Agric Funding: Farmers Hail Buhari Over Assent To NADF Bill

Forum for Agricultural Commodities Association of Nigeria has applauded President Muhammadu Buhari for  signing the National Agricultural Development Fund (NADF) Bill into law.

The forum also commended the National Assembly for the passage of the bill which they described as the bedrock for farmers.

Chairman of  the forum, Alhaji Sadiq Daware in a statement said,  with the  signing of the bill, the President has shown commitment to the plight of Nigerian farmers which will enable them have access to financial interventions without the bureaucracy being experienced with the banking system.

He said the intervention  remains a landmark achievement under the administration  and a legacy which farmers would never forget or taken for granted.

The president assent was contained in an official gazette of the Federal Republic of Nigeria published in October 30, 2022, with number 192 and volume 109 that was certified by the clerk of the two houses.

With the presidential approval, the setting up  of NADF has legal backing to commence operation as attested to by the minister of agriculture and rural development, Dr Mohammad Mahmood  Abubakar during the ministry scorecard on Monday.

Part of the way the new NADF will be funded by law includes derivation from 0.5 per cent of natural development resources fund  and  five per cent of the duty levied on import rice, wheat, sugar, milk, poultry and fish.

While the federal, state and local government  are to give take off grant, special intervention fund as such money must be appropriated to meet the requirements of the Act establishing NADF by the National Assembly in the budget.

The NADF governing board shall consist of the chairman, and representative from federal ministries of finance, budget, planning, and Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD),Science and technology with others from Federal Inland Revenue Service, farmers representative and major stakeholders in the agricultural sector.