for food P = percentage change in the index of GNP at market prices. See S.A. Oni. ‘The demand for Nigerian cocoa; a statistical analysis of regional markets and projections’, Nigerian Journal of Economic andSocialStudies. Vol 12 No 7,March 197O,pp61-72. 9 S.O. Olayide. op cit. Ref 7. p 63.
proteins and carbohydrates, but also in future attempts to raise agriculture from its present depressed state. Demand projections, using income elasticities of demand for food, have been made to indicate the probable magnitudes of future demand for Nigerian foods and as an aid to planning and implementing policies.8 Results based on 1968-69 showed projected protein levels per capita per day for 1980 and 1985 as 65.87 and 68.08 gm and those for projected calories as 2278 and 2297 kcal respectively. These give protein-calorie ratios and levels of food demand for 1980 and 1985 as 11.6% and 11.9% respectively. These figures indicate that improvements in the quantity of foods consumed are likely to follow increases in the purchasing power of Nigerian consumers, unless such increases in purchasing power are nullified by inflation. If so, then the projected qualitative improvements might also not take place. The results also projected a considerable increase in the demand for animal products particularly for beef, cattle, goats and sheep. Table 2 summarizes the projected increase in supply for livestock products in 1980 and 1985, and also shows supply increases for fish, eggs, milk and cheese. It must be stressed that these projections or predictions are usually made under certain assumptions such as population changes, constant prices, changes in age structure and income distribution of the population, changes in tastes and individual preferences. These are factors important in making demand projections. On the other hand, supply projections are made under assumptions about such things as technological changes, organization and structure of production, climatic and edaphic factors, economic as well as non-economic factors. Since these factors are assumed to be given, the projections or predictions summarised in Table 2 must be considered as ‘conditional point predictions’.’ The Federal Government’s basic policy is to ensure an adequate quantitative as well as qualitative supply of food which keeps pace with population and urbanization in Nigeria. It wishes to increase the per capita calorie intake per day to more than 2200 kcal and crude
Table
2. Projected
Livestock product Beef Goat meat Mutton and lamb Poultry Pork Offals Bush meat Fish Eggs Milk Cheese Animal protein. daily per capita Total orotein daily her capita Source;
54
SO.
Olayide,
et al.
increased
demand
in livestock
products
in 1980
and 1985
Quantity available in 1968169 (metric tons)
1980
increase 1985
210253 115876 26 596 52 846 30 369 406 48 1 223 307 842 638 52 842 173 975 1 634
99.6 99.6 99.6 132.8 66.4 66.4 88.5 110.6 110.6 110.6 1 IO.6
160.0 160.0 160.0 213.3 106.6 106.6 142.2 181.7 181.7 181.7 181.7
%
15.11
g
41 .6
57.2
59.90
g
10.0
13.7
Ref 6. p 68.
FOOD
POLICY
February
1978
F~od~rod~~t~o~ policies in Nigeria
protein intake to 60-65 gm which should include an adequate amount of animal protein, by 1979-80. Government approach The policy measures aimed at fulfilling the Government’s objectives in food production are given in the Third National Development Plan. Briefly, these include: @
to For example, see the Nigerian National Supply Company. Part of the reason for its formation was to tackle the problem of inflation from the supply side, but much criticism has been levelled against its management for not ensuring that essential items are supplied adequately. Furthermore, its apparent centralized control has made it difficult for the company to concentrate on goods that are in short supply and to distribute these to all parts of the country. Therefore, abolition, or reorganisation have been called for. ” For instance in pre-British India, the and organisation village structure constituted a primary source of avenue for development launching agricultural programmes. Even with the land reform brought about by state intervention, its implementation was not dictated by the state. Rather. the village councils were instrumental in making the programme work. Furthermore, one of the assumptions of protagonists of large commercial farms is the question of efficiency in large-scale operations: that there is a highly positive relationship between size of farm operations and farm productivity. While this may be so in the technically advanced countries of the world, Long (Erver J. Long, ‘The Economic Basis of Land Reform in Underdeveloped Economies’, Land Economjes, Vol 37, 1961, pp 1 13-1231 hasclearly shown that much empirical evidence is required in the poorer countries of the world before reaching any unambiguous conclusion. The point being made here is that overdependence upon the state to organse farms and farmers, to consolidate farm operations or aggregate farm holdings should be cautiously approached in developing countries.
FOOD
POLICY
February
1978
Indirect participation of government in food production and marketing. This will happen through the setting up of two food production and marketing companies. The first - the National Grain Production Company - deals with grains such as rice, maize, wheat and millet while the second - the National Root Crop Production Company - deals with root crops like yam and cassava. The two companies will provide storage facilities in strategic parts of the country for the grains and root crops. The stocks would be used to meet any short falls in supply and also to stabilize the price of these crops throughout the country.
