Objectives of New Agricultural Policy
In a broad sense, the objectives of the new agricultural policy (as
stated in the document) are very similar to those of the old one. They
include:
(i) The achievement of self-sufficiency in basic food supply and the attainment of food security;(ii) Increased production of agricultural raw materials for industries;(iii) Increased production and processing of export crops, using improved production and processing technologies; (iv) Generating gainful employment; (v) Rational utilization of agricultural resources, improved protection of agricultural land resources from drought, desert encroachment, soil erosion and flood, and the general preservation of the environment for the sustainability of agricultural production; (vi) Promotion of the increased application of modern technology to agricultural production; and, (vii) Improvement in the quality of life of rural dwellers.
(i) The achievement of self-sufficiency in basic food supply and the attainment of food security;(ii) Increased production of agricultural raw materials for industries;(iii) Increased production and processing of export crops, using improved production and processing technologies; (iv) Generating gainful employment; (v) Rational utilization of agricultural resources, improved protection of agricultural land resources from drought, desert encroachment, soil erosion and flood, and the general preservation of the environment for the sustainability of agricultural production; (vi) Promotion of the increased application of modern technology to agricultural production; and, (vii) Improvement in the quality of life of rural dwellers.
Key Features of the New Policy
The key features of the new policy are as follows:
§ Evolution of strategies that will ensure
self-sufficiency and improvement in the level of technical and economic
efficiency in food production. This is to be achieved through (i) the
introduction and adoption of improved seeds and seed stock, (ii) adoption of
improved husbandry and appropriate machinery and equipment, (iii) efficient
utilization of resources, (iv) encouragement of ecological specialization, and
(v) recognition of the roles and potentials of small -scale farmers as the
major producers of food in the country.
Reduction of risks and uncertainties in
agriculture, to be achieved through the introduction of a more comprehensive
agricultural insurance scheme to reduce the natural hazard factor militating
against agricultural production and security of investment.
A nationwide, unified and all-inclusive extension
delivery system under the Agricultural Development Programs (ADPs).
Active promotion of agro-allied industry to
strengthen the linkage effect of agriculture on the economy.
Provision of such facilities and incentives as
rural infrastructure, rural banking, primary health care, cottage industries
etc, to encourage agricultural and rural development and attract youths
(including school leavers) to go back to the land.
Major Content of the Policy Framework
The policies cover issues on (i)
agricultural resources (land, labor, capital, seeds, fertilizer, etc) whose
supply and prices affect the profitability of agricultural business, (ii)
crops, livestock, fisheries and agro-forestry production, (iii) pest control,
(iv) mechanization, (v) water resources and irrigation, (vi) rural
infrastructure, (vii) agricultural extension and technology transfer, (viii)
research and development (R&D), (ix) agricultural commodity storage,
processing and marketing, (x) credit supply, (xi) insurance, (xii) agricultural
cooperatives, (xiii) training and manpower development, and (xiv) agricultural
statistics and information management.
The successful implementation of the agricultural policy
is, however, contingent upon the existence of appropriate macroeconomic
policies that provide the enabling environment for agriculture to grow in
equilibrium with other sectors. They affect profitability of agricultural
enterprises and the welfare of farmers through their effects on the flow of
credit and investment funds, taxes, tariffs, subsidies, budgetary allocation,
etc.
The New Policy Direction
According to the document, the new agricultural policy will herald in a
new policy direction via new policy strategies that will lay the foundation for
sustained improvement in agricultural productivity and output. The new
strategies involve:(i) Creating a more conducive macro-environment to stimulate
greater private sector investment in agriculture;(ii) Rationalizing the roles
of the tiers of government and the private sector in their promotional and
supportive efforts to stimulate agricultural growth; (iii) Reorganizing the
institutional framework for government intervention in the agricultural sector
to facilitate the smooth and integrated development of the sector; (iv)
Articulating and implementing integrated rural development programs to raise
the quality of life of the rural people; (v) Increasing
budgetary allocation and other fiscal incentives to agriculture and promoting
the necessary developmental, supportive and service-oriented activities to
enhance agricultural productivity, production and market opportunities; and (vi).
Rectifying import tariff anomalies in respect of agricultural products and
promoting the increased use of agricultural machinery and inputs through favorable tariff policy.
