Agric Academy Launched in Kwara

L – R: Executive Vice Chairman/CEO Agric Academy, Kwara State, Comrade David Kayode Ehindero; Oba of Basanyin, HRH Oba Abdul-Lateef Ajidupe, Perm Sec, Ministry of Planning and Economic Development, Kwara State, Hon. Adefila Olaitan, Commissioner for Agriculture and Natural Resources, Hon. Bamidele Adegoke, Chief Speaker of the occasion, Dr (Mrs) Adedayo Vide, Deputy Director, Engineering, National Centre for Agricultural Mechanization Ilorin, Engr. (Dr) Isaac Ozumba, Rep., MD Lower Niger River Basin Dev. Authority, Engr. Bello Abdukareem and Rep, Minister of Water Resources, Engr. (Mrs) Esther Oluniyi at the conference.

In order to solve Nigeria’s agricultural challenges, an academy has been launched in Kwara State. This Academy which was launched today is the brainchild of Agric House Ilorin, under the auspices of the Agriculture and Allied Employees’ Union of Nigeria (AAEUN), Kwara State Chapter during the Conference of Agricultural Practitioners and Stakeholders (CAPAS).

The launch took place at the Conference Hall of Michael Imodu National Institute for Labour Studies (MINILS) Ilorin, Kwara State, tagged: “Oko Ya” (meaning time to farm).

With the theme: “Opening Vista of Opportunities Through Sustainable Agricultural Practice”, the conference attracted agriculture stakeholders in both public and private sector.

Declaring the conference open, the Executive Governor of Kwara State, Alhaji AbdulFatah Ahmed who was represented by the state Commissioner for Agriculture and Natural Resources, Hon. Bamidele Adegoke commended the union for sustaining the tempo of unionism and advancing it beyond ‘agitating for your members’ right, to improving their lives through your life-changing programmes. We are proud of you and applaud you for such.

According to him, nothing is more important than food and thus ‘any nation that cannot feed itself becomes a threat to its own sovereign existence. Therefore, growing our own sufficient food, processing what we produce, for value addition in this era of competitive market opportunities becomes a must.’

Adegoke further stated that Nigeria was food sufficient in the 1960s and well known for its global position in major agricultural commodities. “We found oil and became too dependent on it. Nigeria soon became a net food-importing nation, spending an average of $11 billion on importing wheat, rice sugar and fish alone.

“Diamond may last forever but oil does not. The present trajectory of earnings from crude oil does not sound good particularly for Nigeria as a nation. Hence, we must free ourselves from dependency on crude oil. Agriculture is the sector where we have the greatest potential to achieve this, and now is the time,” the commissioner charged.

Also speaking at the conference, the Executive Vice Chairman/Chief Executive Officer, Agric Academy, Comrade David Kayode Ehindero stated that the conference is intended to be an annual programme of the academy coming after its formal approval by the government.

Ehindero said the academy is designed to operate as an agricultural vocational centre – first of its kind in sub-Sahara Africa.

“We are using the conference to formally launch the academy along its twin sister project, Basanyin Integrated Farming Estate as a model to signal a solution to Nigerian agricultural challenges and harness the numerous opportunities.

“I am optimistic that at the end of the conference, CAPAS would have taken a step further in its mandate of generating ideas that add value to agricultural transformation because it is intended to build a sustainable multi-resources driven economy aimed at creating jobs and wealth for the teeming populace in consonance with the change agenda,” he said.

Ehindero commended President Muhammadu Buhari’s foresight on agriculture; maintaining that more than ever, Nigeria as a nation, in these recent times is becoming conscious, by the day, the importance of agriculture in the development of the nation’s economy.

“We duly commend President Muhammadu Buhari’s foresight in this direction and therefore urge him to pay principal attention to agricultural new-age trends of mechanization in agriculture: Land acquisition, pre-planting,processing and other related post-harvest operations in order to eliminate the wastage of farm produce and middlemen syndrome for optimum profit by all agric practitioners as a way of creating job for the massive unemployed citizens of this great nation.

“By this we will produce more than we need, export to expand our GDP, which will eventually crumble the false hike in dollar to enhance the growth and development of our economy,” said Ehindero.