FG Pledges Commitment to Boosting Nigeria’s Agric Processing Capacity

Gilbert Ekugbe

Worried over the export of unprocessed ago commodities, the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, has stated that it would prioritise efforts that would increase Nigeria’s capacity to process its agricultural products before exporting them

The Permanent Secretary at the ministry, Dr. Ernest Umakhihe, said this would be achieved through the establishment of several cottage industries for the production of staple food products in a competitive and comparative advantage manner.

Umakhihe stated this at the 45th Regular Meeting of the National Council on Agriculture and Rural Development (NCARD) in Jos, Plateau State. The theme of the meeting was, “Strengthening Agricultural Value Chains Development Process for Food Security and Economic Development.”

Represented by the Director, Department of Agriculture Land and Climate Change Management Services, Mr. Shehu Bello, he said that the ministry would collaborate with state governments and other stakeholders to improve the development of agricultural commodity value chain development and enhance the livelihood of the smallholder farmers.  

He described the development of agricultural commodity value chain as strategic implementation imperatives, which required robust discussion and deliberate decisions on intervention models for crop/horticulture production, livestock/veterinary services, fisheries and aquaculture as well as agribusiness undertakings. 

Umakhihe said: “The foundation to achieve the desired success is the commitment to the provision of incentives, increase the output and quality of agricultural commodities to meet and surpass national requirements as well as achieve a diversified economic base with agriculture leading the way for the non-oil sectors of the economy.”

He revealed that the ministry, through the launch of National Agricultural Technology Innovation Plan (NATIP) 2022 – 2027, has demonstrated commitment to address all conceivable challenges besetting the sector with a focus on strengthening and developing agricultural value chain.

In his welcome address, the Plateau State Commissioner of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr. Hosea Finangwai, appealed that the memorandum for the upgrade of the Potato Station at Karu be given priority on its merit.

Finangwai added that the state accounted for over 90 per cent of the potato production in the country, adding that the livelihood and income of farmers were being threatened by the monstrous potato blight.

The Director, Planning and Policy Coordination, Mr. Ibrahim Bello, stated that the stakeholders would use the opportunity to share experiences and good practices on value chain development in the agricultural sector as it affects food security and economic development for adoption and replication in the sector along various ecological peculiarities.