The Chairman, House Committee on
Agriculture and Rural Development at the National Assembly, Alhaji Mohammed
Mungono and his Deputy, Alhaji Munir Babba Dan made the House position known to
NaijaAgroNet, at a workshop on IAR4D and Innovation Systems Approach for
SARD-SC Wheat Value-Chain, in Abuja.
The lawmakers explained that funding
of research and development will be ineffective unless there is an established
strong partnership with the federal government.
NaijaAgroNet gathered that the legislature has not asserted step of
legislation and appropriation of the African Union Maputo Declaration of 10 per
cent to agriculture, because of the long history of military adventurism into
the nation’s polity and the issue of budgeting between the executive and
legislature.
According to Mungono “At this point,
there is need to cooperate with the executive to at least give 10 per cent of
our national budget to agriculture in tandem with the Maputo Declaration.”
Lamenting the over N635 billion
spent on wheat importation annually, he said that although oil is a working
asset, there was need to diversify the economy through agriculture to create
sustainable development and generate employment.
He said that the Maputo Declaration
would have been implemented if the House had the veto power, adding that “As a
legislator, one of our major functions is appropriation. We assure you that we
are going to do everything possible to give you robust funding not only for
wheat, but also other crops and especially for research and development.”
Earlier, Minister of Agriculture and
Rural Development, Dr Akinwumi Adesina who was represented by Dr Akinbolawa
Osho said the wheat value chain was expected to cover a minimum of 33,000
hectare in each of the wheat producing states, adding that about 7,500 improved
seeds would be distributed to the farmers in the selected states in an effort
to reduce wheat importation at least by 50 per cent.
The selected states include Borno
(Ngala and Kirnowa), Taraba (Gembu, Ngoroje), Adamawa (Dasin Hausa), Bauchi
(Badel Jama’are, Misau), Jigawa (Hadejia, Chiyeko, Ringim), Plateau (Tahoss),
Kano (Kadawa, Bunkure, Alkamawa and Bagwai), Kebbi (Kebbi), Sokoto (Sokoto),
Zamfara (Talata Mafara), Yobe (Gashua)and Gombe (Balanga & Dadinkowa).
The Africa Union Maputo Declaration
on Agriculture and Food Security of 2003 stated that 10 per cent of national
budget should be allocated to agricultural development.
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