The Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) has urged traditional institutions and government intervention agencies to strengthen their collaboration in pursuit of food security, wealth creation and national development.

The Federal Government agency said development policies and intervention programmes could fall short of addressing the realities of Nigerians, particularly those at the grassroots, when communities are not adequately involved in their design.

The Director-General and Chief Executive Officer of SMEDAN, Mr Charles Odii, made the call in a keynote address at the 2026 Ulefunta Annual Lecture held in Akure, Ondo State, on Wednesday. A copy of the address was made available to our correspondent on Thursday.

The address, titled, ‘Food security, wealth creation and national development: building strategic partnerships between traditional institutions and intervention agencies,’ focused on strengthening ties between traditional institutions and government intervention agencies.

Odii said traditional rulers and community leaders have valuable knowledge of their respective communities, covering areas such as customs, land use, economic potential and unique challenges. He said such knowledge should form part of development planning.

“We cannot sit in Abuja and make policies for people at the rural and community level. For these policies to work, we must first involve community owners, community leaders and stakeholders in the design.

“Community participation, transparency, impact measurement, inclusion and sustainability are critical to the success of all government intervention programmes.”

The SMEDAN chief executive disclosed that the agency had introduced its Community Enterprise Development Programme to strengthen the participation of traditional rulers and community leaders in enterprise development.

“The programme is designed to ensure that traditional institutions are involved from the beginning to the end of development projects rather than being brought in after decisions had been taken.

“Traditional institutions can help government agencies mobilise farmers, artisans, women and youths, identify genuine economic opportunities and facilitate community ownership of development programmes in their respective domains,” he explained.

Odii also said agriculture needed to progress beyond subsistence farming, with attention given to the development of the full value chain, including processing, packaging, logistics, technology and marketing.

The Deji of Akure Kingdom, Oba Aladetoyinbo Aladelusi, said the programme was intended to close the gap between traditional institutions and government intervention agencies.

According to the monarch, the initiative was also designed to expose rural dwellers, farmers and young entrepreneurs to available government funding and other development opportunities.

He said traditional institutions would serve as a link between intervention agencies and people at the grassroots. He added that participating farmers’ associations, community leaders and traditional chiefs had been mobilised to return the information to their respective communities.

The monarch further described the Ulefunta Festival as an annual socio-cultural reunion that features tourism and cultural activities, stressing that it was devoid of fetish practices.

Earlier, the Chairman of the 2026 Ulefunta Festival Committee, Olu Adekunle Ajanaku, said the colloquium was organised to sensitise rural dwellers, farmers and young entrepreneurs about government funding and development opportunities.

Ajanaku said the festival had continued to draw global attention because of its inclusiveness and its promotion of the cultural values, social life and aspirations of the people.

He also expressed optimism that the renewed unity among the three Akure-speaking local government areas would result in the establishment of the Akure People’s Central Council and Akure Traditional Council.

Source: Punch