TheCable

The federal government and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) have signed a five-year country programming framework (CPF) to improve the country’s agricultural sector.

The CPF is an initiative whose funding is expected to be drawn from the federal, state, local governments and international donors.

It outlines FAO’s prioritised support to the government of Nigeria for the creation of an enabling environment for enhanced agriculture productivity and requires $99.5 million for full implementation.

Mohammad Abubakar, minister of agriculture and rural development, signed the agreement on behalf of the Nigerian government while Fred Kafeero, the FAO representative in Nigeria and to the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) signed on behalf of FAO.

Speaking at the signing ceremony held over the weekend, Abubakar commended the commitment of FAO in rendering support to the government of Nigeria over the years.

He called on stakeholders to urgently invest in agriculture and develop strong action plans to address climate change, food losses and institutional weaknesses if the sector must be transformed.

“This will aggressively drive the economic diversification programmes and transform food systems to ensure sufficient food in the country as well as export for foreign earnings,” Abubakar said.

Earlier in his remarks, Kafeero said the purpose of the CPF is to respond to the country’s priorities and address commitments to be collectively articulated through programmes and projects that speak to the country’s needs and tackle related challenges.

“The CPF also takes full advantage of FAO corporate initiatives which Nigeria has signed into, including the Hand in Hand, Digital Villages and Green Cities Initiatives to mobilize additional resources for effective and timely implementation of the CPF,” Kafeero said.

“To this end, a results framework is set to ensure focused programming and an estimate of resource requirements is also provided to guide mobilization of funds for the implementation of programmes.”

Also speaking at the event, Ernest Umakhihe, permanent secretary, ministry of education, said based on the current priorities of the current CPF, they provide the bases for strengthened collaboration and partnership between the government of Nigeria and FAO.