—Says making lands available, mechanized farming inputs will reduce costs of food
By Johnbosco Agbakwuru
ABUJA— The Association of Local Governments of Nigeria, ALGON, has said that local government areas, LGAs, have roles to play in driving an agricultural revolution in the country.
ALGON also noted that the high cost of fertilizer, especially in rural areas, has been one of the greatest challenges facing farmers.
National President of ALGON, Hon. Bello Lawal, who stated this at the National Executive Council, NEC, meeting of the association in Abuja, promised that local government areas will provide more lands and use mechanized farming inputs to drive down the cost of food.
Lawal commended President Bola Tinubu for driving the agricultural revolution and ensuring food availability, assuring that his association would do everything possible to support the President.
He said: “The President is really doing a lot, and we believe it is our duty as a subnational to support Mr. President in driving this revolution. We believe our state governments are doing a lot, so it is time local governments keyed into this and gave their own support.
“That’s why we’ve invited presentations from consultants and other experts in agriculture to see how we can partner with them for our local governments to make their contribution. We believe it has to start from the way we source our inputs in agriculture and how we process the output—that is very key.
“We believe having local governments play a central role in increasing production levels by providing more agricultural lands and using mechanized farming inputs will help drive down the cost of food, as well as help farmers get value for their production.
“So it starts from the bottom up. We believe local governments, being involved, will support our local farmers, and they will push some of their concerns to the state and national levels to see how best we can partner with the federal government to bring down the cost of inputs—because that is the major concern of our farmers at the grassroots level.
“Once that is done, I believe a lot of people will be willing to engage in agriculture with the support of the federal, state, and local governments, which will boost our agricultural production and ensure food security across our nation.”
The ALGON President said all the necessary organs of ALGON attended the NEC meeting, including the past Presidents, Board of Trustees, and ALGON Chairmen from the 36 states of the federation, including the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
He said local governments are the third tier of government enshrined by the 1999 Constitution (as amended), adding: “So we have a lot of programs and policies as they affect the 774 local governments.”
The ALGON President said they used the meeting for peer reviews among themselves and to chart a course forward for the 774 local governments in terms of policy, some projects, and the direction of local governments.Would you like me to make it more concise, adjust the formality, or focus on any specific section?
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