President Muhammadu Buhari said Friday in Abuja that his administration would henceforth take agriculture seriously, saying that crude oil and gas exports would no longer be sufficient as the country’s major revenue earner. Recalling that he based his electioneering campaign around agriculture, the President stated that his government would cut short the long bureaucratic processes that Nigerian farmers had to go through to get any form of assistance from government. President Buhari spoke when he received Dr. Kanayo Nwanze, the Nigerian born President of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), at the Presidential Villa on Friday. “It’s time to go back to the land. We must face the reality that the petroleum we had depended on for so long will no longer suffice. We campaigned heavily on agriculture, and we are ready to assist as many as want to go into agricultural ventures,” the President said. The president said that improvement of the productivity of farmers, dry season farming, and creative ways to combat the shrinking of the Lake Chad will also be given the necessary attention. “There is so much to be done. We will try and articulate a programme and consult organizations like IFAD for advice,” the President said, adding that foreign exchange will be conserved for machinery and other items needed for production, “instead of using it to import things like toothpicks.” Dr. Nwanze congratulated President Buhari on his victory at the general elections and assured him that IFAD was ready to give all possible assistance to the Federal Government and Nigerian farmers to boost agricultural production in the country. IFAD is an international organization dedicated to addressing issues of agriculture and poverty alleviation. It was established in 1978, and has been collaborating with Nigeria for over 30 years.
Source - Vanguard
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