Agricultural Biotechnology in Smallholder Agriculture in Nigeria: Opportunities, Threats and

Policy Options for Agricultural Transformation

By G. A. Abu, H. O. Obekpa and D. Abah

Institute of Food Security, university of Agriculture Makurdi, Nigeria.

Email: goddy_master@yahoo.co.uk

Outline of paperIntroductionNigeria’s agricultural challengesFarmer’s developmentBio-technology can help solve the food challengesPolicy and institutional IssuesConclusion

IntroductionAgriculture is currently a dominant sector in the economy Employs 70-80% of the people Over 30% of the GDP Our Challenge: 1960 vs. Today Farmer Ignorance Poor access to markets Access to Finance Poor access to appropriate technology and inputs Risk of weather Land tenure systems

Nigeria’s Agricultural Challenges 80 million hectares arable land: <2 hectares per farmer 800K MT of fertilizer consumption annually: Only 10kg/ha Whereas Input use has been targeted as the key path to higher yields Majority of Government agricultural budget goes into input subsidy (> $700M in 2010). Whereas;Natural gas is abundant in the country There is enough arable land to be a net exporter of food & seeds Available funds and technical resource are sufficient to transform the sector What gets to the farmer are: Only 10% - 20% of subsidies Very high input costs (>$500/mt) Isolation and desolation A vicious cycle of subsistence

Classification of Farmers (Fertilizer Usage)

Mainly smallholders Produces 95% of

the nation’s agricultural output

Farmers Development Very low productivity and productionPoor access to critical inputsPoorly organised and limited access to opportunities (Markets)Poor capacity for adoption of good practice and growthTrapped in povertyPoor food security levels

Farmers Development

Farmers Development

Farmers Development Cont’d

The resultant food challenge

Food insecurity and hunger (Progress towards meeting the MDG target across regions. Source: FAO,WFP & IFAD 2012)

Bio-technology can help solve the food challenge

Yield of crops and livestockResistance to biotic stress, pest &diseasesImproved Nutritional qualityCost savingIncreased land productivityResponding to climatic changesSalt and nutrient stressDrought resistance

Bio-technology can help solve the food challengeBiofortification

Policy and institutional issues

Will bio-technology benefit Nigeria small scale holders?Where Should research priorities be?Funding for bio-technology R & DThe challenge of regulationThe challenge of seed production and distributionHow will the PPP participate?

Policy and institutional issues

The challenge on the extension systemThe infrastructural challenge and the attendant high cost

Conclusion

Bio-technology can solve the existing and emerging problems of food and nutrition security in Nigeria.Small holder farmers are important stakeholders that must be in the adoption of biotechnology.Additional investment in capacity building for R & D is imperative

Thank you