Economist questions data published by NBS

Professor of agricultural economics at the Michael Okpara University of Agriculture Umudike (MOUAU) Abia State, Dr Raphael Ndubuisi Echebiri, has expressed doubts over the data published by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

He said this while presenting the 57th Inaugural Lecture of the university he tagged “The Mirage Of Plenty: Facts But Fiction In Nigeria Agroecology And Smallholder Systems”.

He said that the NBS is one of the agencies that could rightly be seen as constituting part of the conscience of the nation as its mandate, naming the Central Bank of Nigeria as another.

“There is scarcely anyone among us who can say he or she has once seen NBS staff visit their locality in a serious mood to generate data on farming, Agricultural output on household food demand and consumptions,” he said.

He recommended that national data collection should not be left in the hands of one agency.

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“It has become rather expedient, therefore that Universities of Agriculture in Nigeria should be mandated, equipped, and given the legal backup to generate and manage agricultural data for their various regions, the NBS should serve as a coordinating Agency that receives accurate data from Universities and produce National average that can serve macroeconomic purposes.”

He urged the government of the Southeast states to take practical steps to reinvent the consciousness of the region’s comparative advantage in oil palm production and other major crops, including roots and tuber crops.