Roles and Responsibilities of Stakeholders
The new agricultural policy has spelt out definitive
roles and responsibilities for the federal, state and local governments as well
as the private sector in order to remove role duplication and overlapping
functions among them. The revised roles and responsibilities are outlined as
follows:
The Federal Government Under the new policy regime, the Federal
Government shall be responsible for:
(i)the provision of a general policy framework, including macroeconomic policies for agricultural and rural development and for the guidance of all stakeholders;
(ii) maintenance of a reasonable flow of resources into agriculture and the rural economy;
(iii) support for rural infrastructure development in collaboration with state and local governments;
(iv) research and development of appropriate technology for agriculture, including biotechnology;
(v) seed industry development, seed law enforcement and seed quality control;
(vi) support for input supply and distribution, including seeds, seedlings, brood stock and fingerlings;
(vii) continued support for agricultural extension services; (viii) management of impounded water, supervision of large dams and irrigation canals and maintenance of pumping facilities;
(ix) control of pests and diseases of national and international significance and the promotion of integrated disease and pest management;
(x) establishment and maintenance of virile national and international animal and plant quarantine services;
(xi) maintenance of favorable tariff regime for agricultural commodities;
(xii) promotion of the export of agricultural commodities through, among others, the Export Processing Zones (EPZs); (xiii) establishment of an agricultural insurance scheme; (xiv) maintenance of a Strategic National Grain Reserve for national food security;
(xv) coordination of agricultural data and information management systems;
(xvi) inventorization of land resources and control of land use and land degradation;
(xvii) training and manpower development;
(xviii) participation in the mapping and development of interstate cattle and grazing routes and watering points; (xix) promotion of micro-and rural credit institutions;
(xx) promotion of agricultural commodity development and marketing institutions;
(xxi) maintenance of fishing terminals and other fisheries infrastructure, including cold rooms;
(xxii) promotion of trawling, artisanal and aquaculture fisheries;
(xxiii) promotion of fish feed production;
(xxiv) protection of Nigeria's Exclusive Economic Zone for fisheries resources; and
(xxv) periodic review of agreements on international agricultural trade.
(i)the provision of a general policy framework, including macroeconomic policies for agricultural and rural development and for the guidance of all stakeholders;
(ii) maintenance of a reasonable flow of resources into agriculture and the rural economy;
(iii) support for rural infrastructure development in collaboration with state and local governments;
(iv) research and development of appropriate technology for agriculture, including biotechnology;
(v) seed industry development, seed law enforcement and seed quality control;
(vi) support for input supply and distribution, including seeds, seedlings, brood stock and fingerlings;
(vii) continued support for agricultural extension services; (viii) management of impounded water, supervision of large dams and irrigation canals and maintenance of pumping facilities;
(ix) control of pests and diseases of national and international significance and the promotion of integrated disease and pest management;
(x) establishment and maintenance of virile national and international animal and plant quarantine services;
(xi) maintenance of favorable tariff regime for agricultural commodities;
(xii) promotion of the export of agricultural commodities through, among others, the Export Processing Zones (EPZs); (xiii) establishment of an agricultural insurance scheme; (xiv) maintenance of a Strategic National Grain Reserve for national food security;
(xv) coordination of agricultural data and information management systems;
(xvi) inventorization of land resources and control of land use and land degradation;
(xvii) training and manpower development;
(xviii) participation in the mapping and development of interstate cattle and grazing routes and watering points; (xix) promotion of micro-and rural credit institutions;
(xx) promotion of agricultural commodity development and marketing institutions;
(xxi) maintenance of fishing terminals and other fisheries infrastructure, including cold rooms;
(xxii) promotion of trawling, artisanal and aquaculture fisheries;
(xxiii) promotion of fish feed production;
(xxiv) protection of Nigeria's Exclusive Economic Zone for fisheries resources; and
(xxv) periodic review of agreements on international agricultural trade.
The State
Governments:
The state governments will be
primarily responsible for:(i) the promotion of the primary production of all
agricultural commodities through the provision of a virile and effective
extension service; (ii) promotion of the production of inputs for crops,
livestock, fish and forestry; (iii) ensuring access to land for all those
wishing to engage in farming; (iv) development and management of irrigation
facilities and dams; (v) grazing reserve development and creation of water
access for livestock; (vi) training and manpower development; (vii) control of
plant and animal pests and diseases; (viii) promotion of appropriate
institutions for administering credit to smallholder farmers; (ix) maintenance
of buffer stocks of agricultural commodities; (x) investment in rural
infrastructure, including rural roads and water supply in collaboration with
federal and local governments; and, (xi) ownership, management and control of
forest estates held in trust for local communities.
