Budgetary Allocation For Agencies Would Be Performance Driven-Minister

The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Muhammad Nanono has disclosed that henceforth, budgetary allocation for agencies and parastatals under the ministry would be based on performance.

Nanono, speaking at a Retreat on Food Security in Abuja on Thursday, said that with the current state of agriculture sector, there is need for all parastatals to be accountable by carrying out visible projects that would revamp the sector and contribute to food security.

He said “We need to strengthen our service delivery mechanism, since much is expected from the sector to enhance the country’s capacity on food security, employment generation and wealth creation.

“Only then will we be able to address the impact of the global health emergency and the high expectation of present administration on the Agriculture sector.

“We all need to re-commit ourselves to the development of the sector by aligning progress, fine-tuning strategies, de-risking options, streamlining interventions, pooling resources and implementing projects. Failure, is not an option.”

Nanono, who noted that food security has remained a priority for the Buhari administration, called for the support of stakeholders to facilitate programmes to farmers on mechanization, extension delivery, commodity production, storage facilities, agro-processing, grazing reserves, livestock transformation and fisheries.

He explained that the ministry, in an effort to reposition the agricultural research system, has secured about 20,000 to 100,000 hectares of land per state for agricultural use.

This, he stated, would promote agro and agro-allied cluster activities nationwide.

The Permanent Secretary, Abdulkadir Mu’azu, in his remark said that to achieve food security, the ministry and it’s Parastatals need alignment of programmes and projects.

He said, “Our responsibility is to align sectoral strategies with the goal of social inclusion, as well as economic diversification and livelihood expansion, and therewith, implement policies, programmes and projects for impactful development in the country.

“To do this, we must be conversant with mandates, rules, guidelines, and procedures to synchronize the delivery of interventions in the sector at the Ministry and Parastatals’ levels.

“That is, every Accounting Officer has a duty to ensure project prioritization and prudent funding within the parameters of needs assessment, procurement procedure and execution verification.

“In this regard, our stakes, responsibilities and commitments are anchored on inclusiveness, transparency and accountability in the conceptualization of initiatives and interventions, through strategic partnership with State Governments, Farmer Associations, Private Sector Organizations and Development Partners.”