* ICRISAT presents report
The Federal Government (FG) in the bit to bring back the Growth Enhancement Scheme (GES) of inputs distribution to farmers has ordered that all participating input providers must present a letter of good conducts to the programs.
This was one of the mandates given to the inaugurated members of the new National Agricultural Growth Scheme and Agro Pocket (NAGS&AP) instituted by the State Minister of Agric, Hon. Mustapha Baba Shehuri as contained in a press release made available last week Friday by the ministry information officer, Mohammed Abdullahi Gana of behalf of his director to the media.The statement said that the state
minister of Agriculture, Hon. Baba Shehuri had inaugurated implementation and
technical working committee on NAGS&AP chaired by the Agric minister with a
mandate to ensure that all participating agro dealers and service providers
submitted a letter of good behaviours to the services they are being engaged to
deliver to farmers are quality.
The detail of other conditions that
are given to these agro dealers were not written in the press statement. Full
content of the statement read that ‘’ the Minister of State
for Agriculture and Rural Development, Hon. Mustapha Baba Shehuri, inaugurated
the National Agricultural Growth Scheme and Agro Pocket ( NAGS&AP),
Implementation and Technical working committee charged with the following
mandate; All Agro dealers and other
service providers must provide letter of commitment and undertaking not be
involved in any form of malpractice, Value Chain approach should be adopted in
scheme's implementation, i.e both upstream production and downstream
processing, value addition, marketing up to consumption. All Inputs to be
distributed to the farmers must be of proven quality, among others. The
committee has Hon. Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development as chairman
and 16 other members’’
Also it was said in the press release, but in another function that the Minister of Agriculture, Dr. Abubakar has received a report on seven (7) socio- economic studies conducted by the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), through its Country Representative in Nigeria, Dr. Hakeem Ajeigbe who said the document is meant to strengthen the development of agriculture in Nigeria with collaboration. .
The statement had the minister saying
that “investment in agriculture is paying and Nigeria has
become the largest producer of rice and sorghum in Africa, second largest producer
of millet in Africa and first in cassava and yam production globally’’ just as
the statement emphasised the contribution of ICRISAT in championing enhanced
productivity of sorghum, millet and groundnut in Nigeria as well as climate
smart agricultural system in partnership with other research institutes and
universities in the country.
"The Ministry therefore requires your
contribution and support towards delivering in these priorities areas. Only
then will we be able to address the impact of the global health emergencies and
high expectation of present administration in the agriculture sector “said the
statement.
The Minister stated further that the ministry would make use of
the ICRISAT’s scientific analysis and recommendations in the drafting of the
forthcoming National Agricultural and Technology Innovation Plan (NATIP) while
he commended ICRISAT and its national partners like Agricultural Research Council, Institute for
Agricultural Research, Zaria, Lake Chad
Research Institute, National Agricultural Extension And Research Liaison Services,
States’ ADPs and CDA-Bayero University in Kano.
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