With the increase in the call to return to agriculture comes the increase in the use of foreign exchange as bait. Over time the need/call for diversification from a mono product economy to multiple product economy has also fuelled the desire of African nations for foreign exchange. This has deprived African economy from being independent of other continents.
In the quest for foreign exchange, we have had to export agricultural produce mostly in their raw form without creating any major value chain through value addition. Value addition would have created a value chain that would have taken care of unemployment.
Foreign exchange is not bad but should come after value addition. That way, we would have strengthen the semi finish goods industries, created employment, established local technology/techniques, build more research centers, develop our storage and processing techniques. We would have succeeded in declaring our relevance within the committee of nations.
Africans needs to make legislation against the export of agricultural produce that have not undergone value addition. Let the world at least export finish product from us too.
The recent scarcity of cassava that led to increase in price of the produce was majorly because of insufficient production to cover local consumption and increased exportation if the produce.
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