Kaduna State Government has begun reviewing its policy documents on agriculture to align with global best practices.
Gatekeepers News reports that revalidation meeting is in partnership with Alliance for Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA).
Murtala Dabo, Commissioner for Agriculture revealed this while speaking at a two-day Agriculture Policy Revalidation meeting in the state.
The commissioner said the ease of doing business would be also revised to attract investments in the sector.
Dabo said the investor-friendly policies would also boost skills of the smallholder farmers to enhance food production in the state.
The two-day revalidation workshop is being organised by Kaduna State Policy and Agricultural Systems Strengthening (PASS) project.
The commissioner said the reviewed policies will address critical areas on the ease of doing agribusiness, contract farming, gender in agriculture, and soybeans policy in the sector.
According to him; the state government’s efforts, in partnership with AGRA, demonstrated a commitment to transforming the agricultural sector and driving economic growth in the state.
Dabo commended AGRA for encouraging smallholder farmers by providing them with the needed platform to enhance their productivity, stressing that smallholder farmers contributed no fewer than 87 percent to all agricultural produce in the state.
The commissioner assured that the policy if implemented, would enable the state to enjoy food sufficiency, increased income, and livelihood among the active practitioners in the sector.
Dabo said the draft of the reviewed policies would be presented to Governor Uba Sani for his assent after due process and urged all stakeholders to give the exercise the attention it deserved.
He added that that proper planning was required and the outcome of the exercise would be the centre upon which all decisions in the agricultural sector would be based.
Alhaji Abubakar Abba, Permanent Secretary in the ministry and Project Head said the policy review committee was constituted to review the existing frameworks governing contract farming, gender inclusivity, soybeans, and the ease of doing business.
Abba said the policy seeks to review, assess, identify, and propose policy amendments that promote equity, sustainable agricultural growth, and gender parity while aligning with national and international best practices.
The secretary added that the committee was aimed at identifying barriers that hinder the smooth operation of agribusinesses in the state.
He said, “The policy seeks to identify challenges, propose actionable solutions, streamline regulatory processes while improving infrastructure and fostering a more enabling environment for agricultural businesses.”
Bage Bungwon, the state Director for Agricultural Services and Project manager said the policy was a statement of action and a fundamental tool in achieving agriculture development.
The director said the policies would give direction and provide objectives, strategies, among others.
Mr Abel Adejor, Lead convener, Policy and Citizens Initiative noted that the document was developed in 2019, but needed to be reviewed to meet current situations and economic realities for better performance.
Adejor expressed optimism that the state government would key into the document for it to become a law for strategic performance in the agriculture sector.
He said the gender policy would particularly attract women and youth into the agriculture sector.
According to him, the policy on soya beans will equally attract massive investment in the production of the produce given the large market for it in the state and the country.
Before this, the state government had allocated more than N70 billion or 9.3 percent of funds in its 2025 budget to bolster performance of the agriculture sector and boost food security.
