Buhari ’s bailouts: We may never get it right in Agric, Power (I)

POPULAR Yoruba musician, Ebenezer Obey Fabiyi, in his recognition of the universal authority of God over the affairs of men, submitted thus in one of his usual philosophical tunes; you don’t go into partnership with God and return bankrupt.

In the secular parlance, they will say you don’t go into partnership with the soil and go bankrupt. In a way, the two are saying the same thing. The holy books told us of the fall of man in the Garden of Eden and God’s order that he must till the soil to eat. As far as a man tills the soil, his food will come, commanded the Almighty.

But the Nigerian agriculture sector appears a departure from this universal principle, at least going by the implementation of the Federal Government’s Anchor Borrowers Programme.

Before the October 1 celebrations, news had it that Nigeria had committed some N44 billion to the Anchor-Borrowers’ Programme, an intervention programme of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). I was tempted to dismiss that claim as one of the social media stunts, which passes off as news.

But on October 1, President Muhammadu Buhari put a seal of his office on that figure when he announced that the government has spent that much on the CBN programme.

It was shocking but I remained in disbelief. In view of the widespread noise of anti-corruption circulating in the polity, many tend to take some things for granted that government officials will be circumspect in managing public funds. But such attitude will only spell further doom if care is not taken.

The usual Nigerian attitude is to throw money at challenges, thinking that money would buy results. Sad enough the Buhari Change agents are repeating the errors all over. In his October 1 message, Buhari submitted that at least 200,000 farmers across the country have benefitted from the N43.9 billion Federal Government’s agricultural Anchor Borrowers Programme.

President Buhari said that the programme, inaugurated in November 2015, had been an “understanding success,” involving the CBN and 13 participating institutions.

The programme, which is said to cover some 233,000 hectares of farmland has seen farmers involving in cultivating Rice, Wheat, Maize, Cotton, soya-beans, Poultry, Cassava and Groundnuts as well as fish farming.

But releases from the National Bureau of Statistics, (NBS) are giving a big lie to the president’s “understanding success” submission on the anchor borrowers programme. The NBS report released in August indicated that food price pressure had continued unabated, peaking at 20.28 per cent year on year in 2017. Reports indicated that Nigeria was experiencing its worst food inflation since 2009.

According to reports by the NBS, the last time food inflation was this high in the country, (at 20.9 percent), was in July 2008 at the height of the global food crisis of 2007/2008 coinciding with the global economic meltdown of 2008/2009.

The report further indicated that food index in July was up by 0.37 per cent over 19.91 per cent recorded in June, adding that the rise in the food index was caused by an increase in prices of bread and cereals, meat, fish, oils and fats, coffee, tea and cocoa, potatoes, yam, and other tubers and vegetables.

Hear the statisticians: “On a month-on-month basis, the food sub-index increased by 1.52 percent in July, down by 0.47 per cent points from 1.99 per cent recorded in June. The average annual rate of change of the food sub-index for the 12-month period ending in July 2017, over the previous 12-month average was 18.25 per cent, 0.38 per cent points from the average annual rate of change recorded in June (17.87) per cent.” The belief was that with the start of harvest, food prices would take a bow. Nothing of such is happening even now.

Such a report belie the fact the Nigeria had invested directly on the ground to the tune of N44 billion. What has happened to the huge funds committed to planting some of the key crops in the last two years? Has the government taken time to check the implementation of its policies?

For the starters, the Anchor-Borrowers programme is a measure by which government agencies locate farmers directly on the farms and provide financial assistance up to a certain figure in aide of the farmland and preparation of crops such that the products are sold to the creditor at an agreed amount after harvest.

The policy means that farmers would easily access insecticides, fertilisers and other implements that would ensure they make a success of the planting season. With such scientific input into agric, you should expect bountiful harvests and a win-win situation at the end of the day. So why are food prices skyrocketing despite the injection of N44 billion into the farms.

On enquiries, I was told that there were challenges of site selling of products by farmers. But I was also told that before the CBN and the agencies involved release the funds to any farmer, the biometrics, farm data and even the BVN are obtained. I don’t think the local farmers, who are aware they have supplied their data and identity to a government agency will set out to “embezzle” the anchor-borrowed funds just like that. I don’t think corruption has become that bold at the lower rungs of the society.

Perhaps, President Mohammadu Buhari will help his anti-corruption drive by asking the agencies involved to create websites for the said farmers where the data of all those involved including their active phone numbers can be accessed. I can’t simply understand how the government will inject huge funds to land cultivation only to reap nothing at the end of the day. Man, in accordance with the dictates of the holy books is not made to till the ground in vain. Especially when he is fulfilling the dictates of the Almighty and backed by avalanche of scientific processes.