Nigeria Agric Research fails counterpart to international partners

 

The Agricutural Research Council of Nigeria ( ARCN) has not been able to fulfill its financial obligations to other international partners in technologies improvement to the tune of Four Hundred and Thirty Four Million, Nine Hundred and Thirty Seven Thousand, One Hundred and One Naira (N434, 937,101,02) since 2014.

This accumulated debt on the part of FG since 2014 may deny Nigeria some research agricultural benefits that the country enjoys being a member of these international research organizations  under the umbrella of Consultative Group of International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) which ARCN is a member till date.

ARCN in its proposal titled " Reversal of Counterpart Funding Commitments to International Agricultural Research Organization" informed the council that the current payment system in Nigeria had resulted in long delay of this outstanding since 2014 with accumulation to the tune of N434, 937, 101: 02 till date.

The ARCN is thereby asking that it should be allowed to seek for fund through budgetary provision to off set the accumulated debt for the purposes of continuous benefits to strengthening collaboration for agricutural technologies development and deployment towards food security from these organizations which includes IITA, ILRI, IFPRI.

In its proposal, the ARCN admitted representing the country on a numbers of international research organizations saying that " the current system of payment of counterpard funding to the international Agricutural Research Organization has been faced with challenges" 

Pointed further that " the current system of payment resulted to outstanding indebtness to Nigeria's contributions to the sum of Four Hundred and Thirty Four Million, Nine Hundred and Thirty Seven Thousand, One Hundred and One Naira, Two Kobo ( N434,937,101:02)"