Alhaji Muhammad Nanono, the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development has reaffirmed the Federal Government’s commitment toward improving agricultural extension services.
Mr Ezeaja Ikemefuna, the Chief Information Officer in the ministry made this known in a statement on Wednesday in Abuja.
The minister said these also include boosting food production and increasing the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the agriculture sector.
Ikemefuna said that Nanono disclosed this during the Sensitisation Workshop on Revitalisation of Agricultural Extension in Nigeria, with the theme: Catalysing Effective Agricultural Extension Service Delivery at the Grassroots”.
Nanono said that the ministry had taken the onerous responsibility and renewed its commitment to increase agriculture contribution to the GDP ‘’the revitalisation of the National Extension System comes as a veritable means to further boost our efforts.’’
The minister, who was represented by Mr Frank Kudla, the Director, Federal Department of Agricultural Extension, tasked the stakeholders on some key areas for robust discussions at the workshop.
“These include redefining the roles and responsibilities of the three tiers of government in the agricultural extension services and establishment of evaluation strategy with possible reprisal for actors that fail in their responsibilities in order to ensure accountability and commitment.’’
Nanono said there was need for participants to recommend a favourable policy environment for active private sector investment in the management, operation and funding of extension service delivery as the government alone could not shoulder the responsibility of supporting effective extension service delivery.
He urged the stakeholders to bring up innovations that would foster and encourage aggressive training of necessary manpower and ensuring professionalism in agricultural extension services.
“This I believe will make the extension system knowledge based and a desirable service to be patronised by farmers,” he said.
Nanono stressed the need for incentives that would foster and encourage the mobilisation and development of farmer groups around clusters to enhance agricultural extension services delivery to them through the Agric. Extension Service Providers (AESP).
The minister appealed for “a review on ways and means to redress the gap in the dearth of female Extension Workers to enhance access toward knowledge and productive resources by women farmers.”
The Permanent Secretary in the ministry, Dr Abdulkadir Mu’azu said that the workshop offered a great opportunity to further discuss and assess the efforts in place to resuscitate the national agricultural extension system.
Mu’azu, represented by the Director, Farm Inputs Support Services (FISS), Mr Tunde Bello said the workshop could come up with all-inclusive implementable strategies in line with international best practices for practitioners in both the public and private sector.
He commended experts and development partners, especially the National Agricultural Foundation of Nigeria (NAFN), International Food Policy and Research Institute (IFPRI), among others for their collaboration toward the success of the workshop.
Munir Dan Agundi, Chairman, House of Representative, Committee on Agricultural Colleges and Institutes, pledged that the National Assembly would continue to support the ministry.
Agundi said the National Assembly would continue to make robust laws that would ensure increase in food production, create employment for the teeming youths of Nigeria as well as boost the economy. (NAN)
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