By Esther Sangodele
Experts and development practitioners have called for greater community participation in identifying and addressing agricultural challenges, saying sustainable interventions must be co-created with the people they are designed to benefit.
They made the call at the 17th annual Ibadan Sustainable Development Summit (ISDS), organised by the University of Ibadan Centre for Sustainable Development (UI-CESDEV), in collaboration with the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN), with support from the Sasakawa Africa Association (SAA).
The summit, held in hybrid format at the CESDEV Suite, had the theme, “Harnessing the New Global Order – Africa’s Path to Inclusive and Multidimensional Development Beyond 2030.”
At a panel session sponsored by SAA, the experts stressed the need for development organisations to work closely with communities in identifying problems and designing solutions, rather than imposing interventions on beneficiaries.
The panel featured Dr Anjola Fadairo, SAFE Institution coordinators, Dr Hamzat Adeniyi, Dr Eda Ikuemonisan, Dr Adebayo Adeniran, Dr Femi Ojo and Dr Abiodun Fadodun.
Fadodun said agricultural problems should first be identified at the local level, with farmers actively involved in developing solutions tailored to their specific needs.
He said such an approach would promote ownership and increase the likelihood of sustaining interventions at the grassroots.
Adeniyi stressed the need to strengthen women’s participation in agriculture, noting that cultural practices that previously restricted women’s involvement in economic activities were gradually changing.
He said women had demonstrated their capabilities in education and other sectors, adding that their contributions to agriculture should also be recognised and strengthened.
Ikuemonisan identified inadequate knowledge of market structures as a major challenge confronting farmers, stressing the importance of market-oriented training.
He said farmers needed to understand market opportunities and develop the capacity to respond effectively to them.
He also urged development organisations to assess their interventions against existing practices to determine their actual impact on farmers and communities.
Adeniran highlighted the disparity between the number of agricultural extension workers and farmers, saying conventional extension services alone could not adequately meet farmers’ information needs.
He said SAA had therefore deployed media interventions, including short videos produced in local languages, to disseminate agricultural knowledge and make technical information easier for farmers to understand.
According to him, the approach had helped simplify concepts that many farmers might otherwise find difficult to grasp.
He cited crop rotation as an example, noting that some farmers practised the technique without fully understanding the principles behind it.
Fadairo also highlighted the impact of media interventions on farmers’ productivity, citing examples of farmers in Kano who had expanded the scale of their farming activities following interventions.
Ojo said environmental sustainability must begin with the people, stressing that communities should be central to the management and implementation of sustainable development initiatives.
He expressed optimism about the future of agriculture if development interventions remained people-centred and communities were empowered to take ownership of the process.
Declaring the summit open, the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Administration), University of Ibadan, Prof. Peter Olapegba, commended the Director of UI-CESDEV, Dr Olushola Fadairo, for sustaining the annual event.
Goodwill messages were delivered by former Vice-Chancellor of Osun State University and former Director of CESDEV, Prof. Labode Popoola, who joined virtually; the UI Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic), Prof. Juwon Arotiba; and former Director of CESDEV and Vice-Chancellor of Emmanuel Alayande University of Education, Oyo, Prof. Olanrewaju Olaniyan.
The summit brought together academics, development practitioners and other stakeholders to examine pathways towards inclusive and sustainable development in Africa beyond 2030.
The 17th ISDS Local Organising Committee was chaired by Dr Olawale Olayide.
