Nigeria's government looks to agric for revival


Tony Ohaeri
THE HON. MINISTER OF AGRIC AND RURAL DEVPT,CHIEF AUDU OGBEH DISPLAYING WHEAT GRAINS DURING A PRESS CONFERENCE WITH JOURNALISTS IN ABUJA
The Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has emphasized  the need for government and other stakeholders to work closely together to realign Nigeria for a progressive life beyond oil.
The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbeh stated this while declaring open a two-day retreat held for Directors of the Ministry in Abuja.
The Minister who was represented by the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry, Dr. Shehu Ahmed said there is a positive relationship between economic growth in Nigeria and diversification of other sectors of the economy like agriculture.
According to the Minister, “When there is proper management of human resources, huge investment and concentration on agriculture, the Nigerian economy will certainly grow”.
Chief Ogbeh who said the retreat was apt, added that the importance of Monitoring and Evaluation cannot be over emphasized in the sector, especially at the point when focus is on the sector.
The Minister maintained that effective, efficient, diligent and result-based monitoring and evaluation must take place to determine the inherent benefits, risks, limitations of agriculture and its practice.
He said “Monitoring and Evaluation is important because it provides the only consolidated source of information showcasing project Implementation. It allows actors to learn from each other’s experience, building on expertise and knowledge. It reveals mistakes and offers paths for learning and improvements. It provides means for agencies seeking to learn from their experiences and to incorporate them into policy and practice. It provides a way to assess the crucial link between implementers and beneficiaries on the ground and decision makers”.
In his remarks, the Regional Director, USAID Africa Lead, Mr. Carla Denizard who was the facilitator of the retreat said “In order to ensure that the Ministry works toward achieving its goals and objectives, it is important that heads of the departments and units of the ministry are aware of Monitoring and Evaluation Concept, committed to drive the process and work closely with their staff in making their departments, units and agencies more effective”.
The Regional Director who was represented by the Knowledge Management Manager of the organization, Annie Dela Akanko said Africa Lead would further provides coaching support to the staff of selected departments and units of the Ministry to review and finalize their implementable goals, objectives and result frameworks they developed during the RBM/M7E short course period.
Mr Denizard expressed hope that these support services would strengthen the core competencies in the ministry and that the ministry would be more results oriented to advance agricultural transformation in the country.



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