At best, indirect participation of government in food production could have a favourable effect on increasing output provided that there are no cumbersome formalities attached to the operations and that there are effective and continuous links with farmers. On the other hand indirect p~ticipation of gover~ent in marketing does have its drawbacks. While it is crucial for export crops, when it comes to importing foodstuffs, or establishing markets for domestic food crops, such a body often becomes riddled with marked inefficiency and wastefulness.‘* 0
Direct participation by government in the production and marketing of food, live-stock and fishery products through the relevant ministries.
This policy seems to have emanated from the belief, held implicitly or explicitly, that the average Nigerian farmer represents a ‘typology’ of the average farmer in an underdeveloped economy. In this typoiogy, generalized into an amorphous mass, these farmers are supposed to be so poor that they hardly are able to save and invest. When they do, the investments are small, usually in the forms of improved seeds and yield increasing inputs. The farmers are also alleged to be ‘tradition-bound’ and, therefore, ‘unprogressive’ and to be unable to or incapable of utilizing new investment opportunities which would increase their output and ensure that they enjoy higher levels of income. Finally, the farmer is believed to place all reliance on government efforts for sustaining ongoing investments in agriculture. Therefore, the government should, following this school of thought, establish large commercial farms that are heavily-capitalized. Empirical evidence from studies of small farmers in many parts of the developing world, particularly India, refutes the alleged surrender of farmers to state paternalism. i1 In Nigeria, where the economy has been sustained over the years by myriads of small scale farmers under the ‘matchet and hoe’ culture, and where many state-managed huge agricultural commercial farms have been stifled by bureaucratic and time consuming procedures, overdependence on the state may presently be considered a shibboleth. It is therefore arguable, in the support of smallholders, that efforts
55
Food production policies in Nigeria
made to transform their mini-economies into viable enterprises under the farmer’s control, with state functionaries serving as helpful agents of change, at present constitute the most effective means of accelerating food production in Nigeria. 0 0 0
Creation of new infrastructures and improvement of existing ones. Improvements in the expansion of research, extension, education and manpower training facilities in the agricultural sector. Improvements in institutional arrangements such as land tenure, credit, input delivery systems and the cooperatives.
In addition to the measures stipulated above, Nigeria is now in the second year of the Operation Feed the Nation (OFN) programme as well as being deeply involved in the National Accelerated Food Production Programme (NAFPP). These programmes, considered as ‘a pre-requisite for the Green Revolution’, are designed to introduce the benefits of improved cultural practices to farmers. The emphasis of the programmes is on the use of high-yielding varieties of seeds, fertilizers and pesticides to be coordinated by effective management. In order to avert a food crisis in the near future, however, there is a continued need to support the farmers with subsidized equipment and other production inputs. The current programmes to accelerate food production should include considerably more farmers than at present. The aim should be not to establish a new breed of ‘absentee’ or ‘emergency’ farmers but to strengthen existing ones. A sum total of over W637 M was allocated to food crops, livestock and fishery in the 197540 Development Plan. Apart from Federal expenditure, however, many states too have planned to spend considerable sums on increasing food production. Table 3 shows the revised total amounts allocated to each state vis-8-v& allocations to the agricultural sector (ie, food, livestock, irrigation and fishery). The Table 3. Allocation plan 197-O
State
Anambra 6 auchi 0 endel Benue Born0 Cross River Gongola Imo Kaduna Kano Kwara Lagos Niger Ogun Ondo Ova Plateau Rivers -I-
Source: Third National Development Plan 1975-80, Revised Volume II, Central Federal Ministry of Planning Office, Economic Development, Lagos.
Sokoto Federal
of funds to agriculture
Total allocation
536.940 334.184 806.024 397.764 309.239 663.383 346.985 567.037 572.638 689.719 519.233 578.307 334.575 345.738 470.099 558.639 367.647 49 1.038 502.571 33 921.097
in the third national
Amounts allocated to the agricultural sector (0 million) 23.790 46.522 84.548 65.964 34.848 108.269 59.785 7 1.824 103.003 156.932 75.973 50.402 46.973 57.132 85.181 97.013 47.637 66.888 85.223 1 674.822
FOOD
development
Amounts allocated to the agricultural sector as % of the total allocation
4.43 13.92 10.48 16.58 11.26 16.32 17.22 12.66 17.98 22.75 14.63 8.71 14.03 16.52 18.1 1 17.36 12.95 13.62 16.95 4.93
POLICY
February
1978
Food prodi~ct~ot~poficies itz Nigeria
table indicates that for the Plan Government intends to devote less agriculture. Almost all the states plan their budgets on agriculture than Kano State allocating almost 23% agriculture during the Plan period.
