Experts, farmers canvas for speedy passage of bills

Farmers and experts in the agricultural sector have called on the Federal Government (FG) on the need to pass into law, bills such issues as seed, fertilizer and warehouse receipt system in Nigeria to help boost and reposition the agricultural industry. This position was taken during the Public-Private Dialogue with Agriculture sector stakeholders which took place in Abuja.

The dialogue with the theme: "strengthening enabling policy environment for fertilizer system, seed system and warehouse receipt system in Nigeria” farmers who opined that speedy passage of the various bills would enhance the efficiency of the sector.

 Speaking, the Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Economic Groups, Mr. Laoye Jaiyeola urged President Buhari to expedite action on signing those bills explaining that the three bills were designed to reinforce each other in driving increased farm productivity and livelihood of smallholder farmers, and contribute towards Nigeria’s using agriculture to substitute import bills and enhance food security.

He said his organization was committed to contributing to the achievement of sustainable economic development and the creation of an enabling business environment with effective laws.  

The country manager of the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) Dr. Gbenga Arowolo disclosed that it was necessary that legislative backing be given to farmers’ access to inputs for higher harvest adding that the warehouse receipt system would increase productivity in Nigeria.

He stated that there have been several reports of farmers planting low quality seeds based on inadequacies of  extension workers adding that  AGRA is already partnering National Agricultural Extension Agricultural and  Research Liaison Services (NAERLS) for more effective transferring of improved technologies to local farmers for improved yield and harvest.     

The Nigeria Economic Summit Group’s Ms. Feyi Ajayi, said that if the three bills were not passed before the eighth assembly ends, by the time the ninth assembly stands all their effort and advocacy would be in vain. “We are here to engage stakeholders to buy into the passage of the agriculture bills that NESG is working with AGRA and others stakeholders to be enacted. These three bills we believed are very important and critical to the creation of an agricultural ecosystem to ensure that the country is secured in term of food and impact on lives of our smallholders’ farmers”, he observed.

She lamented waste of farm produce as a result of lack of storage facilities, poor harvest due to bad inputs which have a negative impact on the livelihood of millions of smallholders’ farmers in Nigeria. “Our reasonability at the NESG working with AGRA and other critical stakeholders is to ensure that these three bills receive the attention required to ensure they are enacted and passed before the life span of the eight national assembly ends,’’ she observed.

Mrs. Mary Ishaya, the National President, Small Scale Women Farmers Association (SWOFON) lent her voice to the presidential ascent pointed that farmers should always be involved in policy formulation they can easily adopt and embrace in terms of best agricultural practices.  

Ishaya said that the involvement of farmers during policy formulation would ascertain understanding of what government was planning, and that without bringing farmers from the grassroots, “agric development will not be complete, as the peasant farmers are responsible for most of the food produced in the country today”.

The head, fertilizer use and Growth Enhancement Support Scheme (GES),  Mr. Ishaka Buba, said fertilizer bill would help in producing quality outputs by farmers as a lot of fertilizer manufacturing  industries produce substandard products. “There is need for the bill so that the product can be regulated" he said.

In another development, at a forum under the auspices of National Agricultural Seeds Advocacy Group (NASAG) led by Mr. Celestine Okeke, stakeholders also called for the speedy presidential accent to the seeds council bill saying that non effective document of such may negatively affect the commercial agriculture plan of the FG as farmers might not have access to quality seeds.

Okeke said the survey from some major states have reflected farmers’ non-timely access to improved seeds with high incidence of adulteration and no effective law to checkmate the perpetrators of such nefarious activities.

However, the gray area of the bill was cleared by the Chief Executive Officer,  National Centre for Genetic Resources (NACGRAB)(where the National Committee on naming, registration and release of crops, livestock and fishery varieties is domiciled under the Federal Ministry of Science and Technology), Dr. Sunday Aladele said the contentious area had been removed from the initial bill and that he hoped that the bill would be accented to by the President.  

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