DRAFT COMMUNIQUE ISSUED AT THE END OF ONE DAY AGRICULTURAL MECHANIZATION STAKEHOLDERS MEETING ON THE WAY FORWARD TOWARDS EXTENSION OF NEW INNOVATIONS IN AGRICULTURAL MECHANIZATION RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT HELD AT THE NATIONAL CENTRE FOR AGRICULTURAL MECHANIZATION (NCAM) ON TUESDAY, 28TH JANUARY, 2020.

Agriculture has contributed a great deal to the sustenance of Nigerian economy since independence; unfortunately, the discovery of crude oil has relegated it to the background. Low level of agricultural mechanization technologies have made agriculture unattractive among the youths who form the larger percentage of the nation’s workforce resulting in the loss of glory of the sector.

Despite the efforts of Government, agricultural research development institutions and the academia to reverse the low agricultural mechanization indices in Nigeria, these indigenous technologies are faced with low awareness and patronage. 

The National Centre for Agricultural Mechanization (NCAM) whose mandate is to develop adaptive and innovative agricultural mechanization technologies is championing the drive and has recorded very modest achievements over the years in this area. However, there is a lacuna between the indigenously developed agricultural mechanization technologies and its adoption by the end users.

It was on this premise that NCAM organized the second batch of the stakeholders’ meeting with Agricultural Development Programmes (ADPs) Managers and Directors of extension from fifteen (15) states comprising Akwa-Ibom, Cross River, Rivers, Delta, Edo, Anambra, Imo, Abia, Ebonyi, Adamawa, Bauchi, Yobe, Gombe, Taraba and Enugu States. Various research institutions across the country also participated actively in the meeting. Others in attendance were Cassava Growers Association (CGA), the academia and the Publisher of Food Farm News, Abuja and other press men to capture the event.

The meeting made the following observations, that there is: -

1.   Inadequate funding for effective research, development and extension delivery;

2.   Grossly inadequate extension personnel for effective service delivery

3.   Inadequate facilities and training for extension workers;

4.   High cost of procuring and maintaining available agricultural mechanization technologies by farmers;

5.   Weak synergy between researchers, extension officers and farmers on the promotion and commercialization of proven agricultural mechanization technologies (AMTs) in Nigeria;

6.   Lack of sustainability of extension service delivery structures;

7.   Problem of land fragmentation due to the existing land tenure system

8.   Non enough proven agricultural mechanization technologies (AMTs) that are gender friendly;

9.   High preference for imported agricultural machineries;

10.   Weak synergy between National Centre for Agricultural Mechanization and Federal Department of Extension on agricultural mechanization         extension services;

11.   Lack of commitment, political will and poor agricultural mechanization extension policy implementation by the government; and

12.   Lack of functional agricultural mechanization policy in Nigeria.

At the end of the deliberations, the followings were recommended to address the identified observations: -

1.   There should be adequate budgetary provision and prompt release of funds for efficient agricultural mechanization research, development and extension service delivery;

2.   Qualified agricultural mechanization extension officers should be recruited on regular basis to interface between the research and development institutions and end users;

3.   Training and re-training of extension personnel should be carried out on regular basis;

4.   Government should introduce subsidy on finished agricultural mechanization technologies as it is been done for fertilizers, seeds, etc.;

5.   Synergy between researchers, extension officers and farmers on the promotion and commercialization of proven agricultural mechanization technologies (AMTs) should be strengthened through Research Extension Farmers – Input Linkage Systems (REFILS), agricultural technology field days and Monthly Technology Review Meetings (MTRMs);

6.   Sustainability arrangements should be factored into existing extension service delivery structures;

7.   ADPs in the 36 states and the federal capital territory should be custodian and commercialization partners of NCAM proven agricultural mechanization technologies;

8.   Farmers should be encouraged to form cooperatives/clusters to collectively access needed agricultural mechanization technologies;

9.   Research institutions should improve on the ergonomics of their technologies to make it more gender friendly;

10.   Need for attitudinal change by all stakeholders as well as a government policy to enforce the adoption of indigenous technologies are recommended.

11.   Proposal to establish Agricultural Mechanization Coordinating Unit (AMCU) under the Engineering and Mechanization Division of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development should be considered.

12.   The government should put in place and implement the agricultural mechanization policy in Nigeria to drive and sustain the sector.

COMMUNIQUE DRAFTING COMMITTEE

S/No.	Name	Organization	Designation
1.	Dr. B. A. Achem	IFAD-CASP	Chairman
2.	Engr. Prof. J. O.Olaoye	University of Ilorin	Member
3.	Engr. Dr. I. C. Ozumba	NCAM	Member
4.	Dr. M. O. Sunmonu	University of Ilorin	Member
5.	Mr. H. C. Nnadi	Imo ADP	Member
6.	Engr. Dr. O.A.Ogunjirin	NCAM	Secretary
7.	Engr. O.O. Opadotun	NCAM	Secretariat
8.	Engr. Iorpev, Terhemba	NCAM	Secretariat
9.	Mr. Nwosu, Caesar	NCAM	Secretariat