The four National Committees on the revitalisation of the agricultural sector recently constituted by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development have submitted their reports.
The committees are: Operationalisation of the Federal Government, Storage and Agro Processing Facilities, Resuscitation of Cotton, Textile and Garments.
The remaining two are that of the Revitalisation of Agricultural Extension Services and Strategic Action Plan for the Development of Grazing Reserves and Stock Routes Nationwide.
The Tide source reports that the committees that were given two weeks as deadline made far reaching actionable recommendations.
While the committee on the resuscitation of Cotton, Textile and Garment proposed an injection of N37.20 billion between 2016 and 2019, that of the Grazing Reserves recommended the establishment of National Livestock Development Authority.
On its part, the committee on Revitalisation of Agricultural Extension Services called for the establishment of National Policy on Agricultural Extension and Advisory Services.
The committee held that the body must include a sustainable, knowledge-based, market-oriented and ICT-driven value chain extension system.
The committee on the Operationalisation of the Federal Government Storage and Agro-Processing facilities proposed that the ongoing concession of silos must be fast-tracked and done within six months.
It further held that the process must include immediate leasing and concessioning of the other structures to include agro-process centres, farmer markets and agro-industrial estate.
Speaking, Mr Sonny Echono, the ministry’s Permanent Secretary, said “I can assure you that within seven days, all of those recommendations and interventions would be before the President.“
“We are indeed poised to kick-start and sustain the current effort and to also galvanise resources to ensure that we are able to produce food for our people.
“The ministry has been working tirelessly on the re-establishment of Marketing Corporation to cover the gaps created with the scrapping of the various marketing boards.
“We have completed four of the private-sector-driven stakeholder manning boards. They include that of cotton, cocoa, root/tuber and grains.
“So we are working hard at it and we believe that by the time these Marketing Corporations become operational they would fill the necessary gaps highlighted in some of these reports,“ Echono added.
According to him, the ministry will use the platforms to link producers and farmers with the market.
He said this was critical to sustaining the production circle in the agricultural sector.
“In our efforts to ensure expanded dry season cultivation across the country this year to make up for some of the losses incurred to inclement weather, 60 agricultural equipment hiring enterprises are to be created.
“This would give further impetus to our mechanisation efforts to increase other land cultivation across the country,“ the permanent secretary said.