Agric Stakeholders Set Agenda For Jonathan

Stakeholders in the agricultural sector, have stressed the need for President Goodluck Jonathan to ensure that a capable person is appointed as Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development in the new dispensation.

The stakeholders made the call in Abuja as part of on-going agenda initiatives by various sectors for Jonathan as he prepares to appoint a new cabinet.

In an interview with newsmen, the Vice President of All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN), Mr Ike Ubaka, said that the sector required a minister who would work to ensure that agriculture served as a catalyst to drive the economy of the country.

He said that it was time for Nigeria to strive for higher results given the huge amount that had been invested in the sector.

He suggested that the president must focus more attention on the implementation of agricultural policies and programmes.

Ubaka said that the incoming minister must also be ready to address the challenges of low yields, value addition, storage capacity, processing and marketing, among others.

The nation’s agriculture potential, if well harnessed, could lead to accelerated growth of the economy and job creation, he said.

Ubaka said that the new minister must set targets on the minimum level of growth to be achieved before the end of this administration.

This could be done by embarking on a serious of intervention programmes to boost production of some selected agricultural communities with export potential.

He further advised that the incoming minister must be ready to work with AFAN as the umbrella body of all farmers in Nigeria.

In contribution, Dr Victor Okoh of DFID PROPCOM said that the incoming minister should realize that agricultural development could only be operationalised through sector policies, strategies and plans.

Okoh stressed that without sound policies and implementable strategies, government would not be able to translate its vision into concentrate programme.

He said that a lot still needed to be done in the rural areas through adequate provision of infrastructure and inputs, especially fertilizer.

He expressed regret that in spite of the role of the rural populace in agriculture and food production, they still faced many constraints.

Okoh identified food sufficiency as the only solution to the food insecurity, adding that the only way to achieve it was through adequate investment in agricultural development.

He said focus should be on liberalising the fertilizer sector and creating room for fair play as a way to redress the adverse effect of is distribution in the country.

“Government must partner with relevant organizations especially PROPCOM/DFID and IFAD and various governments towards achieving the desired goals and objectives,” he said.

Mrs Amina Bala-Jibrin, the President, Association of Small Scale Agro Producers in Nigeria (ASSAPIN) claimed that previous administrations were not sensitive to the plight of small-scale farms.

Attention was instead on commercial farmers by making funds available to time.

This situation, she described as unfortunate, stressing that while small-holder farmers produced to feed the nation commercial farmers sold their produce to multinational companies.

Bala-Jibrin also noted that more than 79 per cent of farmers in the rural areas had no access to basic infrastructure.

She advised that the incoming minister should ensure the implementation of the 2001 National Integrated Rural Development Policy, to lay a solid foundation for national development.

Bala-Jibrin also spoke of need to ensure proper funding of agriculture and the grouping of farmers into co-operatives to enable them to have independent source of funding.

Dr Ayoola Oduntan, the chairman, Poultry Association of Nigeria, South West chapter, said the new minister must be visionary.

Oduntan said the appointee must recognise the challenges in every section of the ministry and be ready to proffer solutions to them.

Comrade Ahmed Bungudumni, the National President, Agriculture and Allied Employees Union of Nigeria, said his union was expecting a minister who must be ready for field work, stressing that agriculture was not an office work.

He noted that the challenges in the sector were enormous and as such needed someone who was so many initiatives that would have stabilised the sector.