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IMPACTS OF CONFLICTS ON INVESTMENTS IN
AGRICULTURE IN THE NIGER DELTA.
By
Prof. prince Mike Ikupolati fcii, fiin, fipdm, llb.
Chairman/international consultant
Global intellectual consult nig. Ltd
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WHAT IS CONFLICT?
 Conflict refers to some form of friction,
disagreement, or discord arising within a
group when the beliefs or actions of one
or more members of the group are either
resisted by or unacceptable to one or
more members of another group.
 The following common elements in the
definitions of conflict:
a)
b)
c)
d)
There are recognized opposing interests between
parties in a zero-sum situation;
There must be a belief by each side that the other one
is or will act against them;
This belief is likely to be justified by actions taken;
Conflict is a process, having developed from their past
interactions.
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NATURE OF CONFLICT
IN THE NIGER DELTA
 Conflicts in the Niger Delta include:
1)
Inter-communal conflicts
2)
Inter- tribal conflicts
3)
Inter- ethnic conflicts
4)
Militancy conflicts
5)
Pastoral vs. farmer conflicts
These conflicts are in form of:
a) Man against Man Conflicts
b) Man against Nature Conflicts and
c) Man against Self Conflicts.
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WHAT IS CONFLICT?

Causes of conflicts in the
Niger Delta:
1)
Competition for Oil Wealth since the 1990s.
2)
Militarization of the region by local militia groups.
3)
Oil spillage affecting farmers’ land Fishermen’
water fronts.
4)
Environmental degradation resulting from
activities of the foreign Oil companies in the
Region.
5)
Siphoning of Oil from Pipelines and Wells.
6)
Social Unrest by Youths who are mainly
unemployed.
7)
Ignorance resulting from mass illiteracy.
8)
Bad leadership and poor governance.

But the farmers need to reclaim their
livelihood!!!
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WHAT IS CONFLICT?

a)
b)
c)
d)
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e)
Conflicts and Investments
in Agriculture:
Farm looting by criminals who are mostly youths.
Perennial harassments of farmers by the youths
demanding land royalties.
Environmental and Industrial pollution resulting
from activities of hoodlums.
Poachers activities causing insecurity of farms.
Perennial crisis causes loss of interest by investor
both local and foreign.
f)
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WHAT IS CONFLICT?


The resultant effect of all these is
widespread Poverty, which in itself
causes conflict and conflict again
leads to more poverty.
The circle continues.
POVERTY
CONFLICT

We therefore need peace in the Niger
Delta to avoid the recurrences of
conflicts.
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CURRENT STATE OF
INVESTMENTS IN AGRICULTURE
Type of Investment NC
NE
NW
SE
SS
SW
ALL
Foreign private
0
0.2
0.6
0.3
0.8
0.1
0.3
Foreign public
0
-0.1
0.3
0.3
0.5
-0.1
0.2
Domestic private
0
0.4
0.3
0.6
0.4
0.4
0.4
Domestic public
-0.1
-0.2
0.3
0.5
-0.4
-0.1
0
Note:

Negative (-) values imply decreasing investment;

Positive (+) values imply increasing investment

Zero means no change in investment.

Upper limit is +1 and lower limit is –1.

Key: NC=North Central; NE=North East; NW=North West;
SE=South East; SS=South South; SW=South West
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CURRENT STATE OF INVESTMENTS IN AGRICULTURE
Foreign Private Investment in Agriculture
Zone Rank Positive Reasons
Negative Reasons
North
Central
2.5
Democratic governance
Availability of raw materials
Adequate policy support
Natural resource endowment
Political instability, Political
discrimination, Dishonesty, Poor
technology, Low policy effectiveness
North East
4.0
Large local market,
Corruption
Abundant resources, Abundant
Insecurity
opportunities, High returns on investment, Bureaucratic bottlenecks
Democratic governance
North West
3.4
Favourable political climate, Raw
materials availability, High demand,
Resource endowment, Comparative
advantage
Insecurity, Political instability, Poor
infrastructure, Naira devaluation, Low
investment opportunities
South East
2.5
Resources availability, Ban on agricultural
commodity import
Political/religious/ethnic strife, Political
instability, Unfavourable political climate
South
South
2.4
Democracy
Economic/political stability
Raw material availability
Bad roads, insecurity/violence,
Political instability, corruption,
Greed/fraud, High dependency on
oil revenue, poor electricity and
water supply, policy inconsistency
South West
3.3
Low labour cost, High investment
opportunities, Conducive atmosphere,
Security of investors.
Insecurity
Poor attitude to work
Policy inconsistency
Political instability
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Domestic Private Investment in Agriculture
Zone
Rank
Positive Reasons
Negative Reasons
North
Central
4.1
Good policies, Raw material
availability,
Availability of markets, Good
economic environment, Good
indigenous technologies
Poor infrastructure
Low technology
Poor policy effectiveness
North East 5.0
Large domestic market,
Abundant raw materials, High
returns on investment, resource
endowment, Democratic
governance, abundant
opportunities
Corruption
Insecurity
Bureaucratic bottlenecks
North
West
Good policies, Good economic
climate, resource availability,
cheap labour, political stability,
Adequate funding, High local
demand, Salary/wage increase
Smuggling, Political instability,
Poor infrastructure, Poor policy
implementation, Low returns on
investment, Paucity of funds
South East 3.1
Good investment promoting
policies, establishment of ADPs,
availability of improved crop
varieties
Unfavourable political climate
High interest rate on loans
South
South
3.3
Increase in workers wages
Availability of raw materials
Improved local production
technology
Economic/political stability
Patriotism
Bad roads, Insecurity/robbery,
Poor infrastructure, Corruption,
Poor policy, Enforcement policy
Reversals, Advanced fee fraud
(419)
Poor security system, Lack of
protective policy
South
West
3.3
High potential profit
Familiarity with market
Large local market
High investment opportunity
Inadequate infrastructure
Lack of adequate capital
Underperformance of utilities,
Political instability, high
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INVESTMENTS IN AGRICULTURE
AND CONFLICT MITIGATION

