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FG Urges CRIN,Other Research Institutions Align With Tinubu’s Food Security Agenda …As Experts Identify Why Food Scarcity Lingers
Agricultural Research Institutions have been advised to harness all the other sectors of agriculture to address the urgent food scarcity and insecurities in the country.
The Minister of Agriculture and Natural Development, Mohammad Mahmood Abubakar dropped this hint during the 2023/24 in-house research reports of the Cocoa Research Institute of Nigeria (CRIN).
Represented by Professor Garuba Hamidu Sharubutu from the Agricultural Research Council of Nigeria insisted that high cost of fertilizers, lack of manpower and high cost of renting farm equipment remain key factors why food is not sufficient in the country.
The Federal Government however, urged researchers and institutes in the agricultural sector to align their research with President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda on food security in order to have enough food to feed Nigerians.
‘’Now, when Mr. President was declaring a state of emergency on food security, the journalists should take note of the fact that he said that he was going to look at the issue of commodity bonds and this cannot exist without commodity associations.
‘’Cocoa Research Institute has one of the largest mandate crops as listed and so the expectation there is that we should see a more organized commodity association sponsored and directed by the cocoa research institute.
‘’The instruction I had on my way, which I read, is that for this year’s submission by the Honorable Minister, all the agriculture research institutes, including universities of agriculture, research institutes as well as colleges must present in pictorial terms the progress that has been made from January till date, and this is the information that I have to carry back.
‘’In that case, I would like to have to know about the various commodity associations because it is only a pictorial testimony of the presence of the commodity association here that will convince the Honorable Minister, and by implication, Mr. President, that we are carrying our farmers along.
‘’This year’s preparation for 2025 project is strictly going to be performance-based. So I want to believe that our researchers will be able to package well-meaning programme that will centre on the agenda of Mr. President so that collectively, the Minister of Agriculture and the Minister of State will be able to make a better presentation for the purpose of proper funding,” he said.
Earlier, the Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director of CRIN, Dr. Patrick Adebola, said that the programme was meant to review research of the organisation’s faculty and the desirability for funding in order to serve farmers effectively for higher yields.
Dr Adebola also urged the Federal Government to urgently ensure that Nigeria becomes one of the recognised countries in the production of cocoa through the United Nations before it becomes a doom for farmers who are currently smiling to the banks.
He stated that the proposal will be tabled before the minister in their committees next meeting with the minister.
“It is high time the country had a body that will regulate the production of cocoa,” he said.
In her keynote address, Dr. Oluyemisi Shittu of Johnvents Industries limited, alerted Nigerians to the crisis in cocoa production.
Shittu urged Nigeria to learn from what happened to Ivory Coast in cocoa production and take drastic steps before the crisis goes out of hands.
The expert called for collaboration between CRIN and industry players.
She said at the event with the theme; “Varietal Development of Cocoa, Kola, Coffee, Cashew and Tea for sustainable Circular Economic Growth In Nigeria,” that there is need to declare an emergency in the cocoa production sector based on the hike in the price of cocoa from N1.3 million naira to 13 million naira within one year.
“In the face of this crisis, the imperative for action has never been pressing. We are the custodians of Nigeria cocoa heritage and we must rise to the occasion with resolve and ingenuity.
“CRIN is endowed with with a rich legacy of scientific excellence and institutional expertise, hence, heed the call to lead the charge in confronting these threats. CRIN must seize the moment to reaffirm Nigeria’s position as a global leader in cocoa innovation and production,” she stated.
Dr. Joseph Minari of the University of Lagos, who delivered the first keynote address, urged researchers not to depend on the annual Federal Government research grants, but to seek for more foreign grants that will boost their records took the researchers on the fundamentals of grant writing.
“Let me be sincere with you, there is no agency that will put in place grants and will not want something in returns, therefore you need to package your proposal in such a way that will attract them”
He also disclosed that the researchers need to work on their curriculum vitae so as to attract grants.
-Kunle Bakare.
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