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By Samuel Torlumun, covering the agric show
National Agriculture Show, Nigeria’s annual agricultural exhibition event has been declared opened, the 14th in the series amidst ray of hope in improving agricultural production, and ensuring food security in the country.
The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr. Mohammed Mahmood Abubakar, who represented President Muhammadu Buhari said the Buhari administration is already revolutionarizing the agricultural sector through its robust rice production policy, creation of value system initiative to strengthen value chain and remarkable improvement at diversifying the economy through arrays of policies, strategies and programmes.
Speaking at the show ground at Uke, Karu Local Government area of Nasarawa State, the minister said already, already, Nigeria is leading in Africa in the production of rice, casava and yam.
He explained that policies like Agricultural Promotion Policy, the Green Alternative, Anchor Borrower Programme and ban on the importation of some agro commodities are the reasons for the achievement in the sector.
He stated that the “initiative is intended to create economic linkages between small-holder farmers and large scale processors with the view to increasing agricultural output, to significantly reduce poverty, create jobs, assist rural farmers as well as grow from subsistence to commercial production level”.
On the effect of Covid-19 on farmers he assured that the President is on top of it.
“At present there are growing concerns on the implications of crisis on farmers and food security in the wave of Covid-19 pandemic. His Excellency, President Muhammadu Buhari directed the National Security Adviser, the Vice Chairman National Security Council, and the Chairman Presidential Fertilizer Initiative to work with the Presidential Task Force on Covid-19 to ensure that impact of this pandemic on food commodities and farming season is minimized,” he disclosed.
Host governor, Engr AA Sule, executive governor of Nasarawa State in his speech assured the farmers on behalf of the entire northern governors of their collective resolve to transform agriculture for the future of the country. He added that Nigeria is naturally endowed not just to produce enough food for it populace, but also to be the food basket of the entire region.
Earlier in his welcome address, Senator Abdullahi Adamu, Chairman, Senate Committee on Agriculture and Chairman National Agricultural Foundation bemoaned the suffering and hardship faced by the small-holder farmers, saying that time has come to improve their lot by deeds, not by words by making them primary beneficiaries of their sweat and labour in tiling the land.
He assured farmers of the support of the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. He said the senate has recently passed into law three bills to aid the national ambition toward agricultural development and food security.
“They are the bill on Strategic Food Reserve Agency, a bill on the Reform of the Nigerian Agricultural Council, and the bill on Agricultural Development Fund” he listed.
The 2021 National Agricultural Show and World Food Day Celebration is captioned Celebrating the Resilience and Roles of Small-holder Farmers in Sustaining Food System in Nigeria.
