Abubakar Kyari, the minister of Agriculture and Food Security, has called for collaboration among agro-input dealers, to strengthen Nigeria’s food system.
The minister made the call during a courtesy visit by Kabir Umar Fara, the president of the Nigerian Agro Input Dealers Association (NAIDA), to his office in Abuja. He said collaboration was needed to ensure that the products supplied were of high standards, quality, and quantity to ensure food sufficiency.
He emphasised the need for the association to sell only certified and approved products sourced from registered input producers. “The association must come up with policies and programmes that would see to how adulteration of products can be mitigated, marketers are the face of government.
He also urged farmers to use and apply the entire inputs given, in line with the best agronomic practices for maximum productivity.
In his remarks, Fara stated that the association, being an umbrella body for distributors of farm inputs, including fertilisers (organic and inorganic), seeds, petrol chemicals and farm implements in Nigeria, was working on measures that would compel members to comply with best practices.
According to him, “When the cost of inputs is high, there is a tendency that many agro dealers would want to go the wrong way, we must assist the ministry in addressing these issues. There is a sales permit issued by the ministry, those without a sales permit and found with our product would be arrested immediately.”
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