00:00:03.540 --> 00:00:08.330
In the year 2050, there will
be 9 billion people.

00:00:08.330 --> 00:00:12.570
How do we feed them safely,
fairly, and well, and make

00:00:12.570 --> 00:00:13.820
sure every mouth is fed?

00:00:28.390 --> 00:00:30.530
- Well, my name Akin Adesina.

00:00:30.530 --> 00:00:32.950
I'm the Minister of Agriculture
and Rural

00:00:32.950 --> 00:00:35.410
Development for Nigeria.

00:00:35.410 --> 00:00:38.510
I've been on the job for a year
now, and it's exciting

00:00:38.510 --> 00:00:39.290
and challenging.

00:00:39.290 --> 00:00:41.660
But I love it.

00:00:41.660 --> 00:00:44.890
Narrator: In Nigeria, Dr. Akin
Adesina is a government

00:00:44.890 --> 00:00:47.400
minister with a mission.

00:00:47.400 --> 00:00:50.800
- My job is to make sure that
I unlock the potential of

00:00:50.800 --> 00:00:55.340
agriculture in Nigeria, and it
should not be importing food.

00:00:55.340 --> 00:00:57.690
Narrator: The minister's
provoked a debate.

00:00:57.690 --> 00:01:01.450
On a globalized planet, should
countries like Nigeria really

00:01:01.450 --> 00:01:04.090
try to grow all their
own food?

00:01:04.090 --> 00:01:07.245
- I'm not going to stand up, I
want to probably make lasagna,

00:01:07.245 --> 00:01:09.160
and I can't find the
ingredients for it.

00:01:09.160 --> 00:01:11.440
And because I live in Nigeria,
all of a sudden, I'm not going

00:01:11.440 --> 00:01:12.690
to have lasagna.

00:01:19.830 --> 00:01:21.800
Narrator: Where should we
grow our future food?

00:01:24.610 --> 00:01:29.370
What is stopping fertile
countries feeding themselves?

00:01:29.370 --> 00:01:32.120
And in a globalized world, is

00:01:32.120 --> 00:01:34.695
self-sufficiency really the answer?

00:01:42.310 --> 00:01:45.340
- I enjoy Nigerian food
tremendously.

00:01:45.340 --> 00:01:48.020
One of the wonderful things
about working in rural areas

00:01:48.020 --> 00:01:50.150
is that one has the opportunity
to travel

00:01:50.150 --> 00:01:51.910
different parts of
the country.

00:01:51.910 --> 00:01:56.050
And in every different location,
I've been so happy

00:01:56.050 --> 00:01:59.910
to have amala, or garri,
or semovita, or eba.

00:01:59.910 --> 00:02:03.180
And all the soups that are
produced locally with

00:02:03.180 --> 00:02:05.210
different vegetables are
indeed delicious.

00:02:09.800 --> 00:02:12.980
Narrator: In Nigeria's teeming
marketplaces, where most of

00:02:12.980 --> 00:02:17.150
its 162 million people buy
food, they're proud of

00:02:17.150 --> 00:02:18.900
Nigerian food.

00:02:18.900 --> 00:02:20.510
- Locally made food.

00:02:20.510 --> 00:02:22.470
Very, very important.

00:02:22.470 --> 00:02:24.830
They contain nutrients that are
very good for the body,

00:02:24.830 --> 00:02:27.210
like vegetables, fruits.

00:02:27.210 --> 00:02:29.210
- Foods that are
made in Nigeria

00:02:29.210 --> 00:02:30.510
have the natural content.

00:02:30.510 --> 00:02:31.740
They have not been chemicalized

00:02:31.740 --> 00:02:32.960
and all those things.

00:02:32.960 --> 00:02:35.790
So to me, I prefer foods that
are made in Nigeria.

00:02:35.790 --> 00:02:38.570
- There should be a premium
on Nigerian vegetables.

00:02:38.570 --> 00:02:42.860
Because if you compare them,
our plantain, the tomatoes,

00:02:42.860 --> 00:02:43.600
they are richer.

00:02:43.600 --> 00:02:47.710
Most of them are not grown
artificially, like most of the

00:02:47.710 --> 00:02:50.010
things you get outside
Nigeria.

00:02:50.010 --> 00:02:52.970
Narrator: 50 years ago, Nigeria
was proud of how much

00:02:52.970 --> 00:02:54.490
food it produced.

00:02:54.490 --> 00:02:57.580
Agriculture was 60% of
GDP, and a major

00:02:57.580 --> 00:02:59.080
source of export revenue.

00:02:59.080 --> 00:03:01.290
The minister calls
them the glory

00:03:01.290 --> 00:03:03.890
days of Nigerian farming.

00:03:03.890 --> 00:03:06.890
- Nigeria was a powerhouse
in food in the '60s.

00:03:06.890 --> 00:03:11.280
We were accounting 18% of
the global production of

00:03:11.280 --> 00:03:12.830
cocoa at the time.

00:03:12.830 --> 00:03:17.270
We were accounting for 47% of
the global supply of shelled

00:03:17.270 --> 00:03:19.500
groundnuts in 1961.

00:03:19.500 --> 00:03:21.130
But they disappeared, and why?

00:03:21.130 --> 00:03:23.380
That was because Nigeria
found oil.