Local Governments:
The local governments will be expected to take
over progressively the responsibilities of state governments with respect to:
(i) the provision of effective extension service;
(ii) provision of rural infrastructure to complement federal and state governments' efforts;
(iii) management of irrigation areas of dams;
(iv) mobilization of farmers for accelerated agricultural and rural development through cooperative organizations, local institutions and communities;
(v) provision of land for new entrants into farming in accordance with the provision of the Land Use Act; and,
(vi) coordination of data collection at primary levels.
(i) the provision of effective extension service;
(ii) provision of rural infrastructure to complement federal and state governments' efforts;
(iii) management of irrigation areas of dams;
(iv) mobilization of farmers for accelerated agricultural and rural development through cooperative organizations, local institutions and communities;
(v) provision of land for new entrants into farming in accordance with the provision of the Land Use Act; and,
(vi) coordination of data collection at primary levels.
The Private
Sector
According to the policy document, since agricultural
production, processing, storage and marketing are essentially private sector
activities; the role of the private sector will be to take advantage of the
improved enabling environment provided by the public sector for profitable
agricultural investment. In particular, the public sector is expected to play a
leading role with respect to:
(i) investment in all aspects of upstream and downstream agricultural enterprises and agribusinesses, including agricultural commodity storage, processing and marketing; (ii) agricultural input supply and distribution;
(iii) the production of commercial seeds, seedlings, brood stock and fingerlings under
(i) investment in all aspects of upstream and downstream agricultural enterprises and agribusinesses, including agricultural commodity storage, processing and marketing; (ii) agricultural input supply and distribution;
(iii) the production of commercial seeds, seedlings, brood stock and fingerlings under
government certification and quality
control;
(iv) agricultural mechanization;
(v) provision of enterprise-specific rural infrastructure; and, (vi) support for research in all aspects of agriculture.
(iv) agricultural mechanization;
(v) provision of enterprise-specific rural infrastructure; and, (vi) support for research in all aspects of agriculture.
Key Agricultural Development, Supportive and
Service Delivery Programs of the Federal Government
Following the redefined roles and
responsibilities of tiers of government and the private sector, the main thrust
of federal government programs and activities will be directed at obviating the
technical and structural problems of agriculture in the following respects.
Development Programs and Activities
These will include research and development, (including
biotechnology development), animal vaccine production, veterinary drug manufacture, agro -chemicals manufacture, water
management, adaptive technology promotion, and the creation and operation of an
Agricultural Development Fund.
(a) Research and development, including biotechnology: The
effort in this direction
is to finance agricultural research, including biotechnology and the breeding of predators for the biological
control of crop pests which the private
sector may not be willing to invest in due to the high capital outlay and a relatively low return from
agricultural investments. The output of the
research system will be disseminated by the extension services of the states and local governments to farmers,
ranging from small-scale to large-scale
farmers.
(b) Animal vaccine production: The capacity of the National
Veterinary Research Institute
(NVRI), which is the premier institution for animal vaccine production in the West Africa sub-region, will be
strengthened, enlarged and modernized in order
to raise the level of vaccine production in Nigeria to a self-sufficiency level
and also to cater for the entire
West Africa sub-region.
(c) Veterinary drug manufacture: A
veterinary drug manufacturing outfit with the capacity to meet the needs of the
West Africa sub-region will be established. Relevant agencies of government
will collaborate with the private sector for the accelerated take off of the
factory. Government interests in this venture will, however, be sold to the
private sector in line with the privatization policy.
(d) Agro -chemicals manufacture:
Government will manufacture and promote the production of agro-chemicals by the
private sector and will ensure the protection of the users, the Eco-system and
the environment through appropriate pesticide legislation. Effective monitoring
mechanism to ensure compliance with the law will be put in place.
(e) Water management: Currently, large dams constructed in the
country have impounded a lot of water with high fisheries
and duck farming potentials and having
the capacity for irrigation. The
completion of the outstanding downstream
irrigation infrastructure
of the already completed large dams in
the country will be accorded top priority in order to make them useful to the
farmers and to maximize the benefits
of the huge investments already incurred
in constructing them.
