Nigeria’s Agric Research, Devt In Disarray – Lawan
BY VICTOR OSOWOCHI, ABUJA – President of the Senate, Senator Ahmad Ibrahim Lawan, says it is a sad commentary that Nigeria continues to perform poorly in Agricultural Research and Development despite its huge potential and investments in the sector.
He said given the large number of specialized agricultural institutes in the country, it should have been hurray for Nigerian farmers with easy access to latest technology required to make farming easy and highly productive.
Expressing his unhappiness at the ugly situation, Senator Lawan said; “I want to say that we are doing very poorly in the area of agricultural research and development. It is a very bad commentary that our farmers have to still dry tomatoes and peppers, which is an open sort of drying.
“They put them along roads, or sometimes just sweep hard surfaces. It is not acceptable, ware not making serious progress.”
Speaking during the Senate consideration of a bill seeking to amend the Agricultural Research Council of Nigeria Act, the Senate President said; “We should at least have very simple technology that can help our people. We don’t have to go for something very big, that our farmers can use to enhance their performance.
“Even though we have almost 22 or 23 research institutes in the country, most of them specialized, it is regrettable that we have not made any appreciable progress in the area of improved technology in the agricultural sector.”
According to him, some of these institutes are supposed to make breakthroughs in specific areas, like rice research in Pategi Local Government Area of Kwara State, adding that there should also be adequate funding for rice development, sugar, palm oil and other produce if Nigeria is to realize its dream of economic diversification.
“We need to fund the agricultural sector, especially those institutions that will improve our performance as a country,” Lawan said.
In his presentation, sponsor of the bill to amend the Agricultural Research Council of Nigeria Act, Senator Abdullahi Adamu (APC – Nasarawa West), said the legislation would provide comprehensive guide for National Agricultural Research Programmes and Project Management in the country.
He lamented that in spite of contributing about 21 per cent to Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), the agricultural sector still operates below its potential because research institutes are not coordinated and strengthened.
“The agricultural sector currently employs a significant portion of the Labour force, and contributes about 21 percent to Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
“Ironically, in spite of this, agricultural resource and technical endowment as well as interventions by successive administrations, Nigerian agricultural sector has been operating far below its potential because the research institutes or centers are not well coordinated and strengthened,” Adamu said.
“Agriculture is driven by technologies, which are in turn generated by research. Agriculturally advanced countries do so because of a workable and well-funded agricultural research system”, the former Governor of Nasarawa State said.
The bill which scaled its second reading in the Red chamber has been referred to the Committee on Agriculture for further legislative work by the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan,