00:03:23.380 --> 00:03:25.730
And when Nigeria found oil,
Nigeria went away from

00:03:25.730 --> 00:03:26.860
agriculture.

00:03:26.860 --> 00:03:29.740
So we went from being
a country that was

00:03:29.740 --> 00:03:33.270
self-sufficient in food in the
'60s to today, a country that

00:03:33.270 --> 00:03:38.900
is spending a whopping amount
of $11 billion a year

00:03:38.900 --> 00:03:42.670
importing basic food items.

00:03:42.670 --> 00:03:45.060
Narrator: Now Nigeria, the
world's seventh most populous

00:03:45.060 --> 00:03:48.970
country, is one of the world's
largest food importers.

00:03:48.970 --> 00:03:52.690
Oil, bureaucracy, corruption,
the overweening power of

00:03:52.690 --> 00:03:55.640
foreign suppliers; Everyone has
an opinion why there's so

00:03:55.640 --> 00:03:58.130
much less home grown food.

00:03:58.130 --> 00:04:00.300
- You know why we are importing
some food is because

00:04:00.300 --> 00:04:03.010
we don't have the missionaries,
chemical, or

00:04:03.010 --> 00:04:05.140
what they want to produce
is in a [INAUDIBLE]

00:04:05.140 --> 00:04:07.290
form.

00:04:07.290 --> 00:04:09.010
What is the need of
importing food?

00:04:09.010 --> 00:04:10.830
There is no need, of course.

00:04:10.830 --> 00:04:14.300
Everything here in Nigeria,
we have it.

00:04:14.300 --> 00:04:16.839
Narrator: As consumer
organizations point out, it's

00:04:16.839 --> 00:04:20.970
foreign suppliers who have
most economic muscle.

00:04:20.970 --> 00:04:22.340
- People that do
the importation

00:04:22.340 --> 00:04:25.530
have greater power.

00:04:25.530 --> 00:04:27.310
Greater control.

00:04:27.310 --> 00:04:33.000
Maybe even more financially
capable to flood the market

00:04:33.000 --> 00:04:37.228
with whatever they want to
flood the markets with.

00:04:37.228 --> 00:04:40.320
Narrator: With his usual
security escort, the minister

00:04:40.320 --> 00:04:43.280
arrives at a farmers' rally.

00:04:43.280 --> 00:04:45.820
He's here to launch the
government's new plan to help

00:04:45.820 --> 00:04:47.900
Nigeria feed itself.

00:04:47.900 --> 00:04:50.495
Whatever the reasons for falling
behind, says Minister

00:04:50.495 --> 00:04:54.770
Adesina, who's an agricultural
economist, Nigeria can bring

00:04:54.770 --> 00:04:56.560
back the glory days.

00:04:56.560 --> 00:04:58.160
- I'm delighted to see
the work that's

00:04:58.160 --> 00:04:59.070
done in Lagos States.

00:04:59.070 --> 00:05:02.580
I'm delighted to see the great
initiative and the effort of

00:05:02.580 --> 00:05:05.190
the state government in
getting the youth into

00:05:05.190 --> 00:05:06.040
agriculture.

00:05:06.040 --> 00:05:11.030
In supporting rice farmers and
supporting cassava farmers, we

00:05:11.030 --> 00:05:14.290
are launching today here what
is called the Growth

00:05:14.290 --> 00:05:16.040
Enhancement Support.

00:05:16.040 --> 00:05:20.890
Under that initiative, we are
targeting 5 million farmers

00:05:20.890 --> 00:05:24.760
every year to get seeds
and to get fertilizer.

00:05:24.760 --> 00:05:25.910
Narrator: The message?

00:05:25.910 --> 00:05:29.250
Nigerians should produce their
own food, just as they wear

00:05:29.250 --> 00:05:33.440
their own garments, like asoke
and the ankara, a message

00:05:33.440 --> 00:05:36.410
rammed home by the
state governor.

00:05:36.410 --> 00:05:42.020
- I am happy when our people are
holding parties, and I see

00:05:42.020 --> 00:05:48.175
the asoke and the ankara, then
the economy is kept here.

00:05:48.175 --> 00:05:51.920
But if we continue to make
parties, and we are eating

00:05:51.920 --> 00:05:53.700
imported food at that party.

00:05:53.700 --> 00:05:55.610
Those parties and its
inconvenience and its

00:05:55.610 --> 00:05:58.990
challenges, prosper
another economy.

00:05:58.990 --> 00:06:01.760
Let us continue to
think inside.

00:06:01.760 --> 00:06:06.120
We must understand that, yes,
many of us want to live in the

00:06:06.120 --> 00:06:08.310
cities and wear ties.

00:06:08.310 --> 00:06:10.460
But the place to make money
is where you will

00:06:10.460 --> 00:06:11.860
get your hands dirtied.

00:06:11.860 --> 00:06:13.960
It's where you will work.

00:06:13.960 --> 00:06:17.320
We must think of work in terms
of productive activity.

00:06:17.320 --> 00:06:20.020
That is why Brazil is
leaving us behind.

00:06:20.020 --> 00:06:22.550
Because Brazil can
feed itself.

00:06:22.550 --> 00:06:23.330
We have the land.

00:06:23.330 --> 00:06:24.170
We have the water.

00:06:24.170 --> 00:06:26.120
We have the men.

00:06:26.120 --> 00:06:28.450
And we now have the policy.

