Kwara State Governor, Dr Abdulfatah Ahmed says promotion of agriculture as a business that not only guarantees food security but also sustainable income and job growth will hasten national attempt to overcome present economic recession in the country.
The Governor said this while declaring open Harmony Agriculture International Trade Fair (HAGIF 2016), holding in Ilorin, the state capital.
According to Dr Ahmed agriculture is the largest employer of labour that guarantees sustainable economic development, noting that the HAGIF 2016 “encapsulates the state’s desire for economic diversification and belief that our dream of a resurgent Nigerian economy lies in planned and structured Agribusiness”.
“We promise to continue to work with the network of investors, farmers, processsors and other stakeholders represented here to strengthen the supporting infrastructure to ensure that quality standards are defined and maintained across the value chain”, he said.
The Group Managing Director, Harmony Holdings, Tope Daramola, in his remarks emphasized the importance of mechahised farming in the transformation of agriculture into business.
Daramola said a database of prospective farmers will be created to ease the replication of commercial farming projects across the state.
The four day international trade fair ends on Thursday
