By Friday Olokor
Nigerian farmers says that despite all the funds being put in the agricultural sector, the price of commodities and foodstuffs keeps increasing.
The farmers from different parts of the country also linked the failure of government’s intervention programmes in the agricultural sector, to the non-involvement of key stakeholders in the sector while developing the programmes.
While commending President Bola Tinubu for declaring state of emergency on food security, they said the current high price of food was an embarrassment to the country.
The farmers raised the concern during a roundtable discussion with the theme, ‘National food security under the Nigerian current emergency situation’.
The programme was organizsed by the Agriculture Development Project in Abuja for agricultural value chain actors, including, seed producers, fertilizer producers, mechanisation service providers, technology/innovation support services, rice, maize, wheat, maize, cassava farmers, among others.
The Convener of ADP, Sadiq Daware, said most of government programmes and projects since 1960, including past President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration, had all been bedevilled by the same twin evil of poor policy formulation and faulty implementation.
He also stated that Nigeria had always being listed among the countries in the world experiencing food security concerns.
According to him, if Nigerian takes the right steps, the country could feed itself and many other countries as agriculture used to be its main economic mainstay.
Daware said, “As key players in the agricultural space, we are not unaware of the many laudable projects and programmes by successive governments since independence.
“However, we have noted with great dismay that from the Regional Agricultural Programmes under the administrations of Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe and Sir Tafawa Balewa from 1960-1966 to the very recent Anchor Borrowers’ Programme of the Muhammadu Buhari’s administration, they have all been bedevilled by the same twin evil of poor policy formulation and faulty implementation.
“Unfortunately, despite this glaring reality, all successive governments have opted for this faulty modus operandi which has always ended in failure of monumental proportions.
We cannot continue doing the same thing while expecting a different outcome.”