period 197580, the Federal than 5% of its expenditure to to spend a greater proportion of the Federal Government, with of its planned expenditure to
From plans to implementation What has been discussed so far are government piam ard intent&m, and it is generally acknowledged that there is usually a gap between the declaration of intention and actual achievement of a policy. This gap, which is not a problem particular to any given country, was most evident in Nigeria’s Second Development Plan 1970-74. In that period, the highest degree of achievement by any state was no higher than 50%. The adoption of the current plan has many implications which should be noted. First, the successful execution of these schemes depends. irlter alia, upon the adequacy of executive capacity which is currently overstretched in Nigeria considering the new administrative structures being implemented in each of the 19 states. Therefore, recruitment of manpower into the various divisions of the agricultural sector would seem a very logical and necessary exercise. Secondly, the planned expansion can be accelerated if institutions servicing the agricuItur~ sector remain positively disposed to achieving the goals of development. One of the most important of these institutions is the land tenure system which determines the terms and conditions under which use-rights are exercised in land. If the land tenure system is inflexible then it becomes difficult for individuals to use the land to feed themselves and the nation. For instance, the basis of landownership in Nigeria is the family, and all lands in Nigeria can be traced to numerous families. Individual members of families acquire rights to land by virtue of this family membership. But there are numerous people who have either lost their rights in land through abandonment or whose family lands have shrunk as a result of population growth or conquest. Under the customary land tenure systems in Nigeria, such individuals often find it difficult to acquire permanent use-rights in land. This is one glaring problem still to be resolved. Since land tenure systems differ from one state to another, and from one locality to another within a state, however, the problems also differ at least in magnitude. Appropriate solutions are therefore likely to differ. It does not follow, however, that the land tenure system inhibits all aspects of agricultural development in Nigeria. For instance, under the customary tenure arrangements, every member of the lando\vning family has a stake in the family land. This entitles him to the use of a portion of family land to produce food for himself and his family. The individual food producer is also entitled to an increasing share of family land during periodic allocations if his family increases in number. This is only obtained, however, provided there is adequate land left after all who are similarly entitled have got their own portions. The customary tenure arrangements, then, provided means of sustenance and subsistence for all individual members of landowning families. Defects and inconsistencies arise within the land tenure
FOOD
POLICY
February
1978
57
Food production policies in Nigeria
arrangements when efforts are being made to raise the rate of growth of the agriculture sector so as to keep pace with the rate of growth in the other sectors of the Nigerian economy. Such defects and inconsistencies include:‘* * 0
0
*
a * *
The idea of community exclusiveness. Unwritten rules of tenure resulting in tenuous rights and interests held in land. Problems emanating from succession to rights in land either in the form of absentee ownership, excessive subdivision or fragmentation of land. An inarticulate tenancy policy thus creating uncertainty over duration, security of tenure, compensation and alienation. The lack of a defined policy to facilitate mobility and resettlement of farmers who may wish to voluntarily move from land-scarce areas to land-surplus areas. The need for a feasible credit-tenure framework to facilitate the use of legally-defensible titles in land as suitable collateral for capital loans for development. The reform of land laws to streamline the conditions for land acquisition in many states in Nigeria.
Conclusion
” Segun Farnoriyo, ‘Land tenure and food production in Nigeria’, Land Tenure Newsletter. No 41, Centre June-September
58
1973,
p 12.
The quest for more food as well as qualitative improvements in the diet has attracted the attention of poIicymakers in Nigeria particularly in recent times. Reliance on food imports by a predominantly agricultural country like Nigeria must be viewed with considerable concern. Consequently, programmes such as Operation-Feed-the-Nation and the National Accelerated Food Production Programme constitute immediate measures to halt the worsening situation. But these programmes must be consciously manipulated so as to produce enduring long-term results. In the long-term, the food situation in Nigeria cannot be considered in isolation. Rather, it should be considered as one of the ingredients of agricultural development. Obviously, then, a number of factors must be considered and made to interact. These include modernization of the land tenure system, urbanization policies, adoption of improved appropriate technology, creation of adequate storage systems, expansion of a network of motorable roads in the rural areas and the strengthening of Nigeria’s marketing system to improve its efficiency. The interaction of these factors should be combined with extensive research in order to sustain the rate of food production at a level that keeps pace with or exceeds population growth.
FOOD
POLICY
February
1978
policies
Segun Famoriyo
This
review
of
production economic problems
and food
and
approach.
to the He
problems
the plans,
which
The
attempts
supply
the
implementing amongst
to and the production,
the
government’s discusses
the
marketing.
