Farmers Review Africa July/Aug 2017 Farmers Review Africa July/Aug 2017 | Page 7

News
Mozambique
Nigeria
Nigeria plans to boost local
fish production
New study raises the voices of
small farmers in Mozambique
A research report released 3 August tells the story of small farmers in Nigerian government has announced that it will stop issuing sh
Mozambique who are adversely impacted by large-scale, foreign agricultural importation quota to the importers, aiming to boost up the local sh
investments - and the alternative, ecumenical vision of life-giving production.
agriculture.
In a meeting with the Ijebu Development Initiative on Poverty Reduction
e “Financialisation of Food Research Report,” sponsored by the World (IDIPR) in Abuja, Heineken Lokpobiri, the minister of State for
Council of Churches (WCC) and Bread for all, was released at an event in Agriculture and Rural Development, con rmed the report.
Maputo, Mozambique organised by the Economic Justice Network of the
Fellowship of Christian Councils in Southern Africa, Council of Churches in In a statement to the Premium Times, Lokpobiri said that the quota
Mozambique and WCC.
limitation is expected to help in increasing local production of sh and
other agricultural aspects in Nigeria.
ose gathered - including small-scale farmers, community leaders,
members of the media, government representatives and faith-based With the country facing a current sh de cit of more than two million
organisations - hoped to create an environment in which ideas on how to tonnes, the Nigerian government has urged citizens to invest more in
respond to practices of
nancialisation of food and land-grabs in boosting local sh production to create employment opportunities in the
Mozambique could be shared.
sector.
Farmers were able to explain, through personal stories, how they are affected Reporting to the source, Lokpobiri said, “We realised that sh import is
by the Pro-Savana Project, a programme to increase crop output by bringing no more sustainable and what we did was to encourage those that import
in large-scale agribusinesses that are displacing traditional farming it to think of the backward integration by reducing the quota year by
populations.
year.”
Community members from Manhiça in southern Mozambique informed “We want everybody to set up their sh farms, employ our people and
those gathered that they have no title deeds to con rm ownership of their create jobs for our people,” he added.
land. Many have been staying on the land for most of their lives for
generations, and now they are consistently denied their livelihoods and right e sh production in Nigeria has increased to about 1.2mn tonnes from
to farm.
700,000 tonnes in last two years, said the minister.
A woman farmer who is in her 60s was jailed and kicked by the police for Lokpobiri encouraged other states in the country to follow and abide by
expressing anger on being denied ownership of her land. Sadly, farmers who the Nigerian government's initiative for agricultural development. He
have been occupying and cultivating the land are not consulted or informed further added that the government has planned to commission the sh
about new ownership arrangements.
feed mill near Eriwe village farm in Ijebu community of Ogun.
Many farmers expressed sadness in how their government is treating them e decision of the Nigerian government can possibly cause the central
when it comes to land ownership in Mozambique. Another woman farmer banks of the country to face temporary shortfall of foreign currencies,
lamented that the government is turning against them in favour of investors particularly the US dollars. According to the industry experts, Nigeria
who are grabbing land. Interests of foreign investors that come to may continue to impose restrictions on import to manage the situation.
Mozambique under a pretext of promoting foreign direct investments on the
land trump those of local people.
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FARMERS
REVIEW AFRICA
July - August 2017