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China-Africa Trade Information Service
http://info.afrindex.com
China-Africa Trade Information Service
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In the early stages of political independence, many countries in Africa were major exporters of agricultural products. In particular, agriculture is the main source of income in Nigeria, and Nigeria became an oil producer two years after the discovery of oil in 1956. Since then, Nigeria's agricultural sector has continued to decline.
Noting the important role agriculture could play in a nation's growth, the government of President Goodluck Jonathan launched the Agricultural Transformation Agenda (ATA), whose aim was not only to be a roadmap to resuscitate the agricultural sector. The ATA was also designed to encourage a shift from subsistence farming to commercial farming. Achieving this goal required making the sector more attractive to local and foreign investors, whilst also giving impetus to local production capacity of agricultural produce.
That notwithstanding, the new policy is supposed to achieve two things for Nigeria. Firstly, it is aimed at making Nigeria self-sufficient in food production. And secondly, it is supposed to drive significant foreign exchange earnings for Nigeria from agriculture.
China is the world's top countries known for agricultural biotechnology investment. Recently, the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) Summit and action plan has given exceeding consideration to China-Africa agricultural cooperation. For instance, the Johannesburg Action Plan (2016-2018) opined that the cooperation will contribute to food security in Africa and enhance agricultural transformation. The agenda for FOCAC Beijing Action Plan (2019-2021) include Africa's agricultural modernization, implementation of 50 agricultural assistance programs, training of entrepreneurs in agri-business, support for township and village industries, among other plans. This last point is exceedingly important for Nigeria in its drive for diversification.
Another platform for cooperation is the China-Africa Forum on Tropical Agricultural Science and Technology Cooperation. The first forum was held in Boao, South China's Hainan Province in 2018. There is also the Conference on China-Africa Agricultural Cooperation (CAACC). The latest forum was held recently in Haikou, Hainan province in China. It is important that African countries should capitalize on these forums to boost its agricultural potentials as well as attract foreign investments into the sector.
The good news is that recent agreements between China and Nigeria have signaled China's growing interest in the importation of agricultural products, e.g. cassava chips from Nigeria. The deal is to supply China, 2.2 million metric tonnes of cassava chips worth $272 million. In a bid to strengthen bilateral trade in the agricultural sector, a N10 billion Cassava Trust Fund has been established by the Nigerian government. Also, the formation of the staple crop processing zone in Kogi State has led to the setting up of the Cassava Growth Enhancement Support Scheme (CGESS). This entails providing support for the research and development of cassava products, training and provision of better-quality equipment for cassava production.
In showing commitment towards sustainability of the scheme, the China-Exim Bank has consented to supply financing for the acquisition of high-grade cassava flour processing plants to increase cassava products importation from Nigeria. Furthermore, Chinese enterprises have become the Nigerian government's seed providers. China has also set up 50 model farms in Nigeria.
China's technology in agriculture and food production as well as investment is crucial for Nigeria to realize its goal of modernizing the agriculture sector and diversifying the government's foreign exchange revenue base from overdependency on oil. In that regard, therefore, it is pertinent that Nigeria and China's cooperation in this sector is taken seriously.
