The Minister of State, Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security (FMAFS), Aliyu Abdullahi on Sunday flagged off the distribution of farm inputs to Members of National Agricultural Cooperative to enhance food security and job creation, amongst others.
Abdullahi in Abuja said the move was a reassurance that the cooperative sector will be reformed, rebranded and revived, pointing out that the cooperative laws were “obsolete, not updated, and had not taken note of the recent dynamics”.
Abdullahi noted that cooperation is governed by trust, mutual beneficial interest, and not by self-interest.
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According to him, “It means that you must be tolerant, accommodating and be ready to allow someone get food out of the plate”.
He highlighted that “Trust deficit was one of the reasons why cooperative has not grown in Nigeria compared to other countries”.
He, therefore, appealed to the leaders of the sector to change the narrative to suit the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, assuring that he would be the number one promoter of the Cooperative.
Supporting the need for reforms, the President of the Cooperative Federation of Nigeria, Chief Tajudeen Ayeola in a statement signed by Chief Information Officer FMAFS, Eremah Anthonia pointed out that cooperative is an instrument of development in most countries.
He noted that the Cooperative Movement of Kenya has been contributing between 40 to 43 per cent to the GDP of Kenya, stressing that Nigeria can exceed the record.
Speaking further, he said that the Cooperative contribution in Nigeria is not captured in the GDP and emphasized that the issue of gross deficit and sharp practices by some of his members are overestimated.
“People think that it is the movement that is responsible for it, Cooperative movement is well structured and regulated”, the Cooperative President said.