The Federal Government on Thursday said President Bola Tinubu’s agricultural policies are now yielding positive results across the country.
The Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Benjamin Kalu, made the remark while delivering the opening address at the General Assembly of the All Farmers Association of Nigeria, AFAN, held in Abuja on Thursday.
GAF serves as a national platform established with the aim of strengthening collaboration among farmers, government, private sector actors and development partners.
Speaking, Kalu pointed out that the removal of fuel subsidies by President Tinubu in 2023, redirected billions of naira toward “agricultural mechanization, input distribution, and rural infrastructure”.
He further stated that the declaration of a national state of emergency in food security, the formation of the Agricultural Promotion Policy, APP, and the Presidential Fertilizer Initiative, PFI and other key economic policies of the current administration “are now demonstrating real results in key zones”.
Kalu, therefore, urged farmers across the country to drive an agricultural revolution through local processing and export-oriented production, which according to him, would accelerate economic diversification.
The lawmaker assured that the Renewed Hope Agenda of the President Tinubu-led government, remained committed to ensuring food security for all Nigerians.
According to him, Nigeria’s future is inseparable from agriculture, noting that every job created in the sector feeds a household and strengthens national cohesion.
We have the resources. We have a policy environment. What we need is a unified will,” he said.
Also speaking, the National President of AFAN, Dr Farouk Rabiu-Mudi, said the theme of the Assembly, “Empowering Farmers, Fostering Collaboration reflected the core objectives of the gathering.
The AFAN President, stated that as the umbrella body for farmers nationwide, the association played a strategic role in ensuring that agricultural policies and investments addressed farmers’ realities.
Rabi’u-Mudi identified key challenges facing the sector as weak institutional coordination, limited access to finance and inputs, inadequate extension services and low adoption of innovation.