The
regular agricultural show being organized by National Agricultural Foundation
of Nigeria (NAFN) in collaboration with many other stakeholders in the sector
especially All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN) could not hold this year
due to financial reason among others which many have criticized as untenable in
the face of the past dividends of the show by the organizers and failure on the
part of private sector to discharge their responsibility towards ensuring an
agricultural interactive forum for farmers, researchers, foreign donors and
financial institutions just as World Food Day unlike last year was celebrated
low key.
National
Agricultural Show is a replica of the United Kingdom (UK) Agricultural show instituted
for the purpose of bringing both private and public stakeholders in the sector
together for the purpose of experience sharing and particularly a platform of
showcasing available improved research technologies to the door steps of
farmers and other business off takers for multiplication. This initiative is
driven sector driven.
Food Farms News curiosity of trying to know why
this year National Agricultural show did not hold reflected many stakeholders’
condemning the inability of the organizer to come up with the show saying
“private sector must be ready to discharge their responsibility very well without
waiting for government, and until they siege to see themselves in this light,
our national economy may not go beyond this level we are now.
Stakeholders
further queried that how did organizers spend the money made in the previous
agricultural shows as participant pay for registration and many government
ministries, departments and agencies at both the federal and states’ level have
in the past assisted the organizers in the past stressed if those past dividends
have been judiciously spent the issue of not being able to hold this year will
not in any way arise.
Some
of the AFAN members who spoke under anonymity said the association was not in
any way benefiting in the agricultural show dividends saying majority of the
key members always use our position in the state to attract government’s
participation, and sponsoring of participants with hope of getting something
for the development of the farmers’ association.
The
last 2014 October turnout at the Nasarwa-Keffi venue has reflected that the show
may not hold this year as government involvement was very invisible as the
World Food Day that is usually simultaneously held after the close of the three
days programme was shifted to another venue away in the central heart of Abuja.
A reliable source at the NAFN had once
complained to food farm news that the
financial support from partners especially government is not forth coming and
this has been negatively affecting the expected performance of the show
stressed that government must support the sector to a level it will be able to
stand on its own.
Also
in the same vein the well celebrated World Food day by the Federal Ministry of
Agriculture and Rural Development last year was done in a very low key this
year due to funding challenges as few workers took a walk from the office
complex to Federal Secretarial Complex of Abuja.
The
theme of this year Word Food day bothered on” Family Farming: Feeding the
World, caring for the Earth”
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