Amosun Calls on Nigerians to Invest in Agriculture
The Ogun State governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, has in a recent forum at Des Moines, Iowa, United States of America (USA) called on Nigerians to divert their investment into agricultural production so as to create more wealth and reduce poverty.
Amosun who noted that agriculture remains one of the surest ways of boosting the nation’s economy, said if the country could harness its agricultural potentials it would feed larger percentage of African countries and the World at large.
The governor’s call came whilst delivering a message at the World Food Prize events held in U.S. with the titled, ‘Betting on Africa to feed the World’ according to the statement made available to THISDAY.
Amosun who was represented by his deputy, Mrs. Yetunde Onanuga, stated that his administration had resolved at supporting farmers towards making the state the food basket of the nation and generating employment opportunities for its teeming youths.
While celebrating the former Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development and the current President of African Development Bank (AFDB), Dr. Akinwunmi Adesina who emerged as the 2017 World Food Prize Laureate, an International honour in recognition of his (Adesina’s) achievements in developing and improving the quality, quantity and availability of food in the World, Governor Amosun said, Adesina had contributed tremendously to the socio-economic development of Nigeria in particular and Africa at large.
Adesina who dedicated the award to his wife, Mrs. Grace and Africa, said he has a mission to bring people out of poverty.
“As someone who grew out of poverty, I know that poverty is not pretty. My life mission is to lift up millions of people out of poverty, especially farmers in rural areas. We must give hope and turn agriculture into a business,” Adesina said.
In another development, the Ogun State Commissioner for Agriculture, Mrs. Adepeju Adebajo has said that, Ogun State would continue to encourage the participation of youths and women in farming and agricultural development across the state.
She said this recently while receiving the House Committee on Agriculture during its oversight visit to the ministry at Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta.
The ministry would continue to encourage them so as to tap into the value chain of agriculture and have to access loans at concessionary rates and subsidies on agriculture inputs, Adebajo pointed out, while disclosing that the ministry had ventured into various projects such as: rice plantation, cassava, poultry farm and fish farming in various parts of the states, saying the project would bring about food security.