Emphasis will now shift to developing
small dams as a more cost effective way of utilizing water resources for
irrigation in the country. The maintenance of the existing large dams will,
however, continue to be the responsibility of the Federal Government. In
addition, rain harvesting for irrigation agriculture is to be promoted where
surface and underground water is not readily available.
(f) Adaptive technology: Economic
deregulation has increased agricultural production costs astronomically. At the
same time, globalization of trade, which thrives on comparative advantage in
production, makes efficiency of production and the application of economies of
scale mandatory if Nigeria is to get a sizable market share in the highly
competitive global trade arena. In order to improve efficiency of production,
therefore, simple labor -and cost-saving devices that are appropriate for the
current level of agricultural production and processing in the country will be
developed and mass-produced. The National Centre for Agricultural Mechanization (NCAM), the
institution established for this purpose, will be strengthened. Other
initiatives in this direction, such as animal traction and hand tools
technology development, will be encouraged.
(g) Agricultural Development Fund: The
National Agricultural Development Fund is to provide the necessary impetus for
the sustainable development of the agricultural sector. It will support both
public and private sectors in carrying out activities that will boost
agricultural and rural development, with emphasis on all facets of agricultural
research, market development, extension delivery, long-term credit, rural
institutions development, and enterprise promotion. The Fund will derive its
revenues from:
(i) savings from subsidy withdrawals on fertilizer,
(ii) 5 percent of the proceeds from the privatization of government enterprises,
(iii) funds from international commodity organizations, (iv) 2 percent levy on the profits of agro-based industries, (v) 50 percent of Sugar Development Levy, (vi) 1.0 percent levy on the profits of oil companies, (vii) appropriation from government annual budget of not less than 2 percent of the total budget, and
(viii) take-off grant from the federal government.
(i) savings from subsidy withdrawals on fertilizer,
(ii) 5 percent of the proceeds from the privatization of government enterprises,
(iii) funds from international commodity organizations, (iv) 2 percent levy on the profits of agro-based industries, (v) 50 percent of Sugar Development Levy, (vi) 1.0 percent levy on the profits of oil companies, (vii) appropriation from government annual budget of not less than 2 percent of the total budget, and
(viii) take-off grant from the federal government.
Supportive Activities
These will comprise input incentive support and commodity
marketing and export activities.
a) Input incentive support: Government incentive support for inputs will be administered in a cost-effective and focused manner to ensure that the intended beneficiaries derive full benefit from the distribution of:
(i)seeds, seedlings, fingerlings, brood stock etc,
(ii) fertilizers,
(iii)
agro-chemicals,
(iv) tractors and implements,
(v) vaccines
(vi) veterinary drugs, and
(vii) agricultural credit. State and local governments are also to be encouraged to subsidize these inputs, as an additional incentive for agriculture.
(iv) tractors and implements,
(v) vaccines
(vi) veterinary drugs, and
(vii) agricultural credit. State and local governments are also to be encouraged to subsidize these inputs, as an additional incentive for agriculture.
b) Commodity marketing and export: The development of an
efficient agricultural marketing system is being promoted through the provision
of adequate market information. The buyer of last resort mechanism built into
the marketing system will provide price stabilization effect on the system. The
three multi-commodity marketing companies already approved by government will
be the fulcrum of this system. The companies which will be private sector-led
and managed, but with initial substantial public sector participation, will
also ensure quality management and export promotion, in conformity with
international quality standards for Nigeria’s agricultural commodities.
Service Delivery Activities
These activities will cover input supply and distribution,
agricultural extension, micro-credit delivery, cooperatives and
farmer/commodity associations, commodity processing and storage, agro-allied
industry and rural enterprise development, and export promotion of agricultural
and agro-industrial products.
(a) Input supply and distribution: Government
is creating the more conducive environment for profitable investments in the
production and distribution of inputs such as improved starter materials,
animal health drugs, fertilizers, etc. Fertilizer supply will be hinged on
complete privatization and liberalization in the production, distribution and
marketing of the commodity. The main role of the government will be to strictly
monitor the quality standard of all fertilizers (both local and foreign) to
ensure that only certified products reach the farmer. Government will also
encourage the use of organic fertilizers to complement the inorganic
fertilizers currently in use. The seed industry development program will be
reinvigorated and community seed development programs will be promoted to
ensure the provision of adequate and good quality seeds to local farmers. The organized private sector will be mobilized, encouraged and given incentives to
actively participate in the production of seeds, seedlings, broodstock,
fingerlings, etc, and also to be involved in out-growers mobilization.
