The Deputy Governor of Nasarawa State, Dr. Emmanuel Agbaduhas 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.
Agbadu made the call on Tuesday in Abuja at the 2023 National Agricultural Show with the theme, “Towards the Realization of the 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 the triple benefit of creating employment, generating wealth, and 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 a foreign exchange earner for the country.
Agbadu said that President Tinubu recently approved the immediate release of fertilizers 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 a food value chain that would ensure food security and engender industrialization.
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, the National Coordinator, National Agricultural Foundation of Nigeria, Dr. Samuel Negedu 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.
