Nigeria has ended a four-decade gap in evaluating its agricultural research system, marking a major step toward revitalising research institutes and colleges of agriculture nationwide.

The Minister of State for Agriculture and Food Security, Aliyu Abdullahi, disclosed this at the technical session of the report validation of the NADF Baseline Survey and Needs Assessment of Agricultural Research Institutes and Federal Colleges of Agriculture, which ended on Friday in Abuja.

“The last time any system-wide assessment or evaluation of the National Agricultural Research System was conducted was as a prelude to President Shehu Shagari’s Green Revolution.

“Since then, no government has deemed it necessary to take a peek into the research institute system with a view to transforming them until this very government of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu,” Abdullahi stated.

The minister commended the NADF for spearheading the project, saying, “I want to thank you most sincerely for that and for NADF also providing the necessary tactics to follow your words to ensure that this exercise is completed.”

He further emphasised the need to upgrade research and training infrastructure.

He added, “Agricultural research is the engine of growth of the agricultural sector.”

The Executive Secretary of NADF, Mohammed Ibrahim, explained that the evaluation covered 16 agricultural research institutes and 17 colleges of agriculture.

“What we have done is that around September last year, we constituted a consultancy team to do a baseline survey and a needs assessment so that we will be able to know their strengths, their constraints, their gaps, their challenges, and of course, their opportunities,” Ibrahim said.

Describing the condition of the research institutes as “very, very deplorable,” Ibrahim blamed years of neglect, stating, “There is a lot that needs to be done. These institutes and colleges of agriculture have been neglected for years and years.”

However, he expressed optimism about the renewed government commitment, adding, “We are now here, thanks to the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. We want to have a very tailored approach.”


https://punchng.com/nigeria-conducts-first-agricultural-research-evaluation-in-40-years/