FG to replace marketing boards

There are indications that the Federal Government will soon replace the defunct marketing boards nationwide and replace them with marketing corporations.The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, gave this indication on Thursday at the convocation ceremony of the Federal College of Agriculture, Moor Plantation, Ibadan, Oyo State.Adesina, who was represented at the event by the Executive Secretary, Agriculture Research Council of Nigeria, Prof. B. Y. Abubakar, said the FG had concluded plans to transform the council to National Agricultural Transformation Agency akin to the EMPRAPA that transformed Brazilian agriculture. He added that there would be guaranteed minimum price for food crops and a review of the Land Use Act to ensure easy access to land for investors in agriculture.According to him, the initiatives represent the new steps being taken by the ministry of agriculture to develop the sector in line with President Goodluck Jonathans transformation agenda. The minister suggested that agriculture should be treated as a business and not as a development project. He assured that there would no longer be isolated projects without strategic focus to drive agricultural growth.
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