Government, Stakeholders Need To Pay More Attention To Food Security – Expert
BY GLORIA USMAN, ABUJA – An Agricultural Engineer, Mr Ademola Olorunfemi, has challenged the Federal Government and stakeholders in the agricultural value chain to pay practical attention to issues of food security in the country.
Olorunfemi, who gave the challenge while delivering a Lecture organised by the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE), with the theme; “Agricultural Engineering: The Brain Box for Food Sovereignty and National Development,” noted that Nigeria was among the first five producers of cocoa, yam and cassava which does not grow everywhere worldwide.
Olorunfemi, a former President of the NSE further said; “Government should have the political will. Agriculture is a business; the people in charge should be those who are into farming, the kind of support should be practical.
“Cassava grows for up to 12 months before you can convert it, you cannot be giving a credit facility of one year. So, in all of these, the government should be practical and those in charge should do the needful.
“Money for agriculture should be given to the right people. You have cooperatives, commodity groups and we must patronise made in Nigeria goods. A situation where you have State Government, Federal Government importing all manners of machinery, all manners of tractors and leaving our agricultural institutes, research and universities and be asking others to come and teach us how to do agriculture is wrong.
“Yes, we cannot stand alone, but if we need support, let those in charge seek the support not government to go and seek the support on our behalf,” he said.
Olorunfemi said that the government that set up agencies would not patronise them but would rather go abroad to bring the same thing that could be produced in the country.
According to him; “Whatever we have is what we should use. It’s only by doing this that you can develop it and improve upon it.
“The insecurity is coming about because there are no jobs and you cannot create jobs by importing other people’s products. We are living in self-denial. By now, our government should have declared an austerity measure”.