States urged to acquire more tractors to boost crop production

The National Economic Council (NEC) has urged states to step up efforts to acquire more tractors to boost agricultural production across the country.

The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbeh, made the call when he briefed State House correspondents on the outcome of the NEC meeting.

The meeting was presided over by Acting President Yemi Osinbajo on Thursday in Abuja.

The minister briefed the reporters alongside governors of Kaduna and Bauchi States, Malam Nasir El-Rufa’i and Alhaji Mohammed Abubakar respectively.

Ogbeh said the Council’s call had become imperative in view of the severe shortage of tractors in the country, coupled with the fact that the 2017 farming season was about to enter its critical stage.

According to him, each state of the federation needs at least 100 tractors to support the efforts of farmers in boosting food production in line with the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan.

The minister said the Council also enjoined the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to continue to lend a helping hand to states governments in other areas of critical needs.

He assured that the ministry would continue to assist the states in the provision of threshes, mini-harvesters, water pumps as well as the provision of loans at single-digit interest rate to farmers.

According to the minister, agriculture is still leading the path of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth which stood at 3.5 per cent in the second quarter of 2017.

He said the Council stressed the need to give greater impetus to agricultural production in order to speed up the country’s economic recovery.

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Gov. El-Rufa’i , who headed the Council’s 11-man Committee on Ecological Fund, said his committee had submitted an Interim Report to the Council.

He said the Committee informed Council that the revised sharing formula of Ecological Funds as modified, indicated that the Federal Government would get one per cent, states 0.72 per cent, while Local Government Areas would get 0.60per cent.

The committee noted that all states and local government areas had got their share of the Ecological Fund, adding that the only thing left was the Federal Government’s share of one per cent.

“Of the 1% belonging to the FG, (which now stands at N33.6 billion), NEMA and Great Green Wall project are statutorily entitled to 20 per cent, and 15 per cent respectively.

“Only 65 per cent of the Federal Government’s share is available for sharing.

“The report gave details of how the entire Ecological Fund has been utilised and noted that there is the need to establish a clear criteria for sharing the 65 per cent of the Federal ‘s share among states of the federation.’’

According to El-Rufa’i, 19 States and Abuja are yet to benefit from the one per cent of the share of the Ecological fund.

He said the states; Adamawa, Akwa-Ibom, Borno, Edo, Ekiti, Imo, Jigawa, Kano, Kwara, Lagos, Nasarawa, Niger, Ogun, Osun, Oyo, Rivers, Sokoto, Yobe, Zamfara, and FCT.

He said several other states got N2 billion from the Ecological fund under the previous administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan, an action he described as discriminatory.

The governor stated that his committee recommended that those states that were yet to benefit from the fund should be given N2 billion each to `balance the equation’.

He, however, maintained that the committee observed that only N13 billion was available for sharing to states, since N20 billion must be left in the account for unknown national emergencies.

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Gov. Abubakar of Bauchi state told correspondents that NEC Ad-Hoc Committee on the review of the Report of the Presidential Technical Committee on Land Reform also submitted its findings and recommendations to the Council.

He said the Council commended and appreciated the enormous and painstaking work the Committee had done.

“The Council commended the Committee for the comprehensive report and directed the Committee to further reflect the views and concerns raised by states.

“Especially as it has to do with mining rights and the role of states, local governments and communities for onward submission to the Council of States for consideration,’’ he added.