The Federal Government has reaffirmed its commitment to ensuring that farmers are actively involved in policy decisions aimed at boosting agricultural productivity and strengthening national food security.
The Manager, Research, Data and Impact Assessment at the Presidential Food Systems Coordinating Unit (PFSCU), Mr. Eniola Akindele, stated this during the Nigeria Sustainable Agricultural Value Chains for Growth Programme (AGROW) Agroecological Zonal Workshop held in Kano.
Mr. Akindele said the current administration, through the PFSCU, is working to ensure that agricultural interventions are farmer-driven, market-focused and result-oriented, rather than imposed from the top.
According to him, AGROW focuses on key value chains including rice, wheat, tomato, sesame and sorghum, which are critical to Nigeria’s food security and economic growth.
He described AGROW as a $500 million home-grown initiative led by Nigeria, co-created across the three tiers of government and developed in partnership with the private sector and development partners, with technical support from the World Bank.
Mr. Akindele noted that past agricultural interventions were hindered by fragmented public spending, blanket input subsidies, government-driven programmes, opaque and paper-based land administration systems, and multiple informal trade levies.
He explained that the AGROW model introduces a new approach that includes,State-level agricultural support,Financial support tied to market outcomes and Targeted public investment.
“others are Institutionalised private sector engagement,Transparent and secure land administration as well as Efficient and predictable interstate agricultural trade”
He added that AGROW is built on three major components to Strengthen private sector linkages with smallholder farmers,Modernising on-farm production systems,Project coordination, monitoring and evaluation.
Mr. Akindele further outlined the eligibility criteria for states seeking to participate in AGROW, which include sustainable land-based investment processes, digital farmer registries, increased transparency of fees and levies for interstate trade, reduced input subsidies, and stronger support for agricultural cooperatives.
In his remarks, the Permanent Secretary, Kano State Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Alhaji Bashir Sunusi, said the workshop aligns with the Kano State Government’s agenda of improving agricultural productivity.
He disclosed that, as part of the state’s commitment, the government has recruited 1,038 agricultural extension workers, provided farming equipment including tractors and power tillers, and established three mechanisation centres in Gaya, Dambatta and Kadawa.
Participants at the workshop were drawn from sudan savannah Agroecological states of Sokoto, Katsina, Gombe, Kebbi, Bauchi and Kano States.