Northern Nigerian Breaking News

Agricultural extension service bill passes first reading

The Senate took another positive step towards improving the country’s agricultural sector as the Agricultural Extension Service Bill, 2024 (SB. 646), sponsored by Senator Saliu Mustapha, passed its first reading.

SolaceBase reports that the bill aims to revitalize the moribund agricultural extension services that will support smallholder farmers to improve productivity and ensure food security in the Nation.

The bill also aims to strengthen the capacity of extension workers to deliver advanced, technology-driven, and demand-oriented services.

Speaking on the objectives of the bill in an interview with journalists on Wednesday, Senator Saliu Mustapha, who represents Kwara Central in the National Assembly, explained that the proposed bill seeks to ensure the effective implementation of the National Agricultural Extension Policy and Strategy and to establish a legal framework for sustainable agricultural extension services in Nigeria.

Read Also: Agriculture Extension Services bill is designed to promote agric development in Nigeria-Minister

He stated that the bill will further create a sustainable, harmonized, pluralistic, and demand-driven e-agricultural extension system that will ensure efficient service delivery across the agricultural value chain.

It could be recalled that the bill recently scaled through the first reading in the House of Representatives.

WOFAN-ICON-2 Project supported by the Mastercard Foundation is championing the legislation of the policy together with, Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, National Agricultural Extension and Research Liaison Services, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria and other stakeholders.

Speaking at a technical update meeting held in Abuja last month to review stakeholders’ feedback on the proposed bill, the Minister of State for Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi, lauded the efforts put into the bill and described it as a necessary addition to supporting a sustainable and resilient agricultural system in Nigeria.

He noted that with about 70% of the population involved in agriculture, it is important to ensure they receive the kind of technical support they need to be able to achieve optimal outputs and good income. He declared that this is where Extension Agents become very important, stressing that having the right extension delivery system legislation will boost sustainable and resilient agriculture in the country.

‘’Extension Agents don’t just show farmers Good Agronomic Practices, they step down successful research results and new innovative techniques to farmers for improved outputs. “So, Extension Agents are very positive additions to how farmers are supposed to operate. And so, to me the proposed bill will be a game changer.’’

In her remarks, Country Director of the WOFAN ICON2,  Mastercard Foundation funded Project, Dr Salamatu Garba who expressed happiness that the bill has passed its first reading at the House of Representatives and Senate said about eight sessions of meetings have been held in the drafting of the bill to ensure that all agriculture stakeholders are carried along in the process so as to have encompassing law when the bill is passed into law for the development of agriculture.

She said the bill aims to ensure legal backing in defining the role of extension agents and the rights of farmers and other stakeholders, with the ultimate goal of total success in the agriculture value chain.

‘’We want our extension workers to grow with the global trend considering the fast-growing population of Nigeria so that even the target development in the agric sector by the government at all levels can easily be achieved.

‘’It is also a time to support our research institutes, we cannot achieve much if the institutes are not producing desired extension workers for us.’’

She explained that the (WOFAN-ICON2) Project is a five-year intervention which seeks to create decent and sustainable employment opportunities for 675,000 youth between 18 and 35 years old as part of Mastercard Foundation’s Young Africa Works (YAW) strategy with the main goal of ensuring that the young participants living across 10 Nigerian states have improved quality of life.

 

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