examines
improve
food
with
background in food
processing author
Nigerian
deals
is the
of
prominent land
tenure
system. Dr
is
Famoriyo
Institute
of
Research, Ibadan,
at
Social University
the and
Nigerian Economic
of
Ibadan,
Nigeria
Nigeria lies completely within the tropics, between latitudes 2”N-1 YN, with the Atlantic ocean forming her southern boundaries. The country covers an area of about 941 849 sq km and measures 1127 km in its longest east-west direction. The tropical climate varies from humid and hot conditions on the coast to hot dry conditions in the north. The southern-most parts of the country experience a higher rainfall over a more prolonged season than the northern parts. For instance, the rainy season could be as short as 3 months in the north with no more than 50 cm of rain. In the south, however, the rainy season can stretch to 11 months with over 400 cm of rain. Temperatures and humidity are high in the south with small variations but temperatures increase gradually towards the north, the far north being the hottest and dryest part of the country.’ There are four broad vegetation zones. First, there is the low-lying mangrove forest on the coastline of the south. In this zone, there is marked specialization in production of fruits, vegetables, swamp rice and maize, fishery and poultry. Next comes the tropical rain forest characterized by high levels of rainfall and dense forests. Dominant crops here include tree and root crops as well as cereals, vegetables, seeds and nuts. Thirdly, there is the Guinea Savanna of the middle belt. This zone, which also takes up much of the rain forest zone is characterized by both traditional and modern agricultural activities and lends itself to the cultivation of a variety of crops. Fourthly, there is the Sudan Savanna zone of the northern parts of the country. This is characterized by the growth of short, hardy grass and scattered shrubs well suited to dry conditions.
Economic
’ This condition is intensified by the dry north easterly winds from the Sahara called ‘the harmattan’.
50
background
to food production
In pre-colonial Nigeria, the economy was dominated by pure subsistence production. It was also a period of relative economic stagnation. Colonial control brought about some monetization of the economy ostensibly to the benefit of the ruler and the ruled. The ensuing economic expansion was interrupted by world economic depression during the 1930s. From 19 19- 1945 there was economic stagnation which was followed by resumed economic expansion for the next two decades. This expansion was again halted by the disruption of the 1967-1970 civil war.
FOOD
POLICY
February
1978
Food production policies in Nigeria
Table 1. Gross
’ A.W. Lewis, Reflections on Nigeria’s Economic Growth, OECD. Paris, 25 January 1970. ’ J.K. Olayemi. ‘Food marketing and distribution in Nigeria: problems and prospects’, Nigerian Institute of Social and Economic Research, 1974. 4 Central Bank of Nigeria Monthly report, Lagos, April 1976.
FOOD
POLICY
February
1978
Domestic
Product
at constant
1974-75
prices h#million)
Sector
197G71
1971-72
1972-73
1973-74
19765
Agriculture
36.0
32.0
27.9
24.7 (44.2)
23.4
Mining and quarrying
33.1
39.3
43.4
45.5
and crafts
5.0
4.1
4.8
Electricity and water Building and Construction Distribution Transport and communication General government Education Health Other services
0.3 3.5 9.1
0.3 4.1 8.1
0.4 4.7 7.4
45.1 (13.4) 4.8 (12.4) 0.4 5.4 6.9
1.8 6.3 2.7 0.8 1.4
1.9 5.5 2.6 0.6 1.4
2.1 4.6 2.5 0.8 1.4
2.1 5.8 2.3 0.8 1.5
Manufacturing
a Figures in parenthesis indicate projected percent value of GDP. Each column adds up to 100% of GDP. Source: Third National Development Plan, 1975-80.
Nigerian
4.7 0.4 5.7 6.7 2.3 6.3 2.6 0.9 1.5
The driving force behind the Nigerian economy for decades has been the primary sector - agriculture, livestock, fishery and forestry. The strength of the economy has depended upon revenue obtained from export crops - cocoa, rubber, palm products, groundnuts and cotton - particularly up to 1967. Petroleum production has more recently emerged as a major earner of foreign exchange (see Table 1). These, coupled with the modern manufacturing industry have constituted the ‘prime movers’ of Nigeria’s economic growth.* Earnings from export crops enabled the country to pay for industrial inputs for which there had been a rapid increase in demand since the 1940s. They also appeared to increase the incomes of a relatively large number of small farmers. This, in turn, led to greater demand for home produced goods and services. After the civil war, however, the role of the agricultural sector’s export earnings declined compared with that of both the petroleum and manufacturing sectors. Currently, petroleum constitutes 90% of the value of total exports and dominates the export trade and foreign exchange sector of the economy. Apart from the impact of petroleum on the Nigerian economy, there has also been a dramatic change in food supply in the country particularly since the civil war. Prior to this, there was a tacit assumption that food supply would adjust itself to any change brought about by, for example, increasing growth and diversification of the economy and rapid growth of population. This assumption of a self-adjusting mechanism in the food supply situation was seen in the relatively low food prices of the early 1960s. However, from the late 1960s to the early 1970s retail food prices have risen by between 85125% in many Nigerian cities.3 The consumer price index for food has risen above that for the cost of living in general and by January 1976 the CP 1 food was 449.1 and for all items 339-O based on a base of 1960= 1O0.4
Nature of Nigerian food problems Food production in Nigeria is only a sub-sector of the agricultural sector of the economy and problems arise in production, processing and marketing.
