House of Rep reneges on Promise to initiate and pass Agricultural Policy Stabilisation Bill

One of the promises of the Federal House of Representatives (FHoR) is to strengthen Nigeria's agriculture sector and improve food value chain but the promise has been withdrawn.

As questions about food security in the country continue to gain focus among experts in the agriculture sector, many have posited that strong legislation and policies in the sector will reposition one of the country’s most vital sectors.

Despite the significant contribution of agriculture to the country’s GDP, many Nigerians who farm every day are most times faced with low harvests and sales — one of the challenges the lawmakers pledged to address through a new bill.

Promise: Initiation and passage of an Agricultural Policy Stabilisation (APS) Bill

However, in its revised legislative agenda document, the ninth Federal House of Representatives (HoR) identified the archaic or inadequate legal framework governing the agricultural sector and poor funding for the development of the agricultural sector in Nigeria as part of the key challenges the sector is facing this promised to ‘initiate and pass an Agricultural Policy Stabilisation (APS) bill” before May 2021.

According to the legislators, the Agricultural Policy Stabilisation (APS) bill will strengthen the agricultural value chain and food security in Nigeria. Stabilization policies when implemented are always a driver for real economic growth across the different sectors as they correct overvalued exchange rates.

Despite the increasing number of house bills on agriculture in the ninth assembly of the FHoR, this particular bill is yet to gain any traction in the Gbajabiamila-led House of Representatives.

Therefore, we rate this Promise Broken

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