(b) Agricultural extension : Agricultural
extension is essentially an activity that should be carried out by the lower
tiers of government. But given the overriding importance of technology
dissemination, all the three tiers of government in Nigeria will be involved in
jointly financing agricultural extension delivery and monitoring its impact.
Also, extension service delivery will be streamlined through the integration of
ADP and state extension services for greater effectiveness.
(c) Credit and micro-credit delivery: The
strategies to be adopted will include:
(i) provision and improvement of rural infrastructure to attract investment and financial services;
(ii) integration and linkage of rural financial institutions to the formal banking sector;
(iii) regulating and supervising the growth of non-bank financial institutions with emphasis on savings mobilization at the grassroots;
(iv) expanding the mandate of the restructured Nigerian Agricultural Cooperative and Rural Development Bank (NACRDB) to include savings mobilization;
(v) supporting self-help groups in their savings mobilization and credit delivery activities;
(vi) modification of the credit delivery system to include the cooperative and community-based organizations as delivery channels to reduce transaction costs; and,
(vii) modification of terms of credit such as interest rate, eligibility criteria, legal requirement, etc, to enhance access.
(i) provision and improvement of rural infrastructure to attract investment and financial services;
(ii) integration and linkage of rural financial institutions to the formal banking sector;
(iii) regulating and supervising the growth of non-bank financial institutions with emphasis on savings mobilization at the grassroots;
(iv) expanding the mandate of the restructured Nigerian Agricultural Cooperative and Rural Development Bank (NACRDB) to include savings mobilization;
(v) supporting self-help groups in their savings mobilization and credit delivery activities;
(vi) modification of the credit delivery system to include the cooperative and community-based organizations as delivery channels to reduce transaction costs; and,
(vii) modification of terms of credit such as interest rate, eligibility criteria, legal requirement, etc, to enhance access.
(d) Cooperatives and farmer/commodity
associations: Resource mobilization and the promotion of group action are
the thrust of cooperative activities. This is to take advantage of group
dynamics, with its concomitant mutual guarantee, as a strategy for agricultural
development. Services which cooperatives can render include the administration
of government incentives to agriculture, such as inputs supply, credit delivery
and retrieval, commodity marketing, and the pursuit of democratic ideals, in
view of the democratic principles embedded in their operations.
(e) Processing, storage, agro-allied industry
and rural enterprise development: The use of simple but effective on-farm
and off-farm storage facilities and agro-processing technology will be promoted
to add value to products and increase their shelf life. The Strategic Grain Reserve
Scheme will be modernized, strengthened and upgraded to a National Food Reserve
Program, which will enable it to handle all staples and essential food
products. This will be the launch pad for the accelerated attainment of
Nigeria’s national food security goal. The Buffer Sock Food Storage Scheme of
the states will incorporate the use of private storage facilities to maintain a
national strategic stock of food that will be needed in times of national food
emergencies. It is also crucial to promote and develop agro-processing in the
country for the evolution of virile agro-allied industries and rural
micro-enterprises.
(f) Export promotion of agricultural and
agro-industrial products: Nigeria has comparative advantage in the
production of a number of exportable agricultural commodities, such as cocoa,
palm produce, rubber, ginger, spices, fruits and vegetables, flowers, shrimps
and ornamental fish, cassava products, hides and skin, cashew, gum Arabic,
groundnuts and cotton (products). In order to diversity the base of the
Nigerian economy and widen the market for agricultural commodities to absorb
the expected increase in production, there is need to promote the export of
these agricultural and agro-industrial products. To facilitate the acceptance
of Nigerian agricultural commodities in the international market, including
taking full advantage of the US African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA),
there will be need to develop appropriate capacities and institutional
framework within the agricultural sector as well as in other relevant sectors
to meet the Sanitary and Phytosanitary Standards (SPS) and comply with the
Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) agreements of the
World Trade Organization (WTO).
