The Minister of State for the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, Sen. Aliyu Abdullahi has flagged off the distribution of farm inputs to members of national agricultural cooperative apexes.
The move is part of efforts to improve food security, job creation and support the Federal Government’s declaration of a state of emergency on food security in Nigeria.
The Cooperative Intervention program was held at the Nigeria Agricultural Insurance Corporation (NAIC) building in Abuja.
During the event, the minister demonstrated his support for the cooperative sector and his desire for it to be reformed, rebranded and revived. He pointed out that the laws governing cooperatives have become obsolete and, thus, have not taken note of recent dynamics.
Abdullahi stressed that poverty is on the increase and there is a need to check its progress. He emphasised that the cooperative is governed by trust, mutual beneficial interest and not by self-interest. He also noted that a lot has to be done to rebuild the sector, as the trust deficit was one of the reasons why the cooperative has not grown in Nigeria compared to [those in] other countries.
In his opening remarks, the permanent secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, Mr. Temitope Fashedemi represented by the federal director of cooperatives, Alhaji Idris Sanni stated that the minister supported the cooperative’s intervention in the distribution of farm inputs to members of the national agricultural cooperative apexes to enhance food security.
The president of the Cooperative Federation of Nigeria, International Cooperative Alliance-Africa, and the vice-president, International Cooperative Alliance-Global, High Chief Tajudeen Ayeola commended the minister and pointed out that his appointment was an example of a right peg in the right hole. He conferred on him the Cooperative Champion and recalled that in the meeting with the permanent secretary of the ministry, the challenges of cooperatives were raised to include lack of attention, trust deficit, sharp practices, amongst others.
The cooperative president stated that the cooperative is an instrument of development and has a lot to do. He emphasised that the issue of gross deficit and sharp practices by some members is something that is overestimated and the cooperative movement is well structured and regulated. The cooperative president added that those involved in sharp practices are not registered members of the cooperatives. As such, the government itself has a lot to do by coming up with programmes and paying more attention to the cooperative movement.
In attendance were the president of Women in Cooperative, National Agricultural Cooperative, NACO, NIWCOFA, amongst others.
The statement by the ministry’s director of information signed by Mrs. Anthonia Eremah highlighted that the event included the distribution of improved seeds and fish feeds to the cooperative leaders. This move will help to boost food security and job creation in Nigeria.
The permanent secretary, Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, Mr. Temitope Fashedemi stated that the ministry is committed to ensuring food security, poverty eradication and economic growth. The distribution of farm inputs to members of national agricultural cooperative apexes is in line with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s mandate.
The president of the Cooperative Federation of Nigeria stated that he assumed duty as the president seven years ago, having worked with the former minister, Audu Ogbe and, now the present minister. He added that he has travelled a lot and, for the past seven to eight years, the Cooperative Movement of Kenya has contributed between 40 and 43 per cent to that country’s GDP. He stressed that “we can do better in Nigeria”, given that the cooperative contribution in Nigeria is not reflected in the GDP.
The cooperative president also highlighted the challenges faced by the cooperative sector, including lack of attention, trust deficit, sharp practices, among others. He insisted that the cooperative movement is well structured and regulated, and those involved in sharp practices are unregistered members of the cooperatives. He called on the government to do more by coming up with programmes and paying more attention to the cooperative movement.
The distribution of farm inputs to national agricultural cooperative apexes is a significant move towards boosting food security and job creation in Nigeria. The Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security is committed to ensuring food security, poverty eradication and economic growth. The Cooperative Federation of Nigeria is optimistic that the government will do more to support the Cooperative movement in Nigeria.
