A member of the House of Representatives, Hon. Olubunmi Wumi Ogunlola, has called for a huge investment in agriculture to attract productive population and reduce the scourges of insecurity and cybercrime being perpetrated by Nigerian youths.
The lawmaker called on the Federal government to as a matter of urgency declare a state of emergency in the agricultural sector, to allow for more funding that will banish unemployment and poverty among youths.
Ogunlola, who represents Ekiti West Federal Constituency 2 in the National Assembly, stated that the present agricultural practice, which relies on traditional implements and annual rainfall, is not profitable and cannot encourage the Nigerian youth to engage in farming.
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The lawmaker spoke in Aramoko-Ekiti on Saturday while empowering farmers from the 33 wards of Ekiti West, Efon and Ijero local government areas, which are the components of her federal Constituency. The farmers were empowered with cash and various farm tools.
She said: “If the Federal government is serious about creating employments through Agriculture, then it must make farming attractive to the Nigerian youths. The government should increase budgetary allocations to the Agric sector and then encourage modern mechanised farming.
“We cannot expect our youths to embrace farming if, they are going to use the same tools that were used by their grandfathers. These are the people whose parents went to school because they wanted to escape farming.
“As a representative of the people, I am very concerned about this situation. Let’s face it, there is hunger in the land, there is unemployment, which is not acceptable to me as a leader, as a mother and as a member of the society.”
Aside empowerment for farmers, Ogulola also organised a capacity building program on ICT for 45 youths across the 33 wards in the constituency.
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