A speech given in the House of Representatives on 12th April, 1961.
Despite the extent of agricultural exports, goods grown and consumed locally comprise 80 per cent of total agricultural production. That agriculture is vital to the economy and well-being of the country is beyond dispute, but when one looks at the producer, the man on the land, and his enterprise one finds low income, hand tools, small acreage, wasteful site usage, poor crop varieties, low yields, unproductive livestock and family living conditions and diet which, even by the simplest standards, leave much to be desired.’ That is what the Ashby Commission, appointed by the Federal Government, has to say on our agricultural economy.
And lastly I will quote the authority of Arthur Lewis who at one time was asked by the Ghana Government to advise it on industrilisation. He submitted a report on ‘industrilisation and the Gold Coast’, now Ghana, and this is what he has to say in the course of this report: ‘In unenlightened circles’ (I hope the minister of finance does not belong to these circles), ‘In unenlightened circles agriculture and industry are often considered as alternatives to each other. The truth is that industrialisation for a home-market can make little progress unless agriculture is industry’s labour supply. If agriculture is ‘stagnant’ (and I want the entire members of the Federal Government to note this important point), ‘If agriculture is stagnant industry cannot grow.’
It must be emphasised that our agricultural economy does not consist only of cocoa, groundnuts, oil palm, cotton, rubber, timber, cashew-nuts as some people on the government bench make it appear. Our export products, cocoa, cotton, groundnuts, et cetera, are of great importance as they are very big earners of foreign exchange with which we pay for our imports. They, therefore, deserve the utmost attention. We must seek to increase both their yields and variety and try to secure better prices for them in the world market.
It must be borne in mind at the same time that our export products only contribute 20 per cent of our national income derivable from agricultural and allied products. For instance, it would interest many members to know that from yams alone we derive as much as £95.4 million. This is the computation of our national income for the year 1956-57 and I am quoting from the Economic Survey of Nigeria 1959 which was conducted on the authority or the Federal Government. Yams alone contribute as much as £95.4 million to our national income as against £30 million from groundnuts or £25 million, for instance, from cocoa. Cassava and gari also contribute as much as £86.1 million. Guinea corn contributes almost as much as groundnuts’ £25 million, and so on and so forth.
It will be discovered that our food crops contribute as much as 45 per cent of our gross national product. It is imperative, therefore, that whilst we do our best to concentrate our attention on pushing the production and sale of our export products, we must at the same time do everything we can to increase the productivity of those farmers who are engaged in the production of yam, gari, cassava, guinea com and other grains. What then is the duty of the Federal Government concerning agriculture?
It does not appear to me that the Government appreciates what its duty should be in this connection, and may I refer again to the speech of the minister of finance. At page three, he has this to say. ‘The contribution to be made by agriculture should not be minimised, but industrialisation is bound to figure prominently in our plans. Industrilisation will of course provide new avenues of employment for our people, but this can only be exploited to the full if man-power training is properly directed.’ In other words, whilst at the opening part of his speech, the minister of finance agreed that the development of agriculture is fundamental to our national economy, he then goes on to place agriculture in the second grade, at least that is what he has done by implication.
He proceeds further to suggest that one chief means by which employment can be provided for our boys and girls is industriliasation. I think, Sir, that the government must shake itself out of this sort of erroneous thinking. A large number of our boys and girls are now leaving school and seeking employment. It is true that they will not under these circumstances, go back to farming as is at present being done by their fathers and their mothers. Our methods of farming are still primitive and antediluvian. The educated young people would like to adopt methods which are scientific and modern. Therefore, it is possible to find jobs for these boys and girls provided agriculture is considerably improved and modernised. It is wrong for the government to imagine that the only avenue for employment is industrialisation.
Agricultural development will also be an avenue for employment for our young people. If it is agreed, therefore, that the foundation of our national prosperity as has been said by the minister himself rests on agriculture, then it must be agreed also that the foundation must be well and truly and solidly laid. It would be shirking its duty, indeed one of its primary duties, if the Federal Government were to pass the entire buck of agricultural development on to the Regional Governments. The Regional Governments, in my view, are doing their very best in the task of improving our agricultural economy. But their best needs the bold, imaginative and enlightened support of the Federal Government if that best is to be good enough for our purpose. This will help the Regional Governments to develop and diversify the economy of our country and promote the welfare and happiness of our people.
CONTINUES NEXT WEEK
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