From Okwe Obi, Abuja
The National Agricultural Commodities Project (NACP) 2023 has appealed to President Bola Tinubu, to appoint one of its members as minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, to drive the economic policies of the government.
National President of Maize Association of Nigeria (MAAN), Dr Bello Annoor, who made the appeal yesterday in Abuja, explained that only an experienced agriculturist who is close to farmers can drive the country’s agricultural sector effectively.
He argued that since medical doctors and lawyers head the Health Ministry and Ministry of Justice respectively, it would not out of place for an experienced agriculturist to head the agriculture Ministry.
Dr Annoor said it takes an experienced farmer to identify the challenges farmers face and make efforts to address them.
“Whatever you are doing, if you don’t have the knowledge of what you want to do, there is going to be a failure.
“The reason why we want one of our members picked as the Minister of agriculture is because somebody who is an agriculturist and always with farmers, knows the problems of farmers, that has an experience in the agricultural value chain is supposed to head the agricultural sector.
“You cannot take somebody who is an Engineer to head the health sector or a doctor to head the judiciary, that is why we said that it is good for the agriculture sector to be managed by an agriculturist and an experienced person in the agricultural value chain so that they can identify the problems of the farmers and make efforts to address them”, he said.
Also, National President, Carrot Growers, Processors and Marketers Association of Nigeria, John Aderibigbe said Commodity Association Presidents want representation because the members understand the plight of farmers.
“As farmers we till ground, we do so much, sometimes we sell a basket of okra for N500, what else does the government want us to do that we have not done? Now we are asking for inclusion because this was also promised”, he noted.
More so, the National President of Spices Association of Nigeria, Jummai Tabak stated that the association Presidents came together to demand that at least one of them is appointed as minister of agriculture because they know where it pinches them.
Furthermore, National President of Ginger Growers, Processors and Marketers Association of Nigeria, and Chairperson of National Agriculture Commodity Project 2023, Florence Edwards, said: “We are presidents of different Commodity Associations, we came out because a lot of injustice has been done to Nigerian farmers, we are calling on the new government to look into the injustice being done to us by looking inwardly and pick one of people as Minister of Agriculture.
“If a Commodity Association President is appointed as Minister, if there is any problem in any corner, he will solve that problem with just one phone call, but if you pick a politician as a minister of agriculture, we will go back to the same pit that we are coming out from”.
The National Coordinator All Progressive Congress (APC) Supporters Centre, Ibrahim Batati pleaded with President Tinubu to appoint farmers at in positions from the national to grassroots level.
“I am pleading to the Renewed Hope administration to carry the farmers along and give them the opportunity from the national level to the grassroots for appointment. I am also pleading with this present administration to also give the farmers adequate support on security”, Batati noted.
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