Let Us Go Back To Agriculture
Several years ago, before the discovery of oil and gas in Nigeria, agriculture was the main stay of her economy. The government then intensively engaged and also invested in agricultural activities. There was abundance of food supply.
The importance of agriculture in nation building cannot be overemphasized. Besides, the provision of food for man and feeds for animals through agriculture brings job opportunities. Also agriculture increases our foreign reserve.
Nigeria is facing serious economic problem, this is due to the relegating of agriculture to the background. Young men and women no longer take agriculture as their occupation. They left the farming sector to the old people and migrated to the urban centres to search for white collar jobs that are not even in existence.
The poor attitude of the young men towards agriculture is in no small measure contributing to the food shortage in the country. Moreso, government’s policies in Agriculture are not encouraging, thereby demoralizing youths from going into the farming sector. For the agricultural sector to be attractive to young school leavers government will embark on aggressive rural development by providing social amenities and infrastructure in the local communities.
Another areas government should look into is to give loans to farmers, making fertilizers available, building of storage facilities, construction of access roads, and improved transportation system among others.
It is now necessary for government and relevant agencies to look inward and re-invest the agricultural sector so as to curb the lingering food crisis in Nigeria. ###
