Editorial: Using Agric Value Chains for Economic Growth

Our crave to be a food secured nation will be in vain except will passionately deplore the value chains Agricutural model into driving the sector in an holistic manner for every economic crops and livestock productivity.

Editorial - Poor Research funding makes food security vulnerable

The climate change challenges is taking tolls on food security even at the point that no amount has been released to any research institute to perform its statutory capital project responsibilities as the year cross over the middle of the 2024.

How do we relate this to the state of emergency being declared by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in the sector. How can research delivery be helpful to food security when the necessary funding are not timely released. These are the questions on going in the minds of concerned stakeholders.

Apart from much expectations on repositioning the methods and styles of policies implementation of the sector, more expectations on research development is highly envisaged in this present dispensation for smarter climate change agriculture in view of scarcity of foods in Nigeria. 

But all these are all in doubt even as no dime has been released to any Agricutural research institute to justify the seriousness of Government to tackling food security in the country through more availability of new research improvement into farming systems.

Six months have already been counted with no fund being released to enhance research, neither is any concrete direction through the National Agricultural Council Meeting where the decisions to chart direction for the sector is been taken.

Our concern particularly on this editorial is why are we repeating the same mistake of untimely funding to research particularly on matters that relate to food security.

The impact of climate on food security has necessitated the need for research institutes to double their efforts towards drought and floods resistant seed varieties with ecologies adaptability so as to be able to give high yielding crop varieties even in the face of shorter and longer rainy periods as the case may be.

All these will be wishful thinking without a proactive finding system to research and extension, because the present situation where money to operate in our agriculture research institute is a signal to unpreparedness to checkmate food insecurity.

And this must be uppermost in the heart of any Government to help the growth of the food systems in Nigeria.

Editorial- Food Security without Agric Mechanization Centre

 

The recently signed Oronsanye rationalization and merger report by President Tinubu for implementation has no doubt been very timely in view of wastages and duplications of functions with many agencies performing just one function.

Editorial- Calling the states government on NiMet warning

The Minister of Aviation and Eurospace Development, Mr. Festus Keyamu, Senior Advocate of Nigeria ( SAN) while unveiling 2024 Seasonal Climate Predictions ( SCP) said that lovers of yam should expect late harvest of the crop, and this also implies many other produce in the region will be affected as well except if our farmers are well educated about climate smart farmings with constant relevant information on what to do to overcome low amount of rainfall requirements to crops as compared to the previous years.

Editorial: From Agriculture to Agricbuss

  

The practice of farming being seen as culture instead of business is what we are looking at in this edition.

Editorial: World Food Day, Nigeria in mind

Food and Agriculture Organization ( FAO) of the United Nations ( UN) is very particular about food security around the globe.

Editorial: Need for farmers to put their house in order

Day by day, the attention food security situation of the country is receiving has called for the need why farmer Associations must put their house in order. 

Editorial: Can we take stock of Agric expenditure?

No doubt by all global standard, our expenditure may have seemed far below 10 percent of our annual total budget  to Agriculture as being stipulated in Mabuto/Malabo declaration by African Head of States in 2014.

Editorial- Agricultural insecurity, way forward

The farming situation in the country has been threatened to an extent that 60-70% of crops and livestock producers have abandoned their activities for the safety of their lives elsewhere.

Editorial- Make local Government proactive in flood mitigation

Local Government councils in Nigeria is the third tier of executive Government which are not allowed to be financially autonomous to the point of being able to carry out their statutory responsibilities towards social economic activities’ development through infrastructural provisions at their own levels to eradicate poverty.

Editorial: Need for feedback on approved Agric Council resolutions

  

We must commend the effort of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development for being able to host the 45^TH meeting of the National Council on Agriculture and Rural Development (NCARD) in partnership with Plateau state government through its agriculture ministry.

Editorial- Food prices hike, and remedies

The food prices unstoppable increase have become a thing of great concern to us and many other Nigerians despite all the financial effort going to billions of naira being expended on the sector alone to make a better food secured nation. All have been to no avail at this most critical time with the recently released statistical figures of some food items by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) which revealed the scenario in more pathetic way that has generated our concern for what needs to be done.

Editorial- Agricultural subsidy without data

The issue of subsidy to agricultural inputs is as old as ages in the food production of Nigeria, both states and Federal Government (FG) had in several occasions assisted farmers especially small scale holders to boost crops and animal productions with inputs like fertilizers, herbicides, and pesticides with several same being done in the livestock  without accurate data of the beneficiaries for the purpose of accountability which has made many people express doubt on the amount of money usually acclaimed to have been spent.

Editorial- Making effective the recently approved commodities policy

The recent Federal Executive Council (FEC)- approved policy making it illegal for foreigners to buy from farmers directly at the farm gates is a welcomed development.

Editorial- 100 Years of Agric Colleges, yet substandard produce still persist

No doubt the existence of our colleges of Agriculture in Moorplantation, Ibadan and Samaru,
Zaria actually may have called for celebration considering the numbers of their years in establishments coupled the grandaunts they have chunked out over the period.

Editorial- The return of GESS as NAGSAP, kudos to Government

It is now very clear that Federal Government (FG) is determined to allow agricultural inputs get to the small scale farmers through an electronic system of registered farmers on an agricultural data base in order to give accountability to whatever is given out so as to checkmate corruption of all sorts.

Editorial -Can we audit agric sector@ 61?

The president’s speech of October 1, 2021 to Nigerians as we celebrate Independence Day has different meanings to different people. But the most captivating among the clauses to us are the ones that border on the agricultural sector in view of food security matters that have never been much available, affordable, and accessible to most Nigerians as many still go to sleep with empty stomachs and hunger.

 

Editorial - Why direct local govt statutory allocations will enhance agric development

The fact must be told that agricultural development in terms of meaningful impact on economic activities with full engagement of the grassroots people will be sustainable by way of direct release of statutory financial allocations to all the local government councils so as to stimulate rapid development in the rural areas as people participate in farming, livestock keeping, forestry preservation, security, health, education and environmental management of the rural areas across the nation. No doubt all these have been neglected to make rural areas become shadow of itself with no much impact of Government presence.

Editorial - Need to evaluate Research Institutes infrastructure to ascertain level of funding

It is no more news to say agricultural research Institutes are poorly funded with only 30% of the total budget annually going into pure research while the rest seventy percent are given to administration, thereby making the core mandate of most of these institutes not very effective as they supposed to have been.

Editorial- Why is FMARD taking the back seat in its mandate?

 The recently held dialogue on global food system summit organized in Nigeria, championed under the supervision of the Permanent Secretary (PS), Federal Ministry of Budget and Planning, Dr (Mrs) Olusola Idowu has conspicuously exposed some lapses that are begging for the role of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD) who had statutory mandate of policies formulations and implementation as regards food security in terms of productions in the country at the primary levels.