In a bid to better develop the agricultural sector, Nigeria signed a five-year country Programming Framework (CPF) with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).
The CPF is an initiative, with funding expected to be drawn from the federal, state, local governments and international donors.
It outlines FAO’s prioritised support to the government of Nigeria for the creation of an enabling environment for enhanced agriculture productivity and requires $99.5 million for full implementation.
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The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Mohammad Abubakar, signed the agreement with Fred Kafeero, the FAO representative in Nigeria.
Speaking at the signing ceremony held over the weekend, Abubakar commended the commitment of FAO in rendering support to the government of Nigeria over the years.
He called on stakeholders to urgently invest in agriculture and develop strong action plans to address climate change, food losses and institutional weaknesses if the sector must be transformed.
How CPF Will Benefit The Sector
“This will aggressively drive the economic diversification programmes and transform food systems to ensure sufficient food in the country as well as export for foreign earnings,” Abubakar said.
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Kafeero said the purpose of the CPF is to respond to the country’s priorities and address commitments to be collectively articulated through programmes and projects that speak to the country’s needs and tackle related challenges.
“The CPF also takes full advantage of FAO corporate initiatives which Nigeria has signed into, including the Hand in Hand, Digital Villages and Green Cities Initiatives to mobilize additional resources for effective and timely implementation of the CPF,” Kafeero said.
“To this end, a results framework is set to ensure focused programming and an estimate of resource requirements is also provided to guide mobilisation of funds for the implementation of programmes.”
Also, at the event was a permanent secretary in the Ministry of Education, Ernest Umakhihe.
He told the gathering that the current priorities of the current CPF would provide the bases for strengthened collaboration and partnership between the government of Nigeria and FAO.
