The federal government has stated that it would carry out stakeholders’ analysis in the sector as part of efforts to encourage collaboration among them.
This is even as it called for a demand-driven agricultural research and market oriented agriculture to ensure optimal performance in the sector saying Nigeria must move away from subsistence farming being practiced by our smallholder farmers.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, said this at the opening ceremony of the 6th Africa-Wide Agricultural Extension Week Tuesday in Abuja.
President Tinubu, who was represented by the Minister of State Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Aliyu Abdullahi, said his administration is committed towards the attainment of Nigeria’s food security.
“In achieving this, the government has come up with programmes such as National Agriculture Growth Scheme-Agro-pocket where millions of farmers are supported through training on Good Agricultural Practices, Certified inputs such as improved seeds and organic and inorganic fertilizers and irrigation equipment at highly subsidised prices to enhance their production, increase productivity and ultimately higher incomes to the farmers,” he said.
Abdullahi decried a situation where researchers embarked on research primarily to earn promotion in the office, rather than solving the needs of farmers in the long run.
He pointed out that what farmers need to enhance productivity are simple technologies that are available, accessible and affordable.
He said: “The idea behind sitting down and coming up with theoretical frameworks don’t work any longer.
“What farmers need now is simple technologies that are available in multiple channels.
“With the challenge of climate change, the extension service, advisory services must focus on efficiency of available resources, we cannot afford to have people who will be wasteful.
As part of measures to strengthen Agricultural Extension Delivery Services in Nigeria, he announced that the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security has put together the first ever Harmonised Extension Manual in Nigeria and National Agricultural Extension Policy.
