The Lagos State government and other agricultural stakeholders in the southwestern parts of Nigeria, has called for the need to intensify research effort to further develop the Agric sector.
The call was made in Lagos during the South West Research Extension Farmers Input Linkage Systems (REFILS) steering committee meeting organised by the Lagos State Agricultural Development Authority LSADA.
The meeting had in attendance key stakeholders from the six South-West states, including Lagos, Ogun, Oyo, Osun, Ondo, and Ekiti as well as representatives from research institutes, Agricultural Development Programmes (ADPs), universities, policymakers among others.
Speaking at the 2- day summit, the Commissioner for Agriculture and Food Systems, Ms Abisola Olusanya said that the meeting was designed to review the progress achieved in 2025 and evaluate ongoing research and extension activities across the zones.
Olusanya who was represented by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Mr Emmanuel Fatai Audu said that “knowledge remains a key to drive policies and programmes and invariably foster development and empowerment.”
She said the state through its 5-year Agricultural Roadmap 2021-2025 has activated numerous transformative intervention programmes geared to scale up food production, reduce post-harvest losses, strengthen market linkages, and empower farmers and youth in the state. These include the Implementation of the Food Systems Transformation Agenda among which focuses on establishing the Lagos Central Food Security Systems and Logistics Hub, Mid-Level Agro produce Hubs, and Last-Mile Food among others.
“In Lagos State, the Lagos Agricultural Development Authority, LSADA, our extension delivery agency, remains a key driver of this linkage. Effective extension ensures that innovation reaches the farmer, not just reaches the farmer, but reaches him on time. Results become practical solutions, Inputs are used efficiently and emerging views and opinions receive real-time guidance. But the extension cannot stand alone, It must be backed by continuous research, a research that is localized, adaptive, and responsive to the challenges farmers face today, such as climate change, climate variability, soil degradation among others.”
“The theme of this year’s REFILS meeting is not only timely, but it is also visionary, as it recognizes the fact that a stronger insight helps us to drive innovation in a fast-changing agricultural landscape to equip climate smart practices and data insights effective attention to ensure last mile delivery of knowledge transform research into usable tools.” Olusanya said.
Lagos partnership
She acknowledged that Lagos depends on southwest and northern states for food supply and would leverage the power of partnership to ensure a food-secured state, driven by innovation, climate-resilient and regionally connected.
“REFLIS will provide that perfect platform for this agenda. Through it, we strengthen knowledge sharing, technology transfer, joint research trials, input harmonization, farmer capacity building, and market integration across the southwest. We are therefore committed to working with the Federal Institute of Agriculture and other state ADPs to build a food system that delivers prosperity for farmers and nutrition for households.” Olusanya stressed
Linking research
In her welcome address, the Programme Manager Lagos State Agricultural Development Authority (LSADA), Mrs Toju-Tubi Aderonke said that REFILS platform remains a critical mechanism for linking research, extension, and farmers, ensuring that program technologies are not only developed but also disseminated to the farmers for adoption.
According to her “We are a community of farmers, and we are proud to support our community by providing resource-based support for different farmers and food providers across the Zonal. Over the years, the Refills Steering Committee meetings have created a platform for reviewing past activities, identifying gaps, and planning new interventions that contribute to agricultural growth, improve food and nutrition security, and better livelihoods for our farm communities. This synergy has helped to drive improved productivity, food security, and livelihood outcomes, especially in the face of climate change, population growth, and the evolving demand on our cultural system.”
Relevant policies
In his Keynote address, the Executive Director, Institute of Agricultural Research and Training, Prof. Gabriel Oluwatosin said that the meeting was designed to scale up efforts to ensure that research outputs were relevant and adaptable.
He called for collective responsibility of all stakeholders which required decisive action to restore and strengthen support for extension activities in Nigeria
According to him “The employment of technology for the extension system is a key, providing facilities that can allow farmers in the southwest zone to relate seamlessly and there must be adequate data on agricultural activities. Proper monitoring of the ADP’s must be strengthened, to monitor the activities of farmers and input supply patterns. We have crops that can compete anywhere in the world and most of the varieties of crops in the country today are as a result of research and collaboration”.
Leveraging technology
In his goodwill message, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Agriculture and Food Systems, Dr. Oluwarotimi Fashola who was represented by the Director Rice Value Chain Development, Mr Wakil Balogun emphasised the need to develop strategies that would boost technology transfer and enhance farmer productivity in the South-West.
Other participating states lauded Lagos State government for bringing forward issues around how to further develop the Agric space in terms of research development and sustaining agricultural transformation in the southwest zone.
Olusola Akintonde