Other
Policies, Institutions and Legal Framework
The range of macroeconomic and institutional policies as well as legal
framework that affect agricultural investment in particular and agricultural
performance in general is wide. The policies broadly cover fiscal, monetary and
trade measures. There is also a large body of institutional policies that
support not only the implementation of macroeconomic policies but also that of
agricultural sector policies. Then, there is a set of national and
international legal framework, including bilateral and multilateral agreements
and treaties that provide the enabling environment for foreign and domestic
private investment, promote international trade and, therefore, promote
economic growth.
Environmental concern has increasingly come into focus in the design of
policies for sustainable growth and development in Nigeria, as elsewhere in the
world. Hence, Nigeria has now put together a set of environmental policies and
strategies that are of important relevance to agriculture.
Macroeconomic Policies
The key components of macroeconomic policies are
fiscal, monetary and trade policies.
Fiscal Policies: These focus on budgetary, tax and debt management
policy instruments. Budgetary policy influences economic stability and rate of
inflation in the economy. These, in turn, influence the climate for the flow of
investment, especially foreign private investment. Tax policies that focus on
personal and corporate tax rates, tax reliefs, and other tax concessions are
key incentives (or disincentives) factors affecting consumption and investment
decisions. A favorable corporate tax policy regime enhances after-tax profits
and, to that extent, may promote increased investment. A country's external
debt burden affects its international credit rating and its capacity to finance
public investment. International credit rating affects the flow of foreign
private investment while the level and quality of public investment directly
affect the flow of both foreign and domestic private investment.
Monetary Policies: In general, monetary policies refer to the combination of measures
designed to regulate the value, supply and cost of money in the economy, in
consonance with the expected level of economic activity. Liquidity, interest
rates and foreign exchange rates are the channels through which monetary policy
influences economic activities. Liquidity is affected
by money supply. Money supply influences credit supply and interest rate (cost
of capital). Interest rate, in turn, influences consumption, savings and
investment decisions in the economy. Basically, the existence of interest and
exchange rate differentials, resulting from monetary policy measures, induces
substitution between domestic and foreign assets (foreign currencies, bonds,
securities real estate, etc) as well as domestic and foreign goods and services
(CBN, 1997). Since 1986, the main instruments of market-based monetary policies
have included the open market operations (OMO), changes in reserve requirements
and discount policy. Open market operations involve the discretionary power of
the CBN to purchase or sell securities in the financial markets in order to
influence the volume of liquidity and levels of interest rates that ultimately
affect money supply.
The sale of financial instruments by
the CBN restricts the capacity of banks to extend credit, thereby affecting
inflation and interest rates. The reverse is the case when financial
instruments are purchased.
Trade Policies: These are a very important component
of structural adjustment policies. The main focus of trade policies is on
measures to regulate export and import trade through such measures as tariffs,
export and import quotas and prohibitions. They influence the investment
climate in many ways. For example, a liberal trade policy constitutes an
incentive for foreign investors who may need to import raw materials and / or
export products. But a protectionist trade policy may also serve as an
incentive for investors in non-tradable products that are largely locally
consumed, or investors in import -substitute products.
Institutions
According to the World Development Report (2002), institutions are
rules, enforcement mechanisms and organizations put in place in an economy.
Distinct from policies that are the goals and the desired results, institutions
are rules, including behavioral norms, by which agents interact, and the
organizations that implement these rules and codes of conduct to achieve
desired outcomes. Policies influence the types of institutions that evolve
while institutions too affect the types of policies that are adopted. Appendix
4.1 presents some of the major institutions that affect or are affected by
investment -related policies in Nigeria.
Investment Legal Framework
Investment legal framework provides incentives for, regulates or
protects investments, especially foreign investment. According to Aremu (1997),
a foreign investor is first concerned with some basic questions like: What
areas of business are open to foreign participation? How easy is it to bring
capital into the country and repatriate profits and capital from the country?
What legal mechanisms exist to protect the investor's personal business
interest? These questions underscore the importance of investment legal
framework. Some of the important domestic investment legislation and international
legal arrangements governing foreign private investment are as contained in the
NIPC Act 16 of 1997
Environmental Policies
Environmental policies are very important for sustainable
growth and development. Hence, the Federal Environmental Protection Agency
(FEPA) produced a revised version of the national policy on the environment in
1999.
