A call has gone to the Federal Government to as a matter of urgency revive the agricultural extension services, as there is a wide knowledge gap among producers.
This point was made by the Chairperson of the Lagos-Kano-Jibiya (LAKAJI) Development Alliance, Dr Enitan Obasanjo-Adeleye in her opening remarks during LAKAJI Development Alliance International Cold Chain Summit, held at Federal Palace Hotel, Victoria Island on Monday.
LAKAJI boss, who doubles as the Managing Director of Legacy Investment and Management Company, told captains of industries in attendance that the previous government had a very good agricultural policy but “I think the present government still needs to do a lot more. They need to build on that template.”
She also commended the immediate past administration on its intervention on tomato, rice, cassava and others. She however lamented that “there is still a knowledge gap among our producers; we need to spend more time on this. It is also imperative that the agricultural extension services be revived because when you are talking ‘from farm to fork’, by the time you get to the end it is too late. This is about looking at the whole value chain. You can’t be starting at the end, you have to start at the beginning,” she said.
Obasanjo-Adeleye also stated that the extension service officers should be working together with the relevant agencies so as to improve the sector. “I don’t see enough coordination between the likes of the SON, NAFDAC and the Federal Ministry of Agriculture for example, to make sure that from end to end there is that quality assurance; from end to end we can guarantee that there is a minimum standard that is going to be achieved along the value-chain for this entire product. My advice for them is really to take note of the integrated value chain approach across the whole sector,” she said.
In his goodwill message, the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD), Arc. Sonny Echono who was represented by Mr Jato Ohiare, said the focus of the summit – facilitating new businesses and expanding existing ones through the participation of local and foreign agribusiness investors in cold chain system in fresh produce industry to achieve food security – is in tandem with the policy thrust of the FMARD.
“This event will provide the opportunities required by the Organised Private Sector to address issues pertaining to post-harvest losses in the horticultural industry and increase the quality and shelf life of fresh produce. This will impact positively on farmers and make the produce to be available all-year-round.
“I wish to conclude by commending the organisers of this summit, all private stakeholders in attendance and also advise that the lesson learnt during the sessions of this programme should be harnessed into developing an effective cold chain system in Nigeria to reduce post harvest losses. I wish to assure you of the willingness of the ministry to collaborate with the organisation to promote the adoption of cold chain system nationwide,” Echono