FG, states inaugurate ‘Community of Practice’ for agric sector

The Federal Government said the Community of Practice (CoP) in the ministry would be vested with the oversight responsibility to ensure effective policy implementation in the agricultural sector in line with policy best practices.

The Minister of State for Agriculture and Rural Development, Mustapha Baba Shehuri, at the inaugural meeting of CoP for state commissioners of agriculture in Abuja said this would be a game-changer for policy implementation in the sector.

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According to him, the main objective of having a CoP is to build a common platform for the planning, streamlining and implementation of agricultural policies and programmes across the 36 states of the federation and the FCT.

Shehuri said the CoP was formed to assist the ministry in areas of additional knowledge, expertise and experience to move together on the same pathway.

“In effect, CoP will be vested with the oversight responsibility to ensure effective policy implementation in the agricultural sector in line with policy best practices,” he said.

Also, the Permanent Secretary of the ministry, Dr Ernest Umakhihe, said the CoP forum would bring together all key players in the agricultural sector from the federal and state governments, development partners and non-state actors.

He said: “CoP was primarily established to address some of the existing gaps in planning and implementation of all agricultural policies and programmes across all the 36 states of the Federation and FCT.

In her presentation titled, ‘An Overview of Community of Practice (CoP) for States Commissioners for Agriculture’, the Country Director, ActionAid Nigeria, Ene Obi, noted that lack of collaboration between FMARD and state ministries of agriculture is one of the major challenges that has prevented the Nigerian agricultural sector from attaining its full potential over the years.