By Al-Mustapha Ibrahim

The current state of the Agriculture industry in our dear state is disheartening. Despite the numerous efforts of the state Government under the leadership of H.E AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, we are not seeing the growth and development that we need to sustain our economy and feed our population.

It is clear that an immediate restructuring of the sector is necessary to address these issues and ensure a prosperous future for our state.

This communiqué is the outcome of farmers’ town hall meeting and opinions of industry experts, who have identified key areas where stakeholders including the Kwara state Government MUST improve to help its citizens cushion the increasing inflation and fuel subsidy removal.

Issues associated with government bureaucracy, lack of innovations, poor funding of the sector, poor mechanization, poor access to farm inputs especially quality seeds and fertilizer and low access to processing and value addition facilities are key issues that should be addressed urgently. In addition, food security in the state is further threatened by soil degradation, ongoing flooding in some parts of the state, and problem of climate change.

The current state of Agriculture has proven to be ineffective in addressing the needs of farmers and promoting sustainable agricultural practices. As a result, we are calling for a repositioning of the sector to better serve the agricultural community and ensure the long-term success of the industry.

Challenges
• Security threat.
• Inadequate funding resulting in limited capacity to implement programs and agricultural initiatives.
• Lack of maintenance for Agricultural machineries such as tractors, bulldozers, sprayers etc.
• High prices of poultry feed resulting in non-profitable ventures.
• Outdated technology and processes leading to inefficiencies and delays in decision-making.
• Political interferences for several agricultural interventions and schemes.
Solutions
• Increase funding especially through provision of resources for irrigation for all-year round farming.
• Create, update, and utilize an up-to-date farmer data base which will be used as the SOLE basis for government Agricultural interventions.
• Partner with CSOs/NGOs in the distribution of grains and fertilizers to famers to accommodate farmers in rural and sub urban region of the state.
• Partner with research institution to provide a lasting solution to increasing prices of poultry feed.
Needs Assessment
• Implement new policies and programs such as policies that addresses farmers-herders clash, to promote growth and development in the agriculture industry.
• Increase collaboration with local farmers and stakeholders to entertain feedback and evaluate of agricultural interventions.
• Conduct quarterly town hall meeting with farmers and stakeholders to ensure their needs are met.
• Distribute fertilizers and seeds to farmers through organized farmers’ cooperative.
• Procure and/or repair tractors, bulldozer and other farm implements for each of the local government of the state.
• Partner with Agricultural companies in adoption of latest agricultural technologies such as agricultural drones used for spraying to enhance farmers output.
• Open a certified registration unit for Agricultural cooperatives across local government in partnership with relevant stakeholders.
Timeline for Restructuring
• Formation of a task force to assess the current state of Agriculture and develop a restructuring plan: 1 month
• Implementation of new policies and programs: 6-12 months

The restructuring of agricultural sector will have direct Impact on farmers and consumers through improved food security, reduced poverty and cushion the impact of fuel subsidy removal. Furthermore, an improved agricultural sector will bring about economic development, youth engagement and improve IGR of the state.
Similarly, restructuring will result in more foreign direct investment and public private partnerships. Private sector-driven initiatives such as online Agricultural portal as well as farmer-centered mobile applications is long overdue in providing enabling environment for agriculture to thrive in the state.

RECOMMENDATIONS

Based on the farmers’ town hall meeting and experts’ opinions, the following recommendations are put forward:
1. That the Kwara state Government under the Leadership of His Excellency, Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq set up a task force on Restructuring of the Agricultural sector with a timeline of one month.
2. That the Kwara state Government consider the establishment of the “Kwara state Agribusiness Development Agency” with the mandate of improving performance of small scale agribusinesses across value chains by providing loans in form of farm inputs to ease farming operations of smallholder farmers. The agency will also be saddled with land clearing (a major hurdle of large scale commercial farmers) and farmland cultivation including irrigation and land reclamation amongst many other responsibilities.
3. That the Kwara state Government set up a State Working Committee (SWC) that will comprise of technocrats, industry experts, traditional heads and representatives of farmers’ group with the mandate to coordinate the implementation of the Federal Government’s proposed Agricultural intervention plan.

Finally, restructuring the agricultural sector will ultimately benefit consumers by improving the quality, availability, and affordability of locally grown produce. By supporting small and mid-sized farmers, we can promote diversity in the marketplace and reduce reliance on imported goods.

This will also help to create new jobs and stimulate economic growth in rural communities.

Al-Mustapha Ibrahim is the Executive Chairman, Kwara Agriculture Network