Deputy Governor of Nasarawa State, Dr Emmanuel Akabe, has called on stakeholders and development partners to invest massively in agriculture to transform Nigeria into a virile country for food security and value chain addition.
Akabe made the call on Tuesday in Abuja at the 2023 National Agricultural Show with the theme, “Towards the Realisation of Presidential Declaration of Emergency on Food Security.”
He said that agriculture remained the cornerstone for the sustainable socio-economic development of Nigeria.
According to him, agriculture is the hub through which Nigeria can achieve a tripartite benefit of creating employment, generating wealth, as well as establishing industries that will process agricultural produce for consumption and exportation.
He said the 2023 show was critical in restoring the lost glory of agriculture as one of the major contributors to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and foreign exchange earner to the country.
Akabe said that President Tinubu recently approved the immediate release of fertilisers and grains to farmers and households to mitigate the effects of the fuel subsidy removal.
“Nigeria is endowed with human resources; the country is populated by youths and it is the responsibility of everyone to support the Government, because government alone cannot do it,’’ he said.
He, however, appealed to the youths to engage in agricultural practice with a view to achieving employment and enriching the nation with food value chain that would ensure food security and engender industrialisation.
The deputy governor, also commended the president’s resolve to foster urgent synergy between the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Water Resources to ensure adequate irrigation of farmlands that would guarantee all-year-round food production.
On his part, Dr Samuel Negedu, National Coordinator, National Agricultural Foundation of Nigeria (NAN), said the year’s theme was chosen in recognition of the need for all stakeholders in Nigeria’s agriculture sector to work towards addressing food security. (NAN)
