Ebonyi govt inaugurates committee to achieve agricultural goals

The Ebonyi government has inaugurated a community charged with agricultural practices to help it achieve its objectives in the agricultural sector. The Chairman of the committee, Mr Sunday Ituma, said during the inauguration on Monday that it comprises stakeholders such as the ministry of agriculture, donor agencies, private-sector investments, and farmers, among others. Ituma, the State Programme Coordinator of the Federal Government of Nigeria/International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD)-assisted Value Chain Development Programme (VCDP), said the committee will achieve set goals. “We will periodically liaise with the state government to ascertain its agricultural targets with every stakeholder proffering solutions to achieve such targets. “There will be no competition among us but synergy will be promoted for effective collaboration. “Individual projects have their developmental objectives but we would pool our strengths and resources to attain set goals,” he said. He noted that the committee would promote Gov. Francis Nwifuru’s campaign mantra in the agricultural sector of embarking on practical agriculture. “The people will be the ultimate beneficiaries as they would equitably access governmental policies and programmes,” he said. The State Commissioner for Agriculture and Natural Resources, Mrs Nkechinyere Iyioku, said that the government was delighted over the inauguration as several efforts to constitute such bodies in the past had failed. “The committee will help in effective coordination of the ministry of agriculture’s activities and the government will support it to succeed. “Development is more effective both in cost and programming when implementation agencies – public and private – collaborate. “This collaboration has inherent benefits which include sharing of ideas, pooling of resources and achieving goals collectively,” she said. Dr Ben Odoemena, Chief of Party of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Extension Activity, commended the state government for inaugurating the committee. “We have to hope for tomorrow by taking control of the initiative as applicable in developed countries. “We should create a forum where key stakeholders in the agricultural sector will discuss ways of making it more sustainable,” he said. Mrs Jane Okpo, a farmer, urged the government to ensure that the committee was sustained and not go into extinction after the inauguration. (NAN)