By Oghenero Orovwuje
The State Steering Committee for the African Union Development Agency-New Partnership for Africa’s Development (AUDA-NEPAD) Innovative Strengthening of Smallholders Farmers capabilities in Nigeria has been inaugurated with a call on members to harness their talents towards achieving success.
Secretary to the State Government Chief Patrick Ukah, performed the inauguration ceremony in his office in Asaba.
Ukah said the programme was one of the landmark initiatives of the African Union which came on the heels of the economic devastation wrought by the Covid-19 pandemic.
He said the programme was aimed to strengthen smallholders’ farmers, accelerate productive land restoration, combat desertification and promote the use of innovation technology to reduce post-harvest losses and maximize food security in Africa and Nigeria in particular.
He noted that the ten-year programme plan for food sufficiency in African continent and the ECOWAS region had been domesticated with the state Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources for its sustainability adding that it would help to meet the domestic food needs and actualize the zero hunger policy of Nigeria, the African Union and SMART Agenda of the state.
Ukah explained that the AUDA-NEPAD, with the support of the state government, had screened and selected 3,380 smallholders’ farmers across the twenty five local government areas comprising women, men, youths and people living with disabilities.
The Chairman of the committee, who is also the state Commissioner for Agriculture and Natural Resources, Dr. Godfrey Enita, on behalf of the members, thanked the state government for finding them worthy to serve and pledged to do their best to achieve desired results,
The Commissioner for Economic Planning, Dr. Barry Gbe, Permanent Secretaries in the Ministries of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Economic Planning, Secondary Education and representative of the office of SSG, Mr Anthony Abuah are members.
Other members are representatives of Ministries of Finance, Higher Education, Environment and Lands and Survey.
Also inaugurated as members are representatives from African Forest Restoration Initiative, All Farmers Association of Nigeria, while the State Director of NEPAD, Mrs. Eruotor Christie, will serve as the Secretary of the Committee.
