Governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike |
Governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike, has lauded the Minister of Agriculture,
Chief Audu Ogbeh for displaying maturity by ensuring that the issues of food
production are insulated from politics. He said this in his welcome address at
the 42nd National Council on Agriculture meeting held at Port
Harcourt, Rivers state.
He said both the minister of agriculture, Chief Audu Ogbe and the
minister of state for agriculture, Mr. Heineken Lokpobiri were doing well in
repositioning the sector.
The governor noted that the
country needed to go back to operating an agrarian economy, which had been
abandoned for a long time for crude oil which had taken the country to a level
of low returns, in her earnings, adding that “great policies and strategies
will be created to take back the country to the agrarian spot it used to occupy
to further create employment, wealth and food security in the country, most
especially for the youths who need to provide for their families.”
On the
development of agriculture in Rivers State, Wike said that the
state government was reviewing its agricultural policies and programs to
channel its funds to the right projects which would help boost the country’s
agricultural production, noted that the State Government would take full
advantage of the Federal Government’s agriculture initiatives, including the
Commercial Agricultural Credit Scheme and the Anchor Borrowers Programme to
empower its farmers and youths.
He noted
that investments in agriculture would help the nation tackle youth
unemployment, reduce violent crimes, and restore peace and ensure sustainable
development of the country.
He announced
that his administration was developing a public- private partnership model to
enhance the development of agriculture. “We are developing a cassava factory to
improve the commercial farming of the product. We are also working with a
private company to revive our rubber factory”.
He said that his administration was working
with the Rivers State University to revive the College of Agriculture for the training of agricultural
professionals and that the state government would collaborate with the Federal
Ministry of Agriculture to improve key aspects of the state’s agricultural
sector.
The minister
of agriculture, Chief Audu Ogbeh advised that issues of agriculture must be
placed above politics in the overall interest of the country and called for the
expansion of research in the agriculture sector for the improvement of food
production.
The minister, who noted that Rivers State had the
potentials to be a major source of fish for the entire country promised that
the Federal Government would ensure that farmers get the required credit for
commercial farming.
He said that “continuous investment by state and federal governments is the sure way to reposition the country's economy, which is why agriculture in Nigeria must be approached through a holistic and universal approach and not viewed as just federal government issue: states must be involved by making adequate budgetary provisions; such as providing machinery for agriculture; clearing land and implement initiatives that will make Nigeria self sufficient in production of food staples such as grains and tubers; educate farmers on all aspect of food production from land management, access to improved seeds, harvesting and processing; preservation and value addition to produce commodity to decrease post harvest losses; marketing of commodities and access to finance.”
He noted that those planning for agriculture must take cognizance of the
principle that no country can develop in isolation, which is why Nigeria is a
party to continental agreements like the Malabo Declaration, Comprehensive
African Agricultural Development Programme (CAADP) and the United Nation (UN)
Charter, stating that likewise, states should take a cue to partner with
federal government to implement initiatives aimed at strengthening the sector in
Nigeria.
Also
speaking on the occasion, Minister of State, Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, stated
that the Federal Government was treating agriculture as a business through
public- private initiatives, assuring that government would make use of the
favorable policies to move the country’s agriculture forward to creating wealth
and job opportunities.
The chairman committee on Agriculture, Rivers state House of Assembly said
that the sector has played a key role in the development of other nations, and
that government and private sector must be ready to galvanize it for
competitiveness, adding “Financial institution should promote and support farmers
and there should be a colossal energy to move agriculture to the next level.”
Chairman Senate Committee on Agriculture, Senator Theodore Orji, said
that agriculture is the sure way to go and if committed Nigeria will go places,
as the country has all that is required to take her to the next level.
FoodFarmNews further spoke with
Mr. Iquanto Asukpa,a farmer who tasked government to effectively execute its policies to meet up with the
needs of the farmers at the grassroots, lamented
that the government had not made agriculture easy for the grassroot farmers, as
they have not been able to meet with the challenges faced by them in terms of access to loans from the banks
adding that if the basic needs of
producers could be met, Nigeria would be food secured.
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