Stakeholders, including researchers, civil society organisations (CSOs) and farmers, have expressed worry over the poor deployment of agriculture research outcomes to farmers for sustainable food production.
Lead Director of the Centre for Social Justice (CSJ), Dr Eze Onyekpere, observed that recent budgetary allocations for the agriculture sector have shown that agriculture research institutions had substantial allocations, and therefore, research outcomes must be made available to benefit local farmers.
He made the submission at a two-day National Workshop on Improving Viability and Linkages Between Agriculture Research, Extension Services and Farming for Food Value Chain, yesterday, in Abuja, organised by CSJ, in partnership with the Heinrich Böll Foundation.
He said: “As someone who works on the public budget, which is the taxpayers’ money, I’ve done a lot of work around the votes of the Ministry of Agriculture and I saw that the research institutes are taking up a good part of the funding that goes to the ministry. So, the Nigerian taxpayer pays some researchers and those payments must be for a purpose.
“It is not for mere advertising. We are not paying researchers to research for the sake of research.”
We are paying researchers so that they can improve the value chain of our food and make it more productive and more value-added.”
Onyekpere pointed out that Nigerians were experiencing hunger which could be resolved through effective cascading of research output to farmers who can apply the same for best result.
According to him, agriculture research aims to improve productivity, and yield per hectare, tackle prevalent pests and crop diseases across the federation, as well as boost the value chain.
He submitted: “We need to find out where the challenges are. The derivative value chain of cassava is about $189 billion worldwide. Nigeria is doing between 16% and 20% of the total raw cassava production. Furthermore, our yield per hectare is about 30% of those who are doing better but are producing less. We are capturing less than one per cent of that $189 billion.”
Noting that at least 70 per cent of farmers especially smallholder ones are women, Country Director, Heinrich Böll Foundation, Sophie von Knebel, stressed the importance of ensuring that research outcomes do not sit on shelves or remain in academic journals, but are translated into real-world solutions that meet the needs of farmers, particularly the smallholder women who are the backbone of Nigeria’s food systems.
She said: “The challenges confronting Nigerian agriculture are well documented and they include limited access to finance, weak extension structures, poor adoption of research outputs, and a persistent disconnect between innovation and implementation.”
In her remarks, President of the Small Scale Women Farmers Organisation in Nigeria (SWOFON), Fatima Bala-Gummi, explained that research outcomes were critical in boosting crop yields and reducing labour, especially among her teeming members.
Represented by the National Public Relations Officer, Marka Abbas, the president noted: “Effective linkages between the agricultural research institutions and farmers will bring changes in our farming system for a better food production and food value chain.
“SWOFON is facing a lot of challenges being small farmers. So, I am hoping that we will see changes and find solutions to some of these challenges.”
Also, a representative of the Agricultural Research Council of Nigeria (ARCN) and Assistant Director Research, Dr. NnemekaIhegwaogu, promised that the council was working with agriculture research institutions under its purview to strengthen extension services and delivery of research outcomes for increased food production and sustainability.
Her words: “The ARCN has been working over the years as a leader in agricultural research in Nigeria, and is tapping into the Renewed Hope Agenda of the present government to enhance the dissemination of research technology as generated by the institutions under it.
“We ensure that every research institute has an extension department and agricultural research outreach centres where schools and villages are adopted as part of efforts to disseminate our research.”
