In the first part of this report, penultimate Wednesday, we highlighted why and how more and more states are seeking and adopting various measures to boost their internally generated revenues and effectively address their worsening insolvency or cash crunch challenges.

The President of the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) , Dr. Agnes Kalibata, has called on African countries to re-align their agricultural practices, warning that failure to do so will see them having no money to develop other economic components as all financial concentration would be on food imports.

Nigeria is among 12 countries in Africa that have posted higher agriculture productivity and stronger GDP growth as well as sharper declines in malnutrition due to early implementation of the Comprehensive African Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) goals.

As part of its efforts to replace subsisting farming with commercial agriculture, the Jigawa state government has introduced cluster farming initiative where four target crops comprising rice, groundnuts, sesame, and soya beans were identified as core areas of competitive advantage in the state.

Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbeh, has reiterated the significance of extension services to the growth of agriculture in the country.