When Governor Seyi Makinde made a bold public declaration during his first term in office, one announcement in particular captured the imagination of farmers, economists, and agricultural stakeholders across Oyo State. The Governor announced that Oyo State was actively negotiating a bilateral agricultural trade framework with Botswana to export locally grown hybrid maize to the Southern African nation.
Botswana, which historically relies on expensive maize imports from Central and South America to meet its domestic demand, was reportedly willing to give Nigerian farmers direct market access. The announcement was met with widespread enthusiasm. For farmers and agribusiness operators across Oyo State’s vibrant agrarian belts—particularly in Oyo North—it signaled a transformative shift. The vision was compelling: expanded cultivation, guaranteed off-take, foreign exchange earnings, and a grand entry for Oyo State into regional intra-African trade under the framework of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
For a state where smallholder farmers have long battled systemic bottlenecks—including inadequate access to credit, dilapidated rural infrastructure, severe post-harvest losses, and volatile local prices—the promise of a structured international off-take agreement felt like a watershed moment. It was widely assumed that the State Government would back this ambition with targeted interventions: high-yield hybrid seed distribution, subsidized land preparation, expanded extension services, quality assurance protocols, and streamlined export logistics.
Yet, more than five years later, a critical question remains unanswered: where is the Botswana maize deal?
The original expectation was clear and unambiguous: Oyo State would scale up maize cultivation to meet export-grade volumes and launch initial shipments. To date, no such exports have materialized in any publicly verifiable, commercial, or sustained capacity.
In subsequent years, senior state officials—including leadership within the Oyo State Agribusiness Development Agency (OYSADA)—offered subtle context for the shift in focus. They suggested that empirical data, soil suitability assessments, and economic feasibility studies revealed that Oyo State did not possess a strong comparative advantage in primary maize production at the scale and price point required to compete on the international market. Consequently, the administration pivoted its agricultural strategy toward cassava value-addition, state-wide agribusiness industrial hubs (such as the Fasola Agribusiness Industrial Park), improved cassava stem distribution, and broad institutional reforms designed to position agriculture as a commercially viable enterprise.
That policy realignment deserves fair acknowledgment. Flexible, data-driven governance is far superior to rigid adherence to an unviable project. Indeed, Oyo State has recorded notable achievements in the cassava value chain, attracted private-sector processing investments, and laid important foundations for rural industrialization. These strides are commendable.
However, public policy demands clear accountability. A major, publicly announced international trade partnership cannot simply fade into silence without a formal, detailed accounting. Citizens, cooperative unions, and investors who aligned their plans with the Governor’s declaration are entitled to transparent answers.
To restore clarity, the government should address several vital questions:
The Bilateral Trajectory: What was the precise technical and diplomatic outcome of the talks with Botswana? Were any trial shipments or quality tests ever conducted?
The Economic Benchmarks: What specific cost, yield, or logistical barriers rendered the export arrangement commercially unviable?
Targeted Support for Maize Farmers: Given that maize remains an indispensable staple, what concrete support has been delivered to maize farmers in high-potential production zones like Saki, Iseyin, Ogbomoso, and Ibarapa to boost domestic yields?
Strategic Direction: If primary maize export is no longer a priority, what is the state’s official roadmap for local maize self-sufficiency, grain storage infrastructure, feed-mill integration, and climate-resilient seed production?
Maize occupies a critical position in Nigeria’s national food security and industrial livestock feed ecosystem. Amid soaring inflation, foreign exchange volatility, and escalating feed costs threatening the poultry sector, domestic maize productivity is a strategic necessity—regardless of export viability.
If Oyo State has rightly concluded that its comparative strength lies in processing, cassava, and grain import-substitution rather than maize export, the public deserves a clear, structured policy narrative explaining that shift. Conversely, if the Botswana opportunity remains viable under restructured private-sector partnerships, the state should outline a realistic strategy to realize it.
Your Excellency, public trust in governance is nurtured as much by transparency and follow-through as it is by bold declarations. A candid, comprehensive public update on the Botswana maize initiative—detailing what was attempted, the lessons learned, and the strategic path forward—will not diminish your administration’s agricultural record.
On the contrary, it will demonstrate mature, accountable governance and reinforce the confidence of the agricultural community in Oyo State’s economic vision.
We respectfully look forward to your response.
Tunji Ajibade writes from Ibadan via talogaju22@gmail.com
