The current population of Nasarawa state is over two million and will reach 3.5 million in 2030 given the current growth rate. Meanwhile, the annual loss of land to other uses is 10 to 15 thousand hectares, with half of this loss coming from cropland.
Facing such severe situation of population growth plus cropland reduction, it is obvious that the only way to solve food shortage problem in the state is to greatly enhance the yielding capacity of food crops per unit land area through advanced science and technology.
Rice feeds more than half of the population of the state complemented closely only by yam as staple food. Therefore, an increased production of rice will play a very important role in food security and poverty alleviation.
Theoretically, rice still has great yield potential to be tapped and there are many ways to raise rice yield such as the provision of irrigation, improvement of soil conditions, cultural techniques and breeding of high yielding varieties. Among them, it seems at present that the most effective and economic way available is to develop hybrid varieties based on the success experienced in China.
Known as ‘the Father of Hybrid Rice’, Yuan, a Chinese national, is famous for his achievement in developing the genetic materials and technologies essential for growing high-yield hybrid varieties. He developed the first hybrid rice in 1974, and it immediately increased grain output by 20 per cent.
Taking a potent step in this direction, the Peoples Republic of China extended an invitation to a member of the Nasarawa state House of Assembly, Hon. Philip Aruwa Gyunka, Chairman House Committee on Finance and Appropriation, to be among the African delegation for a 5-month training programme on hybrid rice production.
Gyunka submits that, “In terms of the national average yield in commercial production, it has been proven that hybrid rice has a yield advantage of more than 20% over conventional rice. In recent years, the yearly area under hybrid rice technology has been about 15.5 million, which accounts for 50% of the total rice area, and the production of hybrid rice occupies nearly 60% of the total rice production in China”.
Hon. Gyunka observes that Yuan’s pioneering research has helped to transform China from a state of food deficiency to one of food security within three decades and that Nigeria must emulate China’s example, especially against the backdrop of the billion of dollars lost as capital flight from food importation from countries which hitherto depended on Nigeria for food sufficiency.
Given the large expanse of fertile arable land Nasarawa state is endowed with and the correspondent high yield gotten from hybrid rice production, it is easy to conclude that if half of the total cropland area is cultivated, the state can meet the staple food requirement of Nigeria.
Gyunka who revealed that hybrid rice has since been grown in dozens of countries in Africa,? Americas and Asia, said it already covered 3 million hectares as at? 2009. This, he said provides? robust food source in many areas with high risk famine. Beside that, he said it is fast becoming a major source of income in many agrarian communities.
Corroborating Gyunka’s stance in his Independence Day speech in Lafia, Governor Umaru Tanko Al-Makura of Nasarawa state said that the state would leave no stone unturned towards achieving food security in line with his government’s policies on agriculture, use of hybrid technology in food production inclusive. He said “There is no gainsaying that our state is blessed with vast agricultural potentials with over seventy percent (70%) of our population engaging in one form of agricultural activity or the other”.?
Al-Makura added, “Considering the need to introduce new techniques towards the mechanization of agricultural practice, government is exploring avenues of partnership with foreign investors to boost agricultural production in the state.? In this direction, we are already collaborating with OLAM and the Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA) towards large scale production and processing of rice and other crops”, he said.
His Special Adviser on Food Security, Alhaji Abubakar Gada Mohammed, stressed that, “To achieve the level of success attained in other parts of the world, Nasarawa state government must however, address some critical problems which in the past have constituted a stumbling block towards the successful implementation of laudable agricultural initiatives”.
Corruption, inadequate funds, lack of sufficient manpower, non-sustenance of agricultural policies and other natural calamities have all been attributed as reasons for Nigeria’s failure at attaining any meaningful level of development in agriculture and food security even when governments at all levels have always paid lip service to making agriculture the fulcrum of their administrative policies.
Gyunka, on his part, noted that political differences sometimes set in to unfortunately scuttle credible initiatives but called on the Governor not to tow the part of such ignominy by bringing on board all those with ideas and requisite experience on how to move the state forward.
He has also undertaken to sponsor a bill that will ensure the dissemination of the knowledge he has acquired in hybrid rice production for the benefit of Nasarawa state and the North Central zone, the constituency he represented during the training in the Peoples Republic of China.
Given that 7.5 tons of rice can be cultivated on a hectare of land, Nasarawa state stands to benefit tremendously from investing in the hybrid rice project intent upon attaining food sufficiency on the one hand and providing employment on the other.
