The Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG) has urged the Federal Government to train staff of the Ministry of Agriculture and its agencies to understand and implement the Agriculture Transformation Agenda.
The NESG Director-General, Mr Frank Nweke Jnr, gave the advice when he presented the summit’s recommendations at the end of the 19th Nigerian Economic Summit in Abuja on Thursday.
Nweke also urged the National Assembly to provide legislative backing for the key components of the agenda.
He stressed the need to set up a monitoring and evaluation process to measure the progress of the agenda.
The director-general also called on the states and Federal Governments to diversify Nigeria’s economy by allowing agriculture to take the number one position.
He called for the encouragement of young entrepreneur farmers in order to achieve the nation’s Agriculture Transformation Agenda.
Nweke stressed the need for the state and Federal Government to provide effective road and rail networks, connecting rural farmers and farms to the markets.
He said the air and sea port infrastructure should be upgraded to support agro-export, and that access of rural farmers to electricity infrastructure should be improved.
“It is imperative to encourage access to funding from banks through women cooperatives and improve access to agricultural land by small-holders, especially women and youths.
“There is need for fiscal incentives to encourage private sector research and development institutions as well as the development of climate index for farm insurance purposes,’’ he said.