00:06:28.450 --> 00:06:30.308
Let us embrace it.

00:06:30.308 --> 00:06:32.172
[APPLAUSE]

00:06:32.172 --> 00:06:33.422
[MUSIC AND SINGING IN
FOREIGN LANGUAGE]

00:06:47.770 --> 00:06:51.160
- My job is to make sure that
I unlock the potential of

00:06:51.160 --> 00:06:52.870
agriculture in Nigeria.

00:06:52.870 --> 00:06:56.450
We have 84 million
hectares of land,

00:06:56.450 --> 00:06:58.520
arable land, as a country.

00:06:58.520 --> 00:07:01.660
And we're not using even
more than 40% of those.

00:07:01.660 --> 00:07:06.610
We have 230 billion cubic
meters of water.

00:07:06.610 --> 00:07:08.020
We are now using irrigation.

00:07:08.020 --> 00:07:09.530
We have great sunshine.

00:07:09.530 --> 00:07:11.250
So with all of that --

00:07:11.250 --> 00:07:16.620
cheap labor, a market of 167
million people of consumers --

00:07:16.620 --> 00:07:18.930
I should not be importing
food.

00:07:18.930 --> 00:07:22.925
I should be producing food,
processing food, adding value

00:07:22.925 --> 00:07:24.730
to it, creating jobs.

00:07:24.730 --> 00:07:27.680
So we set for ourselves
huge targets.

00:07:27.680 --> 00:07:31.320
First and foremost is to add to
the domestic food supply,

00:07:31.320 --> 00:07:36.640
20 million metric tons of food
between now and 2015.

00:07:36.640 --> 00:07:40.070
Second is to reduce our
dependence on our imports, and

00:07:40.070 --> 00:07:45.210
in fact become self-sufficient
in rice by 2015.

00:07:45.210 --> 00:07:48.280
- The policy pursued in Nigeria,
which is to rebuild

00:07:48.280 --> 00:07:51.580
the ability for the country to
feed itself, is vital for that

00:07:51.580 --> 00:07:54.510
country and for many other food
deficient countries in

00:07:54.510 --> 00:07:55.500
sub-Saharan Africa.

00:07:55.500 --> 00:07:56.470
The reason is simple.

00:07:56.470 --> 00:07:59.300
With climate change and
speculation on the markets of

00:07:59.300 --> 00:08:01.810
agricultural commodities, prices
in the future will be

00:08:01.810 --> 00:08:03.800
higher, and they will
be more volatile.

00:08:03.800 --> 00:08:06.340
And so countries which have
not invested in local food

00:08:06.340 --> 00:08:09.710
production, countries who depend
highly on food imports

00:08:09.710 --> 00:08:12.530
to feed themselves, will be in
a very dire situation in the

00:08:12.530 --> 00:08:14.710
years to come.

00:08:14.710 --> 00:08:18.080
Narrator: Could Nigeria even
become a food exporter and

00:08:18.080 --> 00:08:21.030
help feed the future
9 billion?

00:08:21.030 --> 00:08:24.520
It's an ambition supported by
the UN agency which assists

00:08:24.520 --> 00:08:27.650
small farmers, IFAD.

00:08:27.650 --> 00:08:31.240
- For particular commodities,
we should be selective.

00:08:31.240 --> 00:08:34.429
Those commodities should be
produced at a scale at a

00:08:34.429 --> 00:08:38.140
quality which can be
exported to other

00:08:38.140 --> 00:08:39.690
international markets.

00:08:39.690 --> 00:08:43.289
And I think that should be the
long-term goal of Nigeria.

00:08:43.289 --> 00:08:46.190
But currently, I think the
first goal would be food

00:08:46.190 --> 00:08:50.070
self-sufficiency and ensuring
that Nigeria, for all its

00:08:50.070 --> 00:08:52.395
major commodities, can
produce locally.

00:08:56.590 --> 00:08:58.130
Narrator: Rice is key.

00:08:58.130 --> 00:09:01.630
If Nigeria grows more, it could
replace both rice and

00:09:01.630 --> 00:09:03.340
wheat imports.

00:09:03.340 --> 00:09:06.230
The government is boosting
production with 18 new rice

00:09:06.230 --> 00:09:08.810
processing plants;
their products,

00:09:08.810 --> 00:09:11.710
something to boast about.

00:09:11.710 --> 00:09:15.350
- One of the things I'm most
excited about is this.

00:09:15.350 --> 00:09:19.410
The Nigerians love to
buy imported rice.

00:09:19.410 --> 00:09:21.930
And that's because the local
rice, they complain it's

00:09:21.930 --> 00:09:25.620
colored, it's broken, and
it has stones in it.

00:09:25.620 --> 00:09:26.910
Well, that's not
rocket science.

00:09:26.910 --> 00:09:28.130
We fixed that problem.

00:09:28.130 --> 00:09:30.405
This is Nigerian rice.

00:09:30.405 --> 00:09:34.450
It's long grain, hard-boiled,
high quality rice coming out

00:09:34.450 --> 00:09:38.200
of the new integrated rice
mills we have in Nigeria.

00:09:38.200 --> 00:09:40.630
This rice is the best rice
you've ever had.

00:09:40.630 --> 00:09:43.580
It's actually better than any
rice that comes in from India

00:09:43.580 --> 00:09:44.880
or from Thailand.

