Food Safety: Stakeholders demand pesticide policy, more budget for organic inputs

 The agricultural stakeholders have asked the Federal Government (FG) to speed up policy on pesticide control on crop production just as they wanted more budget funding for organic inputs towards healthy foods for consumption and export.

These were parts of the demands made at the recently held consultative meeting of the 2024 Agriculture budget that is targeted to achieving 6% growth as being stipulated in the CAADP framework for food sufficiency and wealth creation. 

In the communique issued at the close of the 2 day consultative meeting, it was stated that Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD) should embark on law that would regulate agrochemicals on our soil in a progressive manner saying " Government needs to develop a safe sustainable food strategy that will reduce the use of highly toxic synthetic chemical pesticides by 50% in 2030, 25% by 2040, a maximum of 5% by 2050" It was emphasized that farmers need to be trained against the use of dangerous chemicals on their farms because of its negative implications on the food consumption and even its repercussions on export earnings. 

Stakeholders suggested that " FMARD, CBN and NIRSAL need to educate all farmers groups, listed vendors, manufacturers, and importers of agrochemicals about the appropriate use and the negative impact of highly hazardous pesticides on public health, environment and foreign revenue'' adding that all agro related financial institutions handling anchor program should tell their agrochemical dealers to dwell more on organic inputs than hazardous chemicals being given to farmers.

 The communique said further that " FMARD and state ministries of agriculture should increase budget allocation for organic inputs, bio pesticides, and agroecology" The stakeholders also observed the need for strengthening the monitoring of all Agricultural projects to ensure effective budget implementation by all relevant stakeholders using the adapted Comprehensive Africa Agricultural Development Program ( CAADP) measurements framework. 

They also observed slow agricultural development in the recent times occasioned by climate change, insecurity cum crisis going on between Russia and Ukraine, saying all these have further deepened food challenges in our country thereby advocating for more increase in the budget allocation for the sector from the three tiers of Government to checkmate hunger in the country. 

The meeting includes ActionAid Nigeria, Federal Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning, FMARD, Oxfam, One Compaign and Department of Agriculture & Rural Development of the ECOWAS Commission. Others are state ministries of agriculture and many others.