By Our Correspondent
The Executive Secretary of the Agricultural Research Council of Nigeria (ARCN), Dr. Abubakar Adamu Dabban, has thrown down the gauntlet to Nigeria’s premier agricultural colleges and research institutes, charging them to intensify research, training, and innovation or risk stalling the nation’s food security drive.
On a familiarization visit to the Federal College of Agriculture (FCA), Moor Plantation, Ibadan, Dr. Dabban declared that the future of Nigeria’s agricultural transformation rests squarely on the shoulders of institutions under the National Agricultural Research System (NARS).
“We are in a declared state of emergency on food security. The vibrancy of our agricultural institutions will determine how fast Nigeria can innovate, boost productivity, and expand agricultural GDP,” he warned.
Dr. Dabban tasked the colleges to scale up manpower training, vocational skills, and dissemination of research breakthroughs, positioning the country to meet the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030.
He unveiled ongoing reforms in collaboration with the Office of the Head of Civil Service of the Federation, including a review of service schemes for colleges and research institutes, modernization of laboratories and workshops, and fresh engagements with TETFUND to extend interventions into the agricultural sub-sector.
“We must improve staff welfare, strengthen monitoring and evaluation, and ensure our facilities meet global standards,” he stressed, directing the colleges to submit timely budgets, updated reports, and records of innovations.
Welcoming the ARCN leadership, Prof. Jonathan J. Atungwu, Provost of FCA, Moor Plantation hailed the visit as a “milestone in the history of the college,” founded in 1921 as one of West Africa’s oldest agricultural institutions.
He praised ARCN’s role in securing TETFUND interventions, which, he said, had greatly boosted institutional capacity.
Similarly, Prof. Gabriel Oluwatosin, Executive Director of the Institute of Agricultural Research and Training (IAR&T), Ibadan, and Dr. Chidi Okpeze, Acting Provost of the Federal College of Animal Health and Production Technology, commended Dr. Dabban’s reforms and described the visit as a catalyst for new partnerships.
The event featured an interactive session with staff and students, plus a guided tour of college facilities, drawing provosts, directors, and stakeholders from across Nigeria’s agricultural education and research landscape.
Dr. Dabban closed with a rallying call: “Research and training are not optional, they are the backbone of Nigeria’s economic growth and food security.”
