FG, 36 States Meet on Agriculture Transformation

Representatives of the Federal Government and the 36 states have met in Abuja to articulate strategies toward attaining the Agriculture Transformation Agenda of the present administration.

Minister of Agriculture, Dr. Adesina Akinwumi said at the meeting that the country has the potentials of becoming self sufficient in food production as long as the challenges of the sector are tackled with all seriousness.

Akinwumi who met with the 36 states commissioners of agriculture at the weekend in Abuja, said if the country had maintained its place in agriculture as it was in the 60’s, the sector would have yielded great result and generated $10 billion on a yearly basis in addition to creating jobs for millions of Nigerians.

He said it was regrettable that Nigeria had become a big importer of food items like rice, wheat, and sugar stressing that the situation was unacceptable.

According to him, improving the agriculture value chain would ensure that Nigeria attains its full potential in agriculture and food production and that is why the meeting between government and players across the states is essential to drive the agriculture transformation agenda.

He said the objective of the meeting was to deliberate on the realization of the Agricultural Transformation Agenda (ATA) and tackle other challenges such as youth unemployment which is currently three times higher than general unemployment.

Adesina told the commissioners that it is time for all to start looking at agriculture as a business capable of ensuring national security because “National security starts with food security and the demand for food, livestock, and fish among others is rising in the world. Nigeria is not feeding itself and if it doesn’t change, it will hit the iceberg therefore securing the food supply is more important than military mines.”

He then called for good and proper use of fertilizer, particularly the organic ones, improved seeds and irrigation scheme to boost farming in the country since it able farmers to produce various crops for consumption, sales in the markets and for exports.

Culled from Daily Trust