00:09:44.880 --> 00:09:49.150
And it's proudly
Nigerian rice.

00:09:49.150 --> 00:09:51.760
Narrator: In the market,
they seem to agree.

00:09:51.760 --> 00:09:56.630
- Have you tasted Nigerian rice
and this foreign rice?

00:09:56.630 --> 00:09:59.020
Don't you notice
the difference?

00:09:59.020 --> 00:10:02.300
If you eat Nigerian rice, it's
sweeter than this one.

00:10:02.300 --> 00:10:04.396
This foreign rice.

00:10:04.396 --> 00:10:07.540
The difference is clear.

00:10:07.540 --> 00:10:09.850
Narrator: Rice farming in
Nigeria has been constrained

00:10:09.850 --> 00:10:12.940
by poor crop management
techniques and shortages of

00:10:12.940 --> 00:10:15.130
fertilizer and irrigation.

00:10:15.130 --> 00:10:18.240
But some farmers claim home
grown rice can now not only be

00:10:18.240 --> 00:10:21.340
good quality, but cheaper too.

00:10:21.340 --> 00:10:52.610
- [SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE]

00:10:52.610 --> 00:10:56.070
Narrator: Adesanya farms on
the outskirts of Lagos, a

00:10:56.070 --> 00:10:59.140
model farm owned by Lagos State,
to try and put the

00:10:59.140 --> 00:11:02.690
minister's "Grow Nigerian"
theories into practice.

00:11:02.690 --> 00:11:05.410
Farmer Adesanya too recalls
the old glory

00:11:05.410 --> 00:11:08.160
days of Nigerian farming.

00:11:08.160 --> 00:11:12.920
- Without farming, tell me,
are we not going to eat?

00:11:12.920 --> 00:11:28.640
[SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE]

00:11:28.640 --> 00:11:31.980
Narrator: As we film, farmer
Adesanya's planting corn, ugu,

00:11:31.980 --> 00:11:36.460
peppers, yams, and other
traditional Nigerian crops.

00:11:36.460 --> 00:11:37.050
The idea?

00:11:37.050 --> 00:11:39.850
To show that with the right
fertilizer, irrigation, and

00:11:39.850 --> 00:11:43.940
equipment, Nigeria could have a
green revolution of its own,

00:11:43.940 --> 00:11:47.090
self-sufficiency,
and more jobs.

00:11:47.090 --> 00:11:49.900
Farmer Adesanya's thrilled.

00:11:49.900 --> 00:11:52.730
- It is only farming that
can absorb more

00:11:52.730 --> 00:11:54.920
than 60% of the workforce.

00:11:54.920 --> 00:11:56.020
They are taking the
right step.

00:11:56.020 --> 00:11:57.710
We have to go back fully
into farming.

00:12:06.260 --> 00:12:11.430
Nigeria can be self-sufficient
in food production, provided

00:12:11.430 --> 00:12:16.240
you deal with the genuine
farmers, provided our

00:12:16.240 --> 00:12:19.480
government encourages farmers,
our farming system is upright.

00:12:24.160 --> 00:12:26.380
The type of land we have
in Nigeria is superb.

00:12:26.380 --> 00:12:32.680
We can have more than enough
food in Nigeria, provided the

00:12:32.680 --> 00:12:36.290
government comes to the
aid of the farmer.

00:12:36.290 --> 00:12:39.490
Narrator: Adesanya's just one of
many farmers the government

00:12:39.490 --> 00:12:43.140
hopes will now be planting
more cassava a crop which

00:12:43.140 --> 00:12:45.950
provides basic carbohydrate
for over half a

00:12:45.950 --> 00:12:48.140
billion people worldwide.

00:12:48.140 --> 00:12:51.390
Nigeria's the world's
biggest producer.

00:12:51.390 --> 00:12:54.380
Adesanya says previous
cassava harvests here

00:12:54.380 --> 00:12:56.460
were left to rot.

00:12:56.460 --> 00:12:58.710
Now, he's more hopeful.

00:12:58.710 --> 00:13:01.010
- Right now, we are in
the cassava plot .

00:13:01.010 --> 00:13:05.810
So this area has just been
ploughed for cassava

00:13:05.810 --> 00:13:06.960
plantation.

00:13:06.960 --> 00:13:11.900
You can see our boys on the
farm now planting cassava.

00:13:11.900 --> 00:13:14.970
Narrator: Like rice, cassava is
crucial to the minister's

00:13:14.970 --> 00:13:17.180
self-sufficiency strategy.

00:13:17.180 --> 00:13:20.730
He believes cassava could be
processed into tasty food for

00:13:20.730 --> 00:13:23.430
the supermarket shelves.

00:13:23.430 --> 00:13:25.020
- Nigeria is the largest
producer of

00:13:25.020 --> 00:13:26.830
cassava in the world.

00:13:26.830 --> 00:13:29.380
But we are not adding
value to cassava.

00:13:29.380 --> 00:13:31.287
At the same time, we're the
largest importer of

00:13:31.287 --> 00:13:33.240
wheat in the world.

00:13:33.240 --> 00:13:39.490
And so by substituting high
quality cassava flour in bread

00:13:39.490 --> 00:13:42.520
up to the level of 20%, we can
reduce that dependency on

00:13:42.520 --> 00:13:45.338
wheat imports, and also
create jobs locally.