51
Food production
policies
in Nigeria
Production
Several factors contribute 0
0 0
0
0
0
0
to the adverse food situation.
The change or shift in the pattern of demand for food. This shift results from the emergence of large scale contract purchases of food for public institutions such as the Nigerian armed forces, the hospitals, universities, colleges and polytechnics. The extensive disruption in the sources of food supply in some food producting areas in southern Nigeria during the civil war. The alarming rate at which able bodied youth have been leaving the rural for urban areas. This has meant that older, less active people are left to carry out the onerous tasks on the farms. The planning of agricultural development programmes seems to have been bedevilled by lack of coordination, which has reduced their effectiveness in increasing food production. In common with other aspects of the national plan, agricultural programmes have suffered from a dearth of adequately skilled manpower. Food production has been hampered by climatic fluctuations. Of particular importance is lack of moisture at critical periods of crop emergence and development. The low technology of traditional agriculture weighs against it in its attempt to increase food production through fishery production and animal husbandry.5
Food processing
Agro-industrial activity has recently been increasing in Nigeria mainly in the processing of food and agricultural raw materials. But enterprises in this important sub-sector have been confined to nonstaple food commodities such as sugar, wheat, meat, beverages, fruits and vegetables. In the few instances where staple food processing takes place only inefficient traditional techniques are used. These techniques entail considerable losses. There is a specific problem of poor quality and inadequate quantity of raw materia!s available to the processing industry. This results in excess capacity within the industry as well as high costs coupled with low quality products. This situation is exacerbated by the absence of bulk storage and marketing facilities for the raw materials; by the lack of integration and coordination in the planning and execution of agro-based industries; and by the low capitalization levels of some of the industries. Food marketing
5 Central Planning Office, Federal Ministry of Economic Development, Third National Development Plan 1975-80, Lagos, Niqeria: and Q.B.O. Anthonio & D.E. Osifo. ‘Nigerian food problems in the seventies: food processing & marketing’, Proceedings of the Agricultural Society of Nigeria, Vol 9. July 1972.
52
Food marketing has long been one of the most important features of agricultural development in Nigeria. It is difficult to overstress the importance of food marketing in such a vast country as Nigeria with its little-developed system of interconnected road links in the rural sector. Yet it is only recently that various State Governments have embarked upon relatively massive programmes of road development in the rural areas. Traditionally, farmers in the rural areas of Nigeria have practised a system of marketing based upon carrying products, often through head porterage by women, from the source of production to nearby markets which meet periodically. There is, of course, a limit to the effectiveness of head porterage to
FOOD
POLICY
February
1978
markets especially where long distances have to be travelled. Consequently, an improvement in the efficiency of present marketing procedures for food crops is crucial to relieving pressure on food supply in the country. An improved marketing system would avoid the wastage which is due to spoilage of food awaiting transport in an agricultural environment that lacks effective storage systems. One writer has asserted that while marketing problems are legion in Nigeria, the crucial deficiencies in the food sub-sector are in inadequate physical facilities and defective market illformation systems6 A number of interrelated problems arise which contribute to and include: 0
0 0 0 @
0
High food losses of 20-50% and wastage during the marketing process due to inadequate and inefficient transportation as well as poor processing and storage systems as stated above. Constant seasonal price fluctuations associated with or caused by difficulties in storage and processing. High price differentials caused by an inadequate system of market information, The unsatisfactory performance of local processing techniques contributes to the perishability of many staple products. Areas of isolated ‘food surplus economies’ abound all over the country. The relative inaccessibility of these areas makes marketing difficult. Whatever is produced is consumed and there is a disincentive to further (increased) production. The lack of an efficient transport network hinders the intra-rural and inter-state movement of foodstuffs.
This combination of production, processing and marketing problems has placed severe constraints on the food subsector of the Nigerian economy particularly within the last decade. Concerted attempts to tackle these problems are likely to have a salutary effect on the economy in general. A more efficient system of food distribution could improve supply so that food becomes available at competitive prices. This may, in turn, reduce the rate of in~ation in the economy.
Improving the food supply
’
Olayemi, 0,~ tit, Ref 3, Chapter 4. 7 S.O. Olayide, et al, A Quantitative Analysis of Food Requirements: Supplies and Demands in Nigeria, 1968-1985. Federal Dept of Agriculture. Lagos, 1972, p 19.
