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The Nigerian Agricultural Quarantine Service (NAQS)

Sunday, 21 April 2019

COMMUNIQUÉ OF THE 42ND REGULAR MEETING OF THE NATIONAL COUNCIL ON AGRICULTURE AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT (NCARD) HELD AT DR. OBI WALI INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE CENTRE, PORT HARCOURT, RIVERS STATE, NIGERIA FROM APRIL 24 – 28, 2017

Minister of Agriculture Chief Audu Ogbeh

The 42nd Meeting of the National Council on Agriculture and Rural Development (NCARD) held at Dr. Obi Wali International Conference Centre, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria from April 24 – 28, 2017 under the Chairmanship of the Honourable Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu Innocent Ogbeh, OFR, was declared open by His Excellency, the Governor of Rivers State, Chief Nyesom Ezenwo Wike, CON. The theme of the 42nd National Council on Agriculture and Rural Development (NCARD) Meeting was “Agribusiness Investment for Economic Stabilization, Diversification and Growth”.The Council meeting commenced after the opening ceremony. 


2.  The Hon. Minister of State for Agriculture and Rural Development, Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, gave the welcome address. Goodwill messages were delivered by stakeholders that include All Famers Association of Nigeria (AFAN), the Deputy Chairman, Senate Committee on Agriculture, Senator Theodore Orji, Deputy Chairman, Committee on Rural Development, Hon. Edwin Anayo and the Rivers State House of Assembly Committee Chairman on Agriculture.

3.  In attendance at the 42nd NCARD were Honourable Commissioners of Agriculture from the 36 States of the Federation and the Secretary for Agriculture, FCT, including Representatives of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the FAO/UN, UNIDO, UNDP, IFAD in Nigeria, All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN), Women Organisations, Youth Organisation Representatives of Seed and Fertilizer Companies, Agro-Input Dealers, Public Sector Organisations, Civil Society Organisations as well as Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs), Farmers and other Stakeholders.

4.  The Honourable Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu Innocent Ogbeh, gave the keynote address. He briefly highlighted the progress recorded in agriculture under the current Administration and stressed the determination of the Government to ensure self-sufficiency in agricultural production to reduce the huge import bill on food which currently stood at about $22.5 billon per annum.
5.  The Rivers State Governor and the Chief Host, Chief Nyesom Ezenwo Wike, CON, in his opening remarks, welcomed the participants to Rivers State. He informed the Council of the enormous potentials of agriculture in the State and other parts of Nigeria and urged all stakeholders to support the Federal Government drive towards development of agriculture in Nigeria.

6.  The Council meeting was preceded by the Technical Meeting of officials of the NCARD, under the Chairmanship of the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr. Bukar Hassan and was declared open by the Hon. Commissioner, Rivers State, Ministry of Agriculture, Mrs. Onimim Jacks.

7.  The Council, after thorough deliberations, decided as follows:

i)        Congratulated His Excellency, the Executive Governor of Rivers State, Chief Nyesom Ezenwo Wike, CON, the Government and good people of Rivers State on the celebration of the 50 years Golden Jubilee Anniversary on the creation of Rivers State;

ii)       Saluted His Excellency, the Executive Governor of Rivers State, Chief Nyesom Ezenwo Wike, CON, the Government and good people of Rivers State for the quality of arrangements, facilities deployed for the meeting and the hospitality accorded the participants of the 42nd Regular Meeting of the NCARD which had contributed to the huge success of the programme;

iii)      Commended the on-going efforts of Government at all levels on the implementation of the Agricultural Promotion Policy (APP) 2016-2020 tagged “The Green Alternative” with the objective of economic diversification, achieving self-sufficiency in food production, value addition, employment generation, wealth creation, import substitution and the Livelihood Improvement of Small and Medium Scale Farmers;

iv)      Commended Government efforts in the on-going restructuring of the Bank of Agriculture (BOA) including the partial privatization and recapitalization of the Bank to improve funding and lending to support small, medium and large scale agricultural enterprises with single digit interest rate;




