Dr Eteakamba Ukpong, Head of Forestry Department, University of Uyo has advocated for effective collaboration between the Ministry of Agriculture and research institutions in solving the myriad of problems plaguing the agriculture sector. He decried the situation where institutions and organizations work in isolation while attempting to solve a collective economic challenge, describing the approach as counter-productive.

The magnitude of the retrogressive influence of this anomaly was brought to the fore yesterday, November 11, 2015 when the CEO and Editor in Chief of AgroNigeria, Barrister Richard-Mark Mbaram, made a brief courtesy call on the don at the University of Uyo, while on a premium business/working visit to Akwa Ibom State. 

In an unreserved remark by the don, he unequivocally emphasized the futility of the Ministry of Agriculture trying to provide solutions to several problems faced by farmers, without consulting institutions that should conduct research and systematic investigation into same, establish facts, reach new conclusions and proffer appropriate recommendations for application. Consequently, these challenges to a great extent remain unsolved.

The dearth of information from the ministry on prevailing agricultural challenges faced by the society impels the universities to create problems and projects, and subsequently embark on researches that are not useful for national development. “On our shelves are research works that have been published in reputable journals, but the results of such researches do not impact directly on the society, and are consequently not useful for the growth of the agriculture sector or the development of the economy”, Dr Ukpong observed.

“Research should be for development, and to achieve this, it must be focused on fundamental challenges faced by farmers. The result of such research impacts directly on the society and enhances the development of agriculture”, he opined