Internal corrupt practices rocking ATA

The Agricultural Transformation Agenda (ATA) of the Mr. President through the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD) is facing internal corruption that Is already negatively challenging the progress the programme would have recorded. 

Food Farm News reliably gathered that an ordered compact cassava milling machines imported from China for the purpose of enhancing processing of agricultural produce at the value chains since 2012 have been facing challenges of being unable to be cleared from the custom duty post which was occasioned by inflation of the custom duty by some officials of the ministry through assumed connival with the clearing agent as the custom officials invited agent for interrogation before being detained for conflicting statement.

It was reliable gathered that the Minister of Agriculture, Dr. Akinwumi had to issue query to the Permanent secretary, Mrs Ibikun Odusote based on the unnecessary delay of the machines from being cleared from the Tin Can Highland of the custom services.

 Our source confirmed that the intervention of the overall boss of Nigerian Custom services was able to uncover that some of the items have been moved from the port authority to a hideout ware house in Abuja just as the acclaimed amounts for clearing was discovered to have been inflated from about forty million to N120 million which therefore resorted to the detention of the clearing agent. 

Already majority of the stakeholders in the sector have been calling for the total review of the Growth Enhancement support scheme of the government based on the lapses which is suspicious of corruption as cases of faulty farmers’ compilation and figure inflation have been accused of the process.

In many of the states farmers have complained about manipulation of figures and alteration of original lists which has made it impossible for many genuine farmers to get access to the subsidized inputs of the federal government.

Stakeholders posited that farmers should be left to patronized private companies of their choice for input procurements as they wanted government to concentrate of creating friendly policy and environment that will grow the sector into commercial business adding the present operation have deviated from the initial plan of the Minister.

Sources confirmed that many corrupt dimensions have crept into the ATA  through exorbitant spending on ceremony like tents, printing programmes of event, payment for master of ceremony which is the mandate function of the department of Information in the ministry  and many others frivolities where millions that suppose to be spent on more meaningful things that would have positively affect the development of the sector are being channeled to their family friends and faith cronies at the expense of poor farmers and research Institutional development.

 Food farm news also gathered that an eye brow has been raised by a deputy director in the procurement department of the ministry for non proper procedure for how about 3 billion naira meant for cassava mechanization was spent as the issue has been referred to the due process office of the Head of service of the Federal Government for more clarification.