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The Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Sen. Abubakar Kyari, has urged collaboration among agro dealers to enhance production and achieve food security.
During a recent courtesy visit by the president of the Nigerian Agro Input Dealers Association (NAIDA), Alhaji Kabir Umar Fara and his team to the minister’s office in Abuja, Kyari emphasised the importance of collaboration to ensure that the supplied products meet prescribed standards in terms of quality and quantity for food sufficiency.
Kyari stressed the need for the association to sell only certified and approved products sourced from registered input producers. He encouraged the development of policies and programmes to mitigate product adulteration, emphasising that marketers are the face of the government.
The minister also urged farmers to utilise all provided inputs following best agronomic practices for maximum productivity.
Fara described NAIDA as the umbrella organisation for input distributors in Nigeria, covering fertilisers (organic and inorganic), seeds, petrochemicals and farm implements. He highlighted the association’s structured national body with six zonal vice presidents and state chapter chairmen collaborating with the ministry to ensure grassroots synergy.
He emphasised the commitment of the association to transform agricultural business, making it no longer business as usual. He mentioned the association’s efforts to sensitise farmers to purchase inputs from approved centers and its role in preventing agro dealers from taking the wrong path when input costs are high.
The president noted the existence of sales permits issued by the ministry and the deployment of foot soldiers in each state to collaborate with the 36 states and the FCT to ensure compliance.