05/10/2011 (AllAfrica.com) - In the 1960s, farming was the main means of sustenance of Nigeria. Then, cocoa production was the in-thing in the southwest, rubber in the old mid-western (now comprising of Edo and Delta), oil palm production was reigning in the southeast while groundnut was crowned as the king produce of the north with the famous 'groundnut pyramid.' How did we lose this?

To some Nigerians, the discovery of crude oil was the undoing as it was initially referred to as the oil boom. It took a few decades into the tapping of the flowing 'black gold' for intelligent and enlightened Nigerians to discern that the availability of crude oil was actually a means to the doom of reaching the status of an economically developed nation. Nigeria's dependence on oil gradually led to the abandonment of the farms with the then young ones leaving the rural areas for cities to cut their own part of the national cake.

It is a truism that Malaysia has been growing her economy annually for decades, even in recession. One of the secrets is that agricultural development is paramount to all successive governments in that South East Asia nation where the writer has lived now for two years. It is also essential to point out that a lot has been put into research and development (R&D) by that nation to boost production.

Unlike Nigeria where researchers are frustrated either by paucity of funds or their findings are left to rot in their universities or research institutes, Malaysia makes use of researchers' input to fast track modern agricultural development. I will mention some instances in this direction.

Malaysia is leading in palm oil exportation globally. While Indonesia is the largest producer of consumable palm oil right now, Malaysia is the 2nd largest, but the latter is leading in exported palm oil due to optimal use of strategic planning, research and technology. In Malaysia for instance, you cannot get crude palm oil to buy in the market. The processed product is sold as vegetable oil locally and exported as well in international markets including Nigeria. Virtually 50% of the so-called groundnut/vegetable oil Nigerians are consuming is flaked or bleached palm oil (courtesy of Malaysia's technology). Can we not learn as a nation?

Again, Malaysia through proactive research initiatives has now developed oil palm hybrid that can produce fruit in 24 months! This is the latest high yield brand that is making farmers in that nation to replant their old hybrid with the new. A Malaysian friend was discussing this with me a few months ago.

Also, by December 2011, Malaysia will be producing diesel from palm oil while our own ministers and commissioners are having a field in perennially 'sharing' fertilizers and loans to cronies and political patrons they refer to as farmers. My father, of blessed memory, died at the age of 103 in Ekitiland without at any time receiving any such support despite that he was actively involved in farming in his community.

It is high time we changed our archaic and antiquated methodical approaches to farming if we are to move forward. They have not worked over these years; hence we need people with right ideas to initiate modern pragmatic, proactive, practical and passionate agricultural development initiatives that will enhance economic development of our nation.

Furthermore, in Malaysia, from research findings, the writer discovered that up to 68 per cent of the total cultivated land was planted with oil palm! Why? One major reason was that palm oil production contributed 5-6 per cent of Malaysia's GDP according to World Bank Report (2007) while it is presently providing employment for 1.4 million workers (Reference: Star Newspaper, Malaysia). Can we learn as a nation from Malaysia that Nigeria once helped to pay the salary of her civil servants during General Gowon's era?

From the aforementioned, what is the way forward for this blessed nation at 51? The writer is here just spotlighting agricultural development in the oil palm sector as a way out. It is true that oil palm can only grow in some southern states in Nigeria. However, in my traversing the nation, even though I reside outside the shores of the country, I am opportuned to be in Nigeria at least once annually. I have discovered through numerous field trips and dialogue with Nigerians of many diverse tribes and cultures such as the Isoko, Itsekiri, Ijebu, Oyo, Ekiti, Bachama, Idoma, Tiv, Hausa, Ondo, Fulani, Edo, Igbo, Ikwerre, Ibibio, Kanuri, etc that traditionally there are at least two or three crops that grow very well in their various lands.

All that is needed is for governments (local, state and federal) to be involved in a sort of Public Private Partnership (PPP) to inculcate and instil the regime of fruitful farming again in our nation. Governments at these levels cannot leave this at the hands of the peasant farmers alone. In addition, there should be a judicious use of the billions of naira committed to agricultural development annually at all levels. To many followers, the funds have been either mismanaged or misappropriated.

There are four basic merits of proactively developing our agricultural-industrial sector. Firstly,there will be Food Security within our nation with the attendant reduction of prices of foodstuff. I discovered that food sold in eateries is costlier in Nigeria than in Malaysia. Why? There is no enough production and preservation. There is no single food refrigeration plant anywhere in Nigeria to preserve even vegetables other than silos for grain preservation. It is a pity!

Secondly, many of our youths engaged in violence, robbery, fraudulent practices and other social vices would have been otherwise employed. In Malaysia today, it is hard to find any followers' uprising from the rural areas as they are mostly settled with modern amenities by the Federal Land Development Authority (FELDA) in their homes in the rural areas committed to farming. Nigeria can mass employ through proactive agricultural development than through crude oil exploration, production, distribution and sales.

Also, the Internally Generated Revenue (IGR), which is the headache of many states and local governments would be boosted over a period of time that can be channelled to the provision of modern infrastructure. Imagine, a state in Nigeria producing vegetable oil and diesel from oil palm within three to four years! It is possible where leaders and followers resolve to make a crucial and critical change that will result in the real transformation that the followers demand and desire not all these cheap talks; talk is cheap.

The pertinent question for our leaders at all levels is: Can they 'walk their talk?' Can they model the way for followers to emulate? The present Minister of Agriculture seems to know his onions but time will tell whether those around him will not kill his vision to transform the agricultural sector of the nation indeed.

Fourthly, one thing is sure for proactive agricultural development. It is that it will ultimately attract Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) to all the states in Nigeria. It was when I got to Singapore in 2005 that I discovered that the geography we were taught in the primary and secondary schools in Nigerian schools were obsolete (I do not know whether the syllabus is still the same). To my chagrin, I found out that there was no distinction between cash crops and food crops. In fact, Singapore does not plant any crops due to inadequacy of land.

In essence, all crops are imported from India, Malaysia, Indonesia, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, etc including the fresh vegetables and fruits (some are cheaper in prices than obtainable in cities in Nigeria). When there is aggressive production of crops, there will be sudden rise of industries to process the produce attracting investment from abroad. This is the way, not by trying to lure them to come like what most of our leaders are doing presently. It will not work. We can learn from Malaysia, India and China who annually are having high profile of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI).