Food security: Obasanjo calls for agricultural revolution across states
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has called on state governments to place more priority on agricultural development, saying that until Nigeria can feed itself, it will continue to be a nation sitting on a time bomb.
Obasanjo stated this during a courtesy visit by a delegation of Commissioners and Special Advisers from Niger state to Abeokuta over the weekend.
He noted that with modern agricultural equipment now available, the impact of agricultural initiatives can be greater than the projects of the past.
The visit included a tour of a cutting-edge soulless farm where youths from Niger state were undergoing training in innovative agricultural techniques for eventual replication in Niger State.
The former president applauded the Niger state governor’s effort in transforming the agricultural sector in the state adding that Governor Umaru Bago’s agricultural initiatives can be likened to his own ‘Operation Feed the Nation” policy of 1976.
He said that agricultural self-sufficiency can move Nigeria from the state it is currently in and improve the socio-economic well-being of the people while calling on other state governors to follow Niger State’s lead in agricultural development to ensure that Nigeria can produce the majority of its food.
The former president encouraged Niger State to continue investing in agriculture and explore modern methods to enhance existing practices expressing his intention to visit Niger State with his team to learn from their progress and exchange ideas to improve and add value to his agricultural endeavours.
Obasanjo also advised Nigerians to consider investing in soilless farming stressing that innovative farming techniques are essential to sustaining the nation’s agricultural productivity.
