Senate Pledges Speedy Passage Of Agric Extension Bill

Chairman, Senate Committee on Agriculture, Production Services and Rural Development, Saliu Mustapha has assured of the speedy passage of Agricultural Extension Services Delivery Revitalisation Bill.

Mustapha gave the assurance at technical session on the draft of the bill organised by Women Farmers Advancement Network and country representatives (WOFAN-ICON2) project in Abuja.

The bill aims to ensure effective implementation of a national agricultural extension policy and strategy sustainable agricultural extension service in the country.

Mustapha said the legislation on the bill would improve the lives of farmers, especially in the rural areas.

The senator said that he would discuss with his colleagues in the National Assembly to give the bill the needed attention and a wider scope.

“With the insecurity we have in the country today, if agriculture is working the way it ought to, it will have reduced the problem by 70 to 80 per cent of it,” Mustapha said.

Founder, WOFAN-ICON2, Dr Salamatu Garba, said the aim for pushing the bill was to grow the agricultural sector.

She said if the bill was passed, it meant that the federal government would have a particular percentage dedicated to agriculture, which is the backbone of the economy.

According to her, this will go a long way to increase food production in Nigeria and further reduce food will not be expensive anymore.

The chairman, WOFAN Technical Advisory Board on Policy Change and Advisory Services, Prof Sani Miko, explained that the bill had a lot of offers for both the youths and women, which would open the horizon for the sector.

According to Miko, the bill seeks to promote and support a robust information and communication and a knowledge management system for agricultural extension service.