The Kaduna State Government says it is intensifying efforts to improve coordination among agricultural stakeholders, reduce overlapping interventions and ensure more effective implementation of agricultural policies.
The Commissioner for Agriculture, Murtala Dabo, stated this at a quarterly agricultural sector coordination meeting held under the Policy and Agricultural Systems Strengthening (PASS) project in Kaduna.
PASS is supported by the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), with Synergos providing technical assistance.
Represented by the Director of Veterinary Services, Pakachi Zakariya, Mr Dabo said the coordination platform brought together key players from across the agricultural value chain to review ongoing activities, exchange updates and align interventions with the state government’s priorities.
“This forum enables stakeholders to understand government programmes and identify areas for collaboration. A lot of people do not know what government is doing or how to engage. This creates that opportunity,” he said.
The AGRA Programme Officer, Esther Ibrahim, said the platform was helping to promote policy coherence and strengthen collaboration among stakeholders in Kaduna’s agricultural sector.
She said participants presented reports on their activities during the second quarter and also shared updates on planned interventions for the third quarter.
Ms Ibrahim added that the participation of the Kaduna State Bureau of Statistics would further support data-driven planning and decision-making in the agricultural sector.
Speaking at the meeting, the Country Director of Synergos, Victor Adejor, described the platform as important to the development and implementation of effective agricultural policies.
He said it provided an avenue for farmers, government institutions, private sector operators, seed companies, development partners, media organisations and other critical stakeholders to engage and collaborate.
According to him, the participation of ministries, departments and agencies with agriculture-related responsibilities was also strengthening coordination across the sector.
Mr Adejor said the platform had supported the development of key policies, including those on contract farming and gender.
He added that improved engagement among stakeholders was helping to address the duplication and fragmentation of agricultural interventions.
“A lot is happening because people are talking. People are coming together, reasoning together and planning together,” Mr Adejor said.
