Agriculture: Budget and Economic Planning ministry will further encourage synergy among stakeholders —Minister

Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Senator Abubakar Atiku Bagudu, has said that the ministry under his watch will continue to encourage institutional and multi-stakeholder synergy to further boost agriculture in Nigeria.

He stated this while featuring as Chairman of the 2025 distinguished personality lecture series of the Department of Agricultural Economics, University of Ibadan, held at Trenchard Hall, on Tuesday.

The minister said: “Let me emphasise that the agricultural milestones of the last 23 months of the Tinubu administration are by no means where we want to be. But they indicate our commitment to the sector’s transformation.

“The recent creation of a separate ministry for livestock development signifies the administration’s forward-looking disposition towards expanding the sector’s frontiers as a game changer for the country.

“As statutory mechanism for coordinating national consensus, the federal Ministry of Budget and Planning, under my watch, will continue to encourage institutional and multi-stakeholder synergy.

“It will ensure that state technical committees drive subnational-level policy coordination and monitoring, promote public-private partnerships and mobilise resources through collaborations with agribusinesses, Food And Agriculture Organisation (FAO), World Food Programme (WFP) and others.”

Senator Bagudu, stated further: “This commitment derives from our belief that achieving sustainable transformation requires collaborative efforts, which the World Bank and our distinguished lecturer, Dr Diop, have been steadfast partner.

“Therefore, I call for collective action among the government, academia, private sector and development partners to turn challenges into opportunities.”

Guest lecturer and Country Director, World Bank Nigeria Country Office, Dr Ndiame Diop, while delivering the lecture titled: ‘Leveraging Agriculture Transformation for Sustainable Economic Development In Nigeria: Key Consideration’ said:”To substantially improve employment outcomes, Nigeria’s economy needs to not only grow at faster pace but also undergo a transformation.

“This transformation must accelerate the movement of workers from low-productivity, low-paying and often informal jobs to more productive and higher-paying positions.

“While individual worker or entrepreneur capabilities contribute to labour productivity, the reality is that average productivity levels vary considerably across sectors, with agriculture typically having the lowest levels in developing countries.”

The lecture also highlights how agricultural transformation strengthens the overall competitiveness of the economy, drawing on economic theory and real-world examples to emphasise its vital role in succesful economic transformation and the path to higher income levels.

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