Editoria- Rescuing agricultural sector with CAADP guidelines

CAADP

The recent developments in the policy planning and implementation in Nigerian agriculture has  become a thing of concern that demands for better ways of doing things for more positive results in term of investment attraction, without let or hindrance.
This is because the process of doing business in Nigeria especially in agricultural sector which is meant to open up our economy through diversification from crude oil, is too cumbersome due to ‘redtapsim’, as personal interests always override the implementation process, without recourse to the budget.

Thank God for the availability of global model of Comprehensive Africa Agricultural Development Program me (CAADP) guidelines which had been mandated for member countries by the African Heads of state at Malabo, and is meant to remove duplication and redtapsim in food security programme towards halving hunger before 2025. This is to be done with right tracking of fund from donor agencies cum evaluation system of total disbursement into agricultural development. 

Presently, in the system, from local government to state and federal government the tracking of financial injections into the agricultural sector may be very difficult as there is no connectivity and harmonization that ensure transparent evaluation, and the whole thing is ridden with duplication, in terms of training's and projects, thereby leading to wastages of the limited fund.

Nobody can actually ascertain whether the Maputo declaration of 10% (of the budget being spent on agriculture) is met in Nigeria as agriculture is on concurrent list which means funding has to be contributed by the federal government, the states and local government.

However, the recently concluded meeting of stakeholders’ from both public and private sectors that cut across ministry of Agriculture, Planning, finance and international organizations, held in Abuja,has done justice to this strong challenge as our system of planning and implementation was put on spot with the need to reposition the ways and manners things were done for the progress of the sector.

All summations was tailored towards achieving new agricultural investment plan using the Nigeria green alternative policy on agriculture following a well-structured system of a centralized planning, execution, monitoring and evaluation at a glance thereby taking a paradigm shift from our old ways of doing business.

It is imperative that the resolutions at this meeting towards putting the new green alternative agricultural policy of Nigeria in tandem with best global practices following the CAADP-Malabo guidelines be speedily forwarded for immediate action that will change the present situation in this sector. 

Nigeria, because of her seize in Africa must be bold to take a lead in the compliance to the CAADP-Malabo declaration as a way of good example for others to follow thereby trying to break away the continent from the shackle of poverty resulting from lack of integrity in the system.