v)      Applauded the return of the three (3) Federal Universities of Agriculture to the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the plan to establish the National Commission for Colleges of Agriculture for effective supervision, agricultural research and development and overall agricultural policy implementation in the country;

vi)      Commended the National Assembly for the accelerated passing of the Bill that brought about the resuscitation of the National Agricultural Land Development Authority (NALDA);

vii)     Commended the farmer education initiative and the development of the e-extension platforms for agricultural extension including the plan to establish six (6) pilot one-stop centres of excellence for effective extension delivery to farmers at the grassroots;

viii)    Applauded the renewed effort of Government to support all year round farming through collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Water Resources and the construction and rehabilitation of small earth dams and lakes in each of the 36 States of the Federation and FCT for increased dry-season farming nationwide;

ix)      Noted the status of implementation of the Youth Employment in Agriculture Programme (YEAP) and endorsed the current effort of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development in developing young generation of successive farmers;

x)       Recognised the high importance and expediency of reliable agricultural data for effective agricultural planning, hence the need to create data bank for the different sub-sectors of agriculture;

xi)      Commended the support of the Federal Ministry of Interior for facilitating the setting up of a Department of “Agro-Rangers” within the Nigerian Civil Defence Corps;

xii)     Commended the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development for the production of a National Soil Map to enhance the formulation of soil/crop specific fertilizers for different ecologies in the country;




xiii)    Noted Government renewed support towards supporting the downstream sector of agriculture through the provision of small scale processing machines and equipment to farmers at all levels for value addition to enhance quality of agricultural produce and products;

xiv     Noted the progress in the implementation of the Anchor Borrower Programme (ABP) and the need to deepen partnership among stakeholders to expand the scope of implementation;

xv)     Noted the progress made on the establishment of the National Farmers Helpline Centres and enjoined farmers and other stakeholders to leverage on the advantages inherent in it;

xvi)    Applauded the intervention of Government towards addressing conflicts between herdsmen and farmers through coordinated efforts of development of grazing reserves and establishment of ranches;

xvii)   Approved the establishment of the National Commission for Colleges of Agriculture for effective professional supervision, agricultural research and development and overall agricultural policy implementation in the country;

xviii)  Approved the participation of Specialized Cooperative Groups in Mechanization Business Services, agro-input delivery to farmers, other services along the Commodity Value Chain;

xix)    Approved the implementation of the National Action Plan against Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) Virus in Nigeria including shared compensation between Federal and State Governments;

xx)     Approved the e-Agricultural Web Portal (NeAWP) initiative as a veritable medium to enhance information coverage from amongst stakeholders across the 36 States of the Federation and the FCT and directed that all e-initiatives be integrated on the platform;

xxi)    Approved that the Federal and State Colleges of Agriculture (FCA) and Federal Colleges of Cooperatives (FCC) should benefit from the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFUND) supports as enjoyed by other institutions of the same status;

xxii)    Approved the implementation of the Financial Inclusion Scheme for Enterprise Development of Rural Dwellers Nationwide;

xxiii)   Approved that the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development recommend to the Federal Ministry of Environment to re-classify donkeys as endangered species and direct NAPRI to upscale donkey breeding;

xxiv)  Approved that the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development put in place action plan to check the incursion of emerging pests of coconut, cassava, maize, banana and tomatoes;

xxv)   Approved the promotion of information gathering on Rural Agribusinesses and facilitation of Agribusiness Investments in Rural Communities across the geopolitical zones of the country as a veritable approach to expanding the scope of business and investment potentials of the agricultural sector;

xxvi)  Approved the establishment of the Animal Husbandry Department in all States of the Federation.

8.  The Honourable Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu Innocent Ogbeh, OFR, on behalf of the Council expressed his profound gratitude to the Government and good people of Rivers State for the hospitality and excellent arrangements which had enhanced the success of the 42nd Session of the NCARD meeting.

9.  After exhaustive deliberations, Council unanimously resolved to hold the 43rd National Council on Agriculture and Rural Development (NCARD) Meeting in Abia State in 2018, the date for the hosting.



27TH APRIL, 2017
PORT HARCOURT,
RIVERS STATE, NIGERIA



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