Olaopa Tasks Agric Universities on Mandate to Diversify Economy

The Chairman, Federal Civil Service Commission ( FCSC), Prof. Tunji Olaopa, on Friday urged universities of agriculture to actualise their founding mandate of diversifying the national economy.

Olaopa made the call as the Chairman of the 2026 Convocation Lecture of the Federal University of Agriculture (FUNAAB), Abeokuta, Ogun State.

Olaopa who commended the choice of the topic of this year’s convocation lecture, “Integrating Agriculture and Youth Development: A New Paradigm for Nigerian Education System”, said that it confirmed his belief in the centrality of tertiary institutions to Nigeria’s development.

He recalled that in the bid to diversify the national economy, successive governments established universities of agriculture. This began with the setting up of FUNNAB and followed by the Federal University of Agriculture, Makurdi in 1988, the Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike, Abia State, in 1992, the Federal University of Agriculture Zuru, Kebbi State in 2020, and now the Federal University of Agriculture and Technology (FUNATO), Okeho in Oyo State.

The concern of the founding fathers in floating these specialised universities, Olaopa said, was to reawaken interest in agriculture which had been neglected since crude oil was discovered in Nigeria in 1962.

“And it is this concern that still lingers in all our minds as we reflect on the cogent implication of the paradigm shift in farming and its value chain towards youth-friendly approaches and culture”, he said.

Wondering if the vision for setting up the universities had been realised, Olaopa asked the extent to which the ideas and capabilities from them in terms of their theoretical, conceptual, practical and policy orientation and engagement have helped to fix the national economy.

For Olaopa, beyond considering whether the universities of agriculture have achieved their mandate in the past, there is the overarching need to chart a path for the attainment of this objective now and in the future .

Consequently, he highlighted steps for an effective paradigm shift. Firstly, he wants FUNAAB and other universities of agriculture to embrace modern technologies like artificial intelligence, robotics and cybernetics, drones, GIS, and internet of things (IOT). He asked to what extent the universities of agriculture and the legion of research institutes have gone in integrating these cutting-edge developments to articulate, for instance, smart farming systems and creative agri-business methods.

Secondly, he asked the extent with regard to sustainability concerns, the universities have successfully deployed research and sustainable practices to promote environmentally-friendly practices.

Thirdly , Olaopa probed the degree of effectiveness of universities of agriculture in deploying research and development (R&D), and creating innovation hubs for disseminating solutions for agricultural challenges that farmers and other key players in the sector face in time and space.

To Olaopa , the fourth question universities of agriculture need to resolve concerning the frameworks for rural and national economic diversification is on what roles they have been playing in identifying community and rural focused concerns, and offering practical solutions and the impact in deepening backward integration, thus moving the nation towards agricultural self-sufficiency, export-driven economic growth that at once alleviates hunger and stems the tide of youth unemployment.

While acknowledging that successive governments have initiated agricultural programmes and policies to doversify the national economy, Olaopa specifically highlighted those of the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu government.

He noted the National Agricultural Technology and Innovation Policy (NATIP) which according to him is meant to shift the understanding around agriculture away from its traditional low-income activity into a technology-enabled, youth-inclusive sector which emphasizes mechanization, digitization and the research-commercialization nexus for activating the Nigerian economy.

“This policy is complemented by cognate policies like the Youth Manifesto (2025-2030), National Agricultural Land Development Authority (NALDA), and the partnership framework with the Federal Ministry of Youth Development”, he added.