‘No future for Nigeria without agriculture’

•FG makes N591b on six crops

There is no future for Nigeria without agriculture, the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr. AkinwumiAdesina, has stated.

He also declared the nation’s status as a net importer of food as unacceptable, stating each import creates unemployment and devalues the nation’s currency.

Adesina, who spoke at the weekend during his keynote address at the 40th meeting of the National Council on Agriculture and Rural Development (NCA) in Abeokuta, emphasised the needs for people to support value-chains programme of the Agricultural Transformation Agenda (ATA).

He said: “The future can no longer be in oil but something we have comparative advantage in and it has to be agriculture so there is no future for Nigeria without agriculture.

“Nigeria can no longer continue to be a sleeping giant. We have to wake up. And if we wake up, we must begin to do things differently.”

Speaking on the GES, the minister emphasised that the programme was able to make available farm inputs such as improved seeds, fertilizer to farmers at a subsidise rate.

On rice production, he disclosed farmers who embarked on dry season farming in 10 northern states were able to rake N32billion within the season.

The minister added the Federal Government generated N591 billion through cultivation of value-chains in rice, cassava, sorghum, maize and cotton in two years.

While calling on stakeholders to embrace local consumption of foods to create jobs and expand farmers’ yield, the minister urged the Ogun State Governor, IbikunleAmosun, to support local farmers in the state with distribution of free seeds.

Amosun said that about 20,000 hectares of land is currently available in the state for investors to cultivate crops with market advantage.

The governor urged participants to draft policies and programmes that will guarantee production of adequate and quality food supply.