FOOD
POLICY
February
1978
Only in recent years have Federal and State Governments in Nigeria shown a growing concern about the need to increase food supply. In trying to establish a framework for a Government policy programme, a study of the food balance sheet for Nigeria showed that in 1968 the food supply expressed on a per capita basis corresponded to an intake of approximately 2200 kca_ls and 60 gm protein, without making any allowances for distribution. These figures are lower than the FAO estimates of daily requirements.’ But even so, Nigeria is still a relatively poor country and it is most probable that a large proportion of the population takes lesser amounts of protein and carbohydrates than is desirable. The thrust of government actions, then, is to enable a larger proportion of the population to take increasing quantities of carbohydrates and proteins in their daily diets. This suggests that the pattern of consumer demand for food is not static. Estimates of the future demand and supply of food in Nigeria become important not only in the light of low per capita intakes of
53
Food production policies in Nigeria
BThe methodology forecasting is based i/bid. p 64)
adopted on the
in this equation:
Qp’Qo +E./=Qo Where 0, = projected quantity, Qo = quantity available in base year 1968-69 Q., = income elasticity of demand for food P = percentage change in the index of GNP at market prices. See S.A. Oni. ‘The demand for Nigerian cocoa; a statistical analysis of regional markets and projections’, Nigerian Journal of Economic andSocialStudies. Vol 12 No 7,March 197O,pp61-72. 9 S.O. Olayide. op cit. Ref 7. p 63.
proteins and carbohydrates, but also in future attempts to raise agriculture from its present depressed state. Demand projections, using income elasticities of demand for food, have been made to indicate the probable magnitudes of future demand for Nigerian foods and as an aid to planning and implementing policies.8 Results based on 1968-69 showed projected protein levels per capita per day for 1980 and 1985 as 65.87 and 68.08 gm and those for projected calories as 2278 and 2297 kcal respectively. These give protein-calorie ratios and levels of food demand for 1980 and 1985 as 11.6% and 11.9% respectively. These figures indicate that improvements in the quantity of foods consumed are likely to follow increases in the purchasing power of Nigerian consumers, unless such increases in purchasing power are nullified by inflation. If so, then the projected qualitative improvements might also not take place. The results also projected a considerable increase in the demand for animal products particularly for beef, cattle, goats and sheep. Table 2 summarizes the projected increase in supply for livestock products in 1980 and 1985, and also shows supply increases for fish, eggs, milk and cheese. It must be stressed that these projections or predictions are usually made under certain assumptions such as population changes, constant prices, changes in age structure and income distribution of the population, changes in tastes and individual preferences. These are factors important in making demand projections. On the other hand, supply projections are made under assumptions about such things as technological changes, organization and structure of production, climatic and edaphic factors, economic as well as non-economic factors. Since these factors are assumed to be given, the projections or predictions summarised in Table 2 must be considered as ‘conditional point predictions’.’ The Federal Government’s basic policy is to ensure an adequate quantitative as well as qualitative supply of food which keeps pace with population and urbanization in Nigeria. It wishes to increase the per capita calorie intake per day to more than 2200 kcal and crude
Table
2. Projected
Livestock product Beef Goat meat Mutton and lamb Poultry Pork Offals Bush meat Fish Eggs Milk Cheese Animal protein. daily per capita Total orotein daily her capita Source;
54
SO.
Olayide,
et al.
increased
demand
in livestock
products
in 1980
and 1985
Quantity available in 1968169 (metric tons)
1980
increase 1985
210253 115876 26 596 52 846 30 369 406 48 1 223 307 842 638 52 842 173 975 1 634
99.6 99.6 99.6 132.8 66.4 66.4 88.5 110.6 110.6 110.6 1 IO.6
160.0 160.0 160.0 213.3 106.6 106.6 142.2 181.7 181.7 181.7 181.7
%
15.11
g
41 .6
57.2
59.90
g
10.0
13.7
Ref 6. p 68.
FOOD
POLICY
February
1978
F~od~rod~~t~o~ policies in Nigeria
protein intake to 60-65 gm which should include an adequate amount of animal protein, by 1979-80. Government approach The policy measures aimed at fulfilling the Government’s objectives in food production are given in the Third National Development Plan. Briefly, these include: @
to For example, see the Nigerian National Supply Company. Part of the reason for its formation was to tackle the problem of inflation from the supply side, but much criticism has been levelled against its management for not ensuring that essential items are supplied adequately. Furthermore, its apparent centralized control has made it difficult for the company to concentrate on goods that are in short supply and to distribute these to all parts of the country. Therefore, abolition, or reorganisation have been called for. ” For instance in pre-British India, the and organisation village structure constituted a primary source of avenue for development launching agricultural programmes. Even with the land reform brought about by state intervention, its implementation was not dictated by the state. Rather. the village councils were instrumental in making the programme work. Furthermore, one of the assumptions of protagonists of large commercial farms is the question of efficiency in large-scale operations: that there is a highly positive relationship between size of farm operations and farm productivity. While this may be so in the technically advanced countries of the world, Long (Erver J. Long, ‘The Economic Basis of Land Reform in Underdeveloped Economies’, Land Economjes, Vol 37, 1961, pp 1 13-1231 hasclearly shown that much empirical evidence is required in the poorer countries of the world before reaching any unambiguous conclusion. The point being made here is that overdependence upon the state to organse farms and farmers, to consolidate farm operations or aggregate farm holdings should be cautiously approached in developing countries.
