By David Adeoye
Mr Daniel Afolabi, an Agro Business Consultant, has commended governments’ interest in developing agriculture, saying it has the potential to reduce youth unemployment and create wealth.
Afolabi said this on Saturday in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Ibadan.
He however pointed out that the neglect of the sector over the years had contributed to the high level of poverty in the country.
According to him, no nation can develop without giving due attention to agriculture.
“Most of the economic challenges facing Nigeria are due to the neglect of the sector by past administrations.
“But the commitment of the present administration to agriculture is commendable, especially export policy of agricultural products.
“The policy will make farming to be more profitable and pave way for business people to invest more in the sector, invariably enhance foreign earnings.
“I therefore call on the federal and state governments to increase their budgetary allocations to the sector so as to meet export demands and domestic consumption.
“Unemployed youths should also take advantage of different agriculture programmes of governments and venture into farming instead of blaming government for their inability to secure jobs,“ he said.
Afolabi urged research institutes to work more on high yield varieties of crops so as to improve agricultural productivity.
He said that production of new varieties of crops would make the nation’s products acceptable across the world and boost the country’s export trade.
