By Gabriel Ewepu

ABUJA- A nongovernmental organisation, Extension Africa, Wednesday, warned government at all levels in Nigeria that low food production and high prices will persist if adequate attention is not given to extension services in the agricultural sector.

The warning was given by the Managing Director/Chief Executive Office, CEO, Extension Africa, Tajudeen Yahaya, at a press conference held in Abuja, while lamenting dearth of agricultural extension service officers who are to keep farmers, and other stakeholders across various value chains abreast with best agricultural practices for better and improved productivity of farmers.

According to Yahaya, currently in Nigeria, it is one agricultural extension service to 10,000 farmers, and he posited how possible and how far can such officer effectively reach out to 10, 000 farmers, and the government is always talking about boost food security when there is serious lack of this important component in food production and security.

He said: “The challenges we always have with the public extension system are three. One, is how do we create enough extension workers? If we are talking about food security in Nigeria today, we have to look at one issue.

“We only have one agent for every 10,000 farmers, meaning every 10,000 farmers only have one agent working with them.

“The second problem we have is also the issue of reliability. A lot of our extension workers were employed back in the 1990s. Now, you find that today most of them are retiring.

“So the one agent to 10,000 farmers will have to do this might become one agent to 20,000 farmers in the next five years if nothing is done.

“The third thing that actually is very important, who pays the extension worker? If you have attended gatherings on extension, there is always that underlying issue. How do we pay? How do we sustain the extension system?

“And these are the three things that we try to address, which is for us to really achieve food security in Nigeria and Africa, we have to consider an efficient system that would create availability of the right extension workers, a system to increase their quality, and at the same time a system to ensure that they are sustained over a long period of time.”

Meanwhile, the COO/Co-Founder Extension Africa, Isah Abdulsamad on his part stated Nigeria is home to an estimated 35 to 38 million smallholder farmers who produce over 70 per cent of the nation’s food.

“Yet, the current ratio of one extension agent to every 10,000 farmers, compared to the FAO recommendation of 1:500, severely limits the government’s ability to support this vital sector adding while private entities and development partners have made significant contributions, government funding remains insufficient to enhance access to genuine farmers through the existing extension and advisory system.

“For sustainable results, governments and organizations must strengthen their connections with smallholder farmers and rural communities, prioritize traceability, and build on existing relationships.

“A robust feedback mechanism is crucial to identify ineffective projects, reallocate resources, and focus on initiatives that deliver real impact”, Abdulsamad added.