FOOD
POLICY
February
1978
Indirect participation of government in food production and marketing. This will happen through the setting up of two food production and marketing companies. The first - the National Grain Production Company - deals with grains such as rice, maize, wheat and millet while the second - the National Root Crop Production Company - deals with root crops like yam and cassava. The two companies will provide storage facilities in strategic parts of the country for the grains and root crops. The stocks would be used to meet any short falls in supply and also to stabilize the price of these crops throughout the country.
At best, indirect participation of government in food production could have a favourable effect on increasing output provided that there are no cumbersome formalities attached to the operations and that there are effective and continuous links with farmers. On the other hand indirect p~ticipation of gover~ent in marketing does have its drawbacks. While it is crucial for export crops, when it comes to importing foodstuffs, or establishing markets for domestic food crops, such a body often becomes riddled with marked inefficiency and wastefulness.‘* 0
Direct participation by government in the production and marketing of food, live-stock and fishery products through the relevant ministries.
This policy seems to have emanated from the belief, held implicitly or explicitly, that the average Nigerian farmer represents a ‘typology’ of the average farmer in an underdeveloped economy. In this typoiogy, generalized into an amorphous mass, these farmers are supposed to be so poor that they hardly are able to save and invest. When they do, the investments are small, usually in the forms of improved seeds and yield increasing inputs. The farmers are also alleged to be ‘tradition-bound’ and, therefore, ‘unprogressive’ and to be unable to or incapable of utilizing new investment opportunities which would increase their output and ensure that they enjoy higher levels of income. Finally, the farmer is believed to place all reliance on government efforts for sustaining ongoing investments in agriculture. Therefore, the government should, following this school of thought, establish large commercial farms that are heavily-capitalized. Empirical evidence from studies of small farmers in many parts of the developing world, particularly India, refutes the alleged surrender of farmers to state paternalism. i1 In Nigeria, where the economy has been sustained over the years by myriads of small scale farmers under the ‘matchet and hoe’ culture, and where many state-managed huge agricultural commercial farms have been stifled by bureaucratic and time consuming procedures, overdependence on the state may presently be considered a shibboleth. It is therefore arguable, in the support of smallholders, that efforts
55
Food production policies in Nigeria
made to transform their mini-economies into viable enterprises under the farmer’s control, with state functionaries serving as helpful agents of change, at present constitute the most effective means of accelerating food production in Nigeria. 0 0 0
Creation of new infrastructures and improvement of existing ones. Improvements in the expansion of research, extension, education and manpower training facilities in the agricultural sector. Improvements in institutional arrangements such as land tenure, credit, input delivery systems and the cooperatives.
In addition to the measures stipulated above, Nigeria is now in the second year of the Operation Feed the Nation (OFN) programme as well as being deeply involved in the National Accelerated Food Production Programme (NAFPP). These programmes, considered as ‘a pre-requisite for the Green Revolution’, are designed to introduce the benefits of improved cultural practices to farmers. The emphasis of the programmes is on the use of high-yielding varieties of seeds, fertilizers and pesticides to be coordinated by effective management. In order to avert a food crisis in the near future, however, there is a continued need to support the farmers with subsidized equipment and other production inputs. The current programmes to accelerate food production should include considerably more farmers than at present. The aim should be not to establish a new breed of ‘absentee’ or ‘emergency’ farmers but to strengthen existing ones. A sum total of over W637 M was allocated to food crops, livestock and fishery in the 197540 Development Plan. Apart from Federal expenditure, however, many states too have planned to spend considerable sums on increasing food production. Table 3 shows the revised total amounts allocated to each state vis-8-v& allocations to the agricultural sector (ie, food, livestock, irrigation and fishery). The Table 3. Allocation plan 197-O
State
Anambra 6 auchi 0 endel Benue Born0 Cross River Gongola Imo Kaduna Kano Kwara Lagos Niger Ogun Ondo Ova Plateau Rivers -I-
Source: Third National Development Plan 1975-80, Revised Volume II, Central Federal Ministry of Planning Office, Economic Development, Lagos.