As concluded in a study
commissioned by Future Harvest, a
foundation established by former US
President Jimmy Carter, "rehabilitation of
agriculture is a central condition for development,
reducing poverty, preventing environmental
destruction - and for reducing violence.


Poor conditions for agriculture hold
grave implications for socio-economic
development and sustainable peace.
Just as good governance is crucial to
building healthy conditions for
agriculture, and thus breaking the
vicious cycle of poverty, scarcity and
violence.
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INVESTMENTS IN AGRICULTURE
AND CONFLICT MITIGATION
HE Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, President of
Liberia once said
“It is very clear to us that agriculture has
the potential to become a major source
of employment, most especially for the
thousands of our citizens, especially
women and youth who, as casualties of
the war, lack essential skills, but who
can learn to farm the land. Our objective
is to consolidate them into a productive
and dynamic entity for national
development. Jobs in the farming sector
is one of the means of accomplishing
that aim...We can become a post conflict
success story building upon our
agriculture activities”.

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INVESTMENT IN AGRICULTURE
AND CONFLICT MITIGATION
 These
four areas for consideration
for an action agenda by
stakeholders are:
a) Conflict prevention through investments in
agriculture.
b) A protection agenda for agriculture in Niger
Delta Region.
c) The regeneration of the fabric of societies
through massive investment in agriculture in
the Niger Delta after the protracted crises.
d) A robust knowledge management and research
agenda for the people of the Niger Delta,
especially the youths and Women.
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INVESTMENTS IN AGRICULTURE
AND CONFLICT MITIGATION

a)
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b)
c)
Investing heavily in Agriculture
literally will;
Brings new life to shattered homes and
communities in the Niger Delta,
Serves as a motivating rationale for
bringing people together where conflict
has torn social networks asunder and restarts a key economic engine to drive
recovery.
The level of investment in agriculture is
positively correlated with food security
and poverty reduction, hence investment
in Agriculture will guaranty food security
and reduce poverty in the Region.
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INVESTMENTS IN AGRICULTURE
AND CONFLICT MITIGATION
d)
e)
f)
g)
Investments in Agriculture Research
Institutions in the Niger Delta with a vibrant
extension worker services to disseminate and
train farmers will help to reduce tension and
communal conflicts.
Investment in Agricultural MSMS
Enterprises will help to provide jobs for
women and the youths and reduce the heavy
demand on oil companies and large scale
farmers.
A heavy investment in Agriculture will reduce
food insecurity and poverty among the rural
dwellers and thus reduced poverty-induced crimes
in the Niger Delta.
Investments in Agriculture will make Farming
attractive to the youths and rural populace
thereby eliminating idleness and unemployment
induced conflicts.
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CONCLUSION

In summary;




The peace dividend in the Niger Delta is not a
magic wand.
Realizing the peace dividend is not an automatic
process, but one that depends on choices
made by relevant actors, not least by Peace
Practitioners, Private Sector investors,
Government Actors in Agriculture in the Niger
Delta.
Stakeholders have to consider improving their
investments in Agriculture in the Niger Delta as a
means of eliminating or reducing to the barest
minimum conflicts in The Niger Delta.
Stakeholders must make these long-term
commitments to support the process of
realizing these dividends.
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