As part of efforts to ensure good health of the citizens, soil, plant and the ecosystem, control use of chemical and toxic inputs which can cause great harm to the human and environment while also enhancing the growth and development of organic agriculture sector in the country, stakeholders at the just concluded National Organic Agriculture Business Summit, has called on the Federal Government to develop organic agriculture policy.
The stakeholders in a study titled: “Organic Agriculture Policy Study in Nigeria,” presented by the Country Coordinator, Ecological Organic Agriculture (EOA) Initiative in Nigeria, Dr. Olugbenga O. AdeOluwa, said various stakeholders are interested in planning and execution of agricultural policies and programmes in Nigeria as many are not aware of any organic related polities in their organizations.
He therefore called on the legislative arm of the government to enact a bill on the organic agriculture policies.
AdeOluwa said need for organic agriculture policy is essential in Nigeria due to various reasons, adding that all aspects of organic agriculture value chain need to be included into the organic agriculture policy by ensuring involvement of policy makers in organic agriculture activities and programs.
“Government should promote a virile extension liaison service that is empowered and backed up with adaptive research and mobile personnel equipped with necessary media facilities and information. And organic agriculture programmes should also be monitored and their efficacies evaluated in terms of a specific geographical impact of that programme while policy makers/planners should identify and evaluate alternative or different organic agriculture intervention programmes in terms of both their immediate and long-term impacts,” he said
