A coalition of Civil Societies under the auspices of Agricultural Development Programme (CAADP) and Non-State Actors(NSAs)  have urged the Federal Government to increase budgetary allocation to the agricultural sector in line with the Malabo declaration on the Comprehensive Africa Agricultural Development Programme.

They  made the call at a two day Capacity Building workshop in Abuja,  noting that the inability of government to implement the CAADP principles was a set-back to  the development of the agricultural sector.

The Comprehensive African Agricultural Development Programme (CAADP) is the continent’s framework for fighting hunger and achieving economic development.

According to the CAADP strategy, governments of various countries are expected to set aside 10 percent of their annual national budget to the development of agriculture, the pursuit of a 6 percent annual agricultural growth rate and building partnerships and alliances to include farmers, agribusiness, and civil society communities.

In his welcome address, President, National Association of Nigerian Traders (NANTS)!, Ken Ukaoha harped on the need for NonState Actors to put their acts together in order to drive the CAADP process saying that ” NSA should stand up and prove their relevance in terms of effectiveness, efficiency and maximization of impact.

“NSA must indeed step up to the challenge by playing their roles as facilitating the achievement of agricultural transformation on the African continent and particularly Nigeria,” he said.

While noting that many of the NSAs are yet to understand the CAADP strategy, Ukaoha urged them to take advantage of the workshop to deepen their understanding of its principles.

He said: “This meeting is organised with the conjecture that the solid understanding of the CAADP process will help the NSA’s to engage the process in a systematic pattern that facilitates synergy building and accentuates their collective energies into achieving the fundamental objectives of food security and poverty reduction in Africa.”

Also, Deputy Regional Director, Africa Lead, Victor Addom noted that a lack of unity among NSA has limited the impact adding that there is need for them to forge. United front in order to better engage government.

Addom asserted that it would be difficult for small holder farmers to overcome the challenges of post harvest losses except they engage the agriculture value chain.

According to him, “until our small holder far ears are educated to see agriculture as a business, they will not improve their situation.”