Abuja – The Chairman, Senate Committee on Agriculture, Sen. Adamu Abdulahi (APC-Nasarawa West), has called for the review of the law establishing research institutes in the country to enhance their performance.
Adamu made the call at the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) Forum in Abuja on Thursday.
“From my little take, the coordinating body (Agricultural Research Council of Nigeria) appears to require a little more support.
It requires a review of the legislation that created these research institutions so that they can be put in line for better performance.’’
Adamu, who said that the country was not benefiting from the research institutions, blamed the situation on poor funding and inefficient coordination of their activities.
He said that the outcomes of research work carried out by the institutes were not being developed, adding that the situation was negatively affecting their efforts.
“The first point is the funding for research is not adequate from the little I have seen over the years that I have been associated with agriculture in Nigeria as a minister, governor and a senator in my second term.
“ I see that the provision for research is not appropriate.
“Again, the administration of the research institutes is not appropriate.
“If you take countries like Brazil, China, India and see the way they go about coordination of agricultural research effort, you will know that we have a very long way to go.
“There is no privatisation and the private sector is not really taking the steps that are necessary to benefit from research outcomes.
“Most of the researches are financed by government; if you take the entire private sector, at least the big players in the industry, you will find that not many of them are sponsoring research.’’
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According to him, the agriculture cannot progress without properly funded and coordinated research.
Adamu, a former President of the All Farmers Association of Nigeria, urged state and local governments to take advantage of research carried out by agriculture institutes in the country to grow the sector for the benefit of their people. (NAN)