Agriculture and food 482. The CSAR notes with concern the declining role of the agricultural sector in Nigeria’s development. Given its importance for food security and for providing an income for most Nigerians, the CSAR urges government to implement measures aimed at revitalising the sector. 483. Agriculture provided over 80 per cent of the export earnings and employment, about 65 per cent of total output or GDP, and about 50 per cent of government revenue in the 1960s. However, agriculture was neglected and rural incomes declined severely as oil revenues became increasingly important to the national economy in the 1970s. This broadened and deepened poverty. Nigeria was importing food to the value of about US$2 billion annually by the turn of the century. 484. The CSAR commends recent initiatives to revitalise the agricultural sector. These include: the Presidential Initiative on Cassava Production, Processing and Export; the Vegetable Oil Development Programme; the National Special Programme for Food Security (NSPFS); the Presidential Initiatives on Rice Production, Processing and Export; and the improvements in agricultural growth rates. The CSAR nevertheless calls on government to address threats to the sector posed by climate change, limited access to credit and weak agriculture-related infrastructure. Industry 485. The CSAR lauds newly introduced measures to improve access to finance for industrial development. Key initiatives include establishing the Bank of Industry (BOI), the Small and Medium Industries Equity Investment Scheme (SMIEIS) and the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency (SMEDAN). 486. BOI was introduced as a development institution to accelerate Nigeria’s industrial development by facilitating access to long-term loans, generating employment and promoting indigenous entrepreneurship. The bank also provides financial, technical and managerial support services to small and medium enterprises (SMEs). 487. SMIEIS is a fund directed at promoting SMEs. It is financed by contributions from commercial and merchant banks. Beneficiaries are subject to a number of conditions and benefits. These include tax relief during the first five years of operation, lower duties on imported raw materials, lower tariffs on industrial machinery and spare parts, and relatively higher duties on competing imported finished goods so as to discourage the dumping of goods in Nigeria. 488. SMIEIS is coordinated by a committee of banks. This ensures that 60 per cent of the SMIEIS fund is directed to the core sector, 30 per cent to services, and 10 per cent to microenterprises through nongovernmental organisations (NGOs). 153