LOW mechanisation of agricultural practices and flooding have indentified as major factors limiting agricultural production across states in Nigeria.
The All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN), in a statement signed by its Acting Public Relations Officer, Salisu Mukhtar noted that there is a global food system crisis sprouting from shocks ranging from the COVID-19 pandemic, drought, flooding, insecurity and poor policy implementation in some countries including Nigeria.
It urged the Federal Government to set up a task force to reappraise the national food system strategy to improve performance. Also, the association knocks the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD) over the ongoing National Council on Agriculture and Rural Development (NCARD) Meeting in Jos, describing the five-day meeting as a waste of time and resources.
According to the release, NCARD meeting was ill- timed and ill-conceived, questioning the rationale behind hosting the meeting designed to implement annual agricultural plans in the middle of the rainy season, describing the ideology as largely due to inexperience and or an obvious yawning deficit in institutional memory. The statement read, “There is a global food system crisis sprouting from shocks ranging from the COVID- 19 pandemic, drought, flooding, insecurity and poor policy implementation in some countries including Nigeria and yet needed resources are being expended to convene meetings designed to implement annual agricultural plans in the middle of the rainy season largely due to inexperience and or an obvious yawning deficit in institutional memory.
“The reality of an annual National Council on Agriculture (NCA) in Nigeria is that it is normally convened before the onset of the rainy season to get state governments, especially across party lines, to key into the Federal Government’s plan for the forthcoming planting season as an avenue designed purely for agenda setting and reappraising milestones.
“Due to obvious inefficiencies in the system in Nigeria currently we are seen to be launching an agricultural policy and convening the annual national council on Agriculture in the months of August and Mid-September (12th – 15th) respectively during which time a significant percentage of our Smallholder Farmers (SHFs) across the country are looking forward to harvesting some of their crops.
“While we can have compelling reasons to convene the annual NCA in odd times such as now but the case today leaves some of us in complete awe.
“The annual NiMET weather forecasts and the annual flood warnings from the National Hydrological Services Agency (NIHSA) always come at the right time for the farmers to prepare for the planting season, the annual NCA this year is being convened in September in Jos, Plateau State, simply and evidently to expend budgetary allocations by the FMARD since it is pretty too late in coming.
“The insecurity situation in many states, the low mechanisation in the whole country and devastating flooding in so many states are enough shocks to production and productivity to warrant setting up a task force to reappraise the national food system instead of convening mere ceremonies that will not add any significant value to agriculture or the Nigerian farmers.
“It is not too late to call off this waste of time and resources on the Plateau where it is still raining cats and dogs daily and the threat of flooding is looming.
“The arrant disregard for the crushing shocks to food production in Nigeria by some people appointed to assist Mr. President in the good work he has been doing in the entire agricultural space must be interrogated in the time remaining for this administration, otherwise all the gains made will be lost.”
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