1 min
Agriculture is the mainstay of the economy of many developing countries; creating and providing jobs for millions of people, as well as the main source of livelihood to the majority of rural people. Yet, the budgetary allocation into the sector has been on the decline or inconsistent due to political reasons.
This has led to underemployment of people and an increase in the number of people living in poverty. In addition, inconsistency in agricultural policies, poor policy implementation and lack of transparency and accountability have not helped in this regard and worsen the situation. Rather than address these issues, more unfriendly policies are made, discouraging more farmers from the farms as cost of production is on the rise.
Sadly, our reality has not changed with many interventions, programs and projects’ implementation, consultation and many more activities. This is because the political structure has little or no interest in the continuous development of the sector. This is a big threat not only to our food security but also to our sovereignty as a nation. Therefore, we need to rethink our strategy in delivering the appropriate agricultural reform in our nations. This reform is a good tool to achieve the end goal of achieving food security and this has to be aligned with the political interest of every developing country.
We need more collaboration amongst key stakeholders for strategic advocacies and lobbying to influence government budgetary allocation to the agricultural sector (at least 10% should be the minimum and consistent). This is to ensure that more political interest and willingness is established in order to implement key policies to actualize this reform. Targeted interventions for youths, women, people living with disabilities should be prioritized and scaled and investment in infrastructure (such as road connecting rural areas, Internet connectivity, markets) must be maintained and appropriately scaled to ensure that access to food and distribution of food becomes seamless.
We can no longer sabotage our growth through our indecisions to prioritize agricultural reform. It is no longer a “want" but an "urgent need” for sectoral transformation. This is because sustaining the growth and development of the agricultural sector will directly sustain the growth and development of the rural communities where agriculture is most practiced and it will also improve the livelihood, as well as the dignity of the farmers. And a dignified farmer is a prosperous farmer. Thus, we need more prosperous farmers who have mastered how to create values from his or her farm and also understand how to share the prosperity amongst the communities. We cannot afford to miss this golden opportunity of TODAY. This reform is NOW inevitable.
Yours-in-Service
Babatunde
Sadly, our reality has not changed with many interventions, programs and projects’ implementation, consultation and many more activities. This is because the political structure has little or no interest in the continuous development of the sector. This is a big threat not only to our food security but also to our sovereignty as a nation. Therefore, we need to rethink our strategy in delivering the appropriate agricultural reform in our nations. This reform is a good tool to achieve the end goal of achieving food security and this has to be aligned with the political interest of every developing country.
We need more collaboration amongst key stakeholders for strategic advocacies and lobbying to influence government budgetary allocation to the agricultural sector (at least 10% should be the minimum and consistent). This is to ensure that more political interest and willingness is established in order to implement key policies to actualize this reform. Targeted interventions for youths, women, people living with disabilities should be prioritized and scaled and investment in infrastructure (such as road connecting rural areas, Internet connectivity, markets) must be maintained and appropriately scaled to ensure that access to food and distribution of food becomes seamless.
We can no longer sabotage our growth through our indecisions to prioritize agricultural reform. It is no longer a “want" but an "urgent need” for sectoral transformation. This is because sustaining the growth and development of the agricultural sector will directly sustain the growth and development of the rural communities where agriculture is most practiced and it will also improve the livelihood, as well as the dignity of the farmers. And a dignified farmer is a prosperous farmer. Thus, we need more prosperous farmers who have mastered how to create values from his or her farm and also understand how to share the prosperity amongst the communities. We cannot afford to miss this golden opportunity of TODAY. This reform is NOW inevitable.
Yours-in-Service
Babatunde
Related