Strengthen Agric Council, Researchers Tell FG

Agricultural Policy Research Network (APRnet) has asserted that for the current agricultural policy process to succeed, the Federal Government must strengthen the National  Council on Agriculture (NAC) by increasing its institutional capability.

APRnet advised that NAC should be more equipped to facilitate peer review and mutual learning among the states, nation-wide tracking of agricultural  policy and programmes and maximising synergy between Federal an state governments.

The advice which was contained in a release by the president of APRnet, Prof Evic Eboh commended the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development on the value Chain approach to commodity development.

He described it as a welcome departure from past approaches which tended to by-pass supply driven measures without commensurate strategies to develop market linkages.

He explained that APRnet is a stakeholders’ organisation devoted to promoting agricultural prosperity, economic growth and poverty reduction in Nigeria by using research and evidence to inform and stimulate good and effective agricultural and rural development policies and programmes.

Prof. Eboh said the goal of the organisation was to make research work for end users including policy makers,  farmers, investors and practitioners.

He pointed out that the use of staple crop processing  zones to target value  chain development was a widely applicable international best practice and should be pursued.

Eboh added that existing cooperation and collaboration between the Federal  and state Governments were necessary to achieve synergy and complementaries in delivering good policies and programmes to boost the agricultural and rural sector.

“It is commendable that there is an ongoing project to produce comprehensive farmer  database for the country on a progressive basis.

The database will contribute valuable information about and clarify the characteristics of the Nigerian farmer for planning and policy implementation purposes”, he said.

He added that his organization welcomed the creation of implementation management and supervision organs for the Agricultural Trans formation Agenda.

Some of the organs which he listed, include the Agricultural Transformation Implementation Council, (AITIC) Agric value chain Transformation Implementation Group (AVCTEG) and Agricultural Industry Advisory Group (AIAG) among others.

He opined that effective functioning of these organs would ensure required backstopping of implementation and monitoring and evaluation feedback for great impact.