The Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria has called for stronger collaboration with traditional institutions to improve government interventions in communities and support food security, enterprise development and wealth creation.
The Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria has called for stronger collaboration between traditional institutions and government intervention agencies to support food security, wealth creation and national development. The Director-General and Chief Executive Officer of SMEDAN, Charles Odii, made the call in a keynote address at the 2026 Ulefunta Annual Lecture in Akure, Ondo State, on Wednesday.
A copy of the address, titled “Food Security, Wealth Creation and National Development: Building Strategic Partnerships Between Traditional Institutions and Intervention Agencies,” was made available to journalists on Thursday. Odii said government policies and intervention programmes were more likely to address community needs when traditional rulers and other local stakeholders were involved in their design and implementation.
He said traditional institutions possessed knowledge about their communities, including customs, land use, economic opportunities and local challenges, which could help government agencies develop more effective interventions.
“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,” he said.
According to Odii, community participation, transparency, impact measurement, inclusion and sustainability were important to the success of government intervention programmes. He disclosed that SMEDAN had launched its Community Enterprise Development Programme to increase the involvement of traditional rulers and community leaders in enterprise development.
Odii said the programme would involve traditional institutions throughout the development process, rather than bringing them into projects after major decisions had already been made. He added that traditional institutions could assist government agencies in mobilising farmers, artisans, women and young people, identifying economic opportunities and encouraging community ownership of development programmes.
The SMEDAN chief executive also called for greater attention to the agricultural value chain, saying agriculture should move beyond subsistence farming to include processing, packaging, logistics, technology and marketing. The Deji of Akure Kingdom, Oba Aladetoyinbo Aladelusi, said the programme was intended to strengthen the relationship between traditional institutions and government intervention agencies.
The monarch said the initiative would help expose rural residents, farmers and young entrepreneurs to available government funding and other development opportunities.
He added that traditional institutions could serve as a link between intervention agencies and people in their communities, noting that farmers’ associations, community leaders and traditional chiefs had been mobilised to share information with residents. The monarch also described the Ulefunta Festival as an annual socio-cultural reunion involving tourism and cultural activities.
Earlier, the Chairman of the 2026 Ulefunta Festival Committee, Olu Adekunle Ajanaku, said the colloquium was organised to sensitise rural residents, farmers and young entrepreneurs to government funding and other development opportunities.
Ajanaku said the festival had continued to attract attention through its promotion of the cultural values and social life of the Akure people. He also expressed hope that the renewed unity among the three Akure-speaking local government areas would lead to the establishment of the Akure People’s Central Council and Akure Traditional Council.