FG Plans Policy Implementation Body In Agric Sector

The Federal Government has disclosed plans to set up a body that will follow-up on decisions of the National Council on Agriculture and Rural Development (NCARD) in the policy implementation.
Minister of State for Agriculture and Rural Development, Mustapha Shehuri, said the body’s Community of Practice (CoP) will assist the Ministry in additional knowledge, expertise and experience to move together on the same pathway.
Speaking in Abuja at the inaugural meeting of CoP for State Commissioners of Agriculture, the Minister said CoP will be vested with the oversight responsibility of ensuring effective policy implementation in the agricultural sector in line with best practices.
“It is pertinent to note that NCARD is still the highest policy making body for Agriculture and Rural Development in the country. However, the absence of a definitive follow-up of decisions taken during the yearly NCARD meeting contributes to policy inconsistency and perennial policy failure in the sector.
“As a result of this, the need for a complementary body to support effective interaction to engender close monitoring of agricultural policy process as decided by NCARD has arisen”, he said.
According to him, this concept is not new as similar structures exist in other Federal Ministries, including the CoP for State Honourable Commissioners, and Heads of Budget and Planning agencies established by the Federal Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning.
Such structures, he explained, have continued to influence improvements in the governance structure in Nigeria and improved the Federal and States relationship to foster common Agenda.