By Ali Rabiu
As part of measures to improve the agricultural sector and ensure food security in Nigeria, the federal government is set to reposition the National Centre for Agriculture Mechanisation, NCAM.
The Minister of State for Agriculture, Senator Aliyu Abdullahi, stated this during his working visit to NCAM in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital.
He said the centre has the mandate for certification and mechanisation of machinery, equipment and devices to ensure the actualisation of the national food security agenda.
Senator Abdullahi said the federal government has discovered that a lot of farmers are being ripped off by service providers who bring in machinery with false claims.
He explained that the present administration’s focus is to reposition the centre to enable it to check every machinery and equipment coming into the country to ensure that it serves the purpose it was meant for.
The minister noted that a bill was already in the pipeline to review agricultural laws in the country.
Earlier in his address, the Executive Director, National Centre for Agriculture Mechanisation, NCAM, Engineer Abdulgafar Kamal, called for the strengthening of the centre by providing equipment testing facilities and modern machine tools.
Engineer Kamal also appealed for the establishment of outstations in the agroecological zones of the country to serve as outreach centres.
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