00:13:45.338 --> 00:13:51.320
[BAND PLAYING]

00:13:51.320 --> 00:13:55.330
Narrator: In Lagos, it's the
Children's Day March, a chance

00:13:55.330 --> 00:13:57.780
to convince future generations
about future

00:13:57.780 --> 00:14:00.910
food, Nigerian style.

00:14:00.910 --> 00:14:06.310
Not foreign wheat-only bread,
but local cassava bread.

00:14:06.310 --> 00:14:12.500
- Today's Children's Day on
the federal government has

00:14:12.500 --> 00:14:17.220
decided that we should
distribute the bread, which

00:14:17.220 --> 00:14:25.470
was commissioned to UTC to use
20?ssava and 80% wheat for

00:14:25.470 --> 00:14:28.930
bread to distribute
to the children.

00:14:28.930 --> 00:14:31.380
- The cassava bread
is delicious.

00:14:31.380 --> 00:14:32.360
- I love it.

00:14:32.360 --> 00:14:32.850
It's sweet.

00:14:32.850 --> 00:14:36.280
- It's delicious more than
other wheat bread.

00:14:36.280 --> 00:14:38.590
Narrator: For the minister, it's
a business opportunity

00:14:38.590 --> 00:14:40.630
for Nigeria.

00:14:40.630 --> 00:14:43.920
- Here is cassava bread.

00:14:43.920 --> 00:14:48.480
It's made out of 20% high
quality cassava flour and 80%

00:14:48.480 --> 00:14:48.970
wheat flour.

00:14:48.970 --> 00:14:49.340
This is commercial.

00:14:49.340 --> 00:14:51.490
This is not government.

00:14:51.490 --> 00:14:56.200
This bread is tastier bread,
it's better bread, it's

00:14:56.200 --> 00:14:59.590
healthier bread, and finally,
is that it's cheaper.

00:14:59.590 --> 00:15:04.030
This bread costs 60% the
cost of wheat bread.

00:15:04.030 --> 00:15:08.060
And so this alone is going
to save our economy...

00:15:08.060 --> 00:15:09.871
it's almost close to $2 billion,
$1.5 billion, $2

00:15:09.871 --> 00:15:13.920
billion, every year, just by
making that substitution.

00:15:13.920 --> 00:15:17.550
So our president directed us
that we should commercialize

00:15:17.550 --> 00:15:18.420
this cassava bread.

00:15:18.420 --> 00:15:19.520
And it's in the private
sector.

00:15:19.520 --> 00:15:20.950
This is from UTC.

00:15:20.950 --> 00:15:22.860
This is one of the
largest corporate

00:15:22.860 --> 00:15:24.145
bakers in the country.

00:15:34.540 --> 00:15:38.570
- UTC is a whole indigenous
company owned by Nigerians

00:15:38.570 --> 00:15:45.550
100%, run by Nigerians, and
making products fit for the

00:15:45.550 --> 00:15:48.870
Nigerian market.

00:15:48.870 --> 00:15:52.578
The minister said we should
include cassava.

00:15:52.578 --> 00:15:56.080
Let us see how we can do this.

00:15:56.080 --> 00:15:58.560
Competition was naturally
worried.

00:15:58.560 --> 00:16:02.020
But you know, this
was a big risk.

00:16:02.020 --> 00:16:06.950
But we decided to go along that
line because we know,

00:16:06.950 --> 00:16:10.060
yes, you can pay the price
if it goes negative.

00:16:10.060 --> 00:16:14.200
But if it goes positive, there's
so many benefits that

00:16:14.200 --> 00:16:16.680
it can bring into the
organization.

00:16:16.680 --> 00:16:21.380
So yes, we challenged industry
and conventional norms in the

00:16:21.380 --> 00:16:22.690
baking industry.

00:16:22.690 --> 00:16:24.180
And we're happy we did it.

00:16:24.180 --> 00:16:25.930
We're happy today.

00:16:25.930 --> 00:16:29.420
Narrator: Nigerian cassava
replacing imported wheat, and

00:16:29.420 --> 00:16:31.090
not just in bread.

00:16:31.090 --> 00:16:33.890
A big opportunity
for the future.

00:16:33.890 --> 00:16:39.470
- For Nigeria, cassava is an
incredibly important crop.

00:16:39.470 --> 00:16:43.640
It is the largest producer
of cassava in the world.

00:16:43.640 --> 00:16:46.760
What we really need to do is
develop the markets and the

00:16:46.760 --> 00:16:48.440
demand for cassava.

00:16:48.440 --> 00:16:53.780
And so therefore, to have
cassava flour, which becomes a

00:16:53.780 --> 00:16:57.750
natural demand for this large
production, is excellent.

00:16:57.750 --> 00:17:02.230
And ahh we do believe that there
are also other areas

00:17:02.230 --> 00:17:07.000
whereby cassava can be used
for other products.

00:17:07.000 --> 00:17:10.750
- We are also making quite a
lot of pastries that are

00:17:10.750 --> 00:17:11.630
coming out of this.

00:17:11.630 --> 00:17:15.089
The whole sense here is that
it is about the economy.

00:17:15.089 --> 00:17:16.930
It's about economics.

00:17:16.930 --> 00:17:20.510
We are creating markets for our
cassava farmers right now

00:17:20.510 --> 00:17:21.760
that they've never had before.

