By Ahmed Ahmed
Stakeholders in Bauchi State urged the State government to strengthen its extension services to boost agricultural production in the States.
This call was contained in a communique at the end of one-day State-level Stakeholders Consultative Meeting on the 2025 Agriculture Budget held at Destination Bauchi Hotel, GRA Bauchi on Tuesday.
The meeting was organissed by Fahimta Women and Youth Development Initiative (FAWOYDI), State Ministry of Agriculture (SMARD), Small scale Women Farmers Organization in Nigeria (SWOFON), and Budget Committee Group (BCG) with the support of Actionaid.
The stakeholders recommended that the government should recruit new extension agents, build their capacity, and provide them with incentives and facilities to meet the one extension worker to 3000 ratio in the field.
They also emphasized the need to revive and properly fund the extension sub-sector on a budget line for growth and improvement of productivity.
The Communique recommended allocation and release of at least 10% of the state’s total budget to agriculture in line with the Malabo/Maputo declaration.
“Strengthen extension services by recruiting new agents, building capacity, and providing incentives.
“ Allocate budget for smallholder women farmers to support their agricultural activities,” It said
“Prioritize monitoring and evaluation to strengthen oversight functions.
The Communique also added the need to create a yearly budget line for strengthening access to credit for smallholder farmers.
“As well as allocating a budget for climate change mitigation and agroecology, the Stakeholders stressed.
The communique explained that with these recommendations the State can significantly boost agricultural production, reduce post-harvest losses, and improve the overall well-being of smallholder farmers in the state.
The Stakeholders include Civil Society Organisations, (CSOs) women farmers from 20 local areas ,Government officials, Media among others.