The Federal Government has been urged to reduce the high expenditure on food importation to rescue the country from its current economic woes.
This admonition was given by a non-governmental organisation, School of Politics, Policy and Governance (SPPG), which has affiliation in the agriculture sector, at a sensitisation awareness programme held in Lagos yesterday.
The Team Project Manager, Michael Igwe, said the essence of the seminar was to call the attention of the federal government to the huge amount being spent yearly on the importation of foods, which could have been used for other important national development.
Igwe, who frowned at the development, described the efforts of the federal government in the agricultural sector as minimal and capable of slipping the country into recession.
He noted that there is adequate manpower and resources in the country for the government to put to use in order to improve domestic production.
“There are lands yet to be farmed in the country whereas in those countries, there are farms all over and that is why food is one of the cheapest things you could get there but it is not so in Nigeria,” he said.
Igwe expressed trepidation over the current level of insecurity in the nation, saying the matter has left many farmers to their fate as many have absconded from the profession.
In order to encourage more farmers into farming, Igwe appealed for the adoption of smart agriculture, saying, “This means that even in your concrete floor around your house, there is something you can grow. And Greenhouse technology is part of the smart system.”
According to him, “We are not generating a lot from the north or rural areas because of insecurity but we need to see what we can do in urban areas.”
He encouraged the government to invest in the use of technology for farming, adding that this would help youths and others come into the industry.
On her part, a member of the SPPG, Oluremi Odunsi, called for concerted action toward boosting food security by embracing Agriculture in the country.
“The youths are a large part of this solution. We believe that farmers in the villages are ageing; meanwhile, people who are supposed to replace them are not interested in farming. This is what we need the government to address because in every country, Agriculture is responsible for food production,” she added.
