The National Assembly says it will make necessary legislation that will drive the needed reforms in the agriculture sector and boost food production in the country.
The Chairman Senate Committee on Agriculture Production Services and Rural Development, Sen. Saliu Mustapha made this pledge on Tuesday in Lagos at the National Stakeholders Consultative Meeting on the 2025 Agriculture Budget.
The senator said he had advocated overtime for an increase in the agriculture budget and identified mechanisation as a key factor to higher food production.
Delivering a keynote address, Mustapha said stakeholders needed to intensify efforts at the mechanisation of farm processes to get the youths attracted and engaged in agriculture.
Mustapha said the gesture would help to surmount the current food insecurity challenges facing the country.
He said that the current food insecurity facing the country was surmountable, adding that stakeholders should focus on engineering higher food production with the nation’s rising population.
“It cannot be heard that we are unable to rise above our challenges within the agricultural sector given the technological advancement in the world today and the resilience of Nigerians as a people.
“I have advocated for an increase in the agriculture budget knowing that a key factor to a higher food production is mechanisation.
“I am glad that President Bola Tinubu is leading the charge with the efforts at procuring more tractors for the farmers in Nigeria,” he said.
Mustapha said agriculture remained the largest employer of labour though it had lost its pride of place as the mainstay of the nation’s economy.
He, however, said that as stakeholders, they needed to do everything possible to bring it back to its place and regain its glory.
“I am convinced that we have the ingenuity as major stakeholders to share ideas and re-write our story as a country that is capable of feeding its people.
“The importance of the agriculture sector to the Nigerian economy cannot be over emphasized; even though it has lost its pride of place as the mainstay of our economy, it still remains the largest employer of labour.
“As stakeholders, we need to do all that is necessary to bring it back to its place and regain its glory; rewrite our story as a country that is capable of feeding its people,” he said.
Saliu said the meeting was the gathering of Stakeholders across the agriculture sector value chain.
“The meeting which comprises stakeholders across the agriculture value chain is to collectively take Nigeria out of the woods and assist us to reposition the sector on the trajectory as the 2025 mainstay of our national economy again.
“It is important to re-examine the status of implementation of the National Agricultural Technology and Innovation Policy, the 2023 and 2024 Agriculture budget performance.
“The challenges faced and proffer solutions for future implementations,” he said.
The Chairman of, the Senate Committee on Employment, Labour and Productivity, Sen. Diket Plang said the budget was about the people and their wishes.
He emphasised that the consultative meeting was to ensure the 2025 budget comes out people-oriented.
Plang, Senator representing Plateau Central Senatorial District and Vice-Chairman, Federal Character and member TETFUND and Tertiary Education, identified food and the deteriorated value of the naira as the major issues and challenges in the country currently.
“The issue of food cannot end with or at palliatives, but it must end up with a policy and programmes that will favour agricultural production.
“This implies that there is a need to appropriate more funds to agriculture so that farmers will be at ease, have input subsidised, and more funds allocated to farmers in terms of inputs and improved security so that our farmers can easily go to farm.
“If you can bring policies that will arrest or increase full blown value of the naira and if there is sufficient food out there all the agitations will naturally go off,” he said.
Plang said the current challenges in the country cut across the federal, state and all and sundry.
He said that the full participation of stakeholders at the consultative meeting would make the 2025 agriculture budget inclusive, and diverse and ensure an encouraging impact in the long run.
The meeting is organised by ActionAid Nigeria in collaboration with Oxfam, GIZ, the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Fund Security.
Others are the Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning, the Community of Non-State Actors and the ECOWAS Commission.
NAN
