By Akinnodi Francis, Ondo

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An agribusiness expert, Olabode Adelusi, has urged the government to prioritise agribusiness as a strategy to transition Nigeria from traditional to commercial agriculture.

He highlighted the need to enhance value addition, improve farmers’ access to markets, and create a conducive environment for private sector investment in agriculture.

Speaking in an interview with journalists, Adelusi underscored the sector’s potential to drive economic growth and sustainability.

“We must commercialise agriculture such that it becomes a business, where we produce not just for consumption, but to also feed our industries and increase our export.

“If we want our produce to get to the customer and to the industry, then there must be accessible roads to prevent post-harvest losses and do a mix of rain-fed and irrigation farming,” he said.

He called for stronger collaboration between agribusinesses, the Ministry of Trade, and agricultural unions to ensure that production, marketing, storage, and distribution are conducted sustainably.

“There should be broader stakeholder involvement at the level of policy formulation and implementation because when you’re bringing in policies and the people who will see to the roll-out are not involved in the process, then when it gets to implementation, the people will not participate.”

The expert also stressed the need for the urgent employment and retooling of extension officers across the country to improve the current farmer-extension ratio. He noted that strengthening extension services would enhance farmers’ knowledge and increase productivity.

According to him, “Farmer service centres should be established in all districts to provide farmers with modern agricultural equipment, technologies, and inputs.

“The government should also create farm banks in agricultural zones to facilitate land access and irrigation facilities for farming, as well as to encourage young people to venture into agriculture.”