00:17:25.710 --> 00:17:28.339
Narrator: It's not just
rice and cassava.

00:17:28.339 --> 00:17:31.720
As we met the minister,
an unexpected arrival.

00:17:31.720 --> 00:17:34.700
Mrs. Ero has come down from
the North to see the

00:17:34.700 --> 00:17:38.610
minister's aide to promote her
local crop, acha, only grown

00:17:38.610 --> 00:17:39.815
in the North.

00:17:39.815 --> 00:17:43.310
At last, she's found someone
to help her.

00:17:43.310 --> 00:17:47.160
- We have women, over
200 of us, farming

00:17:47.160 --> 00:17:49.130
something called acha.

00:17:49.130 --> 00:17:53.870
I came here some time ago to
see the minister concerning

00:17:53.870 --> 00:17:55.410
our farming there.

00:17:55.410 --> 00:17:59.400
I've have come by to give them
some reports on some

00:17:59.400 --> 00:18:02.080
directives that the
minister gave.

00:18:02.080 --> 00:18:06.350
This is my dream Nigeria, if it
goes on the way and when I

00:18:06.350 --> 00:18:08.710
have seen him responding
to me.

00:18:08.710 --> 00:18:13.910
If it goes on like that, in
fact, we are just starting.

00:18:13.910 --> 00:18:16.330
Narrator: So, is the minister
really going to promote

00:18:16.330 --> 00:18:18.740
indigenous foods like
Mrs. Ero's?

00:18:18.740 --> 00:18:20.950
Or is he suggesting everything's
turned into

00:18:20.950 --> 00:18:23.850
bland, Western-style
processed food?

00:18:23.850 --> 00:18:27.647
Our Nigerian director
was keen to know.

00:18:27.647 --> 00:18:30.890
- We're not going to lose those
wonderful little gems of

00:18:30.890 --> 00:18:34.140
Nigerian food which you can't
buy anywhere else?

00:18:34.140 --> 00:18:36.370
- You know, we have great
food in Nigeria.

00:18:36.370 --> 00:18:37.650
You have eba.

00:18:37.650 --> 00:18:38.870
You have amala.

00:18:38.870 --> 00:18:39.970
You have lafun.

00:18:39.970 --> 00:18:41.180
You have okra.

00:18:41.180 --> 00:18:42.570
You have pepper soup.

00:18:42.570 --> 00:18:45.030
Those are things that
are unique to us.

00:18:45.030 --> 00:18:47.950
And what I'm saying is that we
have going to focus on that.

00:18:47.950 --> 00:18:51.640
Look, the Chinese have
Chinese rice, right?

00:18:51.640 --> 00:18:54.550
The Japanese have tofu.

00:18:54.550 --> 00:18:56.550
What we have, amala.

00:18:56.550 --> 00:18:57.445
We have eba.

00:18:57.445 --> 00:18:58.440
We have yams.

00:18:58.440 --> 00:19:00.650
Those are the things that we
are promoting now for our

00:19:00.650 --> 00:19:02.650
people to like our
local foods.

00:19:02.650 --> 00:19:05.030
So for example, one thing we are
doing with yams right now,

00:19:05.030 --> 00:19:07.460
we're going to start doing
with yams, is instead of

00:19:07.460 --> 00:19:10.260
buying that tuber of yam
and transporting

00:19:10.260 --> 00:19:13.490
it, slice the yam.

00:19:13.490 --> 00:19:14.700
Deep freeze it.

00:19:14.700 --> 00:19:16.020
Pre-cook it.

00:19:16.020 --> 00:19:18.950
Make it available in the
supermarket that anybody that

00:19:18.950 --> 00:19:21.820
wants to have breakfast, all
they have to do is take it off

00:19:21.820 --> 00:19:23.130
the supermarket shelf.

00:19:23.130 --> 00:19:25.710
Take it and toss it in water
or fry it, within 10

00:19:25.710 --> 00:19:27.630
minutes, it's done.

00:19:27.630 --> 00:19:33.890
We must as a continent make it
easier to process and add

00:19:33.890 --> 00:19:35.210
value to food.

00:19:35.210 --> 00:19:39.450
Africa most go back to its own
food, but make it easier to

00:19:39.450 --> 00:19:41.161
process and add value to it.

00:19:44.110 --> 00:19:46.940
Narrator: But there are
still problems.

00:19:46.940 --> 00:19:50.140
Many fertile countries like
Nigeria are dogged by

00:19:50.140 --> 00:19:53.810
shortages, inefficiencies,
and worse.

00:19:53.810 --> 00:19:56.880
Right now, farmer Adesanya could
certainly do with more

00:19:56.880 --> 00:19:59.410
fertilizer.

00:19:59.410 --> 00:20:04.750
- [SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGAUGE]

00:20:04.750 --> 00:20:06.865
40 kilogram of maize
will cover about

00:20:06.865 --> 00:20:07.530
three hectares of farmland.

00:20:07.530 --> 00:20:21.770
[SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGAUGE]

00:20:21.770 --> 00:20:24.550
Narrator: Minister Adesina has
a terse explanation for

00:20:24.550 --> 00:20:26.330
fertilizer shortages.

00:20:26.330 --> 00:20:29.070
And a promise of action.

