FG Reaffirms Plans To Encourage Youths in Agriculture

President Muhammadu Buhari has reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to grow the agricultural sector by encouraging the youth to pick interest in agriculture. He further stated that agriculture was the best way to boost the potentials of the Nigerian youth population for their inclusive and beneficial participation in the task of economic diversification

Buhari who was represented by the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbeh, said good initiatives were not enough as implementation had always been a recurring challenge in virtually all the countries, adding countries had produced world-class blueprints aimed at addressing key challenges in the past which had produced mixed results.

The IFAD president, Dr Kanayo Nwanze, noted that the hopes and dreams for the future of the continent rested in the hands of the young people, who are the continent’s untapped resources, adding that the money Nigeria is using to import more than $6 billion agricultural products annually should be invested in producing food locally and creating employment and wealth in Africa.

Nwanze, however, urged government to introduce policies that would encourage investment in the agro-industrial sector at every point along the value chains, saying these policies must encourage inclusive and transparent partnerships, so that poor rural people were not left behind, exploited or excluded.