The oil Nigeria needs

When people in the rest of the world think of Nigeria, what they readily think is oil, the “black gold” that dominates the Nigerian economy. But if the Nigerian government and business leaders play their cards right, Nigeria will be known for another oil: palm oil. If so, this will mean a new and better day has dawned for Africa’s most populated country.

Over half of the Nigerian labour force works in agriculture. However, Nigeria’s food sector lags behind the rest of the world. According to the International Food Policy Research Institute, “the overall prevalence of stunting, wasting, and underweight [in Nigeria] are 42.0 percent, 9 percent and 25 percent, respectively.” We can and must do better.

To unlock Nigeria’s full potential, and move it beyond its reliance on petroleum exports, it is imperative that the country launch an agricultural revolution. A linchpin of any Nigerian agriculture boom will be palm oil. The cooking oil and food additive is a nutritious and calorie-rich staple product. It also grows well in Nigerian soil and benefits from its long growing seasons and lush climate.

Indeed, Nigeria, once boasted a proud palm oil industry that was able to meet the country’s domestic demand. Nevertheless, today, after years of stagnation and over reliance on oil and gas, Nigeria is now a net importer of vegetable oils. This has proven costly to the country and its consumers. Rural communities have missed an opportunity to rise out of poverty and achieve food security. How can Nigeria reverse this lamentable state of affairs?

Every modern agricultural revolution consists of two key ingredients – capital investment and state-of-the-art technology. Over the last few years, the Nigerian government has pursued important legal reforms with an eye toward making the country a more attractive place to invest and decreasing its reliance on the oil and gas sector. It’s time for those reforms to bear fruit.

Fortunately, there is a good model for Nigeria to follow. Several countries in tropical Asia, including Malaysia and Indonesia, reformed their laws with an eye toward modernizing their agriculture sectors. The reforms attracted huge sums of investment capital, from China, Australia, and elsewhere. Flush with capital, Malaysian and Indonesian farmers and entrepreneurs procured world-class technology to develop their banana, cocoa, and palm oil sectors, among others. Two generations ago these countries were as poor as sub-Saharan Africa. Today they are growing fast
and are now net exporters of palm oil. Nigeria can do something similar. Global investors are increasingly interested in developing the African palm oil industry. Every day, representatives of capital-rich companies and governments descend on Lagos, Accra, Monrovia, and other West African capitals to scout for opportunities.

Nigeria should use this opportunity to develop its domestic industry. It could bring to Nigeria the same prosperity enjoyed in palm oil producing countries of Southeast Asia, countries that have climbed to the ranks of middle income nations and higher. The need to modernize grows larger every day. After all, Africa’s population is expected to more than double by 2030. Nigeria alone will be a significant contributor to this growth, with increasing multitudes of mouths to feed.

To meet the challenges of the future head on, Nigerian policymakers should set two goals for the country. The first is to produce enough vegetable oil to satisfy the country’s growing domestic demand. The second is to grow the sector even larger, so Nigeria becomes a net exporter of palm
oil. Producing ample quantities of palm oil is needed to feed a growing continent, to diversify the country’s export sector, and to attract foreign currency reserves. The successful cultivation and development of major agricultural industries can help deliver genuine food security to Nigeria. They can also provide vital employment for communities that have historically suffered from lack of job opportunities.

Some of those poised to benefit most from an agriculture boom include Nigeria’s legions of long-suffering smallholders. There is a precedent here: Malaysia’s Federal Land Development Authority (FELDA) promoted growth that empowered and enriched that country’s smallholders. They
helped bring hundreds of thousands of Malaysians out of poverty and contributed to infrastructure development and social services. Liberia is already in the process of successfully emulating Malaysia’s smallholder experience.

Nigeria has been stuck for years, burdened with a resource curse in the form of an over-reliance on its huge petroleum industry. By modernizing its agricultural sector, Nigeria will enter an era of resource blessings –feeding its people and its neighbors and ensuring a brighter economic future.