00:20:29.070 --> 00:20:33.340
- It's the president has
directed that we must clean up

00:20:33.340 --> 00:20:36.903
these situations of corruption
that we find in the fertilizer

00:20:36.903 --> 00:20:43.800
sector of Nigeria, where only
11% of farmers get the seeds

00:20:43.800 --> 00:20:47.620
and fertilizers that are
subsidized by government.

00:20:47.620 --> 00:20:50.440
Narrator: Under the minister's
new plan, farmers registered

00:20:50.440 --> 00:20:52.900
to buy subsidized fertilizer
straight

00:20:52.900 --> 00:20:54.800
from commercial suppliers.

00:20:54.800 --> 00:20:57.530
The state middlemen are
being cut out of the

00:20:57.530 --> 00:20:59.700
distribution chain.

00:20:59.700 --> 00:21:02.260
- Federal government does not
buy fertilizer or distribute

00:21:02.260 --> 00:21:04.720
fertilizer any longer
in Nigeria.

00:21:04.720 --> 00:21:08.470
Fertilizer is not different from
Coca-Cola or Pepsi Cola.

00:21:08.470 --> 00:21:10.170
It's a commodity.

00:21:10.170 --> 00:21:12.540
There's no reason for them to be
supplying the commodity to

00:21:12.540 --> 00:21:13.290
my warehouse.

00:21:13.290 --> 00:21:16.430
They should be selling it
directly to farmers.

00:21:16.430 --> 00:21:19.510
And when the government was
doing it, sometimes you get

00:21:19.510 --> 00:21:23.640
fertilizer half bag, sometimes
you get sand instead of

00:21:23.640 --> 00:21:24.565
fertilizer.

00:21:24.565 --> 00:21:26.620
It's a very corrupt system.

00:21:26.620 --> 00:21:30.910
So what we have right now is we
have moved to what we call

00:21:30.910 --> 00:21:33.930
"private sector-driven
delivery systems".

00:21:33.930 --> 00:21:36.020
The role of government
has changed.

00:21:36.020 --> 00:21:40.650
We're targeting this year 4.5
million farmers to get

00:21:40.650 --> 00:21:44.430
subsidized fertilizers, but not
through the old system.

00:21:44.430 --> 00:21:48.540
They get it through what we
call an electronic wallet.

00:21:48.540 --> 00:21:50.670
We have a database of all
the farmers we are

00:21:50.670 --> 00:21:51.960
targeting so we know them.

00:21:51.960 --> 00:21:55.540
We have all their biometric
information.

00:21:55.540 --> 00:21:59.190
- First of all, you receive text
messages inviting you to

00:21:59.190 --> 00:22:03.790
come here and collect these
things as subsidizaries.

00:22:03.790 --> 00:22:07.570
Now the invitation also gives
you voucher numbers, which

00:22:07.570 --> 00:22:11.380
will stipulate the numbers you
use for the collection of

00:22:11.380 --> 00:22:15.470
uriah, fertilizer, for the
collection of NPK fertilizer.

00:22:15.470 --> 00:22:16.990
- And you collect
your two bags of

00:22:16.990 --> 00:22:18.620
fertilizer, and you go home.

00:22:18.620 --> 00:22:21.260
There is no politician between
you and your fertilizer.

00:22:21.260 --> 00:22:23.600
There's no local government
chairman between you and the

00:22:23.600 --> 00:22:24.850
fertilizer.

00:22:27.260 --> 00:22:30.600
Narrator: Nigeria growing more
of its own food by cutting out

00:22:30.600 --> 00:22:31.620
corruption.

00:22:31.620 --> 00:22:36.630
For small scale farmer Adesanya,
it's a huge prize.

00:22:36.630 --> 00:23:06.480
- [SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE]

00:23:06.480 --> 00:23:08.820
Narrator: But do people really
want to eat only

00:23:08.820 --> 00:23:10.070
food grown at home?

00:23:13.380 --> 00:23:16.600
Chef Uche cooks fusion dishes.

00:23:16.600 --> 00:23:20.100
African food with
a global twist.

00:23:20.100 --> 00:23:22.590
- I like to think of myself
as a fusion chef.

00:23:22.590 --> 00:23:27.260
I like to cut across cuisines
and push them.

00:23:27.260 --> 00:23:31.390
Most of the ingredients I use,
I got in Africa, Europe.

00:23:31.390 --> 00:23:34.450
Just a mix of everything.

00:23:34.450 --> 00:23:37.220
Narrator: Chef Uche fears that
policies favoring homegrown

00:23:37.220 --> 00:23:42.130
produce can be out of place in
today's globalized world.

00:23:42.130 --> 00:23:44.770
He worries what would happen if
government policies were to

00:23:44.770 --> 00:23:48.860
make imports too expensive
or even unavailable.

00:23:48.860 --> 00:23:54.390
- The essence of food is
to convey a message.

00:23:54.390 --> 00:23:58.360
Food is the universal
language.

00:23:58.360 --> 00:24:04.360
It would be unfair for all of
a sudden to deny people

00:24:04.360 --> 00:24:09.030
certain things based on
what they can afford.

00:24:09.030 --> 00:24:11.115
I will now have money and
want to buy something.

00:24:11.115 --> 00:24:13.120
You tell me it's not available
for me, because the government

00:24:13.120 --> 00:24:14.850
says you can't have this.

00:24:14.850 --> 00:24:15.987
Food is everybody's
basic right.

