Stakeholders in the agricultural sector in Nasarawa have commenced a two-day workshop to review and validate the State Agricultural Policy and the State Agricultural Investment Plan documents, aimed at repositioning the state’s food system.

The two documents were developed with support from the Alliance for Green Revolution in Africa under the Nasarawa State Capability for Inclusive Agricultural Transformation project.

Declaring the workshop open on Tuesday in Keffi, Umar Tanko-Tunga, the commissioner for agriculture, said the SAP and SAIP were designed to provide a clear, transformative roadmap for agricultural development in the state.

He said agriculture remained the backbone of the state’s economy, supporting livelihoods, enhancing food security, creating jobs and driving rural development.

“This validation workshop presents an opportunity for us to critically review and strengthen these strategic frameworks. It aligns with Governor Abdullahi Sule’s commitment to modernising the agricultural sector through reforms and targeted interventions,” he said.

Mr Tanko-Tunga commended AGRA and its implementing partners for their support, describing their collaboration as a strong demonstration of confidence in the state’s vision for a resilient, productive and market-oriented agricultural system.

Also speaking, Theophilus Raymond, AGRA programme officer, lauded stakeholders for their contributions toward developing the policy documents, which he said would stimulate agricultural investment in the state.

“We call on everyone to ensure the success of this programme. Beyond validation, we hope to see these documents translated into real income for farmers and food on the tables of households across the state and beyond,” he said.

In his remarks, Ibrahim Abdullahi, the managing director of the Nasarawa Investment and Development Agency, said the state government was committed to producing an actionable policy with measurable outcomes.

“We are excited about the progress made so far. In the months and years ahead, we expect to see the impact of this policy.

“As an agrarian state, our policies and actions must reflect our agricultural identity,” he said.

Speaking on the essence of the workshop, Abdullahi Ari, the vice president of investment promotion and facilitation at NASIDA, said the engagement was to review and validate the SAP and SAIP, ensuring the documents aligned with current realities in the state.

He said the meeting would also receive preliminary presentations from James Jayeoba of the Nasarawa State University on the review of the National Fertiliser Quality Control Act and from Abdullahi Jaji of the Federal University of Lafia on the National Agricultural Seed Council Act.

Mr Ari explained that the presentations and stakeholder inputs would guide the refinement of drafts for the domestication of the two national acts in the state.

He added that the programme would also support the civil society organisation ‘Echoes of Change’ to undertake advocacy and media engagement to promote the implementation of the state’s agricultural policies.

He urged participants to actively interrogate the drafts and contribute meaningfully toward strengthening the policies and proposed legislative amendments.

(NAN)