The dearth of capital, which invokes poor investment in the agricultural sector, has been the bane of the sector despite plans and promises by the leadership to encourage growth. This was espoused by the Minister of Budget and Economic Planning Atiku Bagudu, while speaking at the launch of the ‘Nigeria Country Focus Report’ presented by the African Development Bank, AfDB in Abuja.
He said macroeconomic challenges, poor access to funding and investment remain the problems limiting agricultural development in Nigeria. Bagudu disclosed this while addressing the bank’s projection that a continuous surge in food inflation may likely threaten the 3.2 per cent and 3.4 per cent 2024/2025 growth projection for Nigeria. The minister, however, did not tell his audience the steps being taken by the government to address the situation.
He acknowledged that the report captures the challenges of macroeconomic reform which necessitates support from other countries, to ensure that they pay off quickly, this he said must be addressed immediately. His words: “The major reason for this underinvestment is access to capital, equitable access to capital.
“Countries like Nigeria, but including most African countries, needless to say, have had limited access to capital compared to other countries in the south, also compared to the countries in the northern hemisphere, our access to capital in terms of pricing, in terms of adequacy, has been tepid.
“And we, because of access to capital, even those sectors that can do much better have not been able to achieve their potential.
“The best example is agriculture, our agricultural sector, whether it’s farming, whether it’s the livestock sector, especially the livestock sector, we have not invested in them fast enough to modernise, and it has been, rather than being a source of economic growth, has been a source of conflict generation”. Recall that the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security (FMAFS) has called for sustainable funding mechanisms in the Agricultural sector to address the issues of food insecurity, malnutrition and hunger while generating revenue for the economy.
