Minister Promises  Reposition it’s Agencies, Strengthen Research Institute for Food Production

Minister Promises  Reposition it’s Agencies, Strengthen Research Institute for Food Production

The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD), Alhaji Muhammad Sabo Nanono has stated that the ministry will continue to strengthen its partnership with its agencies and agricultural research institutes in order to collectively deliver on its mandate. He said the collaboration would help to further strengthen sectoral linkages and promote import-substitution, enterprise development, value-added processing and economic diversification.

The Minister made this statement during the One-Day Retreat for Chief Executives and Chairmen of Boards of Agencies and Parastatals of the Ministry held at Chida Hotel,Jabi –Abuja on Thursday ,19th November ,2020.

Alhaji Sabo Nanono informed that ‘’ In line with the Ministry’s signed deliverables with the Presidency, the priority area for food security entails engagement with state and non-state actors to facilitate programmes to farmers on mechanization, extension delivery, commodity production, storage facilities, agro-processing, grazing reserves, livestock transformation and fisheries’’.

The Minister noted that ‘’ at the moment, the Ministry took pragmatic approach of repositioning the agricultural research system, securing 20,000 to 100,000 hectares of land per State for agricultural use, and promoting agro and agro-allied cluster activities nationwide’’.

He pointed out that ‘’ expectations are to deploy improved varieties, expand cultivable land area and support agribusiness undertakings in the country’’.

Nanono emphasized that ‘’ towards having a mutual commitment to growing the sector, we must comply with the established protocols of channeling policies, views and requests from the Executive Managements through the Governing Boards of Parastatals to the Authorities of the Ministry’’.

He reiterated that ‘’ for the Ministry’s representatives on the Boards of Parastatals, you are to update your principals on vital issues resolved at Board Meetings while relaying the Ministry’s position on such issues to respective Parastatals Board and Management’’.

The Minister Observed that ‘’ the provisions of Administrative Guidelines and Procedures on relationship between Ministries and Parastatals, are to enable us ensure orderliness, responsibility, transparency and consensus in the conceptualization and implementation of policies, programmes and projects’’.

He also said that ‘’ We all need to re-commit ourselves to the development of the sector by aligning progress, fine-tuning strategies, de-risking options, streamlining interventions, pooling resources and implementing projects. Failure, ladies and gentlemen, is not an option’’.

He assured that ‘’the Ministry under my leadership, is open to constructive interface and will support any concept, initiative and strategy that can guide, facilitate and fast-track the implementation of policies, programmes and projects in the agricultural sector.

In his remarks, the Hon. Minister of State, Agriculture and Rural Development, Hon. Mustapha Baba Shehuri stated the need for consensus in the handling of policy, sectoral and personnel matters in a manner that will resolve them amicably and forestall misrepresentation, misconception and poor guidance.

Hon. Baba Shehuri expressed the need to strengthen our service delivery mechanism, since much is expected from the sector to enhance the country’s capacity on food security, employment generation and wealth creation. According to him ‘’ only then will we be able to address the impact of the global health emergency and the high expectation of present administration on the Agriculture sector’’.

In his welcome address, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry, Dr. Abulkadir Mu’azu stated that ‘’ our responsibility is to align sectoral strategies with the goal of social inclusion, as well as economic diversification and livelihood expansion, and therewith, implement policies, programmes and projects for impactful development in the country’’.

Dr. Mu’azu noted that ‘’ our stakes, responsibilities and commitments are anchored on inclusiveness, transparency and accountability in the conceptualization of initiatives and interventions, through strategic partnership with State Governments, Farmer Associations, Private Sector Organizations and Development Partners’’.

The Chairman, House Committee on Agricultural Colleges, Institutions and Federal Universities of Agriculture, Hon Munir Danagundi in his goodwill message, stressed that there is need for performance chart for monitoring and evaluation of Agencies to ensure value money, accountability and transparency in the Agric sector towards achieving diversification policy of President Muhammadu Buhari.

In his presentation titled ‘’ Strengthening the Relationship between Ministry and its Parastatals through Strategic Communication, the Director, Planning and Policy Coordination in the Ministry, Alhaji Zubairu Abdullahi stated that the outcome and the overall impacts of effective and efficient communication cannot be overemphasized as synergy among agencies is key to the attainment of the ministry’s mandate as well as the ministerial deliverables.

Ezeaja Ikemefuna

CIO

For: Director, Information (FMARD