The goals of National Policy on the
Environmental is to achieve sustainable development in Nigeria, and, in
particular, to (i) secure a quality of environment adequate for good health and
well being; (ii) conserve and use the environment and natural resources for the
benefit of present and future generations; (iii) restore, maintain and enhance
the ecosystems and ecological processes essential for the functioning of the
biosphere to preserve biological diversity and the principle of optimum
sustainable yield in the use of living natural resources and ecosystems; (iv)
raise public awareness and promote understanding of the essential linkages
between the environment, resources and development, and encourage individual
and community participation in environmental improvement efforts; and (v)
co-operate in good faith with other countries, international organizations and
agencies to achieve optimal use of trans-boundary natural resources and for an
effective prevention or abatement of trans-boundary environmental degradation.
The strategies to be adopted include:
(i) addressing the issues of population growth and resources consumption in an integrated way;
(iii) setting goals for the stabilization of national population at a sustainable level;
(iii) integrating resource consumption and demographic goals with the other sectors and economic objectives;
(iv) monitoring trends in population and resource consumption and assessing their implications for sustainability;
(v) encouraging and involving the private sectors, NGOs and the public in the implementation of strategies and actions aimed at achieving stated goals;
(vi) the prevention and management of natural disasters such as flood, drought and desertification that more directly impact on the lives of the populace;
(vii) integration of population and environmental factors in national development planning;
(vii) solving public health problems associated with rapid urbanization and squalid urban environments;
(ix) prevention of the depletion of forests through judicious search for and adoption of alternative energy sources; and (x) control of the demands and patterns of land resources usage.
(i) addressing the issues of population growth and resources consumption in an integrated way;
(iii) setting goals for the stabilization of national population at a sustainable level;
(iii) integrating resource consumption and demographic goals with the other sectors and economic objectives;
(iv) monitoring trends in population and resource consumption and assessing their implications for sustainability;
(v) encouraging and involving the private sectors, NGOs and the public in the implementation of strategies and actions aimed at achieving stated goals;
(vi) the prevention and management of natural disasters such as flood, drought and desertification that more directly impact on the lives of the populace;
(vii) integration of population and environmental factors in national development planning;
(vii) solving public health problems associated with rapid urbanization and squalid urban environments;
(ix) prevention of the depletion of forests through judicious search for and adoption of alternative energy sources; and (x) control of the demands and patterns of land resources usage.
An extract of the environmental policy presented
in the appendix covers policies, objectives of policies and policy strategies
on human population, biological diversity, natural resources conservation, land
use and soil conservation, water resources, forestry, wildlife and protected
natural areas, energy, environmental health, transportation, communication, and
science and technology. These are the policy instruments that are considered
most relevant to agricultural investment in Nigeria.
Stakeholders’ Perspective on the Effectiveness
of Policies, Regulations and Institutions on Nigerian’s Agriculture
Opinions on the effectiveness of policies and regulations in the
different areas of agriculture were sought from both policy makers and policy
implementers. In general, policies aimed at stimulating on-farm production rank
highest. These include those policies aimed at stimulating agricultural
production for domestic market, agricultural input demand by farmers, domestic
agricultural commodity trade, agricultural input supply to farmers and domestic
investment in agriculture. It is evident from the ranking that the more
effective policies and regulations are those targeted to upstream agricultural
production activities and geared towards the domestic market. Policies geared
towards enhanced post-production activities such as commodity storage,
commodity processing, transportation and distribution services as well as
commercialization of agriculture are generally ranked low. Except for policies
and regulations on food security and poverty reduction (which are indeed
offshoot of domestic agricultural production), other policies and regulations
associated with improved human welfare ranked very low. But overall, policies
on foreign investment ranked lowest.
From the foregoing, it can
be seen that current policies are more effective in the primary production
subsector of agriculture than in the downstream subsector. Impact of policies
on the welfare status of the people and on the environment remains weak. In
general, the thrust of the effective policies is on food self-sufficiency as
most of these policies have bearing on boosting agricultural production for
food self-sufficiency.
The main factors influencing the
effectiveness of policies and regulations on agriculture include high demand for
agricultural produce, availability of improved technology, efficient
dissemination of information by the ADPs, and value added leading to improved
income. On the other hand, the common factors responsible for ineffectiveness
of
policies and regulations, especially
on the downstream segment of agriculture, include instability of the political
climate, insecurity of investment, non standardized product quality,
non-competitive nature of agricultural products from the country in the export
market due to high cost of production and lack of adequate processing
facilities.
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