00:24:15.987 --> 00:24:16.840
OK?

00:24:16.840 --> 00:24:18.900
I don't think anybody should
have a say on what someone

00:24:18.900 --> 00:24:20.740
should eat, or what someone
shouldn't eat.

00:24:20.740 --> 00:24:22.110
I'm not going to stand up.

00:24:22.110 --> 00:24:24.635
I want to probably make lasagna,
and I can't find

00:24:24.635 --> 00:24:25.500
ingredient for it.

00:24:25.500 --> 00:24:26.630
And I have people that
want to have lasagna.

00:24:26.630 --> 00:24:29.440
And because I live in Nigeria,
all of a sudden, I'm not going

00:24:29.440 --> 00:24:30.840
to have lasagna.

00:24:30.840 --> 00:24:34.980
Now what makes me different from
the guy living in Italy.

00:24:34.980 --> 00:24:37.460
We're all human beingsyou
understand?

00:24:37.460 --> 00:24:38.360
It's choice.

00:24:38.360 --> 00:24:40.930
It's our right.

00:24:40.930 --> 00:24:41.890
Narrator: Imported food

00:24:41.890 --> 00:24:44.180
effectively banned or rationed?

00:24:44.180 --> 00:24:47.010
No talk of that in Nigeria yet,
they're just encouraging

00:24:47.010 --> 00:24:48.175
local food.

00:24:48.175 --> 00:24:51.290
But such bans have been imposed
in some countries,

00:24:51.290 --> 00:24:54.050
using high import barriers
and taxes.

00:24:54.050 --> 00:24:58.320
Nigeria's consumer groups
are already on the case.

00:24:58.320 --> 00:25:06.220
- Whatever the policy will be
must give consumers access to

00:25:06.220 --> 00:25:13.340
variety, availability, so that
they can not be caged up to

00:25:13.340 --> 00:25:17.960
buying from one source, and give
consumers the access to

00:25:17.960 --> 00:25:20.870
variety, and opportunity
also to exercise

00:25:20.870 --> 00:25:22.600
their right of choice.

00:25:22.600 --> 00:25:25.790
- So make the options
available.

00:25:25.790 --> 00:25:27.810
And then let people decide
what they want to eat.

00:25:27.810 --> 00:25:30.330
And at the end of the year, you
can look at the data of

00:25:30.330 --> 00:25:32.920
the supermarkets and see what
people actually buy.

00:25:32.920 --> 00:25:35.794
Whether they buy more of the
imports or more of the local.

00:25:39.750 --> 00:25:41.670
Narrator: Consumers
free to decide.

00:25:41.670 --> 00:25:43.730
Governments promoting farming.

00:25:43.730 --> 00:25:48.870
Nigeria reckons it's the right
way to feed the future.

00:25:48.870 --> 00:25:52.310
- Africa has the largest amount
of land available right

00:25:52.310 --> 00:25:54.030
now in the world.

00:25:54.030 --> 00:25:58.332
Nigeria alone has enough amount
of land, not only to

00:25:58.332 --> 00:26:00.250
feed itself, but to be
the largest food

00:26:00.250 --> 00:26:03.270
exporter on this continent.

00:26:03.270 --> 00:26:08.190
We have a world that's going
to be soon 9 billion people

00:26:08.190 --> 00:26:09.710
that we have to feed.

00:26:09.710 --> 00:26:12.710
The fact is, what is Africa's
role in feeding that world?

00:26:12.710 --> 00:26:14.350
Itself, and feeding
that world?

00:26:14.350 --> 00:26:16.410
And it's huge.

00:26:16.410 --> 00:26:19.140
Narrator: Of course the farmers
who have the largest

00:26:19.140 --> 00:26:23.390
role in feeding Africa remain
its small scale farmers,

00:26:23.390 --> 00:26:29.650
themselves consumers, voters,
employers, and job creators.

00:26:29.650 --> 00:26:32.440
- An attempt for a country to
rebuild its food production

00:26:32.440 --> 00:26:36.050
and then to feed itself is an
opportunity for small farmers

00:26:36.050 --> 00:26:37.600
that must be seized upon.

00:26:37.600 --> 00:26:41.130
And by investing in these food
producers, we encourage a

00:26:41.130 --> 00:26:43.230
local food processing
industry to emerge.

00:26:43.230 --> 00:26:45.900
We encourage the local marketing
of this produce.

00:26:45.900 --> 00:26:48.740
And so we create employment in
the other sectors of the

00:26:48.740 --> 00:26:51.400
economy than the agricultural
sector itself.

00:26:51.400 --> 00:26:54.000
So it's an opportunity that
must be seized upon to

00:26:54.000 --> 00:26:57.570
relaunch good development,
and to reduce

00:26:57.570 --> 00:26:58.820
poverty in these countries.

00:27:01.700 --> 00:27:03.760
And those are sentiments farmer

00:27:03.760 --> 00:27:07.800
Adesanya can only endorse.

00:27:07.800 --> 00:27:20.940
- [SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGAUGE]

00:27:20.940 --> 00:27:23.740
No farmer, no life.

00:27:23.740 --> 00:27:25.496
Because no farmer, no food.

00:27:25.496 --> 00:27:28.240
No food, no life.

00:27:28.240 --> 00:28:00.043
[MUSIC PLAYING]