Association of Agricultural Commodity Presidents have urged President Bola Tinubu, the leader of the All-Progressives Congress (APC) and the former governor of Lagos State, to appoint one of their members as the minister of agriculture.
The association, which comprises the national presidents of various agricultural commodity associations in Nigeria, made the appeal in a joint statement on Monday in Abuja.
According to Dr Bello Annoor, the National President of the Maize Association of Nigeria (MAAN), one of its members should head the agricultural sector, since doctors and lawyers head their respective ministries. He said it would take an experienced agriculturist to identify and address the challenges farmers faced.
“Whatever you are doing, if you don’t have the knowledge of what you want to do, it will definitely fail. The reason why we want one of our members picked as the minister of agriculture is because an agriculturist knows the problems of farmers and has experience in the agricultural value chain,” Annoor said.
He added: “You cannot take somebody who is an engineer to head the health sector or a doctor to head the judiciary; it is good for the agriculture sector to be managed by an agriculturist.”
Mr John Aderibigbe, National President of Carrot Growers, Processors and Marketers Association of Nigeria, said the association wanted representation since they were grassroots farmers and were in tune with the pains of farmers.
“As farmers, we do so much, lose so much, sometimes we sell a basket of okra for N500, what else does the government want us to do that we have not done? Now we are asking for inclusion because this was a
promise,” Aderibigbe said.
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He lamented that farmers had been neglected by previous governments and had not received adequate support and incentives to boost their productivity and income.
On her part, the National President of Spices Association of Nigeria, Jummai Tabak, said the association came together to seek for the ministerial slot because “only he who wears the shoe knows where it
pinches”.
She explained that farmers faced various challenges such as lack of access to credit, inputs, markets, storage facilities and extension services. She said an agriculturist as a minister would understand these challenges and proffer solutions.
Dr Florence Edward, the National President of Ginger Growers, Processors and Marketers Association of Nigeria, regretted that a lot of injustice had been done to Nigerian farmers in the past.
“We are calling on the new government to address the injustice being done to us by looking inward and picking one of us as minister of agriculture. If a commodity association president is appointed minister, if there is any problem in any corner, he will solve that problem with just one phone call,” Edward said.
She also expressed optimism that an agriculturist as a minister would promote policies and programmes that would enhance the competitiveness and profitability of Nigerian agricultural products in local and international markets.
In conclusion, the association appealed to President Tinubu to consider their request and appoint an agriculturist as the minister of agriculture. They said this would ensure that the agricultural sector would receive the attention and transformation it deserved. They also pledged their support and cooperation to the new government in
achieving its vision for a prosperous Nigeria.
