The bill seeking to establish a comprehensive legal framework for the transformation and modernization of Nigeria’s agricultural sector has scaled second reading in the Senate.
The bill, sponsored by the Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Jibrin Barau (APC, Kano North), seeks to promote food security, agricultural productivity, mechanisation, irrigation, agricultural financing, agro-industrialisation, rural development and climate-resilient farming.
Following its passage at second reading, the President of the Senate, Senator Godswill Akpabio, referred the proposed legislation to the Senate Committees on Agricultural Production, Services and Rural Development, and Agricultural Colleges and Institutions for further legislative consideration.
Akpabio directed the committees to report back to the Senate within four weeks.
The bill, titled, A Bill for an Act to Provide a Comprehensive Legal Framework for the Transformation and Modernisation of Agriculture in Nigeria, is also designed to promote sustainable agricultural development and address longstanding challenges in the sector.
Leading the debate on its general principles, Barau lamented that agriculture, which was once the mainstay of Nigeria’s economy, was no longer performing optimally.
He recalled that between the 1950s and early 1980s, agricultural production supported numerous industries, including textile and processing companies in Lagos, Kano and Port Harcourt.
He regretted that several industries, particularly those in Kano’s Sharada and Bompai industrial areas, which once supported vibrant economic activities, had become largely dormant.
Barau also recalled that the Second Republic government introduced the Green Revolution Programme but noted that its implementation lacked an enabling legal framework.
According to him, the absence of legislation made it difficult to sustain the programme beyond the administration that introduced it.
He said Nigeria had the human and natural resources required to transform agriculture but lacked effective mechanisms to harness the sector’s enormous potential.
“The bill is to provoke conversation, bring in our expertise to look at the entire scenario and see how we can change the trajectory,” he said.
Barau urged senators to consider the proposed legislation from the perspective of patriotism rather than partisan politics, stressing the need for collective action to reposition the agricultural sector.
Contributing, the Senate Whip, Senator Mohammed Monguno (APC, Borno North), said the bill would translate Nigeria’s economic diversification policy from oil dependence to agriculture into practical reality.
He said agriculture contributed about 40 per cent of Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product and provided approximately 70 per cent of employment.
