Business
Ministry To Strengthen Regional, State Offices
The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural
Development is to strengthen regional and state agricultural offices to ensure
the success of the Agriculture Transformation Agenda (ATA).
Minister of State for Agriculture and Rural
Development, Alhaji Bukar Tijani, disclosed this on Thursday when he met with zonal
and state directors of agriculture in Abuja.
He reminded them that their selection to
head the regional and state offices was not by chance.
Tijani said that the ministry had procured
500 vehicles to enable them to function properly in their various stations.
He said that the ministry had thought it
wise to decentralise to ensure that states participated fully in ATA.
“Your duty includes partnering with the
organised private sector that is willing to partner with government at regional
and state levels.’’
Tijani urged them to enlighten those who
did not understand what the agenda was out to achieve at the regional and state
levels.
He explained that the transformation agenda
which was meant to make agriculture a veritable venture was expected to provide
3.5 million jobs.
“Although, we can create more than 3.5
million jobs under this agenda but we have to keep to what is achievable.’’
Earlier, the Permanent Secretary of the
ministry Dr Ezekiel Oyemomi, stressed the need for the directors to get
acquainted with the Federal Government’s agriculture policy.
Represented by Mr Chris Ene, Director,
Federal Department of Agriculture (FDA), Oyemomi stressed that the need to do
things differently at the state and regional levels brought about their
appointments.
In his remarks, Director of Human Resources
Management, Mr Okwa Eteh, observed that decentralising the ministry’s
activities was to get to the grassroots.