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| 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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