Sokoto Federal
of funds to agriculture
Total allocation
536.940 334.184 806.024 397.764 309.239 663.383 346.985 567.037 572.638 689.719 519.233 578.307 334.575 345.738 470.099 558.639 367.647 49 1.038 502.571 33 921.097
in the third national
Amounts allocated to the agricultural sector (0 million) 23.790 46.522 84.548 65.964 34.848 108.269 59.785 7 1.824 103.003 156.932 75.973 50.402 46.973 57.132 85.181 97.013 47.637 66.888 85.223 1 674.822
FOOD
development
Amounts allocated to the agricultural sector as % of the total allocation
4.43 13.92 10.48 16.58 11.26 16.32 17.22 12.66 17.98 22.75 14.63 8.71 14.03 16.52 18.1 1 17.36 12.95 13.62 16.95 4.93
POLICY
February
1978
Food prodi~ct~ot~poficies itz Nigeria
table indicates that for the Plan Government intends to devote less agriculture. Almost all the states plan their budgets on agriculture than Kano State allocating almost 23% agriculture during the Plan period.
period 197580, the Federal than 5% of its expenditure to to spend a greater proportion of the Federal Government, with of its planned expenditure to
From plans to implementation What has been discussed so far are government piam ard intent&m, and it is generally acknowledged that there is usually a gap between the declaration of intention and actual achievement of a policy. This gap, which is not a problem particular to any given country, was most evident in Nigeria’s Second Development Plan 1970-74. In that period, the highest degree of achievement by any state was no higher than 50%. The adoption of the current plan has many implications which should be noted. First, the successful execution of these schemes depends. irlter alia, upon the adequacy of executive capacity which is currently overstretched in Nigeria considering the new administrative structures being implemented in each of the 19 states. Therefore, recruitment of manpower into the various divisions of the agricultural sector would seem a very logical and necessary exercise. Secondly, the planned expansion can be accelerated if institutions servicing the agricuItur~ sector remain positively disposed to achieving the goals of development. One of the most important of these institutions is the land tenure system which determines the terms and conditions under which use-rights are exercised in land. If the land tenure system is inflexible then it becomes difficult for individuals to use the land to feed themselves and the nation. For instance, the basis of landownership in Nigeria is the family, and all lands in Nigeria can be traced to numerous families. Individual members of families acquire rights to land by virtue of this family membership. But there are numerous people who have either lost their rights in land through abandonment or whose family lands have shrunk as a result of population growth or conquest. Under the customary land tenure systems in Nigeria, such individuals often find it difficult to acquire permanent use-rights in land. This is one glaring problem still to be resolved. Since land tenure systems differ from one state to another, and from one locality to another within a state, however, the problems also differ at least in magnitude. Appropriate solutions are therefore likely to differ. It does not follow, however, that the land tenure system inhibits all aspects of agricultural development in Nigeria. For instance, under the customary tenure arrangements, every member of the lando\vning family has a stake in the family land. This entitles him to the use of a portion of family land to produce food for himself and his family. The individual food producer is also entitled to an increasing share of family land during periodic allocations if his family increases in number. This is only obtained, however, provided there is adequate land left after all who are similarly entitled have got their own portions. The customary tenure arrangements, then, provided means of sustenance and subsistence for all individual members of landowning families. Defects and inconsistencies arise within the land tenure
FOOD
POLICY
February
1978
57
Food production policies in Nigeria
arrangements when efforts are being made to raise the rate of growth of the agriculture sector so as to keep pace with the rate of growth in the other sectors of the Nigerian economy. Such defects and inconsistencies include:‘* * 0
0
*
a * *
The idea of community exclusiveness. Unwritten rules of tenure resulting in tenuous rights and interests held in land. Problems emanating from succession to rights in land either in the form of absentee ownership, excessive subdivision or fragmentation of land. An inarticulate tenancy policy thus creating uncertainty over duration, security of tenure, compensation and alienation. The lack of a defined policy to facilitate mobility and resettlement of farmers who may wish to voluntarily move from land-scarce areas to land-surplus areas. The need for a feasible credit-tenure framework to facilitate the use of legally-defensible titles in land as suitable collateral for capital loans for development. The reform of land laws to streamline the conditions for land acquisition in many states in Nigeria.
Conclusion
” Segun Farnoriyo, ‘Land tenure and food production in Nigeria’, Land Tenure Newsletter. No 41, Centre June-September
58
1973,
p 12.
The quest for more food as well as qualitative improvements in the diet has attracted the attention of poIicymakers in Nigeria particularly in recent times. Reliance on food imports by a predominantly agricultural country like Nigeria must be viewed with considerable concern. Consequently, programmes such as Operation-Feed-the-Nation and the National Accelerated Food Production Programme constitute immediate measures to halt the worsening situation. But these programmes must be consciously manipulated so as to produce enduring long-term results. In the long-term, the food situation in Nigeria cannot be considered in isolation. Rather, it should be considered as one of the ingredients of agricultural development. Obviously, then, a number of factors must be considered and made to interact. These include modernization of the land tenure system, urbanization policies, adoption of improved appropriate technology, creation of adequate storage systems, expansion of a network of motorable roads in the rural areas and the strengthening of Nigeria’s marketing system to improve its efficiency. The interaction of these factors should be combined with extensive research in order to sustain the rate of food production at a level that keeps pace with or exceeds population growth.
FOOD
POLICY
February
1978