Commercial agriculture, if well-developed and implemented, is capable of curtailing the scourge of unemployment pervading Nigeria, as it has the capacity to create 4 million jobs in the various agricultural value chain channels. Professor Akin Omotayo, Director, Institute for Food Security, Environmental Resources and Agricultural Research (IFSERAR), stated this while speaking on a radio programme, recently.
Professor Omotayo who spoke on the topic, “How to Resolve the Nigerian Economy through Agriculture”, stated that agriculture remained the only viable option that could solve the economic quagmire that the country finds itself in, because over-reliance on oil had failed the nation. While advising governments at all levels to focus on agriculture, the IFSERAR Director opined that young people should be trained and empowered to earn income in agriculture like their counterparts in other fields, saying this would make them stay on the farm, moreso that the few existing farmers were becoming old.
The University Don called for a systematic approach towards achieving this, which would ultimately result into stakeholders making more money and the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) increasing. He advised agriculture ministries and departments, at both the state and local government levels to be up and doing, assuring that FUNAAB was always ready to assist them in any area of agricultural development towards ensuring food security.
Professor Omotayo, a former Commissioner for Agriculture in Ekiti State, lauded the immediate past Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr. Akinwunmi Adesina, for successfully curbing corruption in the agricultural sector through the use of technology. Responding to callers on the programme, he highlighted the various ways through which FUNAAB could partner stakeholders in the industry. These include involvement in the annual in-house review meetings, production of farmer-friendly publications, trade fairs and visits to villages and towns for sensitisation and enlightenment campaigns.
Meanwhile, the Management team from the West Africa Agricultural Productivity Programme (WAAPP), Nigeria, has lauded FUNAAB during its visit to the University, to assess the progress made so far by IFSERAR in the existing collaboration between both bodies. While welcoming the team, the Director of IFSERAR, who is also the WAAPP Co-ordinator in the University, Professor Omotayo, thanked Management as well as WAAPP for their support in ensuring that IFSERAR was at the fore-front in research and increasing food productivity so as to end hunger in the land. He said a lot of progress had been made since the collaboration started about a year ago. Professor Omotayo said IFSERAR was into projects such as cassava seed multiplication and fingerlings multiplication, distribution, technology dissemination and adopted school project, noting that recently, the institute empowered some farmers by giving them farm inputs such as fingerlings and cassava stem, free of charge.
Speaking at the event, the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Olusola Oyewole, who is also the President of Association of African Universities (AAU), appreciated the contributions of WAAPP-Nigeria through IFSERAR, in strengthening the University’s extension village farmers. He added that the FUNAAB recently bought a Toyota Hilux Van to support the programme, adding that a lot of things needed to be done in providing food security. He stressed the need to embark on sensitisation and enlightenment activities that would enable the youth take up farming as a means of livelihood, to create more employment opportunities. He gave the assurance that the University would continue to ensure that its research efforts waxed stronger and that WAAPP team members should feel free to visit various ongoing farm projects on campus.
The National Co-ordinator of WAAPP-Nigeria, Dr. Sheu Salawu, said he was impressed with the serenity of FUNAAB, noting that the objective of the visit was to review the activities of the project in the University in line with the determination of the World Bank to eliminate poverty globally. He acknowledged the enormous effort being made by FUNAAB in supporting the WAAPP programmes, adding that he had a strong belief that the communities around the University were feeling the positive impact of WAAPP. Dr. Salawu urged the Vice-Chancellor to continue to support, and include entrepreneurship courses for graduating students to facilitate their accessing of finance. The team members were shown various research findings in the University as they visited ongoing agricultural projects on campus.
