AGRA Targets 1.2m Farmers In New Strategy For Nigeria

An African-based agriculture organisation, AGRA yesterday launched a five-year new strategy that intends to improve the resilience and competitiveness of local actors in Nigeria.

The strategy, 2023-2027 focuses on enhancing climate-smart technologies and practices for sustainable farming, strengthening of the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and enhancing the country’s capability to design policies, strategies and flagships for execution and monitoring.

At the launch in Abuja, AGRA vice president, policy and state capability, Dr Apollos Nwafor said the mission is to unlock $80 million through flagships in the agricultural sector in at least three states to impact 1.2 million farmers.

According to him the organisation want to leverage public-private partnerships to bring about policy reforms and build foundations for the predictability of markets and trade of agricultural commodities to boost agri-food SMEs and to expand coverage from two to five states while also establishing climate-smart villages in Kaduna and Niger States.

Ada Osakwe, a board member at AGRA explained that the new strategy is designed to further empower and uplift the agricultural sector in Nigeria by fostering innovation, investing in resilience and ensuring equity and inclusivity.

According to her the strategy when implemented, will help revolutionise Nigeria’s agricultural landscape, mitigate the harmful effects of climate change, increase incomes of farmers and agribusiness owners, particularly women and youth.

“To build the capacity of agro-industries, AGRA will engage in policy advocacy, flagship development and public-sector financing to enhance reforms that will entrench public-private partnerships that will impact five million farmers.

In addition, it will create inclusive market and trade opportunities for agri-food SMEs that will add value to farmers’ produce as well as introduce them to agri-insurance. For sustainable farming, AGRA will entrench climate-smart technologies to cushion farmers from the effects of climate change by sharing information on irrigation and nutrition”, the organisation said.

The permanent secretary, Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr Ernest Umakhihe said the ministry look forward to partnering with AGRA on the new journey to uplift the lives of more farmers.

“The agriculture sector is our biggest employer with 38% of our population depending on it for economic growth. It is therefore prudent that we create sustainable agro-industries by empowering SMEs to involve more people in that bracket and uplift many more Nigerians economically”, the perm sec said.