“Agriculture must mediate between nature and the human community, with ties and obligations in both directions. To farm well requires an elaborate courtesy toward all creatures, animate and inanimate. It is sympathy that most appropriately enlarges the context of human work. Contexts become wrong by being too small – too small, that is, to contain the scientist or the farmer or the farm family or the local ecosystem or the local community – and this is crucial.” ― Wendell Berry,
By ‘ JIDE ADESINA
Afrika Market see Dr Adewumi Adesina as a man on a mission whose goals and aspirations is to help Africa feed itself and end poverty
Analysts say Nigeria’s economy has long been dominated by oil, while agriculture has been ignored, even though it supports far more people.
Mr Adesina said he wanted to help people become rich through farming.
“My goal is to make as many millionaires, maybe even billionaires, from agriculture as possible,” he said in his acceptance speech.
” Mr Adesina has introduced more transparency into the supply and distribution of fertiliser, which had previously been marred by massive corruption”.
The minister has also urged Nigerians to grow more food crops, especially cassava.
In January 2013 , Mr Adesina announced a scheme to hand out 10 million mobile phones to farmers to “drive an agriculture revolution” so they can find out the latest market information.
The phones are also used to get vouchers for seeds and fertiliser.
However, our correspondent says this goal has not yet been achieved, noting there is no mobile network coverage in many rural areas.
Although their country is one of the world’s biggest oil exporters, most Nigerians live in poverty, especially in rural areas.
When President Goodluck Jonathan appointed Dr Akinwumi Adesina as the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, about four years ago, it was for the sole aim of revitalizing the agricultural sector such that it would become the major source of income for the country after oil.
Four years on, there are signs of progress in the agricultural sector.
The indefatigable minister has not only turned around the sector to become the major source of income for the country after oil.
As an agricultural development expert with 24 years of experience in developing and managing successful agricultural programmes across Africa,Dr Adesina worked so hard to strengthen the nation’s agricultural economy, build vibrant rural communities and create new markets for the tremendous innovation of rural Nigeria. In the past four years, he functioned as the minister of Agriculture and Rural Development in the country, Adesina has worked to implement President Goodluck Jonathan’s agenda for the sector.
The National President Cassava Growers Association, Pastor Segun Adewumi has said the efforts of the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr Akinwumi Adesina in revolutionising agriculture will save the Nigeria economy over 300billion annually.
According to him, “this was possible through the 20 per cent inclusion of high quality cassava flour and also because of the vast economic uses of the staple food (cassava)”.
According to him, “aside its domestic uses, cassava has several major industrial uses including ethanol, industrial starch, glucose syrup and sweeteners among others which can be used as raw materials for many utility items.”
He added that “the minister has not only revolutionised the agricultural sector but also restored the dignity of Nigerian farmers, bringing them to the limelight and to the attention of government, where previously it had been a master-servant relationship”.
He assured that “electing Akinwumi as the president of the African Development Bank (AfDB) will boost the continents agricultural sector and also restore the dignity of African farmers as a whole”.
Before his appointment, the nation’s agricultural sector was recording low performance at all levels. Agriculture in Nigeria accounted for 65-70 per cent of total exports in the 1960s; it fell to about 40 per cent in the 1970s and crashed to less than two per cent in the late 1990s and late 2000. The sector, however, bounced back after Adesina was appointed the minister of agriculture few years ago. Till date, the non-oil sector has remained the major driver of growth recording a 7.50 per cent increase in contrast to the oil sector, which contracted by 0.73 per cent in the second quarter of 2012.
Apart from revolutionizing the agriculture sector during his four year tenure, Adesina ensured that agriculture remains the new mainstay of the nation’s economy. His recent disbursement of N122million grant to 27 Nagropreneurs across the six geo-political zones as a measure of boosting agricultural production and also promoting its newly established project, the Youth Employment in Agriculture Programme (YEAP) endeared to Nigerians at the grassroots. For Adesina, Nigeria’s greater future for inclusive growth lies in agriculture. This, he has demonstrated not only in words but also, in action as the various programmes he set up to instigate real growth in the sector are pointers to this claim. Today, food production had risen massively and as a nation, Nigeria has produced additional 21 metric tons of food within the last three years.
Under Adesina’s administration, the ministry also established Marketing Corporation, nationwide census of farmers and supply of subsidised fertilisers to 14 million farmers. In addition, Adesina ‘s innovative and effective electronic wallet system for Nigeria’s farmers, designed to increase access to and affordability of agricultural inputs is still being talked about till date across the country. His wealth of experience, achievement and bold reforms in Nigeria’s agriculture sector earned the Minister his selection as Forbes Africa Person of the Year in 2013.
“I just happened to be a public servant that was given the opportunity to serve my country which is an extra-ordinary country,”he said, while receiving his award.
He was one of Nigeria’s greatest exports to the outside world, who was relatively unknown back home until the Jonathan-led administration found him and consequently brought him back to serve the country.
According to him, “Obviously, you cannot serve unless somebody calls you to come and serve. I want to thank His Excellency, Goodluck Jonathan for his extra-ordinary gesture in actually asking me to leave my international career and come back home to serve my country. I never knew him and I never met him.”
“He simply heard about me and he brought me home to come and serve my fatherland. There are other people that played an important role in bringing me back to the country to serve my beloved country; former President Olusegun Obasanjo. But having arrived the country, I couldn’t have achieved anything without the extra-ordinary support I received from Nigerians. I am quite delighted that we have been able to reposition this sector well ahead of time before we got into the declining economic crisis that we are facing today.”
Adeshina also talked about his background which he said was a humble one. And since he hit the international limelight he has dedicated his life to helping the poor people around the world.
“Many of you may not know that I came from a poor background. I attended a village school. My dad, and grandfather worked as labourers in other people’s farms. My dad could not read and write until he was 15 years when an uncle of his took him to Lagos, where he went to Igbobi College and later, got a job as a civil servant. That was how I got educated, otherwise I wouldn’t be getting this award if I wasn’t standing on the shoulder of my father who sacrificed so much for me.”
“I have always dedicated my life to helping the poor people around the world because poverty must not become something we are comfortable with. This is because I have followed the path, and I know that there is no comfort in poverty at all. I want to thank the fathers of Nigeria for their tremendous work. I want to thank the private sector that helped us to mobilized $5.6billion to this sector within three and half years. The federal government supported all the state governors in realizing our mission to make food like the democratic right of every citizen of this country. We are not going to play politics with it. And Mr. President asked us to go in that direction.”
As this administration prepares to hand over to the incoming one on May 29, one thing that it will be remembered for, is its ability not only to revolutionized the agricultural sector but also, restore the dignity of Nigerian farmers, bringing them to the limelight and to the attention of government, where previously it had been a master-servant relationship.
Nigeria’s president-elect, Muhammadu Buhari, has requested the Economic Community of West African States to support the candidacy of Nigeria’s Minister of Agriculture, Akinwunmi Adesina, as the next president of the African Development Bank (ADB). Mr. Buhari has communicated his backing of Dr. Adesina’s candidacy to the Ghanaian President, John Dramani Mahama, who is the current chairperson of the ECOWAS.
FRENCH VERSION
BY ‘ JIDE ADESINA
Afrika marché voir Dr Adewumi Adesina comme un homme surune mission dont les objectifs et aspirations est d’aider l’Afrique àse nourrir et de mettre fin à la pauvreté
Selon les analystes, économie du Nigeria a longtemps étédominé par huile, tandis que l’agriculture a été ignorée, même sielle prend en charge beaucoup plus de personnes.
M. Adesina dit que vouloir aider les riches des gens deviennentpar l’agriculture.
“Mon but est de faire autant de millionnaires, voire milliardaires,de l’agriculture que possible,” il a dit dans son discoursd’acceptation. »
M. Adesina a introduit plus de transparence dans la fourniture etla distribution d’engrais, qui avait précédemment été entachéesde corruption massive”. Le ministre a également exhorté lesnigérians à se développer plus les cultures vivrières, notammentle manioc.
En janvier 2013, M. Adesina a annoncé un programme à la mainsur des téléphones mobiles 10 millions aux agriculteurs de“conduire une révolution agricole” alors ils peuvent trouver lesdernières informations du marché.
Les téléphones sont aussi utilisés pour obtenir des bons d’échange de semences et d’engrais.
Cependant, notre correspondant a dit que cet objectif n’a pasencore été atteint, notant qu’il n’y a aucune couverture réseaumobile dans de nombreuses régions rurales.
Bien que leur pays est un des principaux exportateurs de pétroledu monde, la plupart des Nigérians vivent dans la pauvreté, en particulier dans les zones rurales. Quand le Président GoodluckJonathan a nommé Dr Akinwumi Adesina comme le ministre del’Agriculture et du développement Rural, il y a environ quatre ans,c’était pour le seul but de revitaliser le secteur agricole, telle qu’ilserait devenu la principale source de revenus pour le pays aprèsle pétrole.
Quatre ans plus tard, il y a des signes de progrès dans le secteuragricole.
L’infatigable ministre n’a pas seulement tourné autour du secteurde devenir la principale source de revenus pour le pays après lepétrole.
Comme un expert en développement agricole avec 24 ansd’expérience dans le développement et la gestion desprogrammes agricoles efficaces dans toute l’Afrique, Dr Adesinatravaillé si dur pour renforcer l’économie agricole du pays, édifierdes collectivités rurales dynamiques et créer de nouve auxmarchés pour l’innovation formidable du Nigéria rural. Au cours des quatre dernières années, il a fonctionné comme le ministrede l’Agriculture et du développement Rural dans le pays, Adesina a travaillé pour mettre en oeuvre l’ordre du jour du Président Goodluck Jonathan pour le secteur.
Le Président National manioc Growers Association, pasteur Segun Adewumi a dit aux efforts déployés par le ministre del’Agriculture et du développement Rural, Dr Akinwumi Adesina révolutionne l’agriculture sauvera le